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Help! win/mac/acdc

tappy

tappy

Where ARE my socks?
Joined
Apr 14, 2012
Messages
848
well this is frustrating. My DH just gave me an early xmas present and Im beyond thrilled however I don't know where to begin.

I have been using PS5 (or version of) on my pc for 8yrs . He brought me a MAC and joined me up for the ps /lightroom creative cloud. Best Husband ever.
first frustration, i use ACDC for organising my stash. Has anyone switched formats and was it worthwhile or does lightroom act as a data base for my elements or do you use the bridge? I really don't want to have to re catalogue it all.
any suggestions on lightroom best tutorials for scrappers.

Is anyone using the creative cloud, any tips ?
appreciate any info, thanks
 
I would love to know this too, how people organize their stash if on a MAC. Me... I just use my finder. I've never really used Bridge. And I have Lightroom 4 but it scares me sort of. :giggle
 
I have ACDSee for the Mac and I have a lot of problems with it. It is super easy to organize everything and works pretty fast, but it crashes on me all the time. I've been in touch with their customer service and they suggested I delete my database. I put hours and hours into organizing my stuff so I'm pretty disappointed. When it works, I love it. But most of the time, it's a pain. I'm not sure I'd recommend it.
 
I use Bridge also. I have everything sorted by store and then designer. Easy peasy. :)
 
I use ACDSee for mac and yes, it is a pain. I got the same delete the database crap from their customer support which is ridiculous with the man hours I have put cataloging that thing. I don't think lightroom is design for cataloging the way ACDsee is.
 
How does acdsee work? LR is a database based program. And both LR and bridge rely on keywords (if you want).
 
I used to be on a Mac, and now I use Windows. I use Bridge for my stash and LR for my photos, but IMO using Finder on a Mac is/was a lot nicer for several reasons but here are the big two.

1) Finder lets you tag FOLDERS. Bridge/LR only tags files. Use img2icons to make your folder icon a kit preview, and then tag that folder with whatever you want, and then you can search, browse, coverflow, etc. through your stash super easily and it's lovely. And the preview takes up the WHOLE icon, not just peeking out the side of a folder like in Windows Explorer. Bridge doesn't even show the folder icons at all. :( To tag something in Finder, you can command-I (the key with the apple and the curlycue thing is called command) on it and type all the tags you want in "Spotlight comments". Easy peasy. At least that's how it used to be, it might be nicer in Mavericks since they've made tags fancier now.

2) I can make a Bridge Collection, which is like a Saved Search in Finder. Except not as good. A collection can only have 10 terms, and I can either search for all the terms, or any of the terms. A Saved Search can have any number of terms, in any combination I want. e.g. I can save a search for ("APennington" or "Allison Pennington") and ("button" or "brad"). There is no way to do this in a Bridge Collection, at all. I used to have a Saved Search called "The Lilypad" that searched for all the TLP designers. "Allison Pennington" or "Emily Merritt" or "Heather Joyce"... I can't do that in Bridge because there are more than 10 designers, so I had to create a whole new tagging system. :(

I have never used ACDSee so I can't help you there, except if you still have access to the Windows machine, I believe there is a way to export the ACDSee tags to metadata so they will be accessible in Finder or Bridge on your Mac. I don't know HOW but I'm pretty sure it's possible. Seems I've heard about it before.
 
Also, if you didn't know (I don't think you could do this in PS5?) you can drag things directly from Finder onto your layout in Photoshop CC. If you have a document open, just drag one or more things from Finder (or Explorer, Bridge, wherever) onto that document and they will become Smart Objects on your layout. :)
 
tappy said:
what sort of system do you use for files,sub files - does bridge sort e.g. if I'm looking for flower can it pull up all flowers?
Click to expand...

If you search "flower" it will find any files with "flower" in the name or "flower" in a keyword. So if all your flowers are named or tagged that way, then yes.
 
lorryfach said:
Use img2icons to make your folder icon a kit preview
Click to expand...
You don't even have to use that to make previews for your folders on a mac. Double click the preview image from a kit so it opens in Preview. Select all (CMD+A) then copy (CMD+C). Go to your kit folder and go to Info (either click CMD+I or go to File>Get Info. Click on the folder at the TOP of the and then paste (CMD+V). It seems pretty convoluted but it's not… it actually goes pretty quickly once you get the hang of it.

lorryfach said:
Also, if you didn't know (I don't think you could do this in PS5?) you can drag things directly from Finder onto your layout in Photoshop CC. If you have a document open, just drag one or more things from Finder (or Explorer, Bridge, wherever) onto that document and they will become Smart Objects on your layout. :)
Click to expand...

You can do this from finder, your desktop, iPhoto, Bridge, etc… :) It also keeps the file name for your layer when you drag things into PS.
 
And technically, you probably could use Lightroom for your supplies if you wanted to do it that way. I'm pretty sure the latest version supports PNG files. Previous versions don't, though. Personally, I keep my photos organized in LR and my supplies organized in Bridge… but everyone has their own system. :)
 
lorryfach said:
I used to be on a Mac, and now I use Windows. I use Bridge for my stash and LR for my photos, but IMO using Finder on a Mac is/was a lot nicer for several reasons but here are the big two.

1) Finder lets you tag FOLDERS. Bridge/LR only tags files. Use img2icons to make your folder icon a kit preview, and then tag that folder with whatever you want, and then you can search, browse, coverflow, etc. through your stash super easily and it's lovely. And the preview takes up the WHOLE icon, not just peeking out the side of a folder like in Windows Explorer. Bridge doesn't even show the folder icons at all. :( To tag something in Finder, you can command-I (the key with the apple and the curlycue thing is called command) on it and type all the tags you want in "Spotlight comments". Easy peasy. At least that's how it used to be, it might be nicer in Mavericks since they've made tags fancier now.
Click to expand...

I have been trying to figure out a way to tag all my PL stuff since switching to my MAC. Your info was so amazingly helpful. I can't believe I have had the power of "finder" right at my fingertips and didn't even realize it. Thanks so much for sharing. I know what I will be doing today.
 
toriloowho said:
You don't even have to use that to make previews for your folders on a mac. Double click the preview image from a kit so it opens in Preview. Select all (CMD+A) then copy (CMD+C). Go to your kit folder and go to Info (either click CMD+I or go to File>Get Info. Click on the folder at the TOP of the and then paste (CMD+V). It seems pretty convoluted but it's not… it actually goes pretty quickly once you get the hang of it.
Click to expand...
Yeah, I've done that too, but img2icons goes a LOT faster.
 
I used to use ACDSee, but switched over to using Bridge. I like how it opens the item as a smart object in PS and I can just drag from Bridge to PS. I also tried using Lightroom, but gave up on that after a short time. Bridge works just fine for me.

BTW...I noticed your avatar. I have a photo I took of that same giant hand in Rome. No piece of string tied to it though LOL.
 
Jen - how did you find the conversion from ACDSee to Bridge? Was there anyway to merge metadata AT ALL? I am Scared. I have quite a lot built into my ACDSee database, but Bridge... well it's very, very tempting, and am getting oh so tired of fighting with a cranky Windows machine.
 
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