B.2. File Menu

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B.1. iPhoto Menu

This first menu, Mac OS X's Application menu, takes on the name of whatever program happens to be running in the foreground. In iPhoto's case, that would be iPhoto.

B.1.1. About iPhoto

This command opens the "About" box containing the requisite Apple legalese.

There's really only one good reason to open the About iPhoto window: It's the easiest way to find out exactly which version of iPhoto you have.

B.1.2. iPhoto Hot Tips

Opens a page on Apple's Web site that lists a brief overview of iPhoto 5's newest features and tricks like keyboard shortcuts.

B.1.3. Preferences

Opens the Preferences window (Figure B-1), which has three panels to choose from:

B.1.3.1 General
  • Tell iPhoto how many months to show in the Last ___ Months album and how many rolls to show in the Last ___ Rolls album, as discussed in Chapter 5.

  • Have iPhoto display the total photo count, in parentheses, next to each album in the Source list.

  • Choose how you want iPhoto to open photos when you double-click them. You have three choices: Open the photo for editing in the main iPhoto window, open the photo in a separate window, or open it using another program (which you choose by clicking the Set button).

  • Change the setting of iPhoto's Rotate button so that it spins selected photos counterclockwise instead of clockwise.

  • Choose the email program that you want iPhoto to use when emailing pictures as attachments using the Mail Photo feature.

  • Specify whether or not iPhoto is allowed to check for ".01" upgrades that Apple releases via the Internet. If yes, then you'll see, from time to time, dialog boxes that invite you to download and install these updates (which usually fix bugs ).

Figure B-1. You'll probably be visiting iPhoto's Preferences window fairly regularly, so remember the keyboard shortcut that takes you here: -comma. You need to open Preferences every time you want to turn Photo Sharing on or off, for example.


B.1.3.2 Appearance
  • Add a drop shadow or thin black outline frame to your thumbnails in the photo-viewing area.

  • Change the background of the photo-viewing area from white to blackor any shade of gray.

  • Align thumbnails to a grid in the iPhoto window.

  • Put the most recently imported photos at the top of the iPhoto window instead of the bottom, when sorted by date (or the most recent film rolls at the top, when sorted by film roll).

  • Choose a size (small or large) for the album titles in the Source list.

B.1.3.3 Sharing

Set up iPhoto for sharing your iPhoto Library over a home or small-office network, as described on page 243.

B.1.3.4 Keywords

Here's where you add or delete keywords, which you can use to tag your photos for quick retrieval later. (Page 130 has the details.)

B.1.4. Empty Trash

Purges the contents of the iPhoto Trash, permanently deleting any photos, books, slideshows, and albums in it. There's no turning back once you choose Empty Trash: Your photos are gone, and there's no Undo command. Think before you empty.

B.1.5. Shop for iPhoto Products

This isn't so much a command as it is a marketing ploy. It opens your Web browser and opens a page on Apple's Web site that offers to sell you digital cameras , tripods, printers, and other accessories.

B.1.6. Provide iPhoto Feedback

This command takes you to a Web form on Apple's site where you can register complaints, make suggestions, or gush enthusiastically about iPhoto.

B.1.7. Register iPhoto

This is a link to yet another Apple Web page. Registering iPhoto simply means giving Apple your contact information. There's no penalty for not registering, by the way. Apple just wants to know more about who you are, so that it can offer you exciting new waves of junk mail.

B.1.8. Check for Updates

As noted on the previous page, Apple occasionally patches iPhoto to make it faster or better. If you've turned off automatic checking, you can instruct the program manually to check in with the mother ship via the Internet.

B.1.9. Hide iPhoto, Hide Others, Show All

These aren't iPhoto's commandsthey're Mac OS X's.

In any case, they determine which of the various programs running on your Mac are visible onscreen at any given moment. The Hide Others command is probably the most popular of these three. It zaps away the windows of all other programsincluding the Finderso that the iPhoto window is the only one you see.


Tip: If you know this golden Mac OS X trick, you may never need to use the Hide Others command: To switch into iPhoto from another program, hold down the Option and keys when clicking the iPhoto icon in the Dock. Doing so simultaneously brings iPhoto to the front and hides all other programs you have running, producing a distraction-free view of iPhoto.

B.1.10. Quit iPhoto

This command closes iPhoto, no questions asked. You're not even asked to save changes, because as you've probably noticed, iPhoto doesn't even have a Save command. Like Filemaker Pro, 4D, and other database programs, iPhotoitself a glorified databasecontinually saves changes as you add, delete, or edit photos.

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iPhoto 5. The Missing Manual
iPhoto 5. The Missing Manual
ISBN: 596100345
EAN: N/A
Year: 2005
Pages: 179

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