Add photos to any Lightroom Collection quickly
21/05/12 18:20 Filed in: Lightroom
Lightroom’s most useful features for gathering images together, is the Quick Collection. But did you know you can make any Collection have the properties of the Quick Collection?
Hitting the 'B' will add your image to Quick Collection, pressing 'B' again removes it. If you’ve used the Quick Collection and want to use it for a new set of images, you then you need to remove the current images. This temporary aspect of Lightroom means that you have to save the Quick Collection contents to another Collection to make it more permanent. Rather than go through this process, you could simply use a Target Collection. By default the Quick Collection is the chosen Target Collection.
Below screen grab demonstrates this because of the ‘+’ after Quick Collection.
I have a Collection of best photos of my dog by year. To have images go here rather than the Quick Collection, right click on the Collection name & choose 'Set as Target Collection'.
We can see this is now the Target Collection, because the name has the ‘+’ after it.
Now using the ‘B’ Key sends images to this collection. To revert to using Quick Collection, right click on ‘Quick Collection’ in Catalog panel & choose ‘Set as Target Collection’.
Would you like more help with Adobe's Lightroom on the Isle of Wight? Please get in touch
Hitting the 'B' will add your image to Quick Collection, pressing 'B' again removes it. If you’ve used the Quick Collection and want to use it for a new set of images, you then you need to remove the current images. This temporary aspect of Lightroom means that you have to save the Quick Collection contents to another Collection to make it more permanent. Rather than go through this process, you could simply use a Target Collection. By default the Quick Collection is the chosen Target Collection.
Below screen grab demonstrates this because of the ‘+’ after Quick Collection.
I have a Collection of best photos of my dog by year. To have images go here rather than the Quick Collection, right click on the Collection name & choose 'Set as Target Collection'.
We can see this is now the Target Collection, because the name has the ‘+’ after it.
Now using the ‘B’ Key sends images to this collection. To revert to using Quick Collection, right click on ‘Quick Collection’ in Catalog panel & choose ‘Set as Target Collection’.
Would you like more help with Adobe's Lightroom on the Isle of Wight? Please get in touch
Some tips on geting Lion to work better
10.7 Lion has lots of additional features but the main thing I miss is not being able to switch applications by using trackpad, however the option still remains using various Spaces for applications and then switch between them, more on this later!
All new option for viewing your files, found under Favourites on Finder sidebar called "All My Files", it shows you every documents/images etc but excludes System files, no matter where they reside on your drive. This could be really useful but by default "All My Files" sorts in icon view, and personally think this is not very user-friendly! What would be better is to quickly show the recently Modified Documents but there is a way to accomplish this:
If you switch to "List View" and then click "Arrange" on Finder bar, now select Date Modified drop down. This will this will display you're recently modified documents! You could also experiment with data created. The best thing this arrangement will be remembered next time when you click on “All My Files" on Favourites.
If you would like help with moving to 10.7 on IOW please get in touch!
All new option for viewing your files, found under Favourites on Finder sidebar called "All My Files", it shows you every documents/images etc but excludes System files, no matter where they reside on your drive. This could be really useful but by default "All My Files" sorts in icon view, and personally think this is not very user-friendly! What would be better is to quickly show the recently Modified Documents but there is a way to accomplish this:
If you switch to "List View" and then click "Arrange" on Finder bar, now select Date Modified drop down. This will this will display you're recently modified documents! You could also experiment with data created. The best thing this arrangement will be remembered next time when you click on “All My Files" on Favourites.
If you would like help with moving to 10.7 on IOW please get in touch!
Options for Unusual Mac Upgrades
03/10/11 17:01 Filed in: Apple
The MacPro is most versatile Mac with huge range of cost efficient upgrades which can be applied, such as fast many terabytes hard drives, SSD ones, memory and even the first generation MacPro 1.1 can be upgraded to latest ATI RadeonHD 5770, which incidentally is the only way to drive the Apple 27" DisplayPort monitor .
MacBookPro's & MacBook's along with memory can be upgraded with bigger hard drives, significantly faster than were supplied originally or even lightning fast SSD's and also it's possible to remove the optical (DVD) drive and place a second hard drive in their (perfect for an internal Time Machine disc perhaps!)
For more help/advice on options for upgrades on the Isle of Wight get in touch
Use AirDrop with ANY Mac on Lion
Lion is really good but a few things you'll need a newish Mac for it to work, one is AirDrop (also both macs on wi-fi too) but fortunately possible to enable to enjoy easy file sharing by doing the steps below.
Open Terminal app and, at the command line, type:
defaults write com.apple.NetworkBrowser BrowseAllInterfaces 1
Press Return, now hold down the Option key as you Control-click (right-click) on Finder icon in the Dock. Select Relaunch from the contextual menu; relaunching the Finder activates the code you entered above. When the Finder finishes its restart, you should see an AirDrop entry in the Finder sidebar that wasn’t there before. (You can reverse the process by using the same command with 0 instead of 1, and relaunching Finder).
Also above hint will allow you Mac's to use AirDrop if one is Ethernet too but they have to be connected on same network! Note works on 10.71 but might not a later versions
If you would like help with 10.7 on IOW please get in touch!
Open Terminal app and, at the command line, type:
defaults write com.apple.NetworkBrowser BrowseAllInterfaces 1
Press Return, now hold down the Option key as you Control-click (right-click) on Finder icon in the Dock. Select Relaunch from the contextual menu; relaunching the Finder activates the code you entered above. When the Finder finishes its restart, you should see an AirDrop entry in the Finder sidebar that wasn’t there before. (You can reverse the process by using the same command with 0 instead of 1, and relaunching Finder).
Also above hint will allow you Mac's to use AirDrop if one is Ethernet too but they have to be connected on same network! Note works on 10.71 but might not a later versions
If you would like help with 10.7 on IOW please get in touch!
Convert to DNG After Import in Lightroom
05/08/11 20:11 Filed in: Lightroom
Some people haven't converted there images into DNG's inside Adobe Lightroom, maybe because they did not bother at import or it did't in the past suit their workflow. Benefits of DNG's have been well documented on other sites - I would 100% recommend anyone convert RAW files into DNG today! Easy guide below will show you how, screen-shoots from Lightroom 3.2
1. Select RAW (or selection) file(s) inside Lightroom Library grid.
2. Library menu > "Convert Photo to DNG"
3. Have the settings on Box that comes up ticked and selected as below then hit OK
4. Now after a short time you'll be left with a new DNG file in Library (also in Finder) and the old RAW will be Trash. Note all your edits/order/ratings etc will be preserved and RAW photo file will now end with the .DNG extension instead of NEF or CRW (for Nikon's & Cannon's).
Would you like more help with RAW workflow or Lightroom on the Isle of Wight please get in touch
1. Select RAW (or selection) file(s) inside Lightroom Library grid.
2. Library menu > "Convert Photo to DNG"
3. Have the settings on Box that comes up ticked and selected as below then hit OK
4. Now after a short time you'll be left with a new DNG file in Library (also in Finder) and the old RAW will be Trash. Note all your edits/order/ratings etc will be preserved and RAW photo file will now end with the .DNG extension instead of NEF or CRW (for Nikon's & Cannon's).
Would you like more help with RAW workflow or Lightroom on the Isle of Wight please get in touch
Geting set for Mac OS X 10.7 Lion
As we all wait for the release of 10.7 Lion one of key points is to ensure that all your programs and hardware will work with new OS before you install the OS!
Check this site out for a list app, key points are PowerPC app and many 3rd party system extensions won't, check for updates. As always some printers will cause issues and most scanners can be made to work with VueScan if they no longer working under 10.7, also turn off FileVault beforehand. Lastly do ensure your Mac is good health before you go ahead with 10.7. If you would like help get in touch
Smart Folder for Unread only in Outlook 2011
03/02/11 22:07 Filed in: Microsoft Office
Microsoft's new email program for Mac - Outlook is a fantastic program, lot better than Mail and remarkable more nimble/refined than Entourage was. But one of late downs it's not quite as easy to differentiate between read/unread mails, owing to lighter colour scheme, especially if you use conversation view. Below I found helps:
In the upper-right corner of the Outlook Mail window, click in the search box
The Search tab appears.
Define the scope of the search by clicking on Folder on the Search tab.
On the Search tab, click Advanced, then select Read Status - Is – Unread. On the Search tab click Save. Red arrows potting to ware to click.
Now the Smart Folder appears in the navigation pane on left, Name this folder "Unread only".
By clicking on this Smart Folder you will only presented unread mail from all your inboxes.
In the upper-right corner of the Outlook Mail window, click in the search box
The Search tab appears.
Define the scope of the search by clicking on Folder on the Search tab.
On the Search tab, click Advanced, then select Read Status - Is – Unread. On the Search tab click Save. Red arrows potting to ware to click.
Now the Smart Folder appears in the navigation pane on left, Name this folder "Unread only".
By clicking on this Smart Folder you will only presented unread mail from all your inboxes.
Safari Slow? Add Google DNS
Safari 5+ uses DNS prefetching browsing but sometimes this can lead to errors like webpage "cannot be found" for well know sites, partially loaded pages and slow downs. The easy way to solve is use main DNS's address of your ISP (for Plusnet it's 212.159.13.49) and Google DNS service of 8.8.8.8 . That way if you ISP's one fails to report back, Safari starts using Google's service instantly.
Ideally you should enter ISP's & Google's 8.8.8.8 DNS's into your router. For Netgear ADSL's ones > log-on > Basic Settings > Use These DNS Servers > "enter ISP DNS and 8.8.8.8" > Apply . But if you don't feel comfortable doing this you can do the same for each Mac on your network by:
1. Choose Apple menu > System Preferences, and then click Network.
2. Select the network connection service you want to use (such as AirPort or Ethernet, unless you named it something else) from the list, and then click Advanced.
3. Click DNS, and then click Add (+) at the bottom of the DNS Servers list. Enter the IPv4 or IPv6 address for your ISP and Google's 8.8.8.8
4. When you’re finished, click OK.
For more help/advice on Apple Mac internet issues on the Isle of Wight get in touch
Ideally you should enter ISP's & Google's 8.8.8.8 DNS's into your router. For Netgear ADSL's ones > log-on > Basic Settings > Use These DNS Servers > "enter ISP DNS and 8.8.8.8" > Apply . But if you don't feel comfortable doing this you can do the same for each Mac on your network by:
1. Choose Apple menu > System Preferences, and then click Network.
2. Select the network connection service you want to use (such as AirPort or Ethernet, unless you named it something else) from the list, and then click Advanced.
3. Click DNS, and then click Add (+) at the bottom of the DNS Servers list. Enter the IPv4 or IPv6 address for your ISP and Google's 8.8.8.8
4. When you’re finished, click OK.
For more help/advice on Apple Mac internet issues on the Isle of Wight get in touch
Lightrom Automatically Saving DNG Changes
Follow up to my last post about using DNG's. One setting inside Lightroom 2/3 that Adobe leave off is "Automatically Write Changes into XMP", enabling this setting will make the DNG's self contained saving all your edits embed in the .DNG file itself. I wholly recommend doing this for all LR users that use DNG as their RAW format. It's much safer in case LR database ever gets corrupted, Adobe Bridge and Photoshop can read edited DNG's directly plus it's neater inside the Finder.
1. Lightroom > Catalog Settings.... > Click on Metadata tab.
2. Now tick the item "Automatically Write Changes into XMP".
3. Close this dialog to save the setting change.
Note Lightroom may appear a little slow for about 5-30 minutes after selecting this setting while embedding XMP's (your edits) inside the DNG's (your photos) but it will return to normal speed soon! You should not enable this setting of you don't use DNG's but you should be using DNG's!
Would you like more help with RAW workflow or Lightroom on the Isle of Wight please get in touch
1. Lightroom > Catalog Settings.... > Click on Metadata tab.
2. Now tick the item "Automatically Write Changes into XMP".
3. Close this dialog to save the setting change.
Note Lightroom may appear a little slow for about 5-30 minutes after selecting this setting while embedding XMP's (your edits) inside the DNG's (your photos) but it will return to normal speed soon! You should not enable this setting of you don't use DNG's but you should be using DNG's!
Would you like more help with RAW workflow or Lightroom on the Isle of Wight please get in touch
Dropping WiFi/Airport?
If you're suffering from dropping WiFi/Airport on your Mac under Mac OS X and you are 100% sure it's not your router, the internet or range issues it may well be the OSX; this tip could help.
One of the favourite fixes in many Mac tech sites is to delete any Airport-related preferences (.plist) files by hand, DO NOT DO THIS! I have found by experiment that removing these could well break Airport in a way you’ll need a re-installation of OS X, unlike other .plist files Airport ones seem linked to your Mac and do not like been Trashed by hand.
Follow the steps below that may overcome this problem - tested from 10.4 to 10.64
One of the favourite fixes in many Mac tech sites is to delete any Airport-related preferences (.plist) files by hand, DO NOT DO THIS! I have found by experiment that removing these could well break Airport in a way you’ll need a re-installation of OS X, unlike other .plist files Airport ones seem linked to your Mac and do not like been Trashed by hand.
Follow the steps below that may overcome this problem - tested from 10.4 to 10.64
- Disable Airport in top right menu bar near or System Preferences > Network
- In System Preferences > Network, click Airport (left), click advanced, remove all the saved entries for wireless networks using the “-” button (bottom of list) and Apply.
- Remove the Airport network connection itself using the “-” button on the bottom of the list of connections (left)
- Open Applications > Utilities > Keychain Access, click All, sort the list by Kind, scroll to locate Airport network passwords and delete all of these.
- Restart the Mac
- Return to System Preferences > Network, re-add the Airport connection, if needed, using the "+" button
- Turn on Airport in top right menu bar and rejoin wireless networks.
Expanding Apple's Mail
Microsoft Entourage and the new Outlook is a better email/contact/calendar/task manager for someone that get's lots of emails or handles different accounts from IMAP to POP than Apple's Mail is. But it's still possible to add some of Microsoft's power touches to Mail by using 3rd party plug-ins, below some of the best which work under 10.6 and free!
Herald
Is a notification popup that gives you live notifications when your away from Mail of new emails, instead of just badge on dock icon you get a pop-up preview of the new email itself.
Letter Box
Gives Mail the option to have a Preview Pane on the Right - e.g. you can 3 views on screen Folders, List of Messages and the Email it self on right, efficient use of the space. Also it allows to show combined From/Subject view much like Microsoft's app's do.
Would you like help with email or mac tips on Isle of Wight get in touch
Herald
Is a notification popup that gives you live notifications when your away from Mail of new emails, instead of just badge on dock icon you get a pop-up preview of the new email itself.
Letter Box
Gives Mail the option to have a Preview Pane on the Right - e.g. you can 3 views on screen Folders, List of Messages and the Email it self on right, efficient use of the space. Also it allows to show combined From/Subject view much like Microsoft's app's do.
Would you like help with email or mac tips on Isle of Wight get in touch
Checking the WiFi/Airport Signal Level
01/10/10 20:30 Filed in: Airport/WiFi | MacOS X
I'm often asked how far the range is going to be on a WiFi/Airport network. The simple answer it’s all environment, house and hardware dependent and also on placement of base station. Anything from 6m all the way up-to 100m+ I've seen. The iPhone/iOS devices are the poorest Apple's in terms of holding onto WiFi, where some of the 17" MacBook Pro's I've found give the best range. Ok how to do you check the signal strength of your WiFi Airport network under MacOS X? Well, the built-in Airport meter at the top right of menu is good but if you want to get more data the excellent and free iStumbler is how!
Screenshot of iStumbler
I can offer more WiFi/Airport advice & how to overcome 'dead zones' - please get in touch
Screenshot of iStumbler
I can offer more WiFi/Airport advice & how to overcome 'dead zones' - please get in touch