BarbaraC1977 Posted February 1, 2010 Share Posted February 1, 2010 I'm jumping back in on the organizing bandwagon. I've spent some time working with a new technique that has really made scanning my collections rapidly a breeze inside Windows. Yes, I use Picasa or Windows Photo Gallery too, but this technique complements them, and truthfully reduces the need for the other tools, for me. Many of us View Thumbnails, and have right-clicked on a folder, selected Customize, and chosen a specific image, such as the marketing image, to be the folder image. That gives a wonderful preview. However... If you move the folder, or rename it, or need to reset folder settings elsewhere on your computer for some reason, or have more folders than your computer can track the settings for, it reverts back to the default, requiring you to do it again, and again, and again... I found a way to avoid this problem that is VERY robust. Inside the folder, copy the image you'd like to use for the folder preview, and paste it into the same folder. RENAME the copy to "folder.jpg" (presuming it's a jpg.) The title must be exact. (folder.gif works for gif images.) PNGs don't work, so I edited and saved copies of these as JPGs. Go up one level, and voila, the image is what you'd like. You can move or rename the folder, and the image stays the default for the folder. This works in both Windows XP and in Vista. Occasionally the preview for layouts is high resolution--after I make the copy and rename it, I edit it in PSE, or Paint.Net, or MS Picture Manager, and re-size to maximum 600 pixels high/wide, just to keep the file sizes down--it also previews faster at the folder level. If I didn't have a marketing image for a collection, I viewed the collection and dragged the image (easiest in Firefox) right to the folder, where I could copy it or rename it to folder.jpg. By the way, I'm so thrilled that the designers are now including these right off the bat. Here's some screen shots to show you how this turns out: Small snippet from my collections: As you can see, it's easy to get a sense of the colors in a collection such as Cucina (on the right.) If a collection is only papers, then I use the paper preview at the top level. (It can be used at the next level down in a collection with many types of elements.) My ScrapSimple Layouts Folder: Here I can quickly look for a style of layout that might work. Subfolders inside a specific layout collection: And once I open to this level, I can see each layout's preview in enough detail to select easily. It took a while to set this up in most folders, and I still have a few to do, but I am loving this, after about three weeks intensive use. As a self-confessed control freak and perfectionist, this is saving me a lot of time and aggravation. I hope someone can try it and let us know if it works for Windows 7. Hope this is helpful to some of you! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Burnsie Posted February 1, 2010 Share Posted February 1, 2010 I wish I could view the thumbs of my folders on my Mac...that's about the only thing I miss about PC. Looks like a great system for you! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Pab Posted February 1, 2010 Share Posted February 1, 2010 I tried it on Windows 7 and I can't get it to work unless I am missing something. I can't even get the customize to show any picture at all. I go through the steps and nothing happens. Bummer Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Pab Posted February 1, 2010 Share Posted February 1, 2010 Kept playing and I think instead of putting it on the outside of the folder it puts it showing right inside the folder front!! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BarbaraC1977 Posted February 1, 2010 Author Share Posted February 1, 2010 Oh, yes, that's like a Vista View--the folder isn't flat, but you can make it much larger, and see more of the preview than is possible in XP. Folder.jpg is automatically the primary "image" in the folder. Sorry I didn't explain that. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
cherise Posted February 1, 2010 Share Posted February 1, 2010 I wish I could view the thumbs of my folders on my Mac...that's about the only thing I miss about PC. Looks like a great system for you! Julie - you can do this on a Mac - I have been doing it for years. Go to the folder you want and click on Command+I. The Info window will pop up. Click on the image of the folder and paste your MKTG image into it. It will change your folder from the regular folder to the MKTG image. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mbc72 Posted February 1, 2010 Share Posted February 1, 2010 Hmm, I will have to give this a try, thanks Barbara. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
CRS Posted February 1, 2010 Share Posted February 1, 2010 Oh, thanks for the info! I'll have to try that. I really need to organize!! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Smiles Posted February 1, 2010 Share Posted February 1, 2010 I have a really basic question for XP. I can't seem to get the default view to be thumbnails. I have "remember last option" or something like that checked, but even after I change the view (which gets laborious) it defaults back to another view. I'm anxious to try your idea, Barbara, but reluctant until I get the default figured out. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BarbaraC1977 Posted February 1, 2010 Author Share Posted February 1, 2010 Gayle, it's a good question. The decision on default view applies to the entire computer, so think before you change it. It may be just fine, but I have many folders in list view, a few in details view, image folders such as SG supplies in Thumbnails. So I just set each folder, and then let it remember how it was last opened. That said, if you spend most of your time on the computer working with pictures and SG supplies, then Thumbnails is a great default view. To set that default in XP, open ANY folder on your computer. Set THAT folder to the view you'd like, e.g. View, Thumbnails. Then click Tools menu, Folder Options... and click the View tab. You can click "Apply to all Folders" or click "Reset All Folders." Apply to all Folders will set all folders to the current view--probably what you want. Reset all Folders will let Windows choose. This should be Thumbnails for images, but no guarantees! Hope this helps! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Smiles Posted February 2, 2010 Share Posted February 2, 2010 Thanks! Off to try it. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Smiles Posted February 2, 2010 Share Posted February 2, 2010 Barbara, it worked! you are my hero! Now to try your original suggestion from this thread. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
sandeekrups Posted March 28, 2010 Share Posted March 28, 2010 I'm jumping back in on the organizing bandwagon. I've spent some time working with a new technique that has really made scanning my collections rapidly a breeze inside Windows. Yes, I use Picasa or Windows Photo Gallery too, but this technique complements them, and truthfully reduces the need for the other tools, for me. Many of us View Thumbnails, and have right-clicked on a folder, selected Customize, and chosen a specific image, such as the marketing image, to be the folder image. That gives a wonderful preview. However... If you move the folder, or rename it, or need to reset folder settings elsewhere on your computer for some reason, or have more folders than your computer can track the settings for, it reverts back to the default, requiring you to do it again, and again, and again... I found a way to avoid this problem that is VERY robust. Inside the folder, copy the image you'd like to use for the folder preview, and paste it into the same folder. RENAME the copy to "folder.jpg" (presuming it's a jpg.) The title must be exact. (folder.gif works for gif images.) PNGs don't work, so I edited and saved copies of these as JPGs. Go up one level, and voila, the image is what you'd like. You can move or rename the folder, and the image stays the default for the folder. This works in both Windows XP and in Vista. Occasionally the preview for layouts is high resolution--after I make the copy and rename it, I edit it in PSE, or Paint.Net, or MS Picture Manager, and re-size to maximum 600 pixels high/wide, just to keep the file sizes down--it also previews faster at the folder level. If I didn't have a marketing image for a collection, I viewed the collection and dragged the image (easiest in Firefox) right to the folder, where I could copy it or rename it to folder.jpg. By the way, I'm so thrilled that the designers are now including these right off the bat. Here's some screen shots to show you how this turns out: Small snippet from my collections: As you can see, it's easy to get a sense of the colors in a collection such as Cucina (on the right.) If a collection is only papers, then I use the paper preview at the top level. (It can be used at the next level down in a collection with many types of elements.) My ScrapSimple Layouts Folder: Here I can quickly look for a style of layout that might work. Subfolders inside a specific layout collection: And once I open to this level, I can see each layout's preview in enough detail to select easily. It took a while to set this up in most folders, and I still have a few to do, but I am loving this, after about three weeks intensive use. As a self-confessed control freak and perfectionist, this is saving me a lot of time and aggravation. I hope someone can try it and let us know if it works for Windows 7. Hope this is helpful to some of you! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
sandeekrups Posted March 28, 2010 Share Posted March 28, 2010 Thanks so much for your info on organizing and being able to see your supplies. I was quickly becoming overwhelmed with so many different items in my files. Just spent a bit of time organizing everything according to your suggestions! Love it. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BarbaraC1977 Posted March 28, 2010 Author Share Posted March 28, 2010 Welcome, Sandee! Glad we could help--I know how much time it saves me to see a picture before opening a folder. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
gma808 Posted March 31, 2010 Share Posted March 31, 2010 Barbara, Thank you for you post about organization. I am just getting started with digital scrapbooking and was quickly getting overwhelmed with stuff without a way to find things. I've been trying out your method and so far it seems to be helping. Thank you so much for taking time to help me. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Reminiscing Posted April 1, 2010 Share Posted April 1, 2010 That is a visually attractive idea! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
KarinaS Posted April 1, 2010 Share Posted April 1, 2010 Just seeing this - THANK YOU! I have always wanted the "full sheet" to be the first file in the list so it would show up (I have Vista) but even renaming it to be "first" didn't always work - love this! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sara Arell Posted April 2, 2010 Share Posted April 2, 2010 I wish I could view the thumbs of my folders on my Mac...that's about the only thing I miss about PC. Looks like a great system for you! You can see thumbs on your Mac - I do - in IPhoto - not so much in Picasso though - look at the bar on the bottom and it will walk you through it. HTH Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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