| ImageViewer Intro | Topics |

Opening Images
Saving Images
Import
Select Camera
Special File Commands
Specifying Locations
Copy To Location
Move To Location
Trash(Move File To)/Delete Files
Delete Duplicate Files
Rename File
Create Previews And Icons
Remove Resources
Batch
Printing

Opening Images

ImageViewer allows you to open the following graphic file types: GIF, JPEG, PICT, and TIFF. Further, with QuickTime™ 2.5, you can open these additional file types: PhotoShop 2.5 and 3.0, MacPaint, Silicon Graphics.rgb and the new QuickTime image file format. New file formats will be added in future releases. Further, you can open movie files(type 'MooV'), which will be incorporated into the file list, and ready to play.

To open an image choose Open from the File menu. A semi-standard Open dialog will appear. If you select a file and choose Open Folder, a file list will be formed based on the folder containing the file(i.e. the base folder). How the file list is formed depends on the value of the Search Sub-Folders checkbox in the Preferences, File panel. If search sub-folders is on, the list includes every graphic file ImageViewer can open, including all folders found inside the base folder. If search sub-folders is off, only the files in the base folder are included, no other folders. If a folder or volume is selected, "Open Folder" will open that folder or volume.

Choosing Open, results in standard behavior, either opening a single file, or displaying a folder's contents.

You can also open files by dragging files, folders, or a volume onto the ImageViewer icon.

If the Preview And Icons preferences are set to apply at Open, previews and icons are made whenever a file is opened, including gallery and icon views.

Note: When ImageViewer builds a file list, it searches all files within the specified folder(s) and checks those with invalid file types to see if their contents represent a file that can be opened. Many valid graphic files don't have correct Mac file types (e.g. those downloaded from the internet). This "file checking" can add a significant amount of time to the initial Open time. To limit the file list to only valid file types, uncheck the checkbox "Check All Types When Building File List" in the Open dialog.

Further, the initial file list building at Open always adds some time--usually only a few extra seconds--but sometimes longer. ImageViewer is designed to navigate among files in a list, rather than open single files from the Open dialog. You can cancel the list building by holding the command and period keys down.

Hint: File list building will go much faster if you specify folders which contain mostly readable graphics files, as opposed to folders that contain various readable and unreadable files.

Limitations: Currently, you cannot open "progressive" JPEGs, this will result in an error. ImageViewer relies on QuickTime to decompress JPEGs, and, as of QuickTime 2.5, this is not supported. Hopefully, in a future version of QuickTime, this will be addressed.

Saving Images

ImageViewer allows you to save images in the following file types: GIF, JPEG, PICT, and TIFF. If you Save the image, it is saved in its current file type and compression. If you choose Save As, you can specify the file type and compression. Currently, JPEG files are saved at a default setting of High if not specified via Save As.

To save an image choose Save from the File menu. This will save the modified image in its current file type and compression.

If you choose Save As from the file menu, you will be able to specify the file type and compression using popup menus in the dialog box. When you change the file type, the compression option(s) appear for that file type. If JPEG compression is selected, you can set the quality as well.

If the Preview And Icons preferences are set to Apply at Save, previews and icons are made whenever a file is saved.

Limitations: JPEG files are decompressed into memory, although this allows for faster display, it has 2 drawbacks. First, the uncompressed image data uses up much more memory(this is true for all compressed images, but especially so for JPEGs) and also, when saving, the data is re-compressed, which can cause a loss of image quality. I plan to allow an option for retaining the compressed data in a future--most likely the next--release.

Import

You can access PhotoShop Import Plug-ins(formerly known as Acquire) to scan images or import files of certain formats. ImageViewer requires that the location of the Plug-ins folder is specified(usually the PhotoShop Plug-ins folder) and you will be requested to do so at startup, if no such location is specified. You can set the Plug-ins folder via the Preferences File panel.

Once the image is imported, you will be prompted to save the file, which will be added to the file list.

To Import images, use the Import command from the File menu.

Hint: The buffer created to hold scanned images is generally large, so in order to scan images, its recommended you set ImageViewer's preferred memory to 12 or more megabytes.

Limitations: ImageViewer doesn't support pre-3.0 Plug-ins.

Select Camera

If more than one camera component is available, you can change the current camera with this command. Use the Select Camera command from the File menu to do so.

Special File Commands

ImageViewer has a number of time-saving file related commands that allow you to perform finder operations without exiting the application. You can Copy To Location or Move To Location, by choosing the appropriate command from the File menu. You can Move To Trash or Delete, Delete Duplicate Files, Remove Resources, and Rename files by choosing commands from the File menu, Special submenu. You may also Create Previews and Icons in the same manner. For all but Rename, operations are performed on the entire range of selected files.

Specifying Locations

To Copy or Move files to a location, you must specify a current location, which can be either a folder or volume. Choose Add Location from the File menu and select a location, the new location will be added to the locations list in the Locations window. To specify a location as current, click the location icon in the Locations window. The Move and Copy operations use the current location as a destination. This allows you to easily organize images in various folders. To remove a location, choose Remove Location from the File menu, the currently selected location will be removed.

The number of locations you can add is practically unlimited. Locations are stored in the file "Locations" in the ImageViewer folder.

Hint: You will notice that the first 10 locations have a small number in the upper left corner(0..9). You can Move or Copy to a numbered location by using Command-0..9. The specified location is made current and either a Move or Copy will occur, based on the last such operation. If you are uncertain whether a Move or Copy will occur, choose Move To Location or Copy To Location to establish the current operation.

Copy To Location

Makes a duplicate(both forks) of the current file or selected files and places it in the current location. This feature can be useful for categorizing or making backups of image files.

To Copy to the current location, choose Copy To Location from the File menu. When in single image view mode, the current file is copied. When in a list view mode, the entire selection range is copied. From list view modes you can drag the selection to a location to Move, or hold the option key down to Copy.

While copying a group of files, you can't perform actions within ImageViewer, however, you can switch out and perform other tasks. ImageViewer should copy files at least as fast as the finder.

Move To Location

If the source file and the current location are on the same volume, the file's location information is exchanged. If they are on different volumes, a duplicate(both forks) of the current file or selected files is placed in the current location and the original file is deleted. This feature can be useful for categorizing image files. Moving across volumes is much slower than moving within the same volume.

To Move to the current location, choose Move To Location from the File menu. When in single image view mode, the current file is moved. When in a list view mode, the entire selection range is moved. From list view modes you can drag the selection to a location to Move, or hold the option key down to Copy.

While moving a group of files, you can't perform actions within ImageViewer, however, you can switch out and perform other tasks. ImageViewer should move files at least as fast as the finder.

Delete Files/Move File To Trash

Depending on how the preferences(File panel, "Delete Files...") are set, the current file or selected files will be either moved to the trash folder or deleted.

To move the current file or selected files to the trash(or to delete), choose Move File To Trash(Delete Files) from the File menu Special submenu.

While moving a group of files to the trash(or deleting), you can't perform actions within ImageViewer, however, you can switch out and perform other tasks.

**Warning: If you choose to delete files, rather than move to the trash, you do so at your own risk. There is no way to recover a file once it is deleted.**

Delete Duplicate Files

Deletes additional files which share the same name(not including extensions) and have the same size. All files in the current file list are examined.

To Delete Duplicate Files, choose Delete Duplicate Files from the File menu, Special submenu.

Rename File

Renames the current file.

To Rename the current file, choose Rename File from the File menu, Special submenu.

Create Previews And Icons

Creates a preview(s) and/or icon(s) for the current file or selected files. Previews and Icons preference settings are applied when this command is used. This feature can be useful when viewing in a display mode that uses previews, or to create previews and icons for a group of files.

Previews are created using the depth, size and compression options from Preferences. The size and quality of the created preview is greatly affected by these settings. In general a depth of "thousands" will produce a good balance between quality and size.

To create preview(s) and/or icon(s) for the current file or selected files, choose Create Previews And Icons from the File menu, Special submenu.

While creating previews for a group of files, you can't perform actions within ImageViewer, however, you can switch out and perform other tasks.

Hint: For faster creation and display choose compression "none".

Note: This is the suggested method for creating previews and icons, as opposed to Batch.

Remove Resources

Allows you to remove resources from the current file or selected files. All preview related resources, all icon related resources, or all resources can be specified. This is a handy little command which you can use to "flatten" images, or to find the best setting for preview creation.

To Remove Resources from the current file or selected files, choose Remove Resources from the File menu, Special submenu.

Note: This command should be used with caution.

Batch

Batching files is a way to take specified actions on a list of files. ImageViewer allows you to specify a batch, set it in motion, and carry on with another task.

The flexible design allows you to perform a powerful batch with ease. You determine the actions to be taken and what order they occur. There are no limits on the combinations of actions you'd like to perform--up to the maximum action slots. While most programs that offer batching capabilities are hard to understand and use, ImageViewer offers a simple drag-and-drop interface. Just drag a few icons and go!

To specify a batch, drag action icons to the action list. For actions that have multiple settings, hold the mouse down over the action icon and a popup or dialog will appear for you to set. Double-clicking action icons adds/removes them from the list.

When the batch is finished, an error list is shown with file names.

To run a batch choose Batch from the File menu.

Note: Although Batch should work correctly, I don't plan to modify or improve this feature. I plan to make ImageViewer scriptable in a future release. Running an Apple Script is the preferred manner to accomplish Batching.

Printing

You can print a single image or a list of images, depending on the current view mode. Images and Lists of images, are printed in their entirety, regardless of the selection or selection range.

To Print choose Print from the File menu.

Limitations: Currently, the entire image or list of images is printed, regardless of page range specified.