Newbie needs to know how to save a simple picture

Windows NT

yes new to macs

Windows NT

Well that's your first problem. Macs cannot write to that format disk without installing additional software. Have you installed it? I'm guessing not.

Perhaps you might consider some of the tutorials for switchers here

http://www.apple.com/support/switch101/

to get you going with the Mac basics. Then some of these

http://www.apple.com/aperture/how-to/

for learning Aperture.

Regards

TD

I don't think you've grasped Aperture and what it's for.

The essence of the Application is that it's an Organiser for your Photos. The idea is that you bring your pics into it and leave them there. If you want to print, email or view or whatever, you go to Aperture, not to the Finder (which is what you're doing now.)

So import all 10k photos. You can merge Projects, move files between them, consolidate them, choose which projects to put photos in when you import and so on and so on.

You seem to be confusing Aperture with an editor of some kind. You really should have a look at the tutorials linked above.

Regards

TD

"The essence is" backup your photos before you consign them to any application.

Aperture is very intuitive and does not follow established standards.

Intuitive can be very good. Intuitive can also be very bad.

Trust no-one.

"The essence is" backup your photos before you consign them to any application.

Bit of a logical problem there. How can you back up the pics without first consigning them to an Applcation? The Finder is an Application, after all.

Aperture is very intuitive

True

and does not follow established standards.

Yes it does, especially for DAM apps. After all, that's what it is.

Intuitive can be very good. Intuitive can also be very bad.

Trust no-one.

That's deep man, really, really deep and stuff.

Regards

TD

He he he... that's funny. But the Finder is a one-off command structure, those DAM apps are not. I digest everything I shoot onto a backup disk using PhotoMechanic, prune the garbage, rename and boot working files over to my working disk where I work with them in Aperture. Anything goes wrong in the transfer, PhotoRescue; tried and tested and proven to the rescue.

So, if any app-man can guarantee they'll be supporting my workflow in 30 years then, sure, put a cash value on it. But they don't and won't so I cover my assets. The be-all-end-all is: if you trust your files to a DAM app (or any other) without having relatively simple knowledge of what is going to happen when you hit (or mishit) a key, then go ahead.

I keep forgetting "Save" and "Save as" is not a standard... I guess that is pretty deep. Thanks ;o)

But the Finder is a one-off command structure

No it's not. It's an application for browsing the directories and manipulating files. There are alternatives, you know, that mean you don't need to use the Finder. For instance, PathFinder will entirely replace all the functions of the Finder - because, like the Finder, it's an app for browsing directories and manipulating files.

I digest everything I shoot onto a backup disk using PhotoMechanic, prune the garbage, rename and boot working files over to my working disk

So, using Photomechanic is not using an application? That’s two "not applications" you're using there.

So, if any app-man can guarantee they'll be supporting my workflow in 30 years then

No one will guarantee such a thing on any format - not even the esteemed makers of PhotoMechanic. Can you be sure that your Raw or Jpegs will be supported in 30 years? No you can't. Neither even existed 30 years ago.

Your point about future-proofing is important. But expecting your current workflow to be supported in 30 years is not the way to go about it. For a start, is your workflow so perfect that you cannot imagine anyone improving on it in the next 30 years? What you have to consider is migration, moving from one system to another, from one format to another as time progresses. The question isn't "will my workflow be supported in 30 years?", it's really "If I put data into this app can I get it out again?"

The be-all-end-all is: if you trust your files to a DAM app (or any other) without having relatively simple knowledge of what is going to happen when you hit (or mishit) a key, then go ahead.

Yes, how true, and so true also of the other apps that you mention - like PhotoMechanic and the Finder.

I keep forgetting "Save" and "Save as" is not a standard...

They're not, in Databases.

Save and Save As are perfectly standard in every kind of app that edits files. For instance, Word Processors, Image Editors and so on.

You'll notice - for instance - that the Finder application doesn't have a 'Save' or 'Save As'. Neither does iTunes, iMovie or AddressBook. Now what do all those have in common? They are databases. Does that give you a hint? You're confusing Aperture with an Image Editor. It's not. The entire point of the app is that your file is left untouched - and to do that is built on a database.

I guess that is pretty deep.

Indeed.

Regards

TD

Good points all - especially the one about my imperfections.

Unfortunately I have no idea how to "quote you" so I'll just do it the old-fashioned way.

"The entire point of the app is that your file is left untouched - and to do that is built on a database."

Great, but the reason I got Aperture is because I want to touch my files. And hopefully I'd like to use language everyone understands... (note: hopefully). So I don't care what Apple calls it, Aperture is an editing program to some, and asset manager to others, and both to some others. I do know buyers don't care what I or Apple call it, they want a photo... and I want to rip 'em up, bake 'em, and save them. That's my priority.

So my point overall is: sure Aperture is a nice program. In fact, it can manage your files; it can edit versions of your files, and you can get completely lost in the process because not everyone wants to be a data manager to such complexity they have to relearn language which has been in use for over 25 years.

Protect your files; manage them with practices you understand and can backtrack on; and replace the needlessly overcomplex with bang-bang solutions until you understand (or really really need) more. Once you are really, really familiar with Aperture then take bigger risks. But at the moment, Aperture is not (note: not) a one-off application.

Wait, that's unnecessarily wordy and not very clear (like a PC, I mean, like an Aperture menu).

Lovely tit-for-tat.

Cheerio ;o)

Sure sounds to me like you bought the wrong program.

... the reason I got Aperture is because I want to touch my files.

Then you need an Pixel based image editor - you know, something like Photoshop.

Aperture is an editing program to some

Actually, no it's not. It doesn't edit files. The one thing you cannot do with Aperture is open a file, make a change and save it. It's just not that app. Using Aperture - if that's what you want to do - makes as much sense as buying Excel to work on Word files. It's just the wrong application for what you're trying to do.

Perhaps the reason you find the language confusing and you get lost in the process is because you're not doing the job you think you are.

Regards

TD

An incorrect assumption, but understandable given how I go on about things. I've worked with a lot of software inhouse and if my old personal PS7 ran under OS 10.6.5 we might not be having this jocular exhange. But...

I still try out a lot of things. And I do chime in when I see some things which just don't click.

Sooo... I bought Aperture. Cheaper than PS CS for my current needs. It was either that or GIMP or Nikon or something to just wrap a **** curve on an image and push it out the door.

I know this is not how Apple sells Aperture, but when you look at how Apple sell ease of use - Image Capture defaults (I disable), iPhoto defaults (I disable), and then push more power "seamlessly" with Aperture, you really have to expect that some folks are going to have trouble.

Musing on:

• Aperture 3 is the perfect choice if you're ready to take your photography to the next level. (Um.. mine was a level down, per se. Perhaps four).
• Migrate your photos from iPhoto to Aperture seamlessly. (I never used iPhoto)
• Manage large photo libraries with ease. (Sounds like some old big box media managers {databases} that crapped out around 2002 but I still like the idea and this is getting closer).
• Use powerful new tools to refine your images. (Looks like editing tools, sounds like editing tools, smells like editing tools; but no save function so it must not be editing tools. Gotcha).
• And present your work like a pro with beautiful prints, hardcover books, websites, and stunning multimedia slideshows. (That's kind of interesting for the future).

Now all that for what? 299USD? Not bad... beats trying load GIMP just to use curves. Beats forking out two to four times as much for editing tools which bulk themselves up with DAM functions.

Anyway, I value your opinion (I learned to say that in a class) and I know the point you are trying to make, but is doesn't cut it with all those folks who think they can edit files with Aperture… because they can. An edited version of a master "Exported" at Original Size is just a "Save As."

Or, a rose by any other adjustment is still a 300 DPI rose (if its 300DPI you want).

Have a lovely evening. ;o)

“When I use a word,” Humpty Dumpty said, in a rather a scornful tone, “it means just what I choose it to mean—neither more nor less.”

Regards

TD

Begging the question "When is a Raven like a writing desk?"

;o)