Organization Challenge Week Two

January 19th, 2009 by Chris

Organizational Challenge: Week Two

1/19/09

Did all of you get a chance to work on your databases and tagging this week? I had some issues when I lost my tagging, due to some EHD issues. The software was not finding the back ups because the locations had changed between the computer and laptop. To fix that, Heidi suggested that I:

Go to Tools | Option

Database tab and look at Database location..
These should point to the exact same location. (with the exception of the drive letter — that might be different but its fine.) It should point to the location of your Default folder on your EHD. (assuming that is how you are sharing the database) From your symptoms, I am guessing these 2 are pointing to different locations.

And then once I got that issue settled, I saw that I had lost all of my tagging, What a shock that was to me! I was able to recover most of my tagging by going to Database|Catalog. After a few tries when ADCSee shut itself down during the process, I remembered that when you catalog your folders, you need to do it in smaller sections. if you try to do many folders at once, the program will shut down. It is infinitely easier and less frustrating to catalog your folders in smaller batches.

Last week’s tasks focused on basic set up of your categories and keeping your database backed up and optimized. That is all well and good and very necessary. It is kind of like the foundation of your routine. And like a house’s foundation,  it isn’t the most fun to work with, but you have to make sure it is sturdy and stable.
On the DigiScrapInfo website we have some pre-made organizing categories. For a full list of categories that range from simple to complex, you can visit this page.
There are also directions on how to install the pre-made categories onto your computer.
Speaking of foundations, Kristi has several blog posts on using a Foundations Style of Organization.
As of right now, she has a four-part series on using this style of organizing. I think that this is a must read!
With all of these variations, in addition to the flexibility of adding and deleting your own categories, there is bound to be a style that will work for you.

This week, let’s get more into the “meat” of the program.  Let’s clean up some of our messy categories. When I first posted this article originally last year, I had a different set of categories. Over the past year, I can see how I have deleted some categories and sub categories. Additionally, I have added in a few, as well as refined a few. I love how this software grows and expands with you and your scrapping needs. Conversely, if you find it too difficult to search and tag with many categories, it is easy enough to streamline your categories by deleting what you do not use.

When I first started out with Photo Manager, I had all of my ribbons and fibers and yarn and stitches and bows and…well, you get the picture… all of those elements were lumped into one folder. It defeated  the benefits of being able to search for a ribbon when all of those extra files came up as well. Later on, I decided to add a new category for just bows. However, I never found the bows that were originally in the Ribbons et al Folder, and they were still lurking around in there. Does this sound familiar?

My job to work on this week is going to be cleaning up some of these messy categories. Last year, my first priority was to clean up my Ribbons & Fibers and Bows Categories. This year I am going to work on my Alphas Folder. What I am going to do first is select my Alpha Category by selecting that Category in the Organize Pane. I want to be able to work with all of the sub-categories of Alphas that I have so I will check the box for Alpha. Then I will go to the top right part of my screen, click on blue circle next to “Category” and check Include Sub-Categories.

This will bring up every file that I have tagged as “Alpha” as well anything in a sub-categories of Alpha. So I can be able to fit as many files as possible on my monitor, I can either click on the Slider on the top right side of the screen.

Or you can Ctrl-Scroll to either reduce or enlarge the thumbnails. I want to be able to Select as many files at once so I want them pretty small. As I find the Alphas that I want moved, I Ctrl -Click to select multiple files. After I have the ones I want to move, I will switch from the Organize Pane to the Properties Pane by using the tabs at the bottom right of my screen. Open the tree for categories so you can see what is checked. If there is a category I want to remove from an alpha, I can click on that check mark to remove it. Then I want to add these files to a different sub-category, so I will can either check the appropriate box, or simply drag the files right over to it. Hit F5 to refresh your screen and the files will be removed from this category. You might even see some other files that don’t belong in this category and they can be moved to the appropriate category in the same way. You can tag one alpha with several sub-categories. For example, you could have one Alpha tagged with Holiday and Glitter if that is what best describes them and will help you to find them in a Category Search.

TIP: Approach this the same way you do (or should!) clean out closets or drawers. Only work on one category at a time or you will have a bigger and more complicated mess on your hands!

TIP: You might find TOU’s as you go through the categories. If there are duplicate and/or jpg TOU’s, you may wish to delete some of these files.

As I am going through, I am evaluating some of the categories that only have a few files in them. For example, I have eight files in “Felt” and just a few in “Fabric.” To keep my sub-categories under control, I am going to combine them into one file. In the Organize Pane, right click on your main category; in my case it would be “Alpha.” Click on New Category and enter a new name and icon, if desired. I would type “Fabric Felt” as my new sub-category. Then, select all images in those two old categories, remove them by unchecking them, then add them to the new category.

As I am working on these categories, I am wondering, why did I ever think that I would be able to make a element half as good as the designers? *shuddering at my early attempts at designing* Just like those bell bottoms in your closet from the 70′s, we hang onto scrap stuff because we wonder “what if I need this someday?” If you have had it longer than a year, and you haven’t used it yet…guess what? Chances are you won’t use it ever. Most of us started out digi -scrapping the same way. We would find all of the freebies we could collect, without truly considering if it was something we needed or would even use. Or perhaps our styles have changed as we develop our skills at scrapping. After a while, we lose track of what we have and buy more of the same stuff. (I promise, I won’t tell any of your husbands about that!!). As you are looking through your folders, if you haven’t used it, don’t think you will ever use or can’t see why you have twenty-five staples that look identical, it is time to purge.

TIP: I know, it really is hard to toss something out, in real life as well as in the digital realm. If you find that there are some files that you really don’t feel comfortable deleting, you can try this trick. Create a folder, make sure you do this in ACDSee) and name it something like “To be Deleted”. Or “This Folder will self destruct on (date.)”    Drag any of those files you are unsure of into it. If after another month you find that you still haven’t used them, it is time to hit the Delete key. And if this is still too difficult, you can always make a Photo Disk in ACDSee and at least be able to get these files off of your hard drive. Here is how to Make a Photo Disk .
That seems like a good start for us to do this week.

Week Two Tasks:

• Back Up and Optimize Database.
• Clean up at least two Categories.
• Delete any files that you know that you will never use.
• Continue to tag any files. Spend about 15 minutes a day doing this.