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goldscarab
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Old July 29th, 2019, 08:31 PM
Does anyone know how simple pictures are stored in the database? If I use the same picture on multiple topics are the stored as a byte field or dose the database save the file and store a reference to the file for each time the same file is added to the database?
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kbs666
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Old July 30th, 2019, 07:32 AM
The image is stored separately every time its used.

my Realm Works videos
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EightBitz
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Old August 1st, 2019, 06:55 AM
You could create one topic with just the picture, then link to it from all the other topics that use it.
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Merion
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Old August 16th, 2019, 02:18 PM
Quote:
Originally Posted by kbs666 View Post
The image is stored separately every time its used.
Strangely this is accurate. I really don't know why rob chose to do it this way, instead of how the OP implies, but I'm sure he had a good reason to create such possible cause of database bloat and redundancy.

But yeah, I've been wondering this since I bought RW (2012-ish).
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Farling
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Old August 16th, 2019, 03:10 PM
Quote:
Originally Posted by Merion View Post
Strangely this is accurate. I really don't know why rob chose to do it this way, instead of how the OP implies, but I'm sure he had a good reason to create such possible cause of database bloat and redundancy.

But yeah, I've been wondering this since I bought RW (2012-ish).
It's not so easy to know it is the same picture. The file name isn't enough, the file size isn't enough. Comparing a new picture against ALL other pictures would take a long time each time the picture was added.

Farling

Author of the Realm Works Import tool, Realm Works Output tool and Realm Works to Foundry module

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EightBitz
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Old August 16th, 2019, 03:34 PM
Quote:
Originally Posted by Merion View Post
Strangely this is accurate. I really don't know why rob chose to do it this way, instead of how the OP implies, but I'm sure he had a good reason to create such possible cause of database bloat and redundancy.

But yeah, I've been wondering this since I bought RW (2012-ish).
Quote:
Originally Posted by Farling View Post
It's not so easy to know it is the same picture. The file name isn't enough, the file size isn't enough. Comparing a new picture against ALL other pictures would take a long time each time the picture was added.
Also, you, as a human, do have the innate ability to know when you're using the same picture, and you can reasonably add the picture once as its own topic, then link it to any topic to which it's relevant.
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kbs666
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Old August 16th, 2019, 06:30 PM
Quote:
Originally Posted by Merion View Post
Strangely this is accurate. I really don't know why rob chose to do it this way, instead of how the OP implies, but I'm sure he had a good reason to create such possible cause of database bloat and redundancy.

But yeah, I've been wondering this since I bought RW (2012-ish).
Beyond what others have already explained, storage is cheap. With hard drives measured in Terabytes and images measure in Megabytes it just isn't that big a deal, except some odd case where a single realm uses the same images hundreds of times.

my Realm Works videos
https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCZU...4DwXXkvmBXQ9Yw
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goldscarab
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Old August 20th, 2019, 08:41 PM
Quote:
Originally Posted by EightBitz View Post
Also, you, as a human, do have the innate ability to know when you're using the same picture, and you can reasonably add the picture once as its own topic, then link it to any topic to which it's relevant.
This smells like a new type of snippet.

Since RW is basically a structured intelligence DB - the ability of the users (aka players) to get the quick context from the picture snippet preview image is a high-value feature - really want that.

I never use the map function - too hard to update during play sessions - so I use a combination of PowerPoint and MSPaint and a bulletin board to post game-day maps -

But for my atlas-like content - its like buying a campaign resource - I just post the maps - zooming in to reveal detailed map content - for example - I might have a map of an island-dotted ocean and then a series of maps for each island cluster - and then use the island cluster map for each island in an island group as a well as the ocean map for context

Since the meta knowledge of is in my head - I could use a custom snippet that took a link to a file stored in the DB once - typed checked to be a known image type - to the preview could process the image and make the icon - but the data was stored only once - I would know when to use either the Simple Picture Snippet or the Common Picture Snippet

One side effect - good and bad - is that changing the reference picture would change the picture for all linked to it.

Note Also: Although memory is cheap, load time is not. My time is the most expensive resource - the more time it takes to sync with the remote DB - the less time I am using the tool for content creation...

Thanks for the info guys
Later
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kbs666
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Old August 20th, 2019, 09:07 PM
What kind of hardware are you using that revealing a map takes a long time?

my Realm Works videos
https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCZU...4DwXXkvmBXQ9Yw
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goldscarab
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Old August 22nd, 2019, 04:14 PM
Sry - Poor word choice probably conflated a few issues

1) my gaming group does not use the smart map feature at all (the big fog of war thing) because we could not figure out how to use it effectively at the game table - instead its faster and easier for me to make a "cropped" or "overlayed" picture from a ppt file and post that to a bulletin board to incrementally reveal a map for gameplay

2) when I draw atlas maps - I draw large scale maps and then zoom in to reveal more detail in the atlas data. using MSPaint and screen captures I make png files of the maps at various scales - then I add the png files as simple pictures to the tabs where the map content enhances the other content

3) I have not checked the size of my DB recently - I have a $900 office rigged laptop - synchronization and loading to/from the RW offsite storage take about 10 minutes now. My players complain about longer synchronization times because they don't update as frequently as I do. Without measurement - this 10-minute wait seems longer to me than it last year - before I started adding content more heavily.
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