Apple Aperture - 2.0 User Manual

Aperture 2

User Manual

Apple Inc.

The owner or authorized user of a valid copy of Aperture software may reproduce this publication for the purpose of learning to use such software. No part of this publication may be reproduced or transmitted for commercial purposes, such as selling copies of this publication or for providing paid for support services.

Every effort has been made to ensure that the information in this manual is accurate. Apple is not responsible for printing or clerical errors. Because Apple frequently releases new versions and updates to its system software, applications, and Internet sites, images shown in this book may be slightly different from what you see on your screen.

The Apple logo is a trademark of Apple Inc., registered in the U.S. and other countries. Use of the “keyboard” Apple logo (Shift-Option-K) for commercial purposes without the prior written consent of Apple may constitute trademark infringement and unfair competition in violation of federal and state laws.

Apple, the Apple logo, Apple Cinema Display, ColorSync, FireWire, iLife, iPhoto, iPod, iTunes, iWork, Mac, Macintosh, Mac OS, Pages, QuickTime, and Safari are trademarks of Apple Inc., registered in the U.S. and other countries.

Aperture, Finder, and iWeb are trademarks of Apple Inc.

MobileMe is a service mark of Apple Inc., registered in the U.S. and other countries

Adobe, Adobe RGB, Photoshop, and PostScript are trademarks or registered trademarks of Adobe Systems Incorporated in the U.S. and/or other countries.

UNIX is a registered trademark of The Open Group.

Other company and product names mentioned herein are trademarks of their respective companies. Mention of third-party products is for informational purposes only and constitutes neither an endorsement nor a recommendation. Apple assumes no responsibility with regard to the performance or use of these products.

Preface 13 Introducing Aperture

What’s Next?

Part I Interface and Acquisition

Chapter 1 17 An Overview of Aperture

A First Look at Aperture

Creating Projects and Importing Your Photos

Photo Editing with Aperture

Image Processing

Distribution

Sharing Images with iLife and iWork Applications

Backing Up Your Work

Chapter 2 43 The Aperture Interface

The Aperture Main Window

Browser

Viewer

Full Screen View

Inspector Pane

Toolbar

Control Bar

Import Pane

Vault Pane

Book Layout Editor

Webpage Editor

Light Table

Heads-Up Displays

Changing Views

Customizing the Toolbar

Customizing Keyboard Shortcuts

Setting Aperture Preferences

Chapter 3 93 Working with Aperture Projects

Basic Components of Aperture

10 0

Working with Projects

101

Creating and Naming Projects

10 3

Opening and Closing Projects

10 4

Creating and Showing Favorite Projects

10 5

Deleting Images from Projects and Albums

10 5

Deleting Items from the Projects Inspector

10 6

Working with Library Files

10 8

Working with the Library in the Projects Inspector

10 8

Quickly Accessing Commands

Chapter 4 109 Importing Images

11 0

An Overview of Importing Images

111

File Formats You Can Import into the Library

111

Planning Your Import Strategy

113

Importing from Your Digital Camera or Card Reader

11 9

Importing Image Files Stored on Your Computer

12 7

Automatically Naming Your Imported Images

13 2

Adding Metadata to Images During Import

13 3

Creating Stacks Automatically During Import

13 4

Adjusting the Image File’s Time When Importing

13 4

Dragging Files from the Finder to the Projects Inspector

13 5

Capturing Images as You Work

13 8

Importing Folders of Images from the Finder

13 9

Importing Your iPhoto Library

141

Browsing and Selecting Images from Your iPhoto Library

14 3

Transferring Projects from Another System

Making an Immediate Backup

14 14 4

Where Aperture Stores Your Managed Files in the Library

14 4

Migrating Images from Previous Versions of Aperture

Part II Photo Editing

Chapter 5 149 Working with Images in the Browser

15 0

An Overview of the Browser

15 3

Navigating Through and Selecting Images

15 5

Working with Images in Filmstrip View

15 6

Working with Images in Grid View

157

Working with Images in List View

15 8

Choosing a Workspace View

160

Navigating Through Images in Quick Preview Mode

Contents

161

Searching for Images in the Browser

162

Rearranging Images in the Browser

163

Sorting Images

163

Rotating Images

165

Creating Versions of an Image

166

Deleting Images from the Browser

168

Dragging Images into Different Projects and Albums

169

Working with Referenced Images

17 6

Working with Two or More Projects Open

17 6

Displaying Specific Metadata with Your Images

Chapter 6 179 Displaying Images in the Viewer

18 0

An Overview of the Viewer

18 2

Showing and Hiding the Viewer

18 2

Changing the Viewer Background

183

Changing the Number of Images in the Viewer

18 4

Comparing Images

185

Viewing Stacks

185

Viewing Images with the Loupe

19 0

Showing Hot and Cold Areas in Your Images

191

Viewing Images at Full Resolution

19 2

Viewing Master Images

19 2

Setting Up the Viewer for Onscreen Proofing

19 3

Viewing Images on Multiple Displays

19 4

Displaying Metadata Associated with Images

19 6

Working with Preview Images

206

Quickly Accessing Commands

Chapter 7 207

Viewing Images in Full Screen View

208

An Overview of Full Screen View

209

Entering and Exiting Full Screen View

209

Working with the Filmstrip in Full Screen View

211

Working with the Toolbar in Full Screen View

214

Using HUDs in Full Screen View

216

Changing the Display of Metadata in Full Screen View

217

Using Keyboard Shortcuts in Full Screen View

218

Quickly Accessing Commands

Chapter 8 219 Stacking Images and Making Picks

219

An Overview of Stacking Images

221

Creating Stacks

225

Working with Stacks

231

Keyboard Shortcuts for Working with Stacks

Contents

Chapter 9 233 Rating Images

234

An Overview of the Aperture Rating System

236

Rating Images

238

Sorting Images by Rating

239

Including Image Rating in Your Workflow

240

Comparing and Rating Images

242

Keyboard Shortcuts for Displaying Images with Specific Ratings

Chapter 10 243 Applying Keywords to Images

244

An Overview of Keywords

246

Viewing Keywords Applied to Images

250

Applying Keywords Using the Keywords HUD

257

Applying Keywords Using Keyword Controls and Keyword Presets

262

Applying Keywords Using the Lift & Stamp HUD

266

Applying Keywords Using the Metadata Inspector

267

Applying Keywords to Images in the Light Table

267

Removing Keywords from an Image

268

Importing and Exporting Keyword Lists

Chapter 11 269 Working with Metadata

270

An Overview of Metadata, Metadata Views, and Metadata Presets

273

Displaying Metadata with Your Images

277

Turning the Display of Metadata On or Off

278

Viewing and Changing Metadata in the Metadata Inspector and Inspector HUD

279

Working with the AutoFill Editor

281

Working with Metadata Views

284

Working with Metadata Presets

288 Batch Changing Metadata 289 More Information About IPTC Metadata 290 Understanding Badge Overlays 293 Adjusting Image Date and Time

er 12 295 Searching for and Displaying Images

Chapt

296 An Overview of Searching 300 Controls in the Query HUD 301 Searching Across the Entire Library 302 Searching by Image Name, Caption, or Other Text 303 Searching by Keyword 305 Searching by Date 307 Searching by Rating 308 Searching by IPTC Information 309 Searching by EXIF Information

Contents

310 Searching by Adjustments

311 Searching by Import Session 312 Searching by File Status 312 Searching by Other Metadata 313 Searching by a Combination of Criteria 315 Saving Your Search Results

Chapter 13 317 Grouping Images with Smart Albums

318 An Overview of Smart Albums

320 Collecting Images in a New Smart Album

321 Searching Within a Smart Album 322 Revising the Contents of a Smart Album 323 Transferring Smart Album Images to Another Project or Album 324 Deleting a Smart Album

Part III Performing Image Adjustments

Chapter 14 327 An Overview of Image Adjustments

328 An Overview of Adjustments in Aperture 332 Using the Adjustment Controls 333 Working with Adjustment Tools in the Viewer 334 Performing Adjustments in Full Screen View 335 Applying Adjustments to a Group of Images 337 Working with Adjustment Presets 342 Remove Adjustments Command 342 Using Modifier Keys to Identify Color Clipping 346 Using the Color Meter 350 Using an External Editor

351 Working with the RAW Fine Tuning Controls 360 Understanding How to Read Histograms

Chapter 15 365 Making Image Adjustments

366 Working with Automatic Adjustments 367 Using the Auto Exposure Button 369 Using the Auto Levels Combined Button 370 Using the Auto Levels Separate Button

371 Setting the Auto Levels Options 372 Resetting Auto Levels Adjustments 372 Working with the Red Eye Correction Controls 373 Reducing Red-Eye Using the Red Eye Tool

374 Adjusting the Size of Red Eye Target Overlays 377 Adjusting the Sensitivity of Red Eye Target Overlays

Contents 7

378 Viewing the Corrected Image Without Red Eye Target Overlays 379 Moving Red Eye Target Overlays 380 Deleting Red Eye Target Overlays

381 Working with the Retouch and Spot & Patch Controls

381 Working with the Retouch Controls 386 Working with the Spot & Patch Controls 398 Working with the Devignette Controls 399 Working with the Straighten Controls 400 Rotating Images with the Straighten Tool 401 Rotating Images with the Straighten Controls 402 Working with the Crop Controls 403 Cropping Images with the Crop Tool 406 Displaying the Cropped Image Without the Crop Overlay 406 Cropping Images with the Crop Controls 408 Working with the White Balance Controls 409 Adjusting White Balance in the Image with the White Balance Eyedropper

410 Adjusting the Color Temperature of the Image with the Temp Controls

411 Adjusting the Tint of the Image with the Tint Controls 412 Working with the Exposure Controls 412 Correcting Exposure in the Image 413 Recovering Highlight Details in the Image 414 Setting the Image’s Blacks 416 Adjusting Brightness in the Image 417 Working with the Enhance Controls 417 Adjusting Contrast in the Image 419 Adjusting Definition in the Image

420 Adjusting Saturation in the Image

421 Adjusting Vibrancy in the Image 422 Setting the Tint of the Black, Gray, and White Values in the Image 429 Working with the Levels Controls 429 Adjusting the Luminance Levels in an Image 432 Showing Quarter-Tone Levels Controls 432 Adjusting the Brightness of an Image with the Brightness Levels Sliders 433 Using Levels for Color Correction 435 Working with the Highlights & Shadows Controls 436 Adjusting Brightness Values in the Highlight Areas of the Image 437 Adjusting Brightness Values in the Shadow Areas of the Image 438 Using the Highlights & Shadows Advanced Settings 445 Working with the Color Controls 447 Adjusting the Color of the Image with the Color Controls

451 Adjusting Custom Colors Using the Color Eyedropper 452 Working with the Monochrome Mixer Controls 452 Choosing a Monochrome Mixer Preset

8 Contents

454 Using the Monochrome Mixer Controls 455 Working with the Color Monochrome Controls 456 Working with the Sepia Tone Controls 457 Working with the Noise Reduction Controls 458 Working with the Sharpen and Edge Sharpen Controls 459 Working with the Edge Sharpen Controls 462 Understanding the Edge Sharpen Workflow 462 Working with the Sharpen Controls 463 Working with the Vignette Controls 464 Applying an Exposure Vignette 465 Applying a Gamma Vignette 467 Switching Vignette Types

Part IV Distribution and Backup

Chapter 16 471 Printing Your Images

472 An Overview of Printing 474 Controls in the Print Dialog 477 Printing a Single Image 477 Printing a Series of Images 478 Printing a Contact Sheet or Series of Contact Sheets 479 Printing a Book 480 Printing a Light Table Arrangement 480 Creating and Modifying Print Presets 482 Proofing Your Images Onscreen 483 Calibrating Your Printer 484 Turning Off Color Management in Your Printer

Chapter 17 487 Exporting Your Images

487 An Overview of Exporting Images 489 Exporting Copies of Masters 492 Exporting Image Versions 505 Working with Export Presets

Chapter 18 509 Creating Slideshow Presentations

510 An Overview of Slideshows 512 Creating a Slideshow 513 Controlling a Slideshow 513 Arranging the Order of a Slideshow’s Images 514 Controls in the Slideshow Presets Dialog 516 Creating Slideshow Presets 517 Modifying Slideshow Presets

Contents 9

518 Creating a Growing Grid of Images 519 Playing Your Slideshow on Your Main Display Only

520 Displaying Your Images to Music

Chapter 19 523 Using the Light Table

524 An Overview of the Light Table 525 Creating a Light Table Album 526 Placing and Viewing Images in the Light Table 527 Moving and Resizing Images in the Light Table 528 Aligning and Arranging Images in the Light Table

531 Adjusting the Light Table View 532 Setting View Options for the Light Table 532 Transferring Images from the Light Table 533 Printing a Light Table Arrangement 534 Deleting a Light Table Album

Chapter 20 535 Creating Webpages

536 An Overview of Creating Webpages 538 Creating Webpages 542 Creating Web Journals 544 Viewing and Navigating Through Webpages 545 Choosing and Modifying Themes 548 Working with Webpages 549 Working with Web Journal Pages

551 Exporting Webpages 555 Working with Web Export Presets 560 Publishing Images to Web Galleries

Chapter 21 567 Creating Books

568 An Overview of Creating Books 573 Planning Your Book

575 Creating a Book Album 576 Controls in the Book Layout Editor 579 Choosing a Theme 580 Viewing Pages 582 Placing Images in a Book 584 Adding and Removing Pages 589 Working with Pages 593 Working with Images 598 Working with Text 603 Working with the Layout Options Inspector 604 Working with Master Pages 607 Working with Custom Themes

10 Contents

608 Copying a Book Album 609 Printing Books

Chapter 22 611 Backing Up Your Images

612 An Overview of the Backup Workflow 613 Planning Your Backup System 614 Working with the Vault Pane 616 Creating Vaults 617 Updating Vaults 618 Disconnecting a Vault’s Hard Drive from Your System Temporarily 618 Reconnecting a Vault’s Hard Drive to your System 619 Deleting a Vault Permanently 619 Backing Up Images from a Portable in the Field

621 Restoring Your Aperture System

Part V Appendixes and Glossary

Appendix A 625 Setting Up an Aperture System

626 Setting Up a Basic System 627 Optional Equipment to Consider 629 Setting Up Your System with Two Displays

631 Configuring Mac OS X for Multiple Displays

Appendix B 635 Calibrating Your Aperture System

635 An Overview of Color Management 639 Calibrating Your Camera 640 Calibrating and Profiling Your Display 642 Calibrating and Profiling Your Printer

Glossary 643

Index 671

Contents 11

Introducing Aperture

Aperture is a powerful and easy-to-use digital image management system that can track thousands of digital images and provides the advanced photographer with high-quality image management and adjustment tools.

Designed for the needs of professional photographers, Aperture is an all-in-one post-production tool that provides:

Â An advanced RAW workflow: From capture to output, you can work with your images

captured as RAW files, without having to first convert them to another format before viewing, adjusting, organizing, or printing them. Aperture supports RAW formats from leading digital camera manufacturers (including Canon and Nikon).

Â Flexible image management: An open library structure lets you store photos

anywhere you want. You can have Aperture either store image files in the library or simply link to image files in their current locations. You can also have Aperture link to your iPhoto Library without copying the images into the Aperture library. Aperture can work with photos stored on any number of hard disk drives and other storage media. You can catalog and search for images that are stored on multiple hard disks, including offline volumes, CDs, and DVDs.

Â Professional project management: Aperture allows you to manage thousands of

projects and provides flexible organizational tools, comprehensive metadata support, and powerful search tools that let you find files instantly.

Â Nondestructive image processing: Designed to protect your images from the moment

they’re imported, Aperture identifies your original images as digital “masters” and has built-in safeguards to help ensure that you don’t accidentally overwrite or modify them.

Â Versatile printing and publishing: Working directly with your RAW images, you can

create color-accurate prints, custom contact sheets, stunning websites, and unique bound books with tools that are intuitive and powerful.

Preface

With Aperture you can efficiently import digital images, perform a photo edit, adjust and retouch images, publish images for the web or print, and back up your entire image library for safekeeping. Aperture lets you work with high-quality JPEG, TIFF, and RAW image files directly from your camera or card reader and maintain that high quality throughout your workflow.

What’s Next?

This manual is only one of several types of documentation you can use as you work with Aperture.

Â For instructions for installing Aperture software, see Installing Your Software.

Â For a hands-on introduction to the basics of Aperture, see Exploring Aperture. You can

try out Aperture features as you work with the sample images to quickly get acquainted with the Aperture digital photography workflow.

Â For an overview of Aperture, an introduction to the Aperture interface, and

detailed instructions for using the many features and tools in Aperture, continue reading this manual.

Â For a list of the keyboard shortcuts you can use to perform tasks in Aperture, see

Aperture Keyboard Shortcuts.

Â For the most recent technical and release information about Aperture, choose

Late-Breaking News from the Aperture Help menu.

Â For information about new features in Aperture, choose New Features from the

Aperture Help menu.

Â For the latest articles about technical issues and solutions, go to the Aperture

Support website, available from the Aperture Help menu.

14 Preface Introducing Aperture

Part I: Interface and Acquisition

This section provides introductory information about the application and its interface. It also explains how to set up your image management system and import images into it.

Chapter 1 An Overview of Aperture

Chapter 2 The Aperture Interface

Chapter 3 Working with Aperture Projects

Chapter 4 Importing Images

1 An Overview of Aperture

Aperture is designed to be the center of your digital photography workflow, from capturing new images to the final delivery of professional-quality photographs.

This chapter provides an overview of how Aperture works and what you can do with it. If you’re new to Aperture, this chapter is for you. If you’re familiar with the Aperture features and interface, feel free to skip this chapter. The chapter doesn’t provide all the detailed information and instructions needed to perform work on your images. Once you’re familiar with Aperture, you’ll find in-depth explanations and instructions in later chapters.

This chapter covers:

Â A First Look at Aperture (p. 18)

Â Creating Projects and Importing Your Photos (p. 19)

Â Photo Editing with Aperture (p. 23)

Â Image Processing (p. 34)

Â Distribution (p. 35)

Â Sharing Images with iLife and iWork Applications (p. 40)

Â Backing Up Your Work (p. 41)

A First Look at Aperture

When you first open Aperture, you see the following areas:

Click here to open the Import pane and Import dialog.

Click these tabs to open

the Projects inspector,

Metadata inspector, or

Adjustments inspector.

Your projects appear here

in the Projects inspector.

Toolbar

Viewer

Browser

Click here to open the Vault pane. You select a hard disk to use for backing up images here.

Note: Because you can customize the toolbar, adding and deleting the buttons you want, your toolbar may appear different from the one pictured in this manual. For more information about changing the toolbar, see “Customizing the Toolbar” on page 78.

18 Part I Interface and Acquisition

Aperture imports the

images into a project.

Click the project to

see its images in

the Browser.

After you import images into a project, your screen will look similar to this:

Your project’s image thumbnails

About Aperture Sample Projects

The Aperture installation disc includes several sample projects containing high-resolution images. When you first open Aperture, a dialog appears asking if you’d like to install sample projects. You can import the sample projects into Aperture from the Aperture installation disc at any time after installing the application.

Creating Projects and Importing Your Photos

To use Aperture, you first import your photos. You can import digital photos directly from your camera or a card reader and from hard disks or other storage devices where you’ve archived digital files. After a shoot, you can connect your card reader or digital camera to your computer and Aperture automatically detects it. You can then easily import your new images into Aperture.

Chapter 1 An Overview of Aperture 19

Creating Projects

As you work with Aperture, you create projects to hold your images. A project is similar to a folder that can hold dozens, hundreds, or even thousands of images. For example, after completing a soccer sports shoot, you might create a new project named World Cup Soccer and import the photos into it.

Your new project appears in a list in the Projects inspector.

Project

Folders

Projects

As your portfolio increases and you create more and more projects, you can organize your work into hierarchies of folders, projects, and albums.

You can create as many projects as you need and name them according to any naming scheme you prefer. It’s important to name projects so that they will be easy to identify and access. When you need to further subdivide and organize images in a project, you can create albums.

Over the long term you may be using Aperture to track years of projects, so you’ll want to develop a naming system that is easy to use and understand. For more information about organizing your images in projects and albums, see Chapter 3, “Working with

Aperture Projects,” on page 93.

20 Part I Interface and Acquisition

Importing Images

When you connect a camera or card reader to your computer, the Import dialog appears. You can select your camera or card reader and see the images you’re about to import. You can select all the images or select and import only those you want. You can also select image files on your hard disk for importing.

Select your camera, card

reader, or hard disk here.

Specify a project to

import your images into.

Specify import options here.

When you click this button your images are imported into the selected project or a new project.

You can then specify options for importing your images. For example, you can specify that your images be imported into the Aperture library in your Pictures folder, or you can specify another location to store them. If you have images already stored on a hard disk, you can simply allow Aperture to access them without changing their current location. You can choose how images are named and include other information that is recorded with each image to help identify it. For example, you can specify the event name, date, time, photographer, and location, as well as copyright information.

You can also specify other import options, such as whether you want Aperture to group related images together in stacks. For example, if you have bracketed images or images shot in quick succession, you can have Aperture import and stack these images together to make reviewing and working with them easier.

Chapter 1 An Overview of Aperture 21

Importing Files from Your Body of Work

You can easily import your collection of archived digital images into Aperture from any hard disk or storage device connected to your computer. When importing legacy images from your portfolio, you can move them into the main Aperture library, or you can simply identify where the images are located, and Aperture adds them to its management system without changing the image locations. This means that with Aperture, you can still work with your images in their current organization and on multiple hard disks without relocating or reorganizing your files. You can also move or copy images to new locations when needed.

Aperture can also import your iPhoto library and files stored in a variety of common file types and formats, including:

Â GIF

Â DNG

Â JPEG

Â JPEG2000

Â PNG

Â PSD

Â RAW files from a variety of supported digital cameras

Â TIFF

Note: For a list of supported digital cameras, go to http://www.apple.com/aperture.

For more information about importing images, see Chapter 4, “Importing Images,” on page 109.

22 Part I Interface and Acquisition

Photo Editing with Aperture

Aperture allows you to easily view and work with your images onscreen. It provides easy-to-use tools and controls, as well as efficient methods for rating images, searching for images, and comparing and adjusting images.

Viewing and Working with Images

To work with your images, you select a project in the Projects inspector and Aperture displays that project’s images in the Browser. You use the Browser to review, organize, and select images. You can display the Browser only or display the Browser and a Viewer that shows images in detail.

When you select a thumbnail image in the Browser, the image appears in the Viewer.

The Viewer displays the selected image.

Select images here.

A selected image appears

with a white outline.

The Browser can show your images as thumbnails arranged as a row in a filmstrip or as a grid of thumbnails appearing in rows and columns. You can click an individual image to select it, and a white border appears around the image. To quickly move to and select other images, press the arrow keys. You can drag images to rearrange them in the Browser, or drag them into different projects or albums. You can also display your images as a list of files.

Chapter 1 An Overview of Aperture 23

You can also view your images in Full Screen view, where you can work with them in detail.

Toolbar available in Full Screen view

The displayed image fills

the screen.

Filmstrip available

in Full Screen view

To see images in Full Screen view, you press F. Press F again to exit Full Screen view.

In Full Screen view, you can change the display of images to show single images, three images, or up to ten images at once. For more information about using Full Screen view, see Chapter 7, “Viewing Images in Full Screen View,” on page 207.

24 Part I Interface and Acquisition

Displaying your images clearly and accurately is a pivotal function of Aperture. With Aperture you can take advantage of the latest display technology and view and work with your images in Full Screen view and on dual displays.

Using Aperture with two displays is ideal for creating a large workspace. You can easily compare and adjust images, play slideshows, and present the best of your photos at optimal size during client reviews.

Working with Heads-Up Displays

To work efficiently in Aperture, you can use floating windows of controls called headsup displays (HUDs) to change images. For example, when you view images in Aperture

in Full Screen view, you can open an Inspector HUD to adjust your images.

Inspector HUD showing the Adjustments pane

As you work on your images, you can position HUDs anywhere on the screen and use them to make changes. For example, Aperture provides a Keywords HUD that you can use to quickly assign keywords to your images. To assign a keyword, you simply drag it from the Keywords HUD to the image.

Chapter 1 An Overview of Aperture 25

Metadata inspector

Working with Inspectors

Aperture also provides an Adjustments inspector for applying adjustments and a Metadata inspector that allows you to review metadata and assign it to your images. You can show or hide the Adjustments and Metadata inspectors by clicking the appropriate tab at the top of the Inspector pane. Showing the inspectors is as easy as pressing the I key.

Inspector tabs

For more information about making adjustments and retouching your images, see Chapter 15, “Making Image Adjustments,” on page 365.

26 Part I Interface and Acquisition

Rating Images with Aperture

You can rate images as you review them in the Viewer, in the Browser, or in Full Screen view. By selecting an image and pressing a number key from 0 to 5, you can quickly rate images as rejected or assign them from one to five stars (with five stars being the highest, or Select, rating). Image ratings appear as easy-to-read overlays on the image. Rating controls for assigning ratings also appear in the control bar and in the filmstrip in Full Screen view, if you prefer to use them.

Stars indicate the rating. X indicates a rejected

Once images are rated, you can have Aperture display only images of a certain rating, so you can focus on a particular group of images. For more information about rating your images, see Chapter 9, “Rating Images,” on page 233.

image

Chapter 1 An Overview of Aperture 27

Finding and Displaying Images with the Query HUD

You can use the Query HUD to search for and display only certain photos in a project or album. Click the Query HUD button beside the search field in the Browser and the Query HUD appears. In the Query HUD, you can specify criteria for the photos you want to work with.

The Query HUD is set to show images rated five stars.

Click the Query HUD button to open the Query HUD.

You can enter any search criteria you want to display specific images. You can also display images based on rating, date when shot, keywords, or import group. After you specify the search criteria, Aperture displays only those images that match the criteria and hides the rest. For more information about searching for images, see “Searching for

and Displaying Images” on page 295.

28 Part I Interface and Acquisition

Comparing Photos

Aperture allows you to carefully compare images. You select an image in Compare mode to have Aperture display it for comparison against other images in a selection.

While comparing images, you can rate the selected images or make adjustments to them. For example, you might use the comparison method to make final selections of the best images in a series. Or, you might compare two versions of an image and make adjustments.

Chapter 1 An Overview of Aperture 29

The Stack button

indicates the number of

images in the stack.

Stacking Images

Photographers frequently work with large selections of images. To help you work efficiently with a series of shots, such as bracketed shots or shots taken in quick succession, Aperture can automatically stack related shots. You can also select and manually stack related shots yourself and review them for a “pick”, the image that you intend to use.

A stack with three images is shown expanded, or open.

Once photos are in a stack, you can work with them as if they were a single image instead of many individual photos. A stack appears as a series of linked photos in the Browser. The pick of the stack appears on the left with a Stack button. You can drag an image in the stack into the pick position. By clicking the Stack button, you can close the stack so that only the pick image appears. You can then work with the single pick image without the encumbrance of the other stacked photos. You can expand a stack to see all its images whenever you want.

Only the pick image

is shown when the

stack is closed.

Working with stacks can greatly increase the efficiency of reviewing large collections of photos. For more information about working with stacks of images, see Chapter 8, “Stacking Images and Making Picks,” on page 219.

30 Part I Interface and Acquisition

Assigning Keywords to Images

Carefully assigning keywords to images is critical for the photographer who needs a means to easily locate specific images among thousands. Applying keywords is also required if you plan to sell images to image libraries, such as Corbis or Getty Images.

You can use Aperture to assign keywords to images using standard IPTC fields (the standard metadata fields defined by the International Press Telecommunications Council). You can also select images and assign keywords that you define.

You can display images in the Viewer with their version names and any assigned keywords appearing on or below the image.

Keywords and

other metadata

The Keywords HUD lists all the keyword categories and keywords that you define. For example, if you shoot weddings, you might create a wedding category with specific keywords that include Candid, Ceremony, Guests, and so on.

You can apply a keyword directly to a selected image or group of images by dragging it from the Keywords HUD to the selection in the Viewer or Browser.

Chapter 1 An Overview of Aperture 31

You can also show keyword controls in the control bar at the bottom of the Aperture main window by choosing Window > Show Keyword Controls.

Using these simple controls, you can display different categories of keywords and easily apply those keywords with a quick click or keystroke.

Your Aperture keyword scheme can ensure comprehensive accessibility to your images and even help with the management of your copyrights, usage rights, and sales. For more information about assigning keywords, see Chapter 10, “Applying Keywords to

Images,” on page 243.

Grouping Images with Smart Albums

Photographers often need an easy way of regrouping and presenting images based on the needs of a client or project. For example, a corporate client might call to request images of a general location or subject, such as wildlife, to be included with future collateral. Aperture allows you to easily make selections from across the entire library of images and group them in Smart Albums, which are albums that can be dynamically generated based on search criteria you specify.

Disclosure triangle

A library Smart Album

has this icon.

Aperture comes with a selection of predefined Smart Albums set up in the library for you. For example, there are Smart Albums that gather all your select images, all images taken in the last week, and all images taken in the last month. When you click the Library disclosure triangle, you see the list of Smart Albums created for you. Select a Smart Album to see its contents in the Browser.

32 Part I Interface and Acquisition

Although a Smart Album appears similar to the other projects or albums in the Projects inspector, the contents of the album are specified by search criteria. You don’t import masters or versions into a Smart Album. You use the Query HUD to specify the image keywords or other criteria that identify the images you want, and image versions automatically appear in the album. By adjusting the search criteria, you change the contents of the Smart Album.

For example, after creating an empty Smart Album in the Projects inspector, you might specify that you want any image that is rated five stars.

Aperture searches across the library and displays all the images rated five stars in the Smart Album. New images rated five stars are added to the Smart Album automatically.

In the Query HUD, specify the search criteria for images you want in the Smart Album.

You can work with the photos in the Smart Album just as you can with images in any other album.

You can make Smart Albums that gather images from across the entire library or from within a specific project only. When you no longer need a Smart Album, you can delete it, and the contents of the library remain the same (the Smart Album’s images are not deleted from the library). For more information about using Smart Albums, see Chapter 13, “Grouping Images with Smart Albums,” on page 317.

Chapter 1 An Overview of Aperture 33

Image Processing

You can use Aperture to crop, rotate, horizontally align, and remove red-eye from images, as well as adjust color and exposure, reduce noise, and so on.

Aperture provides controls for performing many types of image adjustments, including:

Â RAW image fine-tuning

Â Exposure adjustments

Â Levels adjustments

Â Color adjustments

Â White-balance adjustments

Â Red-eye correction

Â Straightening

Â Cropping

Â Highlights and shadows adjustments

Â Retouching adjustments

Â Vignetting adjustments

Â Devignetting adjustments

Â Monochrome color mixing

Â Choosing monochrome colors

Â Applying sepia tones

Â Noise-reduction adjustments

Â Image-sharpening adjustments

For especially efficient image adjusting, you can save adjustment settings as presets (collections of saved settings) and apply the same adjustments to many images at once.

34 Part I Interface and Acquisition

You can adjust your images using the controls in the Adjustments pane of the Inspector HUD.

Add Adjustments pop-up menu

Adjustment Action pop-up menu

The controls in the Adjustments pane of the Inspector HUD are also available in the Adjustments inspector. You can also easily export your images to a third-party application such as Adobe Photoshop, make adjustments, and then bring the adjusted image back into Aperture by simply saving it. For detailed information about making adjustments to your images, see Chapter 15, “Making Image Adjustments,” on page 365.

Distribution

When it’s time to show your work to others, Aperture provides the following methods of distribution:

Â Creating slideshow presentations

Â Performing Light Table reviews

Â Creating webpages and web journals

Â Ordering printed books

Â Printing and exporting images

Chapter 1 An Overview of Aperture 35

Presenting Your Images in Slideshows

You can use Aperture to make slideshow presentations to clients or viewers. Using one or two large-screen displays, you can set Aperture to present slideshow images in a variety of ways. For example, you can present images as a sequence of single images or as multiple images in columns and rows on your screen. You can also customize your slideshow by setting the display interval, choosing accompanying music, using transitional fades, changing the background, and more. You can control the slideshow using the arrow keys on your keyboard or have images appear automatically.

To create a slideshow, you select the images you want to show and choose File > Slideshow. For more information about creating slideshows, see Chapter 18, “Creating Slideshow Presentations,” on page 509.

36 Part I Interface and Acquisition

Reviewing Images in the Aperture Light Table

You can use the Aperture Light Table to freely arrange and organize a group of images visually to see how various combinations of images work together. Or, you can arrange a combination of images and print them in specific geometric arrangements. When viewing a selection of images in the Light Table, you can freely drag the images into any position or arrangement you want and resize them to determine how they might look grouped on a page.

For more information about using the Light Table, see Chapter 19, “Using the Light

Table,” on page 523.

Chapter 1 An Overview of Aperture 37

Publishing Your Images in Webpages and Web Journals

To provide clients or the public the convenience of an online review, you can use Aperture to create webpages and websites. With Aperture, you can easily post your webpages to your MobileMe account, or you can post them to your own website server and then provide the Internet address to clients or other reviewers.

Aperture provides ready-made themes and webpage layouts that you can quickly choose for the design of your pages.

To create webpages that present a gallery of your images, you create a webpage album and use the Webpage Editor to design your pages. When you place images in the album, Aperture automatically populates your webpages with your images.

The new album you

created appears in the

Projects inspector.

38 Part I Interface and Acquisition

The Webpage Editor appears with the selected images.

You can also create a web journal, which allows you to mix text and images on the webpage. For example, you might create a web journal that chronicles your latest trip and include your photos. You create web journal pages by creating a web journal album and using the Webpage Editor to design your pages. For more information about creating web galleries and web journals, see Chapter 20, “Creating Webpages,” on page 535.

Printing Your Images in Books

You can lay out images and combine them with text to create books. Aperture provides a Book Layout Editor that allows you to easily combine your images with text on the page. Aperture also provides master templates that you can use to compose pages. You can easily create professional-looking pages for art books, wedding albums, picture books, and more.

You create a book by creating a book album and using the Book Layout Editor to design the book’s pages.

In the Book Layout Editor, you select a page’s thumbnail image to see an enlarged view of the page’s layout and contents. You can also change the page design, and the current page is automatically updated to the format you chose. To add an image, you drag it from the Browser into a photo box on the page. For more information about creating books, see Chapter 21, “Creating Books,” on page 567.

Chapter 1 An Overview of Aperture 39

Printing and Exporting Images

You can also easily print individual images in standard and custom print sizes and print collections of images on contact sheets. Aperture has many preset printing options to help facilitate printing. You can also customize print settings to get the optimum use of your printer and meet custom print requirements. For more information about print options, see Chapter 16, “Printing Your Images,” on page 471.

When you need to deliver digital files to clients, prepare files for posting on websites, or transfer files to other computers or users, you can export images in a variety of formats. You can export your original masters as well as versions that you’ve created. Aperture provides many preset options for exporting files in a variety of file sizes and formats, and you can add custom touches such as watermarks or copyright information. When you export images, you can assign custom filenames and export all or a selection of the metadata associated with an image. For example, you can send an editor a digital file complete with the IPTC information you’ve added. Aperture also enables you to quickly email images. For more information about exporting images, see Chapter 17, “Exporting

Your Images,” on page 487.

Sharing Images with iLife and iWork Applications

The Aperture library is accessible from within iLife and iWork applications so you can easily share and use your photos in iLife or iWork projects and documents. You can also import your entire iPhoto library into Aperture, or open the iPhoto Browser in Aperture and review and select iPhoto images that you want to import. You can import documents or files from iLife or iWork applications as long as the files are in formats compatible with Aperture.

40 Part I Interface and Acquisition

Backing Up Your Work

After importing images from your camera and erasing memory cards in preparation for the next shoot, the only record of your images is stored on your hard disks. It’s vital that you back up your files on storage media separate from your computer and its hard disks. Backing up your photos and storing the backups in a safe place can save your work from catastrophes such as fire, theft, storm-related disruptions, or equipment failure.

Aperture backs up your managed images (images that are stored in the Aperture library) and all information associated with the images, such as versions, metadata, and previews, on vaults located on hard disk drives. Aperture doesn’t back up the masters of referenced images located outside the Aperture library. You must maintain your own backup system of referenced image masters. Aperture does back up the versions, previews, and metadata information associated with referenced images, but not the masters themselves.

You can view your vaults in the Vault pane. There are several controls that you’ll use when you update vaults to back up your images.

Disclosure triangle

Vault Status button

Vault Action pop-up menu

Update All Vaults button

Vault Pane button

You can create multiple vaults to provide duplicate backups. Each vault holds a backup copy of the entire Aperture library.

After you import new images into Aperture, you should immediately make a backup of the newly imported files. Once the images are backed up, you can depend on the reliable Aperture backup functions to track all the versions of your photos and the work you have done with them.

For an explanation of the Aperture backup and archiving features, see Chapter 22, “Backing Up Your Images,” on page 611.

Chapter 1 An Overview of Aperture 41

2 The Aperture Interface

The Aperture interface is modeled around acquiring, editing, processing, and distributing photos.

This chapter describes the names and functions of the Aperture interface elements. Use this chapter to orient yourself while learning Aperture. To find detailed information about the concepts described in this chapter, read the chapter about the topic. You can also search for terms associated with Aperture in the index and glossary.

This chapter covers:

Â The Aperture Main Window (p. 44)

Â Browser (p. 45)

Â Viewer (p. 48)

Â Full Screen View (p. 50)

Â Inspector Pane (p. 57)

Â Toolbar (p. 61)

Â Control Bar (p. 62)

Â Import Pane (p. 64)

Â Vault Pane (p. 65)

Â Book Layout Editor (p. 66)

Â Webpage Editor (p. 70)

Â Light Table (p. 73)

Â Heads-Up Displays (p. 74)

Â Changing Views (p. 77)

Â Customizing the Toolbar (p. 78)

Â Customizing Keyboard Shortcuts (p. 80)

Â Setting Aperture Preferences (p. 86)

The Aperture Main Window

The Aperture main window contains the following areas:

Toolbar

Inspector pane

Viewer

Vault pane

Browser

Control bar

Note: The Inspector pane is shown by default. You can show or hide the Inspector pane by pressing I.

Arranging the Interface

Aperture provides four basic views of your images: Browser Only, Browser & Viewer, Viewer Only, and Full Screen. The areas in the Aperture interface are resizable, and you can customize any of these views to suit your workflow.

To see the main window view shown above, choose View > Browser & Viewer. Then choose View > Browser > Grid. To display the control bar, choose Window > Show Control Bar.

For more information about views, see “Changing Views” on page 77.

44 Part I Interface and Acquisition

Browser

The Browser displays a project’s or album’s thumbnail images. When you select a project or album in the Projects inspector, images appear in the Browser. You can display images in the Browser in three ways: in filmstrip view, in grid view, and in list view. You can also open multiple projects at a time in the Browser.

Browser in Filmstrip View

When the Browser is in filmstrip view, images in a selected project appear as a row of thumbnails. You can scroll the images left and right and quickly select and work with them one after the other. You can resize the thumbnails in the filmstrip by dragging the top of the filmstrip to enlarge its area.

Browser filmstrip The Browser displays the contents of any project or album selected

Scroll bar Use the scroll bar to scroll through your image thumbnails.

Shuttle control Use the Shuttle control to move quickly through your

in the Projects inspector. By default, the Browser displays images in a project or album as a row of image thumbnails.

image thumbnails. You can also press the J and L keys to scroll backward or forward, and press K to stop. Press the J or L keys again to increase the shuttling speed.

To learn more about using the Browser and Viewer, see Chapter 5, “Working with

Images in the Browser,” on page 149 and Chapter 6, “Displaying Images in the Viewer,”

on page 179.

Chapter 2 The Aperture Interface 45

Browser in Grid View

When the Browser is in grid view, images in a selected project appear as thumbnails within the Browser arranged in columns and rows. You can adjust the size of the thumbnails to easily review and work with your images.

Browser The Browser displays the contents of any project or album selected

in the Projects inspector. By default, the Browser displays images in a project or album as a grid of image thumbnails. You can also view your images in list view.

Sorting pop-up menu Sort your images by a variety of sort properties in this pop-up

menu, or define your own custom sort criteria.

Sort Direction button Use this button in conjunction with the Sorting pop-up menu to

arrange the order of your images.

Grid View/List View/ Filmstrip View buttons

Query HUD button and search field

Shuttle control Use the Shuttle control to quickly move through your

Scroll bar Use the scroll bar to scroll through your image thumbnails.

Thumbnail Resize slider Use the Thumbnail Resize slider to quickly change the size of your

Display the Browser contents in grid view (a grid of image thumbnails), in list view (a list of sortable file data), or in filmstrip view (a scrollable row of thumbnails).

Search for images by entering a term in the search field or choosing an option from the search field pop-up menu (with a magnifying glass icon). To perform a more complex search for images using the Query HUD, click the Query HUD button (to the left of the search field).

image thumbnails.

46 Part I Interface and Acquisition

Browser in List View

When the Browser is in list view, images in a selected project appear as rows of information. Metadata about each image appears in columns, and by clicking a column heading you can sort the images by that column category.

List of images The Browser displays the contents of any selected project or album

Column headings Columns display image information and metadata. You can click a

as a list.

column heading to sort the list by that category of information. You can also drag to reorder or resize the columns.

Chapter 2 The Aperture Interface 47

Viewer

When you select one or several image thumbnails in the Browser, those images are displayed in the Viewer. You can use the Viewer to examine an image at its full size or compare multiple images side by side.

Viewer The Viewer displays the images you’ve selected in the Browser.

Display controls You use these controls to change the number of images displayed

Tool strip Use these tools to select and adjust images.

You can apply adjustments, keywords, and metadata to an image in the Viewer.

in the Viewer, display the masters that versions are based on, display images at full resolution, display the primary image selection only, and display Preview images (optimized JPEGs) only.

48 Part I Interface and Acquisition

Tool Strip

Selection tool Select projects, albums, and images with this tool.

Rotate Left tool Rotate an image to the left with this tool. You can use this tool to

Rotate Right tool Rotate an image to the right with this tool. You can use this tool to

Lift tool Copy a set of metadata and adjustments, including cropping and

Stamp tool Stamp, or apply, a copied set of adjustments or metadata to one or

Straighten tool Use the guides to help manually straighten (or level) the

Crop tool Trim the selected image with this tool.

Spot & Patch tool Remove imperfections in the image, such as sensor dust, with this

Retouch tool Retouch all types of imperfections in an image, such as skin

Red Eye tool Reduce red-eye, occurring when the subject’s retinas reflect light

rotate an image displayed in the Viewer or Browser.

straightening of images, from a selected image with this tool.

several images with this tool.

selected image.

tool. The tool either copies the pixels around the blemish (“spotting”) or copies pixels from another area of the image (“patching”).

blemishes, using either the Repair or Clone brush.

from your camera’s flash, with this tool.

For more information about working with the adjustment tools, see Chapter 14, “An

Overview of Image Adjustments,” on page 327 and Chapter 15, “Making Image Adjustments,” on page 365

Chapter 2 The Aperture Interface 49

Display Controls

Viewer Mode

pop-up menu

Show Master

Image button

Zoom Viewer button Click this button to move between viewing an image at actual size

Primary Only button Click this button to make changes to the primary image selection only.

Quick Preview button Click this button to view image previews only. Viewing image

Choose how to view your images and arrange your displays from this pop-up menu. For more information, see Chapter 6, “Displaying

Images in the Viewer,” on page 179.

Click this button to view the master image without any applied adjustments. Click again to switch the view back to the current version.

and fitting the image to the Viewer’s screen size.

previews speeds up access to and display of images in the Viewer and Browser.

Full Screen View

Full Screen view projects your images onto a black background for detailed viewing. Using a dual-display system in Full Screen view gives you an enlarged space to compare and adjust images.

To enter Full Screen view:

m Click the Full Screen button in the toolbar (or press F).

The Aperture main window disappears and your images appear in Full Screen view.

50 Part I Interface and Acquisition

To exit Full Screen view, do one of the following:

m Click the Exit Full Screen button in the toolbar (or press F).

m Press Escape.

Full Screen view Use Full Screen view to view, compare, and stack your images. You

Toolbar Use the toolbar buttons and tools to change your images. The

Filmstrip Use the filmstrip to move through, organize, and rate your images.

Chapter 2 The Aperture Interface 51

can also apply adjustments and keywords. When you’ve finished working with your images, you can use this view to preview and proof your images.

toolbar includes buttons for creating versions and working with stacks, as well as a full set of image adjustment tools.

Controls in the Filmstrip

The filmstrip provides controls for resizing thumbnails, scrolling images, and shuttling images. You can also use the filmstrip to search for images, rotate images, and rate images.

Navigation Controls

Thumbnail Resize slider Drag the slider to change the size of the image thumbnails shown

Scroll bar Use this to scroll through your images.

Shuttle control Click either side of this slider to rapidly shuttle through your

in the filmstrip.

filmstrip images. The closer to the double arrows you click, the more rapidly the filmstrip moves through its images. You can also use the J, K, and L keys to shuttle through your images.

Search Controls

Search field Enter text; images that match appear in the full-screen view.

Query HUD button Click this button to open the Query HUD to search for images.

52 Part I Interface and Acquisition

Rotate and Navigation Buttons

Rating Buttons

Rotate Left Click this button to rotate the selected image to the left.

Rotate Right Click this button to rotate the selected image to the right.

Previous Image Click this button to go to the previous image.

Next Image Click this button to go to the next image.

Reject Click this button to give the selected image a Reject rating.

Decrease Rating Click this button to decrease the rating of the selected image.

Increase Rating Click this button to increase the rating of the selected image.

Select Click this button to give the selected image a Select rating

(five stars).

Controls in the Toolbar

Always Show

Toolbar button

To view the Full Screen view toolbar:

m In Full Screen view, move the pointer to the top of your primary screen.

You can also have the toolbar always appear on the screen by clicking the Always Show Toolbar button.

Chapter 2 The Aperture Interface 53

Version Buttons

Duplicate Version Click this button to create a new version of the selected image.

New Version From Master

Click this button to create a version from the original master image. A duplicate of the master image is created.

Stacking Buttons

Stack Pick Select a stack item, then click this button to mark the image as its

Promote Select a stack item, then click this button to move the selected

Demote Select a stack item, then click this button to move the selected

Album Pick Select an image version to represent a stack, then click this button

stack’s pick.

stack item closer to the stack’s pick.

stack item farther from the stack’s pick.

to select the image as the pick within that particular album (the stack can have a different pick image in another album).

54 Part I Interface and Acquisition

Adjustment Tools

Selection tool Select projects, albums, and images with this tool.

Rotate Left tool Rotate an image to the left with this tool. You can use this tool to

Rotate Right tool Rotate an image to the right with this tool. You can use this tool to

Lift tool Copy a set of metadata and adjustments, including cropping and

Stamp tool Stamp, or apply, a copied set of adjustments or metadata to one or

Straighten tool Use the guides to help manually straighten (or level) the

Crop tool Trim the selected image with this tool.

Spot & Patch tool Remove imperfections in the image, such as sensor dust, with this

Retouch tool Retouch all types of imperfections in an image, such as skin

Red Eye tool Reduce red-eye, occurring when the subject’s retinas reflect light

E F

rotate an image displayed in the Viewer or Browser.

straightening of images, from a selected image with this tool.

several images with this tool.

selected image.

tool. The tool either copies the pixels around the blemish (“spotting”) or copies pixels from another area of the image (“patching”).

blemishes, using either the Repair or Clone brush.

from your camera’s flash, with this tool.

Chapter 2 The Aperture Interface 55

Display Controls

Viewer Mode

pop-up menu

Show Master Image

button

Zoom Viewer button Click this button to move between viewing an image at actual size

Primary Only button Click this button to make changes to the primary image selection only.

Quick Preview button Click this button to view image previews only. Viewing image

Choose how to view your images and arrange your displays from this pop-up menu. For more information, see Chapter 6, “Displaying

Images in the Viewer,” on page 179.

Click this button to view the master image without any applied adjustments. Click again to switch the view back to the current version.

and fitting the image to the Viewer’s screen size.

previews speeds up access to and display of images in the Viewer and Browser.

Other Buttons

Loupe Click this button to open the Loupe, which you can use to minutely

Keywords HUD Click this button to show or hide the Keywords HUD.

Inspector HUD Click this button to show or hide the Inspector HUD.

Exit Full Screen Click this button to exit Full Screen view.

Always Show

Toolbar button

examine parts of an image.

Click this button to turn the automatic display of the toolbar on or off.

56 Part I Interface and Acquisition

Inspector Pane

The Inspector pane provides easy access to your projects, to image metadata, and to controls for adjusting images. The Inspector pane includes three inspectors: the Projects inspector, the Metadata inspector, and the Adjustments inspector. Click the tabs at the top of the Inspector pane to select the inspector you want.

To show the Inspector pane, do one of the following:

m Choose Window > Show Inspector (or press I).

m Click the Inspector button in the toolbar.

Projects tab Click to open the Projects inspector.

Metadata tab Click to open the Metadata inspector.

Adjustments tab Click to open the Adjustments inspector.

Chapter 2 The Aperture Interface 57

Projects Inspector

The Projects inspector holds containers—projects, folders, and albums—with which you can organize your images. You can create Smart Albums that automatically find and store images based on search criteria you specify. You can also create webpages (photo galleries and online journals), Light Table arrangements, and books.

To display the Projects inspector, do one of the following:

m Click the Projects tab in the Inspector pane (or press Control-P).

m Press W repeatedly to cycle through the inspectors until you select the one you want.

Projects pop-up menu Choose to show all projects, your favorite projects, or just recently

Add to Library

pop-up menu

Project Action

pop-up menu

selected projects by choosing an option from the pop-up menu.

Create new projects and albums, including webpage, web journal, Light Table, and book albums, using this pop-up menu. You can automatically fill your albums with selected images or create empty albums. You can also create Smart Albums, which you fill by specifying search criteria such as filenames or dates.

Add and remove favorite items or export projects using this pop-up menu.

To learn more about using the Projects inspector, see Chapter 3, “Working with

Aperture Projects,” on page 93.

Metadata Inspector

The Metadata inspector displays an image’s caption text, keywords, version number, filename, and file size. You can also view Exchangeable Image File (EXIF) and International Press Telecommunications Council (IPTC) data associated with your image. EXIF metadata is embedded with an image file by the digital camera and includes camera settings such as shutter speed, date and time, focal length, exposure, metering pattern, and flash information. IPTC information can be embedded in a digital image with most software programs used to edit photos and can include a caption, the place and date a photo was taken, and copyright information.

58 Part I Interface and Acquisition

To display the Metadata inspector, do one of the following:

m Click the Metadata tab in the Inspector pane (or press Control-D).

m Press W repeatedly to cycle through the inspectors until you select the one you want.

Metadata display

buttons

Metadata View

pop-up menu

Metadata Action

pop-up menu

Chapter 2 The Aperture Interface 59

Click a button to select the type of metadata to display.

Choose the metadata view being displayed from this pop-up menu.

Choose options for editing and arranging your metadata views and for creating metadata presets from this pop-up menu.

Adjustments Inspector

You can use controls in the Adjustments inspector to apply, edit, and remove image adjustments. Controls in the Adjustments inspector are grouped according to the type of image adjustment they perform. You can see the controls for an adjustment by clicking its disclosure triangle.

To show the Adjustments inspector, do one of the following:

m Click the Adjustments tab in the Inspector pane (or press Control-A).

m Press W repeatedly to cycle through the inspectors until you select the one you want.

Adjustments Click the disclosure triangle for an adjustment to view its controls.

Add Adjustments

pop-up menu

Adjustment Action

pop-up menu

Reset button Click the Reset button for an adjustment to reset the controls to

60 Part I Interface and Acquisition

Select the checkbox for an adjustment to apply changes using the adjustment controls.

Choose the types of adjustments you want to apply to an image from this pop-up menu. When you choose an adjustment, its controls appear in the Adjustments inspector.

Choose a histogram view and remove selected or all adjustments made.

their default settings.

To remove an adjustment from an image, deselect the checkbox for the adjustment. For more information about using adjustment controls, see Chapter 14, “An Overview

of Image Adjustments,” on page 327 and Chapter 15, “Making Image Adjustments,” on

page 365.

Although you can apply initial adjustments with the Adjustments inspector, it’s often more convenient to use the Adjustments pane of the Inspector HUD in Full Screen view. For more information, see Chapter 7, “Viewing Images in Full Screen View,” on page 207.

Toolbar

The toolbar is a collection of buttons and tools located at the top of the Aperture main window. The toolbar is shown by default, but you can hide it by choosing View > Hide Toolbar.

You can customize the toolbar, adding buttons or tools for the functions you use most, or removing less frequently used toolbar items. For more information, see “Customizing the Toolbar” on page 78.

Note: Because you can customize the toolbar, adding and deleting the buttons you want, your toolbar may appear different from the one pictured in this manual.

Inspector button Click this button to show or hide the Inspector pane.

Import button Click this button to show the Import pane and open the Import

New pop-up menu Choose the item you want to create in the Projects inspector from

Email button Click this button to open your email program and attach

Slideshow button Select images that you want to display in a slideshow, then click

All Projects button Click this button to see all the projects in the library in the Browser.

View pop-up menu Choose the workspace view you want to use to arrange the main

dialog. When you select either a camera, a memory card, or a mounted drive, the Import dialog appears. For more information, see “Import Pane” on page 64.

this pop-up menu.

selected images.

this button to initiate the slideshow.

Each project is represented by a single thumbnail. You can position the pointer over a project thumbnail and drag to quickly skim the images in the project.

window components from this menu.

Chapter 2 The Aperture Interface 61

Full Screen button Click this button to switch to Full Screen view, in which images

Loupe button Click this button to open the Loupe, which zooms in on your image

Keywords HUD button Click this button to show or hide the Keywords HUD.

are displayed on the screen without the Inspector pane, Browser, or Viewer.

by magnifying the area of the image it is placed over. You can adjust the diameter of the Loupe by choosing View > Loupe Scaling > Increase Diameter or View > Loupe Scaling > Decrease Diameter.

Control Bar

You can display a control bar at the bottom of the main window that provides convenient access to controls and buttons for rating and navigating through images, as well as applying keywords to them.

To display the control bar:

m Choose Window > Control Bar (or press D).

Keyword controls Use these buttons and options to apply and work with keywords.

Rating buttons Click these buttons to apply ratings to the selected image.

Navigation buttons Click these buttons to navigate to the next or previous image.

62 Part I Interface and Acquisition

Keyword Controls

You can display keyword controls in the control bar and use the buttons and pop-up menus to apply keywords to images.

To display keyword controls in the control bar:

m Choose Window > Show Keyword Controls (or press Shift-D).

Individual keyword

buttons

Add Keyword field Enter a new keyword, then press Return. Aperture creates a new

Keyword Preset Group

pop-up menu

Click any of these buttons to apply a preset keyword to a selected image or group of images. Hold down Shift and click the button to remove the keyword.

keyword and applies it to the selected image.

Choose a keyword preset group to display on the keyword buttons, or edit the buttons in an existing keyword preset group.

To learn more about applying keywords, see Chapter 10, “Applying Keywords to

Images,” on page 243.

Rating Buttons

Reject Click this button to give the selected image a Reject rating.

Decrease Rating Click this button to decrease the rating of the selected image.

Increase Rating Click this button to increase the rating of the selected image.

Select Click this button to give the selected image a Select rating (five stars).

To learn more about rating your images, see Chapter 9, “Rating Images,” on page 233.

Chapter 2 The Aperture Interface 63

Navigation Buttons

Previous Image Click this button to go to the previous image.

Next Image Click this button to go to the next image.

Import Pane

The Import pane displays a list of connected cameras, card readers, and external hard disk drives, as well as local hard disks and mounted servers. To import images into Aperture, you select a device in the pane or connect a camera or card reader, and the Import dialog appears.

Import pane This list displays all locations from which you can currently import

For more information, see Chapter 4, “Importing Images,” on page 109.

images, including internal disks and connected drives. Select a camera or disk icon to open the Import dialog and select images to import.

64 Part I Interface and Acquisition

Vault Pane

The Vault pane lists your backup vaults and their locations. Vaults are usually located on external FireWire drives.

As you add images to the library, Aperture automatically tracks which managed images have been backed up to your vault. When your vault is up to date, the Vault Status button appears black. When a change to at least one version occurs, such as an adjustment, the Vault Status button appears yellow. When Aperture determines that even a single master has not been backed up, the Vault Status button appears red. You can have Aperture update your vaults whenever you want.

Vault Status buttons Click the Vault Status button next to a vault to update the vault.

Vault Pane button Click this button to show or hide the Vault pane.

Vault Action

pop-up menu

Update All Vaults

button

The Vault Status button changes color to indicate the current update status of the vault. Black means the vault is up to date. Yellow means that changes have been made to images that have not been backed up. Red means that images have been added to the library that have not been backed up.

Add, remove, and update vaults using this pop-up menu.

Click this button to update all your existing vaults.

For more information, see Chapter 22, “Backing Up Your Images,” on page 611.

Chapter 2 The Aperture Interface 65

Select a page to edit in

the Pages pane.

Book Layout Editor

When you create a new book album, the Book Layout Editor appears. In it, you can create a variety of printed books to showcase your images.

Design each page in the Book Layout Editor.

Pages Pane

Add Pages pop-up menu

Pages pane Select an individual book page in the Pages pane to view, or

Choose to add one or several pages to your book using this pop-up menu.

rearrange your book pages.

66 Part I Interface and Acquisition

Theme button Click this button to choose a theme and layout for your book’s pages.

Edit Content button Click this button to change images or edit text on your pages.

Edit Layout button Click this button to change the page layout, moving and resizing

Book Action

pop-up menu

Set Master Page

pop-up menu

Delete Pages button Click this button to delete one or several selected pages from

Book Layout Controls

text, metadata, and photo boxes on pages.

Choose options to reflow the images in a book, add an index and page numbers, or add and change the look of text, metadata, and photo boxes from this pop-up menu.

Choose the master page you want to apply to a selected page from this pop-up menu.

your book.

Text Style pop-up menu Choose the style of text you want for a selected text box using this

Metadata Format

pop-up menu

Photo Filter

pop-up menu

Set Background Page

pop-up menu

pop-up menu.

Choose the type of metadata you want to display with your images from this pop-up menu.

Choose a filter to change the look of images. For example, you might apply filters that change an image to black and white or sepia.

Choose to remove the background image from this pop-up menu.

Chapter 2 The Aperture Interface 67

Text, Metadata, and Photo Box Buttons

Add Text Box Click this button to add a text box to the page.

Add Metadata Box Click this button to add a metadata box to the page.

Add Photo Box Click this button to add a photo box to the page.

Send Backward Click this button to move a selected box backward in the stacking

Bring Forward Click this button to move a selected box forward in the stacking

order of overlapping text or image boxes.

Page Display Controls

Scale To Fit button Click this button to scale the display of your pages to fit the Book

Actual Size button Click this button to view the selected page at its actual size.

Display Size slider Drag this slider to increase or decrease the size of the page.

Layout Editor screen size.

68 Part I Interface and Acquisition

Cover and Page Display Buttons

Large Hardcover Click this button to choose a large hardcover book format.

Large Softcover Click this button to choose a large softcover book format.

Show Full Spreads Click this button to display two facing pages.

Show Single Pages Click this button to display single pages.

Printing and Page Navigation Buttons

Print Click this button to print your book’s pages.

Buy Book Click this button to purchase a printed copy of your book from

Previous Page Click this button to go to the previous page of your book.

Next Page Click this button to go to the next page of your book.

Apple’s print vendor.

To learn more about creating books, see Chapter 21, “Creating Books,” on page 567.

Chapter 2 The Aperture Interface 69

Webpage Editor

You can use the Webpage Editor to create professional-quality, gallery-style pages and web journal pages for displaying your images. After designing your pages, you can post them to your MobileMe account or web server. The controls in the Webpage Editor differ slightly depending on whether you have selected a webpage album or a web journal album.

Webpage Controls

To work with a webpage in the Webpage Editor, select a webpage album in the Projects inspector and select a page to view from the thumbnail pages on the left side. When the selected page appears, you can add and arrange images and text.

Detail Images pane Click the thumbnail image in this pane to see the enlarged version

Pages pane Click a page’s thumbnail to see the enlarged version.

Site Theme button Click this button to choose a theme, or layout, for your webpages.

Metadata View pop-up menu

Columns value slider Specify the number of columns you want on a page.

Rows value slider Specify the number of rows you want on a page.

“Fit images within” pop-up menu

Width value slider Specify the width of the images displayed on the page.

of the selected image.

Choose a metadata view to use with the webpage images from this pop-up menu.

Choose how to display images on the webpage.

70 Part I Interface and Acquisition

Height value slider Specify the height of the images displayed on the page.

Next Page button Click this button to go to the next webpage.

Previous Page button Click this button to go to the previous webpage.

Publish to MobileMe

button

Export Web

Pages button

Web Journal Controls

You can also create journal-style webpages, mixing paragraphs of text and images, to display on the web. When working with a web journal, you can manually arrange images and text on the page.

Click this button to publish your finalized webpages to your MobileMe account. For more information, see “Exporting to

MobileMe” on page 552.

Click this button to export your webpages. For more information, see “Exporting Webpages as HTML Files” on page 554.

To work with a web journal in the Webpage Editor, select a web journal album in the Projects inspector, and select a page to view from the thumbnail pages on the left side. When the selected page appears, you can add and arrange images and text.

Detail Images pane Click the thumbnail image in this pane to see the enlarged version

Pages pane Select a page’s thumbnail in this pane to see the enlarged version.

Site Theme button Click this button to choose a theme, or layout, for your webpage.

Metadata View

pop-up menu

of a selected image.

Choose a metadata view to use with the webpage images from this pop-up menu.

Chapter 2 The Aperture Interface 71

Add Text Box button Click this button to add a text box to the current webpage.

Columns value slider Specify the number of columns you want on a page.

“Fit images within”

pop-up menu

Width value slider Specify the width of the images displayed on the page.

Height value slider Specify the height of the images displayed on the page.

Next Page button Click this button to go to the next webpage.

Previous Page button Click this button to go to the previous webpage.

Publish to MobileMe

button

Export Web

Pages button

Page Action

pop-up menu

Page Template

pop-up menu

Remove Page and

Add Page buttons

Choose how images appear on the webpage from this pop-up menu.

Click this button to publish your finalized webpages to your MobileMe account. For more information, see “Exporting to

MobileMe” on page 552.

Click this button to export your webpages. For more information, see “Exporting Webpages as HTML Files” on page 554.

Rearrange the order of images and choose the conditions for automatically adding pages to your web journal from this pop-up menu.

Choose a page template, or layout, from this pop-up menu.

Click the Remove Page button to remove a selected page from your web journal. Click the Add Page button to add a page to your web journal.

To learn more about creating webpages, see Chapter 20, “Creating Webpages,” on page 535.

72 Part I Interface and Acquisition

Light Table

The Light Table provides an open workspace where you can freely arrange images. You can use the Light Table to review and compare images, create mockups of webpages, compare color values in a selection of images before applying color corrections, or do anything else that involves viewing and comparing your images.

Tool strip Use these tools for selecting and rotating images and for lifting and

Put Back button Click this button to remove a selected image from the Light Table.

Uncover button Click this button to reveal images that are covered by other images

Navigator button When the Light Table is larger than your screen, click this button to

Scale to Fit All

Items button

Light Table Zoom slider Drag the Light Table Zoom slider to change the Light Table’s size.

Show Unplaced

Images button

Show All Images button Click this button to see the entire contents of the Light Table album

stamping adjustments and metadata.

in the Light Table.

reposition your view on another area of the Light Table.

Click this button to fit the entire Light Table on your screen.

Click this button to see only images in the Browser that are not yet placed in the Light Table.

in the Browser.

To learn more about the Light Table, see Chapter 19, “Using the Light Table,” on page 523.

Chapter 2 The Aperture Interface 73

Heads-Up Displays

Heads-up displays, or HUDs, are collections of related tools and controls contained in a floating window. You can move a HUD as far as your display screen extends. You can use HUDs in all the main window views, including Full Screen view.

Inspector HUD

The Inspector HUD provides access to three inspector panes: the Projects pane, the Metadata pane, and the Adjustments pane. The controls in the Inspector HUD are the same as those in the inspectors in the Inspector pane. You can use the HUD in the Viewer or in Full Screen view. To open a pane, click the corresponding button at the top of the Inspector HUD. For more information about the controls in the specific inspectors, see “Inspector Pane” on page 57.

To show the Inspector HUD:

m Choose Window > Show Inspector HUD (or press H).

Projects button Click this button to open the Projects pane.

Metadata button Click this button to open the Metadata pane.

Adjustments button Click this button to open the Adjustments pane.

For more information about working with projects in the Projects inspector or the Projects pane of the Inspector HUD, see Chapter 3, “Working with Aperture Projects,” on page 93. For more information about working with metadata in the Metadata inspector or the Metadata pane of the Inspector HUD, see Chapter 11, “Working with

Metadata,” on page 269. For more information about working with adjustments in the

Adjustments inspector or the Adjustments pane of the Inspector HUD, see Chapter 14, “An Overview of Image Adjustments,” on page 327 and Chapter 15, “Making Image

Adjustments,” on page 365.

74 Part I Interface and Acquisition

Individual Adjustment Tool HUDs

Many of the Aperture adjustment tools, including Crop, Spot & Patch, Red Eye, Lift, Stamp, and Retouch, work in conjunction with HUDs.

To view any of these HUDs:

m Select the adjustment tool in the tool strip.

To learn more about the adjustment tools, see Chapter 14, “An Overview

of Image Adjustments,” on page 327 and Chapter 15, “Making Image Adjustments,” on

page 365.

Query HUD

The Query HUD provides options for searching for images.

To show the Query HUD:

m Choose Edit > Find (or press Command-F).

m Click the Query HUD button (with a magnifying glass icon) next to the search field in

the Browser.

“Stack picks only”

checkbox

Search criteria Select checkboxes for categories and specify what you want to

Close button Click this button to close the Query HUD.

“Include if” pop-up

menu and Match pop-up menu

Search field Enter the text you want to search for. Click the search field’s Reset

Add Filter pop-up menu Choose additional search criteria, such as date, EXIF and IPTC

Query HUD Action

pop-up menu

Select this checkbox to prevent the search from querying within stacks. Only the picks of the stacks are made available to the search. The images within each stack are ignored.

search for, such as ratings, keywords, and dates.

Choose whether the image should match or not match any of the search criteria or all the criteria that are marked by selected checkboxes.

button (with an X) to clear the search field.

information, text, rating, and other metadata.

Create a new Light Table, book, webpage, Smart Webpage, or web journal album containing images that match the current search criteria.

Chapter 2 The Aperture Interface 75

New Album With

Current Images button

New Smart Album

button

Click this button to create a new album containing images that match the current search criteria.

Click this button to create a new Smart Album based on the search criteria. For more information, see Chapter 13, “Grouping Images

with Smart Albums,” on page 317.

For more information about searching for images, see Chapter 12, “Searching for

and Displaying Images,” on page 295.

Keywords HUD

The Keywords HUD contains a library of keywords, allowing you to efficiently organize and apply keywords to your images.

To show the Keywords HUD:

m Choose Window > Show Keywords HUD (or press Shift-H).

Lock button Click this button to lock the Keywords HUD and prevent changes.

Add Keyword button Click this button to add a keyword to the keyword library of the

Disclosure triangle Click the disclosure triangle for a keyword group to view all

Close button Click this button to close the Keywords HUD.

Search field Enter text to search for keywords that match the text. Click the

Export button Click this button to export your Aperture keyword list.

Import button Click this button to import keywords into the Keywords HUD.

Remove Keyword

button

Add Subordinate

Keyword button

76 Part I Interface and Acquisition

G F

Click it again to unlock the HUD.

Keywords HUD.

keywords in the group.

Reset button (with an X) to clear the field.

Click this button to remove one or more selected keywords.

Click this button to add a subordinate keyword, such as a keyword within a keyword group.

Changing Views

In addition to allowing you to show and hide areas of the interface, Aperture offers four basic views of the main window:

Â Browser Only: Use this view to display images in an enlarged Browser so you can

review images, perform initial rating passes, and create and work with stacks of images.

Â Browser & Viewer: Use this view to display both the Browser and Viewer together and

use them in combination to review and work with images.

Â Viewer Only: Use this view to display images in an enlarged Viewer and work with

them in detail.

Â Full Screen: Use this view to work with images displayed full screen against a

black background.

You can easily switch between views by pressing V, choosing commands from the View menu, or pressing keyboard shortcuts.

To change views:

m Choose Browser Only, Browser & Viewer, Viewer Only, or Full Screen from the View

menu (or press V).

You can use keyboard shortcuts to quickly show or hide different areas of the main window.

Keyboard shortcut Function

shift R

control P

shift

shift I

option W

shift W

Open the Import pane and Import dialog

Show/Hide Vault pane

Select the Projects inspector

Select the next pane in the Inspector pane

Select the next view

Show/Hide keyword controls

Show/Hide Inspector pane

Switch the Inspector pane position

Swap the Browser and Viewer positions

Rotate the Browser and Viewer positions

Chapter 2 The Aperture Interface 77

Keyboard shortcut Function

shift T

Show/Hide toolbar

Enter/Exit Full Screen view

Customizing the Toolbar

The toolbar can be customized to display exactly the tools you need. You can customize the toolbar by selecting the tools to include, rearranging them, and choosing whether both the tool’s icon and text appear.

Hiding and Showing the Toolbar

You can choose to hide the toolbar completely.

To hide the toolbar:

m Choose View > Hide Toolbar (or press Shift-T).

To show a toolbar that has been hidden:

m Choose View > Show Toolbar (or press Shift-T).

∏ Tip: You can also quickly hide or show the toolbar by clicking the Toolbar button

(a gray oblong button) in the top-right corner of the Aperture main window.

78 Part I Interface and Acquisition

Customizing the Toolbar Buttons

Aperture provides a simple drag-and-drop interface for adding, deleting, and rearranging the toolbar buttons.

To customize the toolbar:

1 Do one of the following:

Â Choose View > Customize Toolbar.

Â Control-click the toolbar, then choose Customize Toolbar from the shortcut menu.

A dialog appears, showing icons for toolbar buttons and tools.

Default toolbar

2 Configure the toolbar by doing any of the following:

Â To add tools to the toolbar: Drag their icons from the dialog to the location where you

want them to appear in the toolbar.

Â To remove items from the toolbar: Drag them out of the toolbar, or Control-click the

item you want to remove and choose Remove Item from the shortcut menu.

Â To change the order of the items in the toolbar: Drag each item to its new position.

Â To control whether each tool’s icon and text appear in the toolbar: Choose Text Only,

Icon Only, or Icon & Text from the Show pop-up menu in the lower-left corner of the dialog, or Control-click the toolbar and choose Text Only, Icon Only, or Icon & Text from the shortcut menu.

3 Click Done when you have finished configuring the toolbar.

To reset the toolbar to its default state:

m Drag the default toolbar up from the bottom of the dialog and into the toolbar area.

Chapter 2 The Aperture Interface 79

Customizing Keyboard Shortcuts

Aperture provides a wide variety of menu commands and keyboard shortcuts that let you control almost every aspect of your workflow. The Command Editor lets you search or browse the various commands and keyboard shortcuts in Aperture. In addition, the Command Editor lets you customize keyboard shortcuts so you can streamline the way you work.

This section covers how to modify keyboard shortcuts using the Command Editor.

Use the Command Editor’s search tools to find commands, view their descriptions and keyboard shortcuts, and preview highlighted key combinations in a visual representation of your keyboard. You can modify existing shortcuts, create new shortcuts, and save multiple sets of keyboard shortcuts, called command sets, that can be imported and exported for use by others. If you’re more familiar with keyboard shortcuts from other applications, you can use the Command Editor to substitute keyboard shortcuts for the default set of Aperture keyboard shortcuts.

To display the Command Editor in Aperture:

m Choose Aperture > Commands > Customize.

The Command Editor appears.

Command set options

Command groups

Modifier key buttons

Command list Detail area

Keyboard Highlight button

Search field

80 Part I Interface and Acquisition

Command Editor Interface

The upper half of the Command Editor displays a virtual keyboard. The lower half contains a command list that sorts menu commands by group and offers a brief description of each command, along with its associated keyboard shortcut, if one exists.

The virtual keyboard is color-coded to help you identify the type of command each key performs. The Command Groups column on the left side of the Command List area includes a clickable color key for reference.

Keys that are assigned to shortcuts are marked with a dark gray dot, while unassigned keys have no additional markings. Several keys are shaded with diagonal lines, indicating that they are reserved for system use.

Keys with assigned shortcuts

Unassigned keys

Keys reserved for system commands

Choosing a Command Set

By default, Aperture uses a standard set of commands, with the language choice that you specified when you set up your computer.

To choose a command set, do one of the following:

m Choose Aperture > Commands, then choose a set from the submenu.

m If the Command Editor is already open, choose a set from the pop-up menu in the

upper-left corner.

Once you choose the command set you want, the keyboard shortcuts in the set become active in Aperture.

Chapter 2 The Aperture Interface 81

Viewing Keyboard Shortcuts by Group

The Command List area displays several groupings of commands, organized by Aperture menus as well as by types of command. Click a group to have the Command list display only the commands and keyboard shortcuts in that group.

Command groups

Searching for Commands

Use the search field in the upper-right corner of the Command Editor to quickly locate a command or its keyboard shortcut. You can search by command name, description, or keyboard shortcut.

To search for a keyboard shortcut:

m In the Command Editor, click in the search field and type a word that describes the

keyboard shortcut you need, or type the keystroke.

The Command list immediately displays the search results, listing all commands and keyboard shortcuts related to the search term.

You can further narrow your search by choosing a category from the search field pop-up menu. The menu options include All, Command, Description, and Key Equivalent.

Note: Do not use the Shift key to capitalize letters when typing in the search field. The search field recognizes the Shift key as a modifier key in a keyboard shortcut.

You can use the search field in conjunction with the virtual keyboard to highlight keyboard shortcuts.

82 Part I Interface and Acquisition

To search for and highlight a keyboard shortcut on the virtual keyboard:

1 Click the Keyboard Highlight button to the left of the search field.

The keyboard dims.

2 Click in the search field and begin typing.

The Command list changes as you type, highlighting the keys related to your search term.

Note: When you select the Keyboard Highlight button, only command keys are highlighted. Modifier keys that may be part of the keyboard shortcut (Command, Shift, Option, and Control) are not highlighted.

Filtering the View by Modifier Keys

You can use the modifier key buttons (Command, Shift, Option, and Control) at the top of the Command Editor to quickly see which keys work in conjunction with the various modifier keys.

To filter by modifier keys:

1 Click one of the four modifier key buttons at the top of the Command Editor (or click

one of the modifier keys on the virtual keyboard).

Keys assigned to work in conjunction with the selected modifier key appear marked with a dark gray dot.

2 If necessary, click another modifier key button (or modifier key in the virtual keyboard)

to create a combination.

The virtual keyboard updates to show which keys are assigned to shortcuts that use the combined modifier keys.

Viewing Key and Command Details

The Detail area to the right of the Command List area provides additional information about a selected key in the virtual keyboard or a selected command in the Command list. When you select a key in the virtual keyboard, this area displays a list of all keyboard shortcuts associated with that key.

Selected key

All available shortcuts that include the selected key are displayed here.

Chapter 2 The Aperture Interface 83

When you select a command in the Command list, the Detail area displays a brief description of the command.

Assigning Keyboard Shortcuts

Customizing shortcuts in the Command Editor is fast and easy. Because the default Standard Set includes commands for which no shortcut is defined, you may want to apply a new shortcut to a command. Because you cannot modify the Standard Set, you must first duplicate that set and then customize the new duplicate set.

To duplicate the currently active command set:

1 Choose Duplicate from the pop-up menu at the top of the Command Editor.

A dialog appears and prompts you to name the new command set.

2 Type a name in the dialog, then click OK.

The new duplicate command set is saved and appears as an item in both the pop-up menu in the Command Editor and the Command submenu of the Aperture menu.

Now that you have a duplicate set of assigned keyboard shortcuts, you can modify the individual key assignments to create new or modified shortcuts.

To add or modify a keyboard shortcut:

1 Using the search field (or browsing the Command list) of the Command Editor, select

the command to which you want to assign a new keyboard shortcut.

2 Using your physical keyboard, press the combination of keys you want to use for the

command (for example, Shift-Option-T).

Note: When you assign a keyboard combination to a command, the Delete key becomes an assignable key when one of the modifier keys (Command, Shift, Option, or Control) is held down. See how to delete a command set below.

If the key combination is not already assigned to a command, the virtual keyboard updates to show the new key assignment. A gray dot appears on the newly assigned key or keys, and a color is applied if the command belongs to a color-coded command group.

If the key combination is already assigned to a command, Aperture displays the current assignment and prompts you to confirm the change.

Once you make changes to the command set, you can use several methods to save the changes.

84 Part I Interface and Acquisition

To save a command set:

m Click the Save button in the lower-right corner of the Command Editor.

If you close the Command Editor with unsaved changes, Aperture prompts you to save the command set.

To delete a command set:

1 Make sure you are using the command set you want to delete, then choose Delete

from the pop-up menu at the top of the Command Editor.

A dialog appears.

2 Click Delete.

The command set is removed, and the Standard Set becomes the active set of commands.

Importing and Exporting Command Sets

Once you save a command set, you may want to export it to create a backup or to share the new set with someone. Exported command sets are saved in a file that can be imported back into Aperture at a later time.

To export a set of keyboard shortcuts:

1 If necessary, use the pop-up menu to activate the command set you want to export,

then do one of the following:

Â Choose Aperture > Commands > Export.

Â In the Command Editor, choose Export from the pop-up menu.

2 In the dialog that appears, navigate to the location where you want to save the

exported command set, then type a name in the Save As field.

3 Click OK.

The file is saved in the location you chose, with the “.commandset” filename extension.

To import a set of keyboard shortcuts:

1 Do one of the following:

Â Choose Aperture > Commands > Import.

Â In the Command Editor, choose Import from the pop-up menu.

2 In the dialog that appears, navigate to the location where you have stored a command

set file, select it, then click Open.

The new command set is added to the Commands submenu of the Aperture menu and to the pop-up menu in the Command Editor.

If you are already using a command set with the same name, a dialog appears and prompts you to rename the set.

Chapter 2 The Aperture Interface 85

Setting Aperture Preferences

You can use the Preferences window to specify settings in Aperture. By taking time to specify your preference settings, you can speed up your workflow.

To open the Preferences window:

m Choose Aperture > Preferences, or press Command-Comma (,).

The Preferences window appears.

General button Click this button to display options for setting the location of your

Appearance button Click this button to display options for customizing the Aperture

Export button Click this button to display options for selecting an external editor

Previews button Click this button to display options for how Aperture creates and

Metadata button Click this button to display options for choosing what metadata

MobileMe button Click this button to display options for reviewing and updating

E F

library, specifying what Aperture should do when a camera is connected to your computer, and other image management options.

interface, including setting background brightness for the Browser and Viewer, displaying tooltips and badges, and more.

for changing your images outside of Aperture, as well as selecting the email application and settings you want used when emailing images. You can also create a copyright statement that will be included in webpages that you create.

displays preview images.

is shown with images in the Browser and Viewer, as well as in image tooltips.

web galleries that you’ve published to MobileMe.

86 Part I Interface and Acquisition

General Preferences

“Show alert when import

is finished” checkbox

“Create new versions

when making adjustments” checkbox

Auto Adjust Black

Clip slider

Library Location field Displays the default location of the library. To specify a custom

“When a camera

is connected” pop-up menu

Auto Adjust White

Clip slider

“Show warning when

deleting masters” checkbox

Reset All Warnings

button

Select this checkbox to have Aperture show an alert message when importing images is complete.

Select this checkbox to have Aperture automatically create a new version when you adjust a selected image.

Use the Auto Adjust Black Clip slider and value slider to add tolerance to Auto Levels adjustments when evaluating colors beyond black.

location for the Aperture library, click Choose and navigate to a location to store the library. Reopen Aperture to complete the location change.

Specify which application should open when a camera is connected to your computer.

Use the Auto Adjust White Clip slider and value slider to add tolerance to Auto Levels adjustments when evaluating colors beyond white.

Select this checkbox to have Aperture display an alert message when you delete masters.

Click this button to display warning messages. If you have set Aperture not to display certain warnings, this button resets Aperture to display them again.

Chapter 2 The Aperture Interface 87

Appearance Preferences

“Show activity label

next to the status indicator” checkbox

“Show number of

versions for projects and albums” checkbox

“Show ‘Loading...’

indicator while full size images load” checkbox

“Double-click photo”

pop-up menu

Cold Area Display

Threshold slider

Browser Background

Brightness slider

Viewer Background

Brightness slider

Hot Area Display

Threshold slider

Clipping Overlay

pop-up menu

Search Scope

pop-up menu

Select this checkbox to set Aperture to display the current activity next to the status indicator.

Select this checkbox to have Aperture display the number of versions in a project or album in the Projects inspector.

Select this checkbox to have Aperture display an initial proxy image if there is any delay when loading a full-size image.

Choose an option from this pop-up menu to set what Aperture does when you double-click a thumbnail in the Browser. You can set Aperture to switch to Viewer Only view, switch to Full Screen view, or do nothing. Double-clicking the image again restores Aperture to the original view.

You can view an image’s cold areas (where black data in any color channel has been clipped) by choosing View > Highlight Hot & Cold Areas. To adjust the threshold used to determine an image’s cold areas, drag the slider.

Adjust the Browser background brightness using this slider.

Adjust the Viewer background brightness using this slider.

You can view an image’s hot areas (where highlight data in any color channel has been clipped) by choosing View > Highlight Hot & Cold Areas. To adjust the threshold used to determine an image’s hot areas, drag the slider.

Choose color or monochrome for the display of your clipping overlays.

Use this pop-up menu to set your preferences for how Aperture performs searches. You can have Aperture search for your entered text throughout all the metadata associated with your images or perform a limited text search that doesn’t search through your images’ EXIF information.

88 Part I Interface and Acquisition

“Show tooltips on

controls” checkbox

“Badge referenced

images” checkbox

Export Preferences

Email Export Preset

pop-up menu

External Editor File

Format pop-up menu

External Image

Editor field

“Email images using”

pop-up menu

Web Copyright field Enter copyright text for webpages and web journals here.

Select this checkbox to have Aperture display the names of interface items when you place your pointer over them.

Select this checkbox to have Aperture display badges that identify referenced images.

Choose an export preset to use when exporting images to your email client. If you want to create a custom export preset, click Edit and create a new preset in the Export Presets dialog.

Choose a file format in which to export an image to an external editor from this pop-up menu. You can also specify the dotper-inch (dpi) resolution of the image in the dpi field.

You can use an external editor to make adjustments to your images. To identify an external image editor, click Choose and select an application. To open an image in the external editor, select the image, then choose Images > Edit With > External Editor.

If you want to export images to an email client, choose the email application from this pop-up menu.

Chapter 2 The Aperture Interface 89

Previews Preferences

Preview Quality slider To change the image quality of the previews, drag the Preview

“Use embedded JPEG

from camera when possible” checkbox

“New projects

automatically generate previews” checkbox

“Share previews with

iLife and iWork” checkbox

“Limit preview size”

pop-up menu

Quality slider. The higher the quality you select, the more disk space the previews require.

Select this checkbox to set Aperture to use the JPEG thumbnail of an image produced by the camera, if available.

To set Aperture to create previews for the images in all new projects and new libraries, select this checkbox. Deselect this option if you don’t want previews created for images in new projects.

To enable sharing of JPEG preview images with iLife and iWork applications, select this checkbox.

To set a maximum pixel size for your previews, choose a size from this pop-up menu.

90 Part I Interface and Acquisition

Metadata Preferences

Viewer area Select the Viewer checkbox to specify how you want metadata

Light Table area Select the “Show badges and ratings” checkbox to display badges

Browser area Select the Browser checkbox to specify how you want metadata

List View Columns area Select the List View Columns checkbox to specify how you want

Image Tooltips area Select the Image Tooltips checkbox to specify what metadata you

displayed for images in the Viewer. Select the Set buttons and choose the information you want displayed from the Set 1 and Set 2 pop-up menus. You can also choose where the information should appear from the Placement pop-up menus. Select the Set 1 or Set 2 button to select the metadata view you want displayed as the default.

and icons on images in the Light Table.

displayed for images in the Browser in grid view and filmstrip view. Select the Set buttons and choose the information you want displayed from the Set 1 and Set 2 pop-up menus. You can also choose where the information should appear from the Placement pop-up menus. Select the Set 1 or Set 2 button to select the metadata view you want displayed as the default.

metadata displayed for images in the Browser in list view. Select the Set buttons and choose the information you want displayed from the Set 1 and Set 2 pop-up menus. Select the Set 1 or Set 2 button to select the metadata view you want displayed as the default.

want displayed in an image’s tooltip. Choose a metadata view from the Set pop-up menu.

Chapter 2 The Aperture Interface 91

MobileMe Preferences

Gallery Title field Enter text in this field to specify the webpage title that appears on

“Check for new photos”

pop-up menu

“Albums you

published” list

iDisk Storage indicator Indicates the amount of iDisk storage space that your web galleries

Buy More button Click this button to buy more storage space for your web galleries.

your MobileMe page.

Choose whether you want Aperture to update your web galleries automatically on a scheduled basis or whether you want to update them manually. You can have Aperture automatically update the galleries once an hour, once a day, or once a week.

Lists the albums that you currently have published on your MobileMe account. You can select an album and click Stop Publishing to remove the album from your MobileMe account.

are currently using and the total amount that you have access to.

3 Working with Aperture Projects

The basic components of Aperture, including projects, albums, and versions, provide the building blocks for working in a nondestructive environment.

This chapter explains basic elements in Aperture and describes how to set up and use projects to hold your images.

This chapter covers:

Â Basic Components of Aperture (p. 94)

Â Working with Projects (p. 100)

Â Creating and Naming Projects (p. 101)

Â Opening and Closing Projects (p. 103)

Â Creating and Showing Favorite Projects (p. 104)

Â Deleting Images from Projects and Albums (p. 105)

Â Deleting Items from the Projects Inspector (p. 105)

Â Working with Library Files (p. 106)

Â Working with the Library in the Projects Inspector (p. 108)

Â Quickly Accessing Commands (p. 108)

Basic Components of Aperture

Aperture uses the following basic components in your image management system:

Â Masters: The original image files imported from your camera, memory card,

computer, or external storage media.

Â Versions: Files derived from the masters and used to display your images with any

changes you’ve made, including image adjustments or changes to metadata.

Â Projects: Containers that hold masters, versions, and albums. Projects can hold tens

of thousands of masters and even more versions.

Â Albums: Containers that hold versions. You can create albums to organize images

within projects or outside of them.

Â Folders: Containers used to organize projects and albums.

Â Library: The Aperture database that records and tracks your masters and all

corresponding versions. You can also create multiple Aperture library files in different locations. The library tracks all the information about projects and albums you create to organize your images.

Â Managed and referenced images: Masters stored in the Aperture library are called

managed images because Aperture manages the location of the image files in its

database. Managed images are physically located in the Aperture Library file in the Pictures folder. You can also import images into Aperture without storing the masters in the library. Images that are not stored in the library are called referenced images. Aperture links to referenced images in their current locations on your hard disk, without placing them in the Aperture Library file.

Â Vaults: Containers that each hold a backup of the library and all its images

and information.

The next sections explain details about each of these elements and how you work with them in Aperture.

What Are Masters?

A digital master file, or master, is the original RAW, GIF, JPEG, TIFF, DNG, or PNG file that was imported into Aperture from a camera, a memory card, a computer, or external storage media such as an external hard disk drive or CD. Aperture never changes the master, so you always have originals to work from.

Important: Masters—especially RAW files—tend to be quite large. Projects consisting

of several thousand masters require high-capacity hard disks.

For information about importing your masters, see Chapter 4, “Importing Images,” on page 109.

94 Part I Interface and Acquisition

What Are Versions?

Once you have masters on your hard disk, you can review and make adjustments to your images. For example, you can change the exposure, contrast, or saturation, or add information to an image, such as the photographer’s name, event, and location. To work with images, Aperture creates a “version” of each master that includes your adjustments and embedded information, and leaves the master unchanged. A version refers to the master on your hard disk, but it is not the master itself. Versions store only the thumbnail image, adjustments, and embedded information. A full image file is not created until you are ready to print or export, saving valuable storage space on your hard disk.

In many cases, your workflow may call for different renderings of the same image. For example, a client may request a color as well as a black-and-white version of the same head shot. You can create multiple versions of the same image in Aperture at any time.

Versions

Master

from Master 1

Versions

from Master 2

Versions from Master 3

Computer

Pictures

folder

Aperture

Library file

Master

When you create a version, Aperture reads the original master on disk and displays it on the screen. As you make adjustments or add information to the image, Aperture displays the image with your changes to the version, but the original master is never changed.

Chapter 3 Working with Aperture Projects 95

What Are Projects?

You organize your masters and versions using projects. A project is a container consisting of image versions and their corresponding masters. A project can hold tens of thousands of masters, and you can create as many projects as you wish up to the limitations of your disk space. For example, you can create a new project for each of your shoots. Or if you do several shoots of the same subject, you may want to create a project that encompasses all of the shoots. Projects are the most basic component of Aperture because they contain your masters and track all changes to versions.

You can easily transfer projects from one Aperture system to another. All links between versions and their masters are maintained when projects are transferred. This is particularly useful if you use a portable computer when on location or away from your studio, and a workstation at your studio. For more information, see “Transferring

Projects from Another System” on page 143.

Project opened to show

its contents

Projects

You can have multiple projects open at the same time, each represented by its own icon in the Projects inspector and tab in the Browser.

What Are Albums?

An album is a container in the Aperture library that holds only image versions (not the masters to which they refer). You use albums to organize images in the library, making your selections of versions easier to manage. You can create albums at the library level or within a project.

You use albums created at the library level to organize versions from multiple projects. For example, you can create an album to consolidate your favorite images, or “selects,” from multiple projects. You can then publish this collection of selects on your website or export the album’s contents for review by a prospective client.

96 Part I Interface and Acquisition

Three albums created

within one project

You can also create albums within projects to help you organize your images into relevant groups. For example, images in your Soccer project can be divided into three albums: Game 1, Game 2, and Game 3.

You can also place versions from other projects into an album that resides within a project.

What Are Folders?

In Aperture, you use folders to organize projects and albums. For example, you can import images into projects and then place the projects in folders based on photo type or location. If you shoot multiple projects for the same client, you can create a folder that holds the client’s individual projects.

These folders organize

images based on type

and location.

Folders contain only albums, projects, and other folders. They don’t contain masters or versions.

Chapter 3 Working with Aperture Projects 97

What Is the Library?

The Aperture library tracks every project, album, master, and version no matter whether the images are stored in the Aperture Library file or in other hard disk locations. Aperture automatically creates a library file in your Pictures folder the first time you open Aperture. You can choose to import images into the library or have Aperture access them from other locations on different hard disks. The library tracks all your images and the information recorded about them, as well as information about where backup files are stored. You can access the library by clicking the Library icon at the top of the Projects inspector.

You can change the location of the library file to a different folder or a different disk. You can specify where the library should be located using the Preferences window. For more information about working with multiple library files in Aperture, see “Working

with Library Files” on page 106.

Projects that you transfer from other Aperture systems to your Aperture system are also added to the library. And when you back up your masters to your vaults on external FireWire drives, those actions are tracked by the Aperture library as well.

What Are Managed Images and Referenced Images?

Aperture lets you choose how you organize your photos on disk. You can store your photos in the Aperture library, or you can import images by simply linking to the image files in their current locations, without placing them in the library.

Images whose masters are stored in the Aperture library are called managed images. These masters are stored in the library exactly as they were in previous versions of Aperture. Aperture manages master image files in the library, keeping them always accessible, and provides benefits such as one-click backup of masters to vaults.

Imported images whose masters haven’t been placed in the library are called referenced images. Using referenced images in your Aperture system can provide a number of substantial benefits to your photography workflow. You can incorporate your existing portfolio of images into Aperture without changing the current location of the files. Importing images by reference does not result in a duplication of your image files in the Aperture library, thus saving hard disk space. You can also connect and disconnect hard disks holding your referenced images’ masters as you need them. This allows you to keep masters for less-used images offline or to make specific types of images available for editing or adjustments as needed. Using referenced images in your Aperture system provides a means of building a flexible image management system customized to your work style.

98 Part I Interface and Acquisition

You specify that an image will be a managed image or a referenced image when you import it. When importing images, you can:

Â Specify that masters be stored in the Aperture library

Â Import images as referenced images, so that their masters remain in their

current locations

Â Move or copy image files to a new location. For example, you might decide that a

certain group of referenced image files, such as wedding photos, will always be placed in one hard disk location, while other groups, such as sports photos, will reside in a different hard disk location.

You can work with referenced images—creating versions, making adjustments, cropping, and adding metadata—just as you can with images whose masters are stored in the library. Versions that you create from a referenced image are stored in the library. In order for you to make adjustments to a version from a referenced image, the referenced image’s master must be available on your hard disk or other storage device. For example, if you delete a referenced image’s master in the Finder, Aperture no longer has access to the master and so no longer allows you to change your versions or create new ones.

To help you identify referenced images, Aperture marks them with a badge overlay that you can display or hide. When a referenced image’s master is missing or offline, its badge changes to show that the image is not accessible. For example, if you disconnect a hard disk that holds masters for many referenced images, Aperture automatically marks the referenced images in the Browser and Viewer as offline. If you reconnect the hard disk or other storage device later, Aperture accesses the masters automatically and you can work with and change their versions again.

You can also relocate masters, moving them out of the library or moving referenced masters to different hard disk locations. If needed, you can also move referenced masters into the Aperture library by choosing the Consolidate command.

You can search for images based on whether they are managed images, referenced images, or online or offline images. Aperture also provides robust file-management tools that let you quickly determine which images are offline and easily reconnect images that have been moved to different volumes.

Chapter 3 Working with Aperture Projects 99

What Is a Vault?

To ensure you have backup copies of your images, you create a vault to hold the backup. A vault is a container that holds an exact copy of the library. This includes projects, masters, and any versions you’ve created. You can easily create and update a vault to back up the library. It’s a good idea to create multiple vaults on multiple external hard drives to safeguard copies of the library.

You can have as many vaults as you deem necessary. Creating more than one vault is useful if you work at different locations; you can always keep one vault on a FireWire drive onsite and another one offsite. All vaults and backup files are tracked by the library so that even if you disconnect the external hard drive that contains a vault, Aperture can access it the next time you reconnect the drive and update the vault.

All the masters and versions for managed images are backed up, as well as all metadata, previews, and adjustment information associated with managed images. The versions, previews, metadata, and adjustment information associated with referenced masters are also backed up in the vault. Referenced masters are not backed up in the vault with the library.

Important: Because the masters for referenced images are stored outside of the library,

you must manage the backup and archiving of them yourself.

Working with Projects

How you use and organize your projects depends on the scope of your workflow as well as your particular organizational style. These factors also affect your decision to use one or more albums in your project.

Organizing Your Projects

Typically, you create a new project for each photographic project or job that you work on, regardless of its duration. For example, if you’re working on a documentary in Thailand, you would create a project for it. If you’re also shooting the temples in the interior of the country, that could be a second, separate project. Both projects could conceivably refer to some of the same images, but they are completely independent structures, each with its own versions, masters, and albums.

Very large photography projects, such as documentaries and sporting events, often consist of large numbers of captured images. You can always break one project into several should the need arise.

100 Part I Interface and Acquisition

Apple Aperture - 2.0 User Manual

Specifications and Main Features

Frequently Asked Questions

User Manual

Contents

Introducing Aperture

What’s Next?

1 An Overview of Aperture

A First Look at Aperture

About Aperture Sample Projects

Creating Projects and Importing Your Photos

Creating Projects

Importing Images

Importing Files from Your Body of Work

Photo Editing with Aperture

Viewing and Working with Images

Working with Heads-Up Displays

Working with Inspectors

Rating Images with Aperture

Finding and Displaying Images with the Query HUD

Comparing Photos

Stacking Images

Assigning Keywords to Images

Grouping Images with Smart Albums

Image Processing

Distribution

Presenting Your Images in Slideshows

Reviewing Images in the Aperture Light Table

Publishing Your Images in Webpages and Web Journals

Printing Your Images in Books

Printing and Exporting Images

Sharing Images with iLife and iWork Applications

Backing Up Your Work

2 The Aperture Interface

The Aperture Main Window

Arranging the Interface

Browser

Browser in Filmstrip View

Browser in Grid View

Browser in List View

Viewer

Tool Strip

Display Controls

Full Screen View

Controls in the Filmstrip

Controls in the Toolbar

Inspector Pane

Projects Inspector

Metadata Inspector

Adjustments Inspector

Toolbar

Control Bar

Keyword Controls

Rating Buttons

Navigation Buttons

Import Pane

Vault Pane

Book Layout Editor

Pages Pane

Book Layout Controls

Text, Metadata, and Photo Box Buttons

Page Display Controls

Cover and Page Display Buttons

Printing and Page Navigation Buttons

Webpage Editor

Webpage Controls

Web Journal Controls

Light Table

Heads-Up Displays

Inspector HUD

Individual Adjustment Tool HUDs

Query HUD

Keywords HUD

Changing Views

Customizing the Toolbar

Hiding and Showing the Toolbar

Customizing the Toolbar Buttons

Customizing Keyboard Shortcuts

Command Editor Interface

Assigning Keyboard Shortcuts