Getting Started
Welcome to Shoebox! This guide will help you get up and running with your personal family history archive.
What is Shoebox?
Shoebox is a desktop application designed to help you organize, preserve, and share your family's multimedia memories. Think of it as your digital shoebox—a place to store and curate photos, videos, and audio recordings with rich contextual information.
Key Concepts
Before diving in, let's clarify some important terminology:
Archive
Your archive is your complete collection of multimedia files and associated metadata. This is the master dataset you're building and curating over time. In Shoebox, everything revolves around managing and enriching your archive.
Collection
A collection is a subset of items from your archive. You can create collections for:
- Sharing with specific family members
- Themed groupings (birthdays, vacations, etc.)
- Time periods or generations
- Presentations or slideshows
Collections don't duplicate files—they're references to items in your main archive.
Installation
See the Installation Guide for platform-specific instructions.
First Launch
When you first open Shoebox, you'll find a sample archive already loaded. See the First Launch guide for a complete tour of the sample archive, interface overview, and key features to try.
Navigating Your Archive
Keyboard Shortcuts
- Up/Down Arrow Keys: Move between items in the navigation list
- Mouse Hover: Move your mouse over items in the navigation list to preview them
- Enter: View selected item in detail
- Space: Start slideshow mode
- Escape: Exit full-screen modes
For a complete list, see the Keyboard Shortcuts reference.
Sorting and Finding Items
Use the sort dropdown at the bottom of the window to organize your archive:
- By Date: Chronological order (earliest to latest)
- By Person: Alphabetically by person's last name
- Tip: People appear under ALL their last names (maiden and married), making it easy to find anyone regardless of how they're known
- By Location: Organized by state, city, then detail
- By Source: Who provided each item
- By File: Filename order
Creating Your Archive
Ready to import your own media? See the Creating Your Archive guide for step-by-step instructions.
Next Steps
- Learn about Archives vs Collections
- Explore the data structure
- Try slideshow mode
- Set up face detection
Getting Help
If you run into issues or have questions:
- Check the guides and feature documentation
- Review keyboard shortcuts for navigation help
- Visit GitHub Issues to report bugs
- Email marvbudd@gmail.com for direct support
Happy archiving! 📸