The following screenshots show
two of the customised File Browser layouts
that I use when working my way through the
process described in Part 3. The first (Figure
11) is ideal for viewing large Thumbnails
and reviewing Metadata. I use the second (Figure 12) when I need
more detailed Preview
images.
Figure 11 -
Customised Layout with focus on Metadata and associated Thumbnail
As mentioned earlier I
use the layout in Figure 11 for reviewing and occasionally inserting
Metadata into my images. You can use templates;
the editable fields depicted the pencil symbol to insert Metadata or
alternatively the File Info command found under the File
menu. Editable Metadata can include: details on the image,
copyright information, personal information, keywords to aid searching,
etc. You should note that in the case of camera raw images this data will
not be inserted into the actual image but instead stored as an
XMP sidecar file
within the same folder as the original image.
Tip: Normally the XMP (Sidecar) files cannot be seen in File
Browser, but if you would feel more comfortable with them in view then
choose Unreadable Files from the View
menu.
Figure 12
- Customised Layout with focus on High Quality Preview
Configuring the File Browser layout
in Photoshop CS is only limited by your skill at manipulating the File
Browser window itself. Once you've pushed and pulled the various
palettes to the size and
position that you want then it's simply
a matter of saving the layout using the Save Workspace command,
which is found under the Photoshop
Window menu.
Figure 13
- Saving your customised File Browser layouts
On the Macintosh platform the File Browser window
can be moved to a second monitor, but due to interface limitations
imposed by Microsoft the same is currently not possible on the Windows
platform. Obviously not being able to place the File Browser on a second
monitor will restrict the size of the window, but with a bit of planning
and use of keyboard shortcuts it should still be possible to maximize the
window without disrupting your workspace too much.
Tip: Holding down the Option/Alt key whilst double
clicking an image to open it will automatically close File Browser. If
the image is in camera raw format then the Adobe Camera Raw plugin will
open.
Finally. This tutorial
has only scraped the surface
of what File Browser can do in so far as I have
steered clear of any in depth discussion on
features such as Automation and
Metadata. If you need more comprehensive explanations
on any of these topics then I recommend that
you buy at least one of
the following books: -
-
Real World Adobe Photoshop CS by
David Blatner and Bruce Fraser,
-
Real World Camera Raw
for Photoshop CS by Bruce Fraser, and
-
Adobe Photoshop CS for Photographers
by Martin Evening.
In addition to the above books I highly
recommend an excellent and very comprehensive
series of articles by Jeff Schewe, which can be found at
Adobe Pro Photo Solutions
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