Setting Preferences for Saving Files

The Saving Files portion of the Preferences dialog box provides a number of ways to control how Photoshop Elements manages your saved files, including options for displaying file extensions and thumbnail previews.

To set the Saving Files preferences

1.	From the Edit menu, choose Preferences > Saving Files (Windows). The Preferences dialog box opens with the Saving Files window active (Figure 11.5). Figure 11.5. The Saving Files window of the Preferences dialog box.
2.	From the On First Save drop-down menu, you can choose when you want to be prompted with the Save As dialog box (Figure 11.6). Figure 11.6. The On First Save drop-down menu lets you control when the Save As dialog box appears.
3.	From the Image Previews drop-down menu, choose an option to either save or not save a preview with the file (Figure 11.7). Figure 11.7. You can save a preview of your image that will display a thumbnail of your image in the Open dialog box of some applications. When an application supports them, images saved with a preview will appear with a thumbnail version in that application's Open or Place dialog box.
4.	From the File Extension drop-down menu, choose whether you want your file extensions in uppercase or lowercase characters (Figure 11.8). Figure 11.8. Use the File Extension drop-down menu to determine how you want filename extensions displayed.
5.	In the File Compatibility portion of the dialog box, set the Maximize PSD File Compatibility drop-down menu to Always (Figure 11.9). This ensures that the maximum number of compatibility options is always available to you. Figure 11.9. The Always option will ensure your saved files are compatible with other applications.
6.	Digital cameras assign their own color profiles (EXIF profiles) to your digital photos. If you'd prefer to assign your own profiles once you've opened your image in Photoshop Elements, select the Ignore Camera Data (EXIF) profiles check box.
7.	In the Recent File List Contains text box, enter a number from 1 to 30 (Figure 11.10). Figure 11.10. Specify the number of filenames that are displayed when you choose Open Recent from the File menu. This sets the number of filenames available to you when you select Open Recent from the File menu.
8.	Click OK to close the dialog box and apply your preferences settings.

Adding Personalized File Information

With any Photoshop Elements file open, choose File Info from the File menu to open the File Info dialog box (Figure 11.11). Within this simple dialog box, you can add personalized information specific to any file, including title, author, caption, and copyright information. Although most of the information entered here is accessible only by opening the dialog box from within Photoshop Elements, some of it does have practical uses both inside and outside the application. Entries from the Title, Author, Caption, and Copyright Notice text fields can be included when you create a Picture Package (see "Creating a Photographer's Picture Package" later in this chapter). Also, the Caption field can be included with any saved image (see "Setting Additional Printing Options" later in this chapter). And if you select Copyrighted Work from the Copyright Status drop-down menu, a copyright symbol appears in the Image Window title bar, alerting anyone who receives a copy of your file that it's copyright protected (Figure 11.12).

Figure 11.11. Use the File Info dialog box to add title, copyright, and other information to any specific file.

Figure 11.12. When a file is assigned copyright status in the File Info dialog box, a copyright symbol appears next to the filename at the top of the image window.

The File Info dialog box is also useful for retrieving information. Many digital cameras include EXIF annotations (such as date and time, resolution, exposure time, and f-stop settings) for each digital photo. To access this information, click the Camera Data 1 or Camera Data 2 heads in the left column of the dialog box. Any EXIF information exported with the photo from your digital camera will be displayed in the File Info dialog box (Figure 11.13). You can use this information to record exposure and f-stop settings from your more successful photos, a handy reference for future photography outings. You can also view EXIF annotations in the Information area of the File Browser.

Figure 11.13. The File Info dialog box displays EXIF information included with photos exported from digital cameras.