Are you using darktable on several Windows computers? I do and this means usually ending up with quite a messy system with files in various stages on various PCs. The answer is: make darktable portable!
Darktable is perhaps the most direct competitor to that of Lightroom. Unlike other competitive photo editing software, Darktable aims for non-destructive edits on raw photos, forgetting the usual raster-graphic workflow akin to Photoshop. The software came about in 2009 and works on such systems as Linux, macOS, Solaris, and Windows. Darktable is a free, open-source, cross-platform photography workflow application, and raw developer. It allows you to manage digital negatives in a database and view them through a zoomable light table and also to develop raw images and enhance them. Darktable Guide: RAW files develpment and import into Gimp Tutorial on how to install Darktable, how to use it to develop RAW files and how to import those RAW directly in Gimp. Darktable is a free software for RAW files development, it can work independently, as a standalone program, but it is also perfectly compatible with Gimp.
darktable can easily run from a USB thumb drive aka flash drive. All my data is on a 1Tb mechanical external HDD.
Darktable Vs Lightroom
But first things first. Windows usually assigns a random drive letter when you plugin your external drive. This is not desirable and we need to tell Windows to use the same drive letter for the external drive on all your PCs. There was a problem installing mac os x. This is how we do that:
- Press Windows Key + R
- The Run window opens, type: compmgmt.msc
- The Computer Management window opens, click Disk Management
- Right click your external drive and click Change Drive Letter and Path…
- Do i.e. Change G: > OK
- Do that on all your PCs, obviously change to the same drive letter on all
Darktable is an incredibly comprehensive photo processing program that lets you edit your RAW image files in a digital darkroom. The idea is to be able to work with your negatives and easily return to the original way in a non-destructive way. There’s an editing package that stands head and shoulders amongst the paid for and subscription editing package services out there, and it’s called Darktable. Many people would have heard of it, but presume because it is free, it is no good or not suitable.
(If your external disk has already the target drive letter then change to some other drive letter and back to the target letter)
This is important for darktable to find your image folder in case they are on the same external drive, or to save your exported images.
Darktable Review
We fixed the drive letter, next, darktable. The current version is 3.4.1.1 – but in an *.exe package. You want a *.zip package. Sometimes there is one around, most often not. So here is what you can do:
- Download and install the latest *.exe package. If you have already darktable installed, fine, just use that.
- Go to C:Program Filesdarktable and move/copy the whole folder to your external drive
- Open a text editor (notpad, notepad++ etc.) and type:
- Save the text file as i.e. darktableExt.bat – note the *.bat extension!
- Put this *.bat file on all of your PCs
You do not have to create a userdata folder, Windows creates that automatically when you start darktable first time. The database that is usually in C:UsersYourNameHereAppDataLocaldarktable is now on your external drive and you have the same settings on all your PCs.
Note:
This guide was written for 3.0.1 – but it works on all darktable versions. You can also use it to install a DEV version, or any older version for whatever reason. This this version is run from your external drive it will not messup any other version on you installed, or external drive.