Organizing Digital Supplies - SUCCESS!

[tracydigigirl]

Hi gals!

This issue has been an ongoing one for me ever since I went Mac 13 months ago.

On my PC, I used PSE Organizer and it's fabulous tagging system to organize my stash. (paper, fasteners, stitching, etc.) The closest thing to this system for the MAC was Shoebox. The only thing, in fact. I never loved it but when it wouldn't stop rearranging my file structure, I finally gave up.

I've bought Aperture AND Lightroom only to learn that neither will tag PNG files. Duh! Most digi scrap files are png!

SO, yesterday I stumble on a forum discussion on another site and learned that Bridge CS3 WILL tag PNG files even though I get an error message saying it won't. Even though it's telling me it won't, it DOES! YIPPEE!!! (CS2 CAN'T tag PNG's, BTW)

Here's the silver lining to the bright cloud...Bridge is writing these keywords to the file itself so I can rearrange my files/folders, move them to another drive, or use a different software, and the keywords will 'travel' with the file!

The next chapter to this loooong and improving story is that ACDSee is working on a MAC version of it's File Manager! While this program uses a resident database (rather than writing to the file), it does give the option of writing to the file where possible (PNG included!). It's in Beta now but once I'm done keywording in Bridge, I can use any program I want b/c the keywords aren't program specific!

I'm so excited I may just make a margarita!!! WaHooooooo!!!

[iUma]

Tracy, Please keep us posted about your success with this approach. You know there are lots of us out here trying to wiggle a way to use our files on our beloved Macs like we did with ACDSee on the PC. I agree about Shoebox. Sad. Bridge used to be so unreliable that Cassie wouldn't even use it. If this is working for you, I'll follow. Thanks for any more feedback.

[Chris]

This is wonderful news Tracy - I'm glad to see ACDSee is working for us mac users! Like Patricia said, please keep us posted!

[jazzmatazz]

Tracy, great minds think alike ... especially when they share the same GREAT name! ;-) Margaritas would be my celebratory drink of choice as well!! Actually, it's kind of eerie how similar we are -- same name; same preferred "poison"; same time frame for switching to Mac; the same dilemma in organizing digi supplies; Canon camera users; PS CS3 users; SAHMs; perfect children (well, almost) and married to military husbands. (OK, mine is retired and was in the Navy, but close enough.) It's like I'm in "The Twilight Zone"!

What has this to do with organization? Nothing, but I just thought the similarities were uncanny!

Back on point, I'll be fascinated to hear more about your success with Bridge as well. That is one program I haven't really used often, but hoping to learn more about. Please keep in touch.

Your doppelganger in Texas

[AllynD]

I just use iPhoto. It tags .png files fine. The only drawback is that I have to look at .png files in edit mode to see them on a white background. Not a big deal, since each file is a separate "event" and includes the preview .jpg. It works like a charm for me.

[scrapgrrrrl]

Lynn,
does iphoto get slow, though, after a certain number of items?

[Jeryn]

I use iPhoto as well. I use the "credit" (I have no clue what they're actually called) as the key photo so I can easily flip through the kits. Since iPhoto won't allow you to create multiple libraries I downloaded this free SW called, iPhoto library manager (google it) so the files are separate from my pictures.

When I want to use certain elements I just copy from iPhoto and paste to the desktop. This is also an easy way to keep track of the elements you're using on a LO.

Like many of you, I struggled for a long time keeping track of everything. Since I have a lot of digi elements and everything was broken up into categories in folders on my hard drive it has taken weeks to piece back all the kits. Next I have to tag them, but have decided to do this when I use the elements. It's really a great system and like I said, you can easily view the kits much better.

Oh, and to comment on Lynn's comment: You only have to view the files in edit mode when the files themselves are completely black, because of the black background.

[Elena]

I'm just going to wait a couple of years for the rest of you pioneers to blaze the path in figuring out the best way for Mac users to keep track of digi supplies (or for ACDSee to get their act together) before I even think about switching from my PC/ACDSee!

[AllynD]

Hi!

iPhoto DOES allow multiple libraries! You must hold down "opt" as you open it, and iPhoto asks you if you want to choose or create a new library! I have separate libraries for my scrap supplies, old family scanned photos, and current digital photos.

ALSO-- MOST IMPORTANT-- iPhoto Preferences allows you to create a library WITHOUT COPYING PHOTOS. That means you can leave your scrap stuff where it is, keep your iPhoto library relatively small, and yet access thousands of items with iPhoto. In Preferences>Advanced, uncheck "copy items to the iPhoto library." My iPhoto Scrapbooking library has almost 6,500 items (I'm an addict), but it is only 400 MB or so and I have experienced no slowdown in performance.

I don't see any reason to purchase any additional software since iPhoto does the job.

[iUma]

Ya know, Lynn, I remember you talking about his a while back in another thread. It was when I was trying to make Shoebox work. I am currently watching iPhoto scan my (deleted number fearing diagnosis! LOL) items into my new DigiArt iPhoto Library. It is pretty sobering to see how much stuff is there yet to see each item as it is scanned is a delight of riches. Of course it is not copying my files - just making a preview. I learned that in the Shoebox course. But because of you, my dear, I may have a new lease on scrapping and art making. I hope tagging and sorting and using this darling thing is as fun as creating the library. Thank you for sticking with us on this. You know, when the student is ready...the teacher will come. Ok, so you have been here saying this a while now...I'm here now too!! Thank you so much.

Re: Picasa for Mac...I've had quite a bit of trouble with it. It's still in Beta and I'm gonna wait to really work with it until later. I can't get it to import folders from my EHD.

[AllynD]

Patricia,

There are also ways of tagging multiple items at one time. Cmd+k is your friend.

Best,

Lynn

[Jeryn]

Allyn, you are a genius! During my internet search for multiple iPhoto libraries the only real option was the SW I mentioned earlier.

Edited to add: So I also didn't know that you could import without copying. Do you happen to know how to "revert" what I've imported and copied already?

[geekscrapper]

Find your Iphoto Library. Control click on it and choose "show package contents" - then you can drag and drop the folders out of there.

[AllynD]

Jeryn,

It depends on where you have your files. Did you erase the original files after you imported/copied? If not, just delete* and rebuild your library without copying. Otherwise, I might consider exporting them and then rebuilding the library without copying.

Q: Why would you want to do that? A: 1.) I like to keep my scrapbooking stuff outside of iPhoto, because sometimes I like to access things directly (when I know exactly what I want) and I can also easily back up things, etc. One nice thing about iPhoto is that it keeps track of where you have moved your files, so even if you move a folder iPhoto can still access the item**-- brilliant! 2.) I also keep the originals outside of iPhoto just in case of a major meltdown or some unforeseen software catastrophe.

I keep all my scrapbooking stuff in a folder called "01 Digital Scrapbooking" in my "Pictures" folder. My multiple iPhoto libraries are also in the "Pictures" folder. Within my "01 Digital Scrapbooking" folder I have all the individual folders for items that I have downloaded, either as a freebie or purchased. When you dl stuff from DD, for example, it always comes in a folder with the designer's name and product name or ID. That makes it easy, because when I import, iPhoto treats each folder as a separate event and names the event with the folder name. That makes it easy to sort events different ways, such as alpha by designer, or by date, or even manually.

One warning: don't mess with the iPhoto library file. iPhoto doesn't like that. iPhoto also really likes your files to be on the same disk as the iPhoto library, although I have experimented with that too (but that is for another discussion).

*The safe way to delete would be to RENAME the iPhoto library first, rebuild, and then delete the renamed library. Just in case of catastrophe...

**Generally, I periodically import (without copying) downloaded files from my "downloads" folder, and THEN move the files to my "01 Digital Scrapbooking" folder. That makes it easy for me to keep track of which scrapbooking downloads I have imported or not. I seem to accumulate a lot of scrapbooking freebies from various sources, and I only import everything to iPhoto once every couple of weeks (I'm lazy). iPhoto handles this fine.

This message is pretty long, but one more thing: cmd+k brings up your keywords list, and you can select multiple items, click on the keyword, and iPhoto tags all selected items with that keyword. This has been a great timesaver for me.

Good luck,

Lynn

[AllynD]

To sum up, I basically use my iPhoto Scrapbooking Library as a visual index to all my digital scrapbooking supplies.

Importing without copying keeps my iPhoto library small enough that there are no performance slowdowns.

From within iPhoto, I can select a file (for example, a paper or element) and simply drag it from iPhoto directly to the PSE6 icon on my dock, and PSE6 opens the file. I love this.

[Chris]

Thanks Lynn for the useful information - I'm going to copy your post so I can refer to it. I really like iPhoto, but being fairly new to it, there's so much to absorb! I just bought "The Missing Manual" for iPhoto, in hopes it would keep me on the right track. I already read about how disasters occur if you mess around with the library file, so I've been good and left that alone. I also read recently not to drag photos into iPhoto - not sure why though!

[AllynD]

Apologies to Tracy for hijacking this thread... I may write up something about using iPhoto and post it over the weekend in a Mac thread.

P.S. I don't know about dragging into iPhoto, but dragging out of iPhoto has worked fine for me.

[Chris]

Originally Posted by AllynD

Apologies to Tracy for hijacking this thread... I may write up something about using iPhoto and post it over the weekend in a Mac thread.

P.S. I don't know about dragging into iPhoto, but dragging out of iPhoto has worked fine for me.

If you could, that would be wonderful! I bet other's would love to learn more too. I've been meaning to do a search about the the dragging thing - I think I read it somewhere on the mac boards.

[Chris]

I did check about the dragging into iPhoto, and on the Apple support pages, the iPhoto tutorial says you can drag folders etc. into the program. Since I've been doing that all along I can now relax and not worry about my computer blowing up any minute!

[tracydigigirl]

Originally Posted by AllynD

Apologies to Tracy for hijacking this thread...

No Sweat! It's all relevant. I'm glad that this issue is getting some discussion as it's something that touches all of us.

The important thing to remember is that the method of organizing is directly related to your own personality and scrapping methods. As we're all different in these areas, it stands to reason that our preferred method of organizing would be different, as well.

To update on my progress, my tagging is going very well in Bridge. I'm so thrilled that this is (theoretically) the last time I'll have to do this. I've done it three times...first in PSE Organizer, second in Shoebox, and third in Bridge. Writing the tag to the actual file is something that fills me with unmeasurable joy! I have over 20,000 files in my scrapbooking folder! (I keep everything for forever, isn't that dumb?) I love the freedom of using different software later if I want to and I also love that i can move all of my stuff to an EHD if I want to without losing the tag information. I am a pretty neurotic file organizer and needs change over time so I enjoy the freedom of reorganizing my folders at will, again, without losing the tags.

By the way, I learned elsewhere that you can create your keywords in a text document first and import them into Bridge. Super cool & super easy! If anyone is interested in how, just post here. It's a thousand times easier than adding them one at a time!

Joy, joy, joy. It's the little things in life, isn't it?

[tracydigigirl]

Originally Posted by jazzmatazz

Tracy, great minds think alike ... especially when they share the same GREAT name! ;-) Margaritas would be my celebratory drink of choice as well!! Actually, it's kind of eerie how similar we are -- same name; same preferred "poison"; same time frame for switching to Mac; the same dilemma in organizing digi supplies; Canon camera users; PS CS3 users; SAHMs; perfect children (well, almost) and married to military husbands. (OK, mine is retired and was in the Navy, but close enough.) It's like I'm in "The Twilight Zone"!

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

[sandy]

I've used Bridge for a while now to sort my stuff on a Mac and it's worked great for me (other than some earlier instability issues- but it's been working much better lately). But I have not figured out 'tagging' or 'key words' yet. Is it easy to give a brief explanation of how you did this, or can you direct me to a source that I can read a tutorial on it? This has been a great discussion- thanks for getting it rolling!

[iUma]

Yes Tracy. Please do tell about tagging in Bridge. iPhoto is ok but all the file structure is lost when you import. So....still looking.

[geekscrapper]

Yes, please tell me about tagging in Bridge! I just realized I had it on my computer. I'd like a clue how to proceed before I screw stuff up. I'm computer-savvy but then new software throws me for a loop.

[mommydawn]

I'm interested too....if you could also comment on CS3 vs CS4? I have CS3 on my pc but CS4 on my mac.

[droseball]

I am using Shoebox right now. I have not had any problems but someone please tell me what problems I might come across and why no one is using it? I never had a PC so I can't get excited about the ACDsee software since I've never used it. Thanks!

[tracydigigirl]

***WARNING***
While I’ll try to be succinct, this post is bound to be lengthy. I apologize in advance! ☺

Okay, I’m an über-organized “touch it once” kind of gal so organization has been a huge issue for me. I also have a horrible memory so remembering what I have and where to find it is a pipe dream.

I start with file structure and the download process. I don’t separate anything from the folder the designer created and I’m sure to add the designer’s name to the folder title, if it’s missing. Before moving new stuff from my ‘Downloads’ folder, I keyword tag each file. Since Bridge is writing to the file, it doesn’t matter how or where I move it after that. I like that! I then place all of ‘Katie’s’ work in a folder named (duh) ‘KatiePertiet’ which is a subfolder of my ‘DigitalScrapbooking’ folder. Why do I use this system? Sometimes I only want to look at Katie’s work or I’m looking for a specific paper that I know Katie made. File names rarely cover the bases for a search like this so it’s quicker to use the file structure. It also makes the download process quick and easy which is vital for keeping up to date! Bridge supports all of this since it doesn’t import anything nor does it interfere with your folder hierarchy.

Okay, using Bridge. I’ll start with Keywords. This is awesome! Open MS Word (or whatever you use) and type the keywords that make sense to you. CS3 supports keyword hierarchy so here’s an example…

Fasteners
Frames
[tab]Corners
[tab]Frame Clusters
Paper
Ribbons
WordArt

[tab] = an actual tab, not the brackets and letters! In this case, Corners & Frame Clusters are subfolders to Frames.

Save your file as .txt. Then from Bridge, open the Keywords palette. (On the default workspace, it’s in the lower right section hiding behind the Metadata tag. Once in the Keywords palette, right-click the down arrow on the right side of the bar. Scroll down and select ‘Import’ or ‘Clear and Import’ based on whether you want to retain the keywords you already have. Select the .txt file you just saved and Voilá! You have keywords!

From here, simply work your way through your file structure and as you find paper, for example, just click the little box to the immediate left of the keyword ‘Paper’ to apply the keyword to the file. Multiple keywords can be applied if, for example, your paper is a Christmas themed item. What keywords you choose to use will be directly related to the way you think and scrap so consider it an ongoing process.

It’s worth noting that when I tag a PNG file, about 30% of the time I’ll get an error message saying that I can’t write to that file type. However, it’s a false message as the information was, indeed, written. To verify, you can check the metadata palette or glance to the top of the keywords palette where it displays, “Assigned keywords: …”

Now the beauty of this system is that I’m not married to Bridge if something better comes along. All of these keywords are written to the file itself rather than a catalog file or a sidecar file. If ACDSee for Mac turns out to be fabulous, then I can move over without having to redo tagging on 20k+ files.

Okay, for using the keywords to search in Bridge, that’s gonna make this long post unbearably long. The quickest to explain, but NOT the quickest method, is to choose ‘Find’ from the ‘Edit’ menu. Be sure to select the appropriate folder to conduct the search and enter search data below.

If you go to the Help menu and select ‘Bridge Help,’ you’ll find a rather impressive collection of help files. Also, at the bottom of each of the pages is a hyperlink to videos in the Adobe Video Workshop. You’ll learn a mint if you spend a little time here. Once I stumbled on this collection of videos, I bookmarked the Workshop and visit it often.

As for the question on the difference between Bridge versions, CS2 cannot write to PNG files nor does it support hierarchy keywords (meaning subcategories). CS3 supports both, and presumably so does CS4.

HTH! Back to tagging…….

[geekscrapper]

thanks so much!

[Sierra25]

I appreciate this discussion. I have a question concerning Bridge. I have MacBook and an iMac. I put all of my supplies on a EHD. I do most of my scrapping on my iMac. If I tag everything in Bridge can I use Bridge and my keywords on both computers?

Thanks for the info.

Oh, I have CS4

[tracydigigirl]

Originally Posted by Sierra25

If I tag everything in Bridge can I use Bridge and my keywords on both computers?

Yes, of course. That's the beauty of it. The tags are imbedded into the file's metadata. It doesn't matter what you use to manage your files. The metadata is always there.

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