Welcome to IMatch 2025!

This new version introduces a range of new and exciting features, enhancements to existing functionality and the inevitable bug fixes. Please read this page for a quick and successful upgrade.

If you are upgrading directly from IMatch 2021, make sure to read the IMatch 2021 to IMatch 2023 migration instructions.
They contain some important TODO items.


IMatch 2025 - What's New?

If you haven't already, check out the IMatch 2025 overview page and please read the Release Notes.

TODONew File Name for the IMatch Executable

The name of the IMatch executable is now c:\program files\photools.com\IMatch6\IMatch2025x64.exe.
If you've added an exclusion in your virus checker for earlier IMatch ersions, please update the exclusion to match the new file name. Otherwise the virus checker might interfere again, if it did so before.

TODONew Default Metadata Panel Layouts

IMatch ships with a new set of Metadata Panel Layouts which incorporate a number of new tags for some of the standard layouts, and a new AI tags layout. These new layouts are automatically loaded for fresh installations and new databases. IMatch does not replace your existing layouts during installation!

You can import the new layouts from this file: "C:\ProgramData\photools.com\IMatch6\Presets\system.immdl". Click the Import Panel Layouts button in the Metadata Panel Layout Editor to import the file.

If you have created custom layouts, you can use the Merge option during import and load the new layouts in addition to your existing layouts. Then remove the duplicate layouts. Keep and rename the layouts with the 1 at the end, which are the newly imported onces. The Default layout has not changed.

At least import (merge) the new AI Tags layout from "C:\ProgramData\photools.com\IMatch6\Presets\AI Tags.immdl". You will find it convenient if you use the new AutoTagger to automatically create descriptions and keywords for your files.

TODOUpdate License Key in IMatch Settings

Don't forget to enter your new IMatch 2025 license key in Edit menu > Preferences > Application: License.
This ensures that you will be notified about new versions and that you can download them with the built-in update feature.

NOTEFolders With Non-indexed Files

IMatch 2025 improves the technique which allows it to detect folders containing new files. While IMatch is running, it receives notifications from Windows about changes in the file system (for instance, you creating new files in another application in folders indexed by your database). This allows IMatch to add new files to the database automatically.

When you create new files in folders indexed by a database while IMatch is not running, IMatch so far relied on the last modified timestamp of the folder to detect this. When IMatch loads a database, it compares the last modified timestamp of each folder in the database with the timestamp in the file system. If there is a mismatch, IMatch schedules the folder for a background rescan.

But there are situations where creating a new file does not update the last modified timestamp of the containing folder. IMatch had no way to recognize this, and new files created while IMatch was not running may not show in the database.

To solve this, IMatch now performs an initial deep scan after loading a database. For folders detected as unmodified by the timestamp comparison, IMatch scans all files in the folder to detect new files, or files with a last modified timestamp newer than the folder. If such files are found, IMatch schedules the folder for a background rescan.

When you open your database for the first time in IMatch 2025, IMatch may find some (or many) files previously missed and add them to the database. This is normal.

TODORelease Notes

Read the Release Notes to learn about all new and enhanced features and bug fixes that may affect you.