Start with a few photos.
Leave a lasting collection.

STEP 01

Start with one small collection.

You do not need to organize every photograph before starting. Pick one packet of prints, one album, or one small set of digital images. Finish that first Group, learn what works, and repeat.

We’ll rebuild The Lincoln family album, the first five-photo Group in the demo library shown on the homepage. The screenshots show a fresh library being built, not a tour of an already finished collection. Your new Photo IDs will be different; that is expected.

Keep Lincoln Photo Files outside the Photo Library you are about to create. It is your input folder. Continuum will copy the selected images into their new Group.

STEP 02

Download and open Continuum.

Use the Windows or macOS download on the homepage. The current Mac download is for Apple Silicon.

Choose a lasting home for your library: a dedicated folder on a drive you can write to, with enough room for your photos and a separate backup. For a first attempt, a local folder is straightforward. If you use an external drive or NAS, connect it before opening the library.

The screenshots use the app’s light appearance on Windows. Folder pickers and operating-system controls look different on a Mac; the Group and Photo record fields follow the same structure.

STEP 03

Give your Photo Library a home.

1. In your file browser, create a dedicated empty folder. For this walkthrough, call it Continuum Demo Library. Put it beside the practice input folder, not inside it.
2. In the welcome message, choose OK. In the folder picker, select that new empty folder itself.
3. Read Set this up as a library? and check the folder name. Choose Yes to initialize it.
4. Wait for the main window to finish loading. A new library shows 0 Groups and 0 Photos. Continuum remembers this library for the next launch.

STEP 04

Create the first Group.

In Groups, click the green + beside the Group count at the top of the left panel. This is different from the + above the photo thumbnails, which adds Photos to an existing Group.

For the Lincoln collection, fill in the following. This is an assembled historical collection: its Group dates describe the collection’s range, not a surviving developer stamp.

Leave Photo Owner, Size, Inscription, and Tasks empty for now. Read the green preview, then choose Create Group. In an empty library, it assigns PRT_HARDCOPY-0001 and creates a date-prefixed folder. Numbers are assigned by the app.

STEP 05

Bring in the five Photos.

1. Select the new Group in the left panel. Click the green + beside the Photo count above the empty contact sheet.
2. Choose the five images in Lincoln Photo Files, or select that folder. Do not select the source-notes document or the finished demo Catalog.
3. In Add Photos, review the checked entries and their new filenames. Uncheck anything you do not want to add. The numbered practice filenames keep the five pictures in the intended order.
4. Leave Delete original files after import unchecked. This walkthrough copies the images and keeps the input files.
5. Choose Add Photos and wait for the import to finish. Open a thumbnail to confirm that the expected photograph is there.

Continuum creates a Photo record for each imported image, assigns its sequence and permanent Photo ID, and gives the copied image a matching filename. Importing into this Planned Group changes its status to Digitized. The Photos exist now; describing and filing their originals is still work to do.

STEP 06

Give the Group its shared story.

1. With the Group selected, choose Edit Record. The editor’s left column has Group and Photo sections, each with its own Subject subsection.
2. Choose Subject under Group. Enter The Lincoln family album in Event.
3. In Notes, enter: “The Lincoln family album. See each photo record for its caption, creator, date evidence and source.” Leave shared Place and taken-dates blank: these photos do not all have the same confirmed place or day.
4. Choose Save. You can reopen the editor and add more later.

Shared subject fields are useful defaults. An individual Photo can have a more specific place, occasion, or date. Avoid filling the Group with a precise date that is only true of one picture.

STEP 07

Describe one Photo at a time.

Select Photo 001, the seated Lincoln portrait. Choose Edit Record. When a Photo is selected, the editor opens on its Photo section; the Group fields remain available above it.

The import has already set Scan to PRESENT and Scan Source to PRINT. Check that they describe the image you actually have. Leave the app-assigned Photo ID and sequence alone. A developer code means a photographic lab’s original code, not a software version.

Under Photo → Notes, keep the creator, source URL, and explanation of the source material. The practice kit’s Source Notes provides text for each photo. Use Inscription only for writing you have transcribed, and Tasks for questions that remain.

1. Choose Subject under Photo. For Photo 001, enter Washington, D.C. in Place.
2. Enter 1863-08-09 in both Date Earliest and Date Latest.
3. Enter “Abraham Lincoln seated with newspaper and glasses” in Notes. Leave Event blank to use the shared Group event.
4. Choose Save. Repeat for the remaining Photos using the source notes and the reference table below.

For the four exact dates, use the same value in both date fields. For Photo 005, leave its own date fields blank. A publication date or a photographer’s business address is not automatically the date or place the picture was taken.

STEP 08

Put names to the people.

There are two useful ways to name someone. Use the record when you know who is present; use the picture when you can point to their face.

Add a name without a face marker

1. Select Photo 001 and open Edit Record → Photo → People.
2. Choose Add Person and enter Abraham Lincoln. Add “Identity from the credited source caption” in Notes.
3. Choose Save. A name is useful even if no marker has been placed yet.

Point to the face in the picture

Open a Photo in Preview from its right-click menu (or open its thumbnail). Right-click the face and choose Mark Person Here…. Choose the existing person’s name or enter a new one. Repeat for other people. The Names button lets you hide or show the markers.

Photo 002 is a useful example: John G. Nicolay is on the left, Abraham Lincoln in the middle, and John Hay on the right. Photo 003 includes Abraham and Tad Lincoln; Photo 004 shows Abraham Lincoln; Photo 005 shows Mary Todd Lincoln. Use the same spelling for the same person.

STEP 09

Record where the originals are.

This is the connection between the digital collection and the things on your shelf. One Photo can have several physical prints, each with a different location and size.

1. Select Photo 001 and choose Edit Record → Photo → Prints.
2. Choose Add Print for each physical copy you want to record. For practice, add the three simulated copies in the table below.
3. Choose a broad Print Location and use Print Location Note to say which binder, shelf, box, or wall. Record a print-specific size if it differs from the Group default.
4. Choose Save. Repeat for the other Photos if you are building the full five-photo example.

Add “Simulated demo print; no possession of the source institution’s original is implied” in the first copy’s Notes. The other two are a simulated display copy and enlargement. In your own library, replace these examples with the real places and objects you can account for.

To match the rest of this demo Group, Photos 002, 003, and 005 each have one Archived print. Photo 004 has one Archived print and a second in DUPLICATE_BOX, with “Demo duplicates box, divider A” in its Notes. The practice arrangement totals 8 print copies for 5 Photos.

STEP 10

Bring filenames and photo dates into line.

After you replace a broad date with a Photo’s known date, its saved record may be more precise than its filename. The Verification card can show that mismatch. This is a useful prompt to bring the files up to date.

1. Save your record edits and return to the Group. Turn on Reports if the right-hand cards are hidden.
2. Read the findings. If they show filenames or embedded dates that disagree with the recorded dates, choose Fix Filenames + EXIF Dates.
3. Wait for the operation to finish, then review the results. For Photo 001, the filename should begin 1863-08-09.

What does EXIF do?

EXIF is information stored inside a photo file. Continuum can update existing, writable EXIF date fields in supported JPEGs, so compatible apps—including photo browsers on phones—can use the historical date instead of the date the picture was scanned.

That is not guaranteed for every file. The app reports unsupported or missing fields. PNG, TIFF, and JPEGs without writable date tags do not receive these EXIF date updates. Photo 005 in the practice set is a TIFF; its Catalog still preserves its dates even though this EXIF operation does not apply.

In this captured practice run, all five embedded-date updates were skipped: the four JPEGs lacked writable date tags, and the fifth file was a TIFF. The filenames were updated, and the Catalog dates remained intact. If you see that result while following along, it matches the example; it does not mean the photo dates were embedded successfully.

An estimated date may need a specific sorting day and assigned time for other apps. The Catalog keeps the fuller range and uncertainty. Test a transferred photo in the receiving app: some transfer and sharing services remove metadata.

STEP 11

Finish the first pass.

Open Edit Record → Group. Now that the example has print records, enter 4x6 in Size as the simulated default. Individual 5x7 and 8x10 copies retain their own sizes.

When your digital Photos are in place and the physical arrangement has been recorded, set Status to ARCHIVED and choose Save. For a real collection, choose the status that describes the work actually completed.

A Group can stay Archived while a research task remains. Put unfinished questions in Tasks rather than inventing answers. Use the Tasks view to return to them later. Inferred tasks, such as missing measurements, come from the records; resolve the underlying detail when you know it.

STEP 12

Find the Photos in different ways.

The menu in the top-left corner shows the current view name, such as Groups. Click it to switch views. These are different ways to browse the same Photos; switching views does not move the image files.

Photos: browse by the Photos’ own dates

Choose Photos to browse across Groups. The four precisely dated pictures and the broader-date Mary Todd Lincoln record now have their recorded dates available for browsing.

People: follow a person through the collection

Choose People, then Abraham Lincoln. The four tagged Photos appear together. If a picture is missing, check the person’s name in that Photo’s record and any active filters.

Events: revisit a shared occasion or collection

Choose Events and select The Lincoln family album. Here the event label is the demo collection’s shared title. Your own events could be a wedding, holiday, reunion, or a name that makes sense for your collection.

Places: browse recorded locations

Choose Places and select Washington, D.C. to explore the Photos assigned that place. Photos without a confirmed location stay unassigned. The map needs a resolvable location and online map services; do not replace an uncertain location with a convenient guess just to put a pin on it.

As your library grows, the homepage’s Places screenshot shows how another Group from the finished demo appears on the map.

Virtual Albums: make collections across Groups

A Group records where a Photo belongs in the library. A virtual album is a selection of Photos, gathered without duplicating or moving their files.

1. Select the Photos you want to collect. Open their right-click menu, find Add to Album → New Album…, and enter Portraits across a lifetime.
2. The screenshot shows a small beginning of an album with the same name in the finished demo. You can add Photos from other Groups as the library grows.
3. Choose Virtual Albums from the view menu, then select the album. Add to Favorites is another quick way to collect selected Photos.

STEP 13

Check what you have saved.

Choose Verification from the view menu, then Check Library. Let the check finish. Review any findings and use the offered Group or Record action to investigate the relevant item.

The completed five-photo example has no verification findings. That means its records and files passed the checks; it does not prove the historical information is correct or that you have a backup.

Choose History to see recorded operations such as imports, record edits, and filename changes. It is a useful account of work performed. It is not a universal Undo button or a replacement for a separate backup.

STEP 14

Share copies, keep the library.

To send Photos to someone, select them and choose Export Photos… from the right-click menu. Choose a destination outside the Photo Library. Review the export options, then choose Export.

Include TOML metadata asks the app to embed the effective Group and Photo record as structured text in the exported copies’ XMP description. It is a separate option from fixing EXIF dates. Existing image metadata is preserved either way; check the export results for any files that could not be processed.

Review the selected Photos’ notes, names, and storage details before sharing record metadata. For an ordinary photo-only handoff, leave this option unchecked. Exporting a selection does not make a complete backup of the library.

STEP 15

Preserve the whole Photo Library.

1. Save your edits and wait for imports, exports, and filename updates to finish. Close the app before taking a consistent backup copy.
2. Locate the library’s root folder. In Settings, the Show Library in Explorer button on Windows (Finder on macOS) can help you find it.
3. Copy the entire library folder to a separate backup destination: every Group, every Photo, every Catalog, and the shared continuum.photos folder.
4. Check the backup. Open a few copied images and confirm that Group Catalogs and the shared schema are present. Keep an independent copy outside the drive holding your working library.
5. Repeat after meaningful work. Retain an earlier backup as well, so a mistaken edit is not immediately your only saved copy.

When you move a library to another drive or computer, copy the whole folder and open that copied library through Settings → Add existing library…, then Save. On a fresh installation, select it in the welcome flow. Do not keep pointing at the old path after disconnecting the old drive.

STEP 16

Repeat, one Group at a time.

You now have the beginnings of the same demo Photo Library seen on the homepage: five images, their historical source details, people, physical-copy records, and a virtual album. Add your next packet or collection as a new Group, then repeat the import, description, verification, and backup steps.

• The digital Photos open.
• The dates reflect what is known, including uncertainty.
• People, events, and places use consistent names.
• Prints and negatives point to the physical originals you can account for.
• Records are saved and verification findings have been reviewed.
• A separate backup includes the whole Photo Library.

Walkthrough prepared with the current desktop source and Catalog schema 6. Screenshots use an isolated reconstruction of the first Group from the demo ZIP published with app v1.3.0. Physical custody, sizes, and storage notes are simulated; photo identities and source evidence follow the published demo. Interface details may change in later releases.