LightBoxª: An Introduction LightBoxª for the Apple¨ Macintoshª is a utility bundled with PhotoDisc that classifies, stores, indexes and retrieves the photos provided on disk. This section contains information on the basic operations of LightBox. You can try these procedures with the photos provided with PhotoDisc. You will see: ¥ How to access documents from a catalog ¥ How to index and sort a catalog document ¥ How to select images from a catalog ¥ How to customize the catalog layout Quick Start If you want to get started without reading through the entire guide, this section provides you with what you absolutely need to know in order to use LightBox. Note: LightBox requires Apple system software version 6.07 or later. Install QuickTime If you have not yet done so, copy the QuickTimeª system extension from the disc provided into your System folder. Without QuickTime installed, LightBox will not work properly, and no thumbnails will appear. Thumbnails A thumbnail (or slide) is a miniature picture of an image file. It contains information about the file's location on your disk, its name, and its size. You can also add your own information to a thumbnail, like a list of keywords or a set of attributes. Thumbnails do not contain whole documents, they only refer to them. However, you can easily find or access a document by selecting the corresponding thumbnail. You can change the shape and size of a thumbnail, and the information displayed with it. Catalogs A catalog is a LightBox document containing thumbnails. You can sort, index, or find specific thumbnails inside a catalog. A catalog stores information about the location of your image files, including files stored on unmounted discs. Indexing Indexing is the process of adding specific information to thumbnails to ease sorting and selection. For example, indexing an image allows you to customize information such as, the source, the author, and keywords describing the image. Once an image has been indexed, you can retrieve sets of images meeting similar criteria. Accessing Documents The LightBox catalog is a powerful graphical database. You can also use thumbnails in LightBox to view documents without actually opening them, or view a series of files with the ÒStart Slide ShowÓ command. Viewing Documents To view a file, double-click on the thumbnail of the picture you wish to view. A window containing the document will open. You can zoom in or out on it using ÒZoomÓ under the Windows menu or by using the option key - click combination to zoom in and out. You can also use standard selection and editing techniques on any part of the image. Editing Documents To edit an image file: 1. Select the thumbnail of the document you want to edit. 2. Choose ÒOpen Selected FileÓ in the Tools menu. The application which created the file will launch and open the file via the AppleEvents mechanism. If there is insufficient memory or the application which created the file is unavailable, the Finder will display an appropriate alert message. Tools Menu The Tools Menu contains commands to: modify a file linked to a thumbnail, copy or remove files, and to interact with the Finder. Descriptions for each of the specific Tools menu items can be found in ÒLightBox Menu Descriptions.Ó Indexing Indexing your catalog brings you two advantages: ¥ By adding information, specific images are easier to find. ¥ You can merge catalogs more effectively without the problem of duplicate images. Indexing Dialog Box To index your catalog: 1. Select the thumbnails you want to index. Note: To quickly locate thumbnails that have yet to be indexed, omit this step and go to step 2 (make no thumbnail selection) and all non-indexed thumbnails will appear. 2. Choose ÒIndexÓ in the Catalog menu. The Indexing dialog box appears. The top left corner of the dialog box contains information you canÕt alter: file name, folder, index number and catalog number. Each catalog document is given a unique catalog ID number. Each thumbnail is given a unique Index ID number. Note: Index numbers are assigned only if the thumbnail has not been previously indexed. 3. Type information in the editing fields. The Keywords field contains lists describing the image content. Each keyword is separated by a comma. 4. Click the appropriate ÒAttributesÓ check box. (Because a run-time-only version of Lightbox is supplied on the Adobe Auditionª CD-ROM, it is not possible to define any the ÒAttributesÓ fields. They can only be used as checked/unchecked ÒtogglesÓ to help classify your images. Because of this limited functionality, we recommend the use of keywords instead of attributes to classify your images) 5. Click the right arrow below the thumbnail view. The next thumbnail appears. You MUST click on an arrow for your previous entry to take effect. 6. Click OK when you have finished. Note: Double-clicking a thumbnail will display its contents in a window. Note: If you want to alter all or a group of selected thumbnails, click the ÒPatch AllÓ button after selecting the thumbnails, then type new information in the fields of the dialog box that appears. Selecting Documents There are two different ways to "tag" an image using the LightBox utility. One way, most commonly used, is called Òselect,Ó and is achieved by clicking once on a Thumbnail. A multiple selection is accomplished by holding the SHIFT key. Another way to find specific documents is by ÒmarkingÓ them. Marking Marks are shown in the top right corner of a thumbnail. To mark a specific set of thumbnails, first select the thumbnails to be marked, then go to ÒMark SelectedÓ in the Select menu (command-M). Conversely, you can unmark thumbnails by choosing ÒUnmark SelectedÓ in the Select menu. If you want to call up only marked items, choose ÒDisplay MarkedÓ in the Select menu. To call up all thumbnails, choose ÒDisplay All.Ó All marked and unmarked thumbnails will be shown. Sorting & Moving Thumbnails You can change the order in which Thumbnails are displayed in two ways: ¥ by manually dragging a thumbnail between two others. The thumbnail will be inserted into its new position. ¥ or by choosing an item in the ÒSort ByÓ sub-menu in the Display menu. Finding To display only specific thumbnails: 1. Choose ÒFindÓ in the Select menu. The Find dialog box appears. 2. Enter the word(s) or reference describing the thumbnail you wish to find. By clicking the ÒMoreÉÓ pop-up menu, you can enter two different search criteria, joined by the Boolean operators ÒOr,Ó And,Ó or ÒBut Not.Ó 3. Select from the ÒIn:Ó pop-up menu the fields you wish to explore. 4. Click the Find button. Only thumbnails containing the word(s) or reference you specified will be displayed. Choose ÒMark SelectedÓ to mark them. Choose ÒDisplay AllÓ to re-display all of the thumbnails. Search and Select To make more complex selections: 1. Choose ÒSelectÓ in the Select menu. The ÒSelect In CatalogÓ dialog box appears. 2. Type the information you wish to find in the editable fields. Leave fields with no specific values blank. Thumbnails with fields matching your specified text will appear. 3. Choose the value of the attributes. If you want an attribute to be true, click it once to make the diamond icon next to it black. If you want an attribute to be false, click twice to make it white. Leave the diamonds gray if you donÕt have a specific value. 4. Choose the keywords. You can either make a text entry the keywords edit field, or double-click a keyword from the list. 5. Click one of the Action radio buttons. ÒDisplayÓ will display only the thumbnails matching your request. Choose ÒDisplay AllÓ in the Select menu to display all thumbnails. ÒMarkÓ will mark all thumbnails matching your request. The previously marked thumbnails remain marked. ÒSelectÓ will select all thumbnails matching your request. The previous selection is lost. 6. Click the Filter button. Your request is processed immediately. 7. Click the box at the top left corner of the dialog box to close it. To broaden or narrow your request: 1. Choose ÒSelectÓ in the Select menu. The ÒSelect In CatalogÓ dialog box appears. 2. Click the Òkeep last filterÓ check box. 3. Click the ÒunionÓ button to broaden your search or ÒintersectionÓ to narrow it. 4. Repeat steps 2 to 6 above. Customizing Thumbnail Displays You can choose the size and appearance of thumbnails, and the information they display. Thumbnail Layout The following steps show how to alter the thumbnail display to suit your particular needs. 1. Choose ÒThumbnail LayoutÓ in the Display Menu. The Thumbnail Layout dialog box appears. 2. Select ÒSmallÓ in the ÒSampleÓ pop-up menu. The sample layout displayed above the pop-up menu will change. The numeric values of the fields to the right will also change. 3. Change the value of one of the editable fields. Grid Width and Grid Height are the vertical and horizontal blank spaces (in pixels) between each thumbnail. These two values can be changed directly by dragging on the dotted lines. Decorator Thickness is the width of the frame surrounding the slide. It refers to the longest sides of the slide frame which is measured in pixels. For the slide to display correctly, the frame should be bigger than the slide. 4. Choose the information displayed using the pop-up menus. A set of four possible information boxes will be displayed. The first two are displayed below the slide. The other two are displayed inside the slide. 5. Click the ÒBackground ColorÓ button to bring up the standard Apple color picker. Choose a color background that best contrasts the slides you are using. Grid Layout The ÒGrid LayoutÓ menu allows you to choose the number of columns you want to display your slides. File Menu NewÉ This command creates a new catalog document. You may add thumbnails to this new catalog from other catalogs by using standard Copy and Paste techniques. OpenÉ This command opens a catalog file in a new window. You may open as many catalog windows as the LightBox memory setting allows. Close This command closes the active window. Save This command saves the current catalog document. If you have modified your catalog file (e.g.: sorting images, indexing images, or changing the thumbnail settings), you need to ÒSaveÓ the file to make those modifications permanent. You may save changes to your catalog file only if you copied it to your hard drive. Files stored on CD-ROM cannot be altered. Save asÉ This command saves the current catalog document under a new name. The original remains unmodified. Save Image asÉ This command saves the selected image into a new PICT file. Page SetupÉ Displays the standard Apple page set-up dialog box. PrintÉ Displays the standard Apple print dialog box. You can use the print command to generate a hard copy of a set of thumbnails. Quit Quits the LightBox application. Edit Menu Undo, Redo This command cancels the last action performed on a file. Repeating the command reinstates the last action performed. Cut, Copy, Paste Thumbnails mode: These commands allows you to cut, copy and paste thumbnails (including the information associated with each) between catalog files. Image mode: When an image is displayed in a window you may select all or part of it and copy this selection into the clipboard for pasting into other applications or the scrapbook. Show Clipboard Opens a window displaying the last object cut or copied into the Clipboard. Tools Menu Copy Selection inÉ This command duplicates the currently selected files and saves them into a destination folder specified by the user. This method is faster than copying files with the Finder. Open Selected File This command opens a file exactly as double-clicking would do under the Finder. Use this to open the selected image with the application that created it. Put File in Trash This command moves the selected file(s) into the trash. You can return the file to its original folder by selecting it in the Finder and using the ÒPut AwayÓ command. Put File on Desk This command moves the selected file(s) onto the desktop. This makes your file easier to access with the Finder. You can return it to its original folder by using the ÒPut AwayÓ command in the Finder. Reveal Selected File This command opens the folder containing the selected file as the front most Finder window. The file itself is selected, allowing you to work directly on it. Catalog Menu Export Catalog DataÉ This command exports data from selected thumbnails into a text file. If no thumbnails are selected, data from the whole catalog is exported. LightBox first presents a ÒThumbnail FieldsÓ export dialog box, which contains two panels: ¥ a thumbnail field selection panel ¥ a data record panel Select fields from the Thumbnail Field panel and use the ÒCopyÓ button to move them into the Data Record panel. You may change the order of the fields by using the ÔupÕ and ÔdownÕ arrow buttons. After selecting the thumbnail fields you want and putting them in your desired order, click the ÒExportÓ button. LightBox will prompt you for a file name and then export the data. Get InfoÉ This displays a window showing all the information for the selected thumbnails. Use the arrow buttons to browse through the thumbnails. IndexÉ This command allows you to change a thumbnailÕs key words, user info, and attributes. Select Menu The commands in the Select menu involve finding, displaying, marking and selecting thumbnails within a catalog file. These commands are not ÒUndo-ableÓ under the Edit menu. FindÉ This command allows you to quickly find and display all thumbnails that match specified criteria. You may restrict the search to specific fields using the pop-up menu to the right. You may also restrict or expand your search by using the ÒMoreÓ pop-up menu. SelectÉ This command is used to search for specific thumbnails and then display, select, or mark them. You may restrict or expand your selections by checking ÒKeep Last Filter.Ó Click the ÒUnionÓ button to expand your selection, or click the ÒIntersectionÓ button to reduce it. Select All This command selects all thumbnails that are currently displayed. Inverse This command selects all currently displayed thumbnails that are not selected, and de-selects all previously selected thumbnails. None This command de-selects all currently displayed thumbnails. Mark Selected This command marks all selected thumbnails. Select Marked This command selects all currently displayed thumbnails that are marked (i.e., indicated by a ÔÃÕ). Unmark All This command removes the marks from all currently displayed thumbnails. Unmark Selected This command removes the marks from all of the selected thumbnails. Display Menu Display All This command displays all of the thumbnails in a catalog file. Display Marked This command displays only the thumbnails in a catalog that are ÒmarkedÓ (indicated by a ÔÃÕ). Display Selected This command restricts the display to only the selected thumbnails. Sort ByÉ This item allows you to sort your thumbnails according to the fields listed in the ÒSort ByÉÓ sub-menu. You can also change the order of thumbnails by dragging one in between two others. Grid Layout This item provides a sub-menu where you can change the number of thumbnail columns to fit your window or screen size. Thumbnail Layout This command allows you to customize the grid layout of all the thumbnails in a catalog file. You may use the default choices, or change the grid spacing and border thickness by dragging the dotted lines or entering parameters into the appropriate fields. You can also select which information you want displayed with all thumbnails. Thumbnail OptionsÉ This command allows you to choose the type of compression method used to generate the thumbnails, as well as whether or not to always update the thumbnail display as the source file changes. Set Slide ShowÉ This command allows you to set parameters for an on-screen Òslide showÓ of the selected images in a particular catalog. You can change slides by clicking the mouse, or set a timed interval between slides. You can also select a sound file to play during the slide show. Note: The slide show feature works best with a TIFF catalog file. The PICT images take much longer to display, and may not appear correctly. Choose ScreenÉ If you have more than one monitor and display card connected to your Mac, this command allows you to on which screen the slide show will play. Start/Stop Slide Show This command starts or stops the on-screen slide show according to the parameters entered in the ÒSet Slide ShowÉÓ dialog box. To hide the menus during the slide show, depress the space bar. Turn Sound On/Off This command enables or disables the shutter ÒclickÓ noise heard when browsing through thumbnails in the ÒIndexingÓ or ÒGet InfoÓ dialog boxes. Usage Note: ----------------- If you wish to open images in their native application from directly within LightBox (using the ÒOpen Selected FileÓ command from the ÒToolsÓ menu), first double-click on any thumbnail to view the high-resolution version of the file. Close the high-res view, select a thumbnail and then this command will be enabled.