Appendix 3: Exporting Images for GC Wildlife Viewer

gc-wildlife-viewer requires three primary data sources to function:

1. A CSV exported from Timelapse.exe (ImageData.csv)
2. A folder of images exported from Timelapse (TimelapseExport)
3. A folder of thumbnails generated from the Timelapse images (thumbs)

This section explains how to generate these files and organize them for the app.

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Timelapse Data Export

The raw Timelapse data are stored in a SQLite database. The app, however, uses an exported CSV to simplify access. Currently, only subset selections of the Timelapse database are supported; full-database exports are not yet supported.

Exporting a Selection

1. Open Timelapse.exe and use the selection menu to choose the subset of images you want to work with. For example:

• Images marked as Favorite
• Images with non-blank data fields (e.g., local_name)

2. Export the tabular data as a CSV file:

File → Export or import data to/from a CSV file → Export image/video data in the current selection to CSV...

Save this file as ImageData.csv.

3. Export the corresponding images for the dashboard:

File → Export (copy) Image/Video files to another folder → Copy all Image and Video files in the current selection to...

important

Its suggested to use the option to "Put in Subfolder" with the subfolder names TimelapseExport.

It is Required to "Rename files to include their subfolder location if any"" Place the exported images in a folder named TimelapseExport.

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Folder Structure

The app expects the following structure under a root <images> folder:

images/
├── ImageData.csv
├── TimelapseExport/
│ ├── image1.jpg
│ ├── image2.jpg
│ └── ...
└── thumbs/

• ImageData.csv → exported CSV from Timelapse
• TimelapseExport/ → folder containing the selected images
• thumbs/ → folder for generated thumbnails; the app will create this folder automatically if it does not exist

Important: The ImageData.csv file is required. If it is missing or modified incorrectly, the app will crash.

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File Storage Strategy

To prevent accidental deletion or modification of ImageData.csv:

• The app uses two volume mounts:

1. datalake – user-accessible; files can be renamed, moved, or deleted via FileBrowser
2. gc-wildlife – admin-only; app reads data from this location

• On startup, the app will check for ImageData.csv in the gc-wildlife mount (admin-only). If it does not exist, a copy will be made from datalake and stored in gc-wildlife. All further reads occur from this secure location.

This ensures the app can operate safely even if users modify files in datalake.

note

If the files in the datalake are updated intentionally, the app-admin must manually update the ImageData.csv in the gc-wildlife data mount.