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Template Downloads Question

I switched from PC to Mac in 2011 (after 18 years with PCs!) and I would love to continue using Macs forever (assuming they continue to be the more awesome choice) but I can imagine going back to PC for one reason: cost. If this iMac died suddenly (gulp! knock on wood that doesn't happen) I could barely afford a PC; definitely not another Mac. But I would want my own computer again as soon as possible even if it meant getting a PC instead of a Mac, I think.

On to the original question! :) I only keep PSD and TIFF files. I don't need the TIFF files, but I was in the habit of keeping them for preview purposes prior to switching to Mac in 2011 and decided to keep up the habit just in case I ever switch back to PC. I've been deleting PNG files for many years, ever since I decided PSE or full PS would be the only way I'd want to scrap.
 
@scrappyjedi So, you just import and tag them with keywords correct? And then when you are searching for say pink paper or chevron paper, lightroom pulls up everything with those tags?
 
PC user
I keep .psd files because they are the native Photoshop. I know I'm sticking with Adobe, so is rather keep its native format.
I don't keep the pngs because I figure if I want them for my silhouette I'll save them from the template at that point, and export them.

As to organizing, how do you look for templates? I look for photo spots. I know I can add and subtract, so if I'm looking for 3 photos I'll check or my 2,3, and 4 photo spot templates. My photo tags are 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7+. I also tag 'big photo' and 'pocket style'. That gives me enough to look through without overwhelming me with options.
 
KatrinaHunt13 said:
@scrappyjedi So, you just import and tag them with keywords correct? And then when you are searching for say pink paper or chevron paper, lightroom pulls up everything with those tags?
Click to expand...

I do import them into Lightroom, but I don't tag anything. Ever. I tried that once, and it's just not for me. I'm a kit/collection/collab scrapper, so I have my folder hierarchy set up for the way my brain works when scrapping. I have a folder for each store, and The Lilypad folder is my biggest. Here's what the hierarchy looks like under that:

- The Lilypad
- 'BYOC
- Year
- Month
- Alphas
- {folders here are the folders as they are unzipped from the store downloads}​
- Cards
- Elements
- Papers​
- 'Memory Pockets Monthly
- {same folders as under BYOC}​
- 'Mixed Media Monthly
- {same folders as under BYOC}​
- 'Storyteller (this is all by Just Jaimee, but is so huge that I separated it out on its own)
- {same folders as under BYOC}​
- 'Templates
- {folder for each template designer}​
- ~ {folder for each designer's stuff that doesn't fit into one of the categories above}​

When I want to add stuff to my Lightroom catalog, I first go into the file system that Lightroom is reading from and place the items where I want them to be. Then in the Lightroom import I use "Add" to add items to Lightroom at their existing location, and I also make sure that the option to exclude duplicates is turned on. That way the new stuff is brought in already in the proper place- it's just a lot easier to place it in Finder/File Explorer than it is in Lightroom.

I almost always scrap with one of the big collections/collabs (BYOC, Storyteller, MPM, M3), so I don't have a lot in the individual designer folders. I've made up a little collage of the previews for each of those collabs and have them saved to my computer, and I also posted them in a thread here https://the-lilypad.com/forum/threads/byoc-mpm-m3-and-storyteller-color-references.36023/. When I have photos I want to scrap, I scroll through those collages and find the one that best coordinates with my pictures, pull up that collab in Lightroom, and get to work. :)

I hope that doesn't sound to complicated! Please let me know if you want anything clarified. :)
 
KatrinaHunt13 said:
Ok, I have Photoshop (and PSE, which I don't really touch anymore), Lightroom and then I am hybrid, so I know I need the PNG files to make it easier for me to import into Silhouette software. I know the .page are for something I don't use, but tell me more about these .tiff things! LOL
Click to expand...

I save PSDs and toss the rest (well, except for my design files, and then I have all file types). PSDs are the native file format for Photoshop/Photoshop Elements, so I just choose to use that file type. I use a program called ACDSee to organize my digi supplies, and I can preview PSDs within the program or if I'm just navigating through File Explorer (because I've set my computer to use ACDSee to preview images for me.) If you aren't able to preview, then keeping the TIFF version could be very helpful.

With proper compression (LZW compression), TIFF files can at times be significantly smaller in size than PSDs. Generally speaking, a TIFF version of one of my templates can easily be 50% smaller than the PSD version. LZW compression is a "lossless" type of compression, so you don't lose quality like you do when compressing a JPG for web. Having said that, without proper compression, a TIFF file can be significantly larger than a PSD.

Both TIFF and PSD files are layered (you can save TIFFs as flattened images though, so watch for that when you are saving and preserve your layers for future editing).

I wouldn't keep the PNGs because it's so easy to grab what layer you want from a PSD or TIFF and drag it on a new canvas and save as PNG . . . then import into Silhouette. That way, you aren't saving a ton of PNGs which you may never need to import to Silhouette. PNGs are helpful to peeps with different software as they may not be able to use a layered file like PSDs or TIFFs, but they can bring in individual PNGs.

PAGE files are made specifically for a type of scrapbooking software (Storybook Creator and Artisan) and you don't need to download those.
 
love these tips

i keep all
i have ps6
i have found at times the templates made with either a mac or a newer version of ps, unsure which. Well a layer doesn't come in without error, for the drop shadow applied to it, and needed to go to the orginal png to replace that layer
 
KatrinaHunt13 said:
So, you just import and tag them with keywords correct? And then when you are searching for say pink paper or chevron paper, lightroom pulls up everything with those tags?
Click to expand...
Melissa doesn't tag but I do, and yes, that's how it works. You do not need Lightroom to tag (I actually used to tag directly in Finder), and (as Melissa proves) you don't have to tag in Lightroom. But if that's what you want to do, Lightroom has some very nice features for tagging, like tag hierarchies.
 
KatrinaHunt13 said:
@scrappyjedi So, you just import and tag them with keywords correct? And then when you are searching for say pink paper or chevron paper, lightroom pulls up everything with those tags?
Click to expand...

So, depending on how a designer labels their kit pieces, you may actually be able to do some of that without tags. After importing to Lightroom, you can search 'pink' and anything labelled pink would come up. Chevron would work the same way if the designers labeled it that way. If the designer uses chev you could search that.
 
I have a program I installed on my computer which will show the preview of any file, so now I only download the png and the psd.
I originally installed it to view brush files in explorer but it works for everything.
 
@bestcee said "My photo tags are 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7+. I also tag 'big photo' and 'pocket style'. That gives me enough to look through without overwhelming me with options."

I used to do that and then realized I changed the number of photos more often than not. A great deal of my scrapping has been of trips where there are multi photos most of the time. Now I just have a category that says MultiPhoto that covers that. I also have a template category Album so I know there are a batch of templates that go together like many of Lynn Grieveson's.
 
I cannot wait to start getting this all organized! LOL Thanks for all the info. Now I need about a month off from work!
 
I only keep the PSD files and occasionally, the PNGs, depending on the template. I organize within ACDSee (Templates and Number of Photos, also Tears, Shaped, etc.) so I can see previews and have the program open all the time when I'm scrapping so its easy to see everything I might need.
 
@scrappyjedi "I've made up a little collage of the previews for each of those collabs and have them saved to my computer, and I also posted them in a thread here https://the-lilypad.com/forum/threads/byoc-mpm-m3-and-storyteller-color-references.36023/. When I have photos I want to scrap, I scroll through those collages and find the one that best coordinates with my pictures, pull up that collab in Lightroom, and get to work."

I totally forgot you did this!! I have made Collections of Previews of some designers at other stores or particular elements e.g. word art/handwritten stuff but doing a screenshot of it is brilliant! eta: Thank you so much for sharing the BYOC Previews. Easy to decide what I wan to buy too.
 
i think i am the only one who doesn't use a template. I get so flabbergased at all the layers, maybe someday i will change
 
Cath_ said:
i think i am the only one who doesn't use a template. I get so flabbergased at all the layers, maybe someday i will change
Click to expand...
Would it help if you hid the layers and then made them visible one at a time as you used them?
 
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