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## Portfolio Basics

When you create a new Portfolio catalog or add items to an existing catalog, Portfolio gathers information about the item and creates a record for it in the Portfolio database. If the source file being cataloged includes a thumbnail and/or icon, the thumbnail and/or icon can be added to the item’s record.

Portfolio does not import the item itself, but creates a link to the file that contains the cataloged item. This allows you to view, search, and retrieve cataloged items quickly, and to view and search for items even when the original file is not available (such as on a hard disk, CD, or network volume that is not mounted). The only time you need to access the original file is when you want to Preview the image, Edit the image, or copy it to another application.

If a cataloged item is moved to another location, renamed, or if other information about the original file changes, you will want to make Portfolio aware of the change by “updating” the record.

You view cataloged items in a window called the “Gallery.” Portfolio provides several different Gallery views, and each of these views can be customized to meet your needs. You can add additional information to item records such as keywords, description, and Custom Fields, and then search for cataloged items using keywords, or use Portfolio’s powerful Find function to locate items using any of the information fields assigned to them.

If your catalogs are being used in a workgroup and/or network environment, you can use Portfolio’s standard Level-based Access options or the new User-based Access options to limit access to the different cataloging functions.

See the General Overview for Portfolio’s major functions and features.

### The Sample Catalog

If you have not yet cataloged your own files, or if you’d like to work with file types that you may not yet have (such as 3D images, movies, and sounds), you can use the Portfolio Sample Catalog. The Sample Catalog is located on the Extensis CD.

Note: You can copy the Sample Catalog to your hard drive and work with it there if you prefer.