Organizing Digital Supplies - SUCCESS!

[tracydigigirl]

I just found a new cool tidbit...if you want to see the keywords with your thumbnail, click 'Preferences' under the Bridge CS3 menu. On the left will be a list that starts with 'General.' 'Thumbnails' is the second item, click this.

In the second half of the dialog under 'Details,' click 'Show' and select 'Keywords' from the drop-down menu.

Cool, eh?

[AllynD]

Originally Posted by tracydigigirl

Did I mention that Bridge will also write keywords to psd files??? You won't find that elsewhere!

That sounds interesting... how does that work?

[tracydigigirl]

Originally Posted by AllynD

That sounds interesting... how does that work?

No different than any other file...it just works! Other programs just haven't been able to tag them (in my experience).

[geekscrapper]

I just have to pop back in and squeal like a little kid - I've got half my DD stuff tagged already (don't have that much *yet*) - can't believe how easy it is and I never have to do it again - I spent a year with untagged stuff driving me crazy on my PC, but it didn't do any good (I thought) to do it when I'd be getting a Mac... ok, now I'm babbling, I'm that giddy.

Next, I'm tagging all my other paid stuff but the freebies can wait. I have a ton and most of it's weird and probably won't be kept anyway.

[tracydigigirl]

Originally Posted by geekscrapper

squeal like a little kid.

I TOTALLY understand!!! I felt that way, too, when I discovered it!

[Sierra25]

Thanks for the information. I need to get organizing!

[jazzmatazz]

Originally Posted by tracydigigirl

It's a pleasure to cyber-meet you, Tracy! I see you spell your name correctly, too. Very nice.

LOL! I ALWAYS look to see if a "Tracy" spells their name correctly! There's only ONE right way!

I so look forward to trying all this when some of the dust from my other projects clear! Thank you so much for all the fabulous info!

[AllynD]

Patricia,

I sent you a couple of pm's about sorting events, searching, tagging, and setting up smart albums in iPhoto.

[iUma]

THANK THANK THANK YOU Lynn. You are So sweet to do that. Off to Study.

[geekscrapper]

Um... silly question. I've all along just wanted to be able to tag my files. I've got 2/3 tagged. Woohoo!

I need a "paper bag over my head" smiley: what do I DO with my tags now? How do I access them? Sort by them, search for them, that sort of thing?

I've got Iphoto on my Mac, Picasa (still not impressed), Bridge of course because I tagged the actual files in that.

I'm feeling a bit lost.

[tracydigigirl]

Hi Gals!
Well, I’ve tagged thousands of files now and it’s like Christmas all over again. I’ve seen stuff that I had long since forgotten about! I’ve also learned a few things that may be helpful as you journey through your own tagging.

1 – I mentioned before that choosing to display your keyword with the thumbnail was pretty cool; well, I’ve determined it’s more than cool. It’s almost necessary. When I said that about 30% of the time I got an error message that the keyword wasn’t written, well it wasn’t. It looked like it was but when I switched on the keyword view, it proved me wrong. What happened? I moved too fast to the next folder. Having the keywords visible with the thumbnail gives me a visual cue that Bridge is done writing to the files, and only then should I move on. So…take your time. ☺

*Refer to an earlier comment for how to turn on the keyword view with the thumbnail.

2 – You can’t write to brush, style, pattern, etc. files that are used by Photoshop. What you can do, however, is create a keyword for each and tag its preview, where available.

3 – When you think you’re done, do a ‘Find’ search and look for all files without any keywords in your specified folder. You may be surprised to find a few files that you missed. What you will find, for sure, are those files I mentioned earlier that won’t accept keywords.

4 – If you come across a locked file, it won’t accept a keyword. Just right-click to unlock it and try again.

5 – There are inevitably those files that don’t fit into any of your categories. Katie’s Googly Eyes, for example! I created a miscellaneous file for those and was surprised to find how many ‘stars’ I have. So going back to the misc folder and retagging some files may prove useful.

I figure that I’m about half-way done tagging all of my stash and I’m totally stoked at the results! I hope this helps some of you out there as much as its helped me!!!

Happy Scrapping!

[tracydigigirl]

Originally Posted by geekscrapper

I need a "paper bag over my head" smiley: what do I DO with my tags now? How do I access them? Sort by them, search for them, that sort of thing?

That's the fun part! If you're using Bridge, go to the Edit Menu and choose Find. (Cmd-F or Ctrl-F) Enter your search criteria and see the results.

If you're working on a Christmas layout, you may want to search your 'Christmas' keyword. Other themes may be Zoo, Beach, Winter, Birthday, etc. Say you want a paper clip, so you would search your 'Fasteners' keyword and compare the various versions you have. Say you want to see all of your templates or quickpages, same thing.

I probably have 100 keywords so I can search in many different ways.

Does that answer your question?

[geekscrapper]

Yes it does.

I think I've just had to learn too much lately (got the Mac for Christmas) that even trying things like the find command just flies right out of my head.

Thanks!

[iUma]

Tracy, Can you add keywords in the Finder window? Like When I download I open in Finder to check everything and I would like to be able to add a keyword then. But I can't find anything about doing that. Can you only add key words in Bridge??

[tracydigigirl]

Originally Posted by phfphd

Tracy, Can you add keywords in the Finder window? Like When I download I open in Finder to check everything and I would like to be able to add a keyword then. But I can't find anything about doing that. Can you only add key words in Bridge??

No, Finder is simply a viewer. But here's what I do...I have a Downloads folder that everything goes to when I download. Every so often, I go to that folder with Bridge and tag everything appropriately. Then, again with Bridge, I drag those folders to their appropriate location. Very simply, I promise!

[iUma]

Thanks, Tracy. So I guess you are also saying it it best to move things from within Bridge, right?

[tracydigigirl]

Originally Posted by phfphd

Thanks, Tracy. So I guess you are also saying it it best to move things from within Bridge, right?

That's what I do.

[geekscrapper]

You don't have to move them within bridge! It will figure out where you put stuff, so you can move it however you want - I figured THAT one out!

[tracydigigirl]

Originally Posted by geekscrapper

You don't have to move them within bridge! It will figure out where you put stuff, so you can move it however you want - I figured THAT one out!

No, you don't HAVE to move them within Bridge. Good point.

[iUma]

Thanks, my Mac women!!

[AllynD]

Ahem, the same is true for my own true love, iPhoto!

The reason I steered clear of Bridge to begin with was that I thought our Cassie had said that it occasionally wigged out. I would hate to go to all the work of tagging and then lose it. If it works well for you, then I cheer you on! Maybe it has been improved.

[tracydigigirl]

Originally Posted by AllynD

Ahem, the same is true for my own true love, iPhoto!

The reason I steered clear of Bridge to begin with was that I thought our Cassie had said that it occasionally wigged out. I would hate to go to all the work of tagging and then lose it. If it works well for you, then I cheer you on! Maybe it has been improved.

I haven't had any 'wigging' out but even if it did happen, it wouldn't affect the work I've done tagging. The keyword tag is written to the image file itself. Therefore, which app you use to manage or search makes no difference.

I can't stress this enough, the keyword's presence in the metadata is independent of any software app. Use whatever you want.

I personally wasn't a fan of iPhoto primarily because I like my file structure which was lost on import. I also don't like sidecar catalog files. I've gone that route twice before and it has no longevity and its integrity is easily lost.

I also like the freedom of moving my files around at will in any method I like without losing my keywords. When they're part of the file itself, they don't have to stay 'linked' to anything.

Finally, I'm sure iPhoto is fabulous or so many people wouldn't love it...and they clearly do. The trouble is that it can read metadata, but it can't write metadata. I wanted ONE app to do everything i needed and I was more surprised than anyone to discover that Bridge was it....at least for now. I've said in earlier comments that I'm perfectly willing to move along to a better app once it becomes obvious that it is better. But at least now when I move, I won't have to re-tag thousands of image files. That's key!

[AllynD]

You are trying to tempt me to the dark side, aren't you? [Swoon]

Well, maybe a little peek at Bridge wouldn't hurt. Metadata, eh? Hmmmmm.

[tracydigigirl]

Originally Posted by allynd

you are trying to tempt me to the dark side, aren't you? [swoon]

well, maybe a little peek at bridge wouldn't hurt. Metadata, eh? Hmmmmm.

Rolling on the floor laughing!!!

[elliottsurf2]

Tracy,

I am just getting to know Bridge...I have CS2, maybe you can help me with a question. On my PC, I can see what is in the folder (most designers have a preview page in a jpeg format that helps me see what is inside the folder. What settings do I need to select on the Mac in Bridge to see the folder preview page? Is that possible on the Mac? I can't figure it out. I hope this makes sense?

Thanks

[tracydigigirl]

Originally Posted by elliottsurf2

Tracy,

I am just getting to know Bridge...I have CS2, maybe you can help me with a question. On my PC, I can see what is in the folder (most designers have a preview page in a jpeg format that helps me see what is inside the folder. What settings do I need to select on the Mac in Bridge to see the folder preview page? Is that possible on the Mac? I can't figure it out. I hope this makes sense?

Thanks

You sure can do this!

1. Open the folder in question and find the image that you want to use as the folder icon, usually named 'folder.'
2. Open the image in Preview (it's probably your default for jpg's).
3. Select Edit>Copy and close Preview.
4. Return to the folder you want to change. Select File>Get info to open folder info.
5. In the upper left corner of this window is a folder icon, highlight it by clicking on it once and then select Edit>paste.
6. You should now see the image you copied as the new icon for that folder.

Fun, huh?

[iUma]

Tracy, I did this and it works. Two comments, though. It does not seem to show up as the folder preview in Bridge. and TWO...OMG, there has to be an easier way to do this for each and every folder we have!! Is there an action or command to make it so?? hopefully.

[tracydigigirl]

Originally Posted by phfphd

Tracy, I did this and it works. Two comments, though. It does not seem to show up as the folder preview in Bridge. and TWO...OMG, there has to be an easier way to do this for each and every folder we have!! Is there an action or command to make it so?? hopefully.

Hmmm. I have CS3 and it shows the image just fine. As to an easier method, I don't know one but perhaps someone else does.

For my own workflow, I actually do not prefer having the folder image as the icon. I like knowing at a glance the difference between a folder and an image file. That's just me and my neurosis, though. The way my folder structure is set up and using keyword tagging, I'm in 'The Zone.'

Sorry I couldn't help!

[iUma]

Tracy, thanks. It does show up in the finder as the folder but not in the folder view of Bridge CS3. HOWEVER, your judgment is well taken. Think I will leave it all alone. Thanks for all your careful responses to all our questions.

[mommydawn]

Tracy..thank you for all your time sharing!
I was wondering..are the tags/keywords something you could share in a list here that I could copy into a word document?