organizing digital supplies and photos

[villalonga]

I'm just wondering what everyone else does with regard to organizing all their stuff on the computer. I'm relatively new to mac and only been scrapping since last year. When I import my photos they go into iPhoto (which I haven't entirely got to grips with and tend to get into a bit of a mess!). At the moment any digi supplies I have go into a folder on my desktop and then when I'm in PSE6 looking for something I use Bridge. I'm sure I could make things easier for myself and be more organized than I am. I've read that Shoebox is good for macs - does anyone use this? I'd be glad of any advice and comments.
Thanks

[SharLamb]

I use a PC, but I'm pretty sure my method works for Macs too: I bought Patty Debowski's book, "Digital & Hybrid Scrapbooking & Card-Making with Photoshop Elements"--the "upgraded" version with the Organizing System. The book and the System, Linda's tuts and being a Premier member, are the best money I've spent on this hobby. I can't describe the whole thing to you (it would take a book!!!) but it is worth following up on. I'm not sure if I can mention the link, so I won't, but Patty is a member of this forum and pops in from time to time.
Shar

[villalonga]

Thanks for the info Shar, I'll look into it.

[Mary Newman]

I'm just wondering what everyone else does with regard to organizing all their stuff on the computer. I'm relatively new to mac and only been scrapping since last year. When I import my photos they go into iPhoto (which I haven't entirely got to grips with and tend to get into a bit of a mess!). At the moment any digi supplies I have go into a folder on my desktop and then when I'm in PSE6 looking for something I use Bridge. I'm sure I could make things easier for myself and be more organized than I am. I've read that Shoebox is good for macs - does anyone use this? I'd be glad of any advice and comments.
Thanks[/QUOTE]

I purchased a book at my Mac store called iPhoto 08. It explains iPhoto very well as well as other applications. I have put all my supplies and pictures into iPhoto and I have taken the long and tedious task of tagging them. I can now just put in the key word and it brings up what I am looking for. For example - I start with the paper and then break it down further. Paper - dots, Paper - stripped, Paper - grunge etc. I also just tag them as - paper. You can give the item more than one tag. I always give it a major category and then break it down further. Word Art... Word Art - wedding, Word Art - school etc.

I followed the instruction in the book and learned how to open an item in Photoshop. I open the picture or supply in iPhoto and then right click and "open in external...." I can't remember exactly what it says. Then it opens in Photoshop and I use it from there. Work like a charm.

If I save a file in Photoshop, I open my finder window and locate it. I duplicate it and drag the duplicate over to my iPhoto and now I have it in both places. I do this with my finished pages and put them in a file. I love to email from iPhoto. It is SO easy. Just click the email icon and follow the commands.

I would highly recommend this book.

Mary

[villalonga]

Thanks for that info Mary. I really need to get to grips with iPhoto. I've got version 6 but there's probably lots of things similar to 8. I must look out for the book next time I'm in an Apple store.

[Kaysmail]

I am on a Mac as well, with LOTS of photos, and this is the second year I've been a premiere member. I generally use the Bridge to access my photos, and if you name the file you're downloading your photos from the camera to, it's easier to find those photos when you look for them. With the premiere papers/elements/alphas, I save them in a folder marked for what month/year I received them. I really need to add a better "clue" or descriptive word for each month because I have so much, but using the Bridge and getting the little thumbnail of each thing sure helps in selecting older downloaded items. I have never used keywords or tags so I'm sure behind in that.

[tlcaudle]

I recently switched to a Mac a few months ago. I find that it is easier to use iphoto when looking for photos, as I generally would organize my photos by events anyway. I changed the preferences in iphoto, so that when I double click on a photo, it will open up in elements automatically.

For my scrapbook supplies, I have them organized into folders. First they are divided into shops and then divided by designer, then kit name. I use BRidge, which came with Elements 6 to add keywords to everything, so it is easier for me to find a certain type of element, or a certain color, theme, etc.

I find it very easy to use and it makes my scrapping time much faster since I don't have to search through every folder.

[ztampfhung]

Hi,
I use iPhoto for photos but I love using Bridge for my digiscrap supplies. You can also tag your files with Bridge, or assign keywords to them to find them easily.

What's more, you can mark the files with Star System. You can use this system to mark your favorite items or to mark items you currently are using in your layout. Very useful to gather info for crediting them later .

With Bridge, you can open multiple files at once too. Just highlight them and double click.

Another nifty feature in Bridge is the ability to Zoom In without opening the file itself. Just explore your Bridge, look into the Tutorial and Help available there to find out more.

If you like the ease of sending your layouts from iPhoto, you can copy just the path to iPhoto so your files won't be copied (double - taking too much storage space). You can do this by setting your Preferences in iPhoto, choose not to copy the file to iPhoto. This way, you can still view your layouts from iPhoto (especially nice to show people ) - while easily working on them through Bridge. When you change the original files (i.e. edited your layouts), iPhoto will automatically update the preview in iPhoto. After adjusting the setting above, you can just drag and drop the files you want to copy the path from to iPhoto.

Hope this help! Good luck .

[armybrat]

I thought that "bridge" only worked with Photo Shop. Does it work with Elements too?

Judy

[JobaScraps]

Yes I was wondering that too. I have bridge on my computer when I got it & thought dell made a mistake putting it on there since I onlly have elements.