Dreamweaver Slide Shows: Quick and Creative

1 THE MANY WAYS TO PUBLISH PHOTOS
If you’re still looking for the best way to publish collections of pictures on the Web, your first challenge is deciding whether you want to create a carefully designed portfolio or a quick proof sheet for a client. In this column, let’s sort through some of the simplest ways you can put your photos online, including the built-in Web Photo Gallery in Photoshop, which was used to create this slide show in a matter of seconds, as well as more complex solutions such as the Flash slide show extensions you can download and add to Dreamweaver.

2 THE PHOTOSHOP WEB GALLERY
If you use Photoshop and you want to create a quick Web gallery with a folder full of snapshots, try File>Automate>Web Photo Gallery. Although the customization options are limited, this tool can save you time because it’s designed to automatically resize a collection of images, creating both thumbnail versions and larger images. You can even specify quality options and choose from designs created as Flash files or HTML and image files. Although the HTML code can make the pages difficult to edit in Dreamweaver, you can easily link the gallery to any page in your website. (Visit www.layersmagazine.com/when-html-goes-bad-html for tips on editing HTML in a Web gallery.)

3 WEB PHOTO ALBUM CREATOR
If you have Fireworks, consider using the Web Photo Album command included in Dreamweaver (you have to have Fireworks to use it). This tool is similar to the one in Photoshop, except that its layout options are more limited. That makes this tool fine for creating quick galleries, but if you want more control over the design, you may be happier with some of the extensions covered at the end of this column. Even if you create a custom layout, you can still use this feature to automatically resize a folder full of images, creating optimized images, matching thumbnails, and a series of pages that link them together (all in a matter of seconds.)

4 ADD TITLE; SELECT SOURCE IMAGES
To create an album, open or create a page in Dreamweaver (the Album feature is grayed out if you don’t have a file open). Choose Create Web Photo Album under the Commands menu. You can type a title, which will appear at the top of each Album page, and add up to two other lines of text using the Subhead and Other Info fields. Use the Browse button next to the Source Images Folder field to select the folder that contains the images you want to include in your album. Then use the Browse button next to the Destination Folder field and choose a folder where the new album files will be stored.

5 CHOOSE IMAGE SIZE AND QUALITY
In the Create Web Photo Album dialog, you can also choose among several thumbnail sizes, up to 200×200 pixels. The number of columns you enter controls how many thumbnails will be displayed across the page, each in its own Table cell. You can also choose a quality setting and size for the larger version of each image, which will be inserted in its own page and automatically linked to the thumbnail page and to the next and previous image pages in sequence.


6 PREVIEW PHOTO ALBUM FILES
When you use the Web Photo Album dialog, Dreamweaver saves all of the files that are automatically created in the folder you selected as the Destination Folder. When the process is complete, you can open the folder in the Files panel to view or edit the thumbnail images, larger images, and any of the pages that were created and linked. The index.html file in the album folder is the first page of the slide show and displays the thumbnail images. Once you’ve created an album, you can edit any or all of the pages just as you would edit any other files in Dreamweaver.

7 SLIDE SHOW FEATURES VIA EXTENSIONS
One of my favorite things about Dreamweaver is that you can add features through a growing list of extensions. Visit the Dreamweaver section of the Adobe Exchange site at www.adobe.com/exchange and you can search through hundreds of extensions created by third-party programmers, complete with customer reviews and rankings. A search for slide show finds more than 20 matches. Some of the best extensions are also the most expensive (you’ll find two recommendations at the end of this column), but there are a few that are free, including the one covered in the next few steps.

8 INSTALLING EXTENSIONS
After downloading an extension from the Adobe Exchange site (or from a third-party developer), simply double-click on the .MXP file to launch the Dreamweaver Extension Manager, which automatically adds the extension. Installing new extensions is fairly self-explanatory, but you’ll want to pay attention to the instructions when it comes to finding these new features once they’re added. Extensions often add menu items and buttons, but they’re not always obvious if you don’t know where to look. Many are added to the Commands menu, but they can appear in other parts of the program as well.

9 THE RANDOM IMAGES SOLUTION
The Advanced Random Images extension by Kaosweaver is one of the more popular extensions on the Adobe site. You can use it to display a random image every time a Web page is loaded or to change an image daily. You can even create a random slide show. The extension, which can be added to Dreamweaver MX 2004 and later versions, creates JavaScript, works on both Mac and PC computers, and it’s free (although the programmer does welcome donations). You’ll find the Advanced Random Images extension under the Commands menu after it’s installed.

10 USING THE RANDOM IMAGES EXTENSION
To use the Advanced Random Images extension, click to place your cursor where you want the random image added to your page, and then click the Commands menu and select Kaosweaver.com and then Advanced Random Images. In the dialog, select an Action, such as Random Image or Daily Image and then use the plus icon to add a collection of images the random image will be drawn from. With an image selected, you can specify the size, title and alt text, border, and link. Click OK. (Note that you won’t see the first random image displayed in Dreamweaver unless View>Visual Aids>Invisible Elements is checked.)

11 PREVIEW TO TEST YOUR WORK
To view your slide show, you’ll need to preview the page in a Web browser. To do so, click the Preview button at the top of the workspace or choose File>Preview in Browser and then select any browser you have associated with Dreamweaver. Because the Random Images behavior is designed to display a new image each time the page is loaded, you’ll need to reload the page in the browser to get the full effect and see the images change randomly. Here you see the top of a banner image, with two different images displayed to show the effect.

12 THE XML FLASH SLIDESHOW EXTENSION
If you want even more options, consider the XML Flash Slideshow v3 extension from www.dwuser.com. For $29, this extension adds a variety of layouts, color customization, and many other settings. You can also add a title, caption, link, and other details to each image individually. And you can even add watermarks as you create galleries. Like the Web Photo Album in Dreamweaver, the extension can be used to resize images and thumbnails (as long as you have Fireworks on your computer). For detailed instructions for how to use this extension, look for “Using the Dreamweaver XML Flash Slideshow Extension” at www.layersmagazine.com.

13 THE 3D PHOTO WALL EXTENSION
If you’re looking for a more distinctive look for your photo galleries, you may want to choose an extension such as the 3D Photo Wall from www.dmxzone.com. Priced at more than $100, this is one of the most expensive extensions featured on the Adobe Exchange site, but it does have a high coolness factor. Using this program, you can automatically generate a wall of photos in a gallery that can be zoomed and panned to add interactivity and flair to your galleries. For detailed instructions for how to use this extension, look for “Using the Dreamweaver 3D Photo Wall Extension” at www.layersmagazine.com.

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Printing Tips

Printing Tips for Lightroom’s Print Module

1 CREATING PRINT COLLECTIONS
Photos that you select to print are typically the best of the best and a print collection lets you create a group of photos based on your print needs. To create a print collection, navigate to the Print module then select from the Filmstrip the photos you want to add to the collection. Next, click on the plus icon (+) in the Collections panel header and choose Create Print. In the dialog that appears, name your collection, check the Include Selected Photos box, click Create, and a distinct icon appears next to your collection in the panel.

2 USING PRINT TEMPLATES
Creating prints and print layouts in Lightroom requires making prints over and over again at specific sizes or configurations. Therefore, using a predetermined template (or creating your own template) can drastically increase workflow productivity.
To use a Print Template, select one or more photos in the Filmstrip. Then, in the Print module, open the Preview and Template Browser panels. Hover your cursor over one of the Lightroom templates and you’ll see the layout appear in the Preview panel above. When you’ve found the template that will work best, click on the template name to select it.

3 CREATE A CONTACT SHEET
A contact sheet is a printed “grid” of many small thumbnails on one page. Photographers frequently use these to review or create a visual catalog of images on a CD, DVD, or drive. This visual catalog lets you see the images without having to browse the media storage device. Creating contact sheets is an integral step in most workflows and it’s simple to do in Lightroom. Just select multiple images in the Library module or Filmstrip, choose one of the two Contact Sheet templates in the Template Browser panel, and you’ll see the layout ready for printing in the main window.

4 CONTACT SHEET/GRID, PART 1
To create or customize a grid layout, click on the Contact Sheet/Grid option in the Layout Engine panel. In the Image Settings panel, choose Zoom to Fill to fill the entire cell—click-and-drag the cursor over the image to position the image. Select Rotate to Fit to view the largest image that fits in the image cell. Check Repeat One Photo Per Page to create a contact sheet with one image per page. Next, choose Stroke Border to add a border, click on the color swatch to choose a new color for the border and drag the Width slider to change its size.

5 CONTACT SHEET/GRID, PART 2
To customize the Grid, use the Guides and Layout panels. In the Guides panel, click Show Guides on/off to see how each guide affects the display. Then in the Layout panel, make specific adjustments. If you’ve chosen to show the Rulers in the Guides panel, select a Ruler Unit, then drag the various controls to make any layout modifications.
Or you can position the cursor over the Margins, Cell Spacing, or the Cell Size in the layout and when the cursor changes into a line with two arrows, click-and-drag to resize that aspect of the layout.

6 PICTURE PACKAGE CELLS
The Picture Package allows you to create a layout that prints one photo on one or more pages—this is especially helpful when you need to print one image in multiple sizes for a client. First, in the Library module or Filmstrip, select the image that you’d like to use. Next, in the Print module, select a Picture Package template in the Template Browser or click on the Picture Package option in the Layout Engine panel. Then use the Image Settings and Rulers, Grid & Guides panels to customize the layout.

7 ADDING OVERLAYS
The Overlays panel can be used to add creative or technical information to your print layout. In both the Contact Sheet/Grid or Picture Package layouts, you can add your Identity Plate, which can be customized with regard to position, rotation, color, and opacity.
In the Contact Sheet/Grid layout, you can also add Page Options—Page Numbers, Page Info, and Crop Marks—and Photo Info, including any of the following: Caption, Custom Text, Date, Equipment, Exposure, Filename, Sequence, or Title.

8 ADD A CREATIVE BORDER
As mentioned above, the Overlays panel can be used to add creative information to your images. Here’s an idea, thanks to Sean McCormack. First, create a border file in Photoshop with semi-transparent edges and nothing inside the border. Save the file as a PNG file, then click in the Identity Plate preview, and choose the border.png file. Next, click on the triangle in the lower-right corner of the Identity Plate preview and select Custom (your border identity plate), then modify the positioning and scale of the border to fit over the photo.

9 PRINTING TO JPEG
When sending images to a lab, you’ll need to convert the files to JPEG. So, in the Print Job panel, choose Print to: JPEG File, then make your print selections: File Resolution; Print Sharpening—Standard typically works best; Media Type (Matte or Glossy) for the type of paper; and JPEG Quality. Turn on the Custom File Dimensions box, hover your cursor over the file dimension numbers, then click-and-drag left or right to decrease or increase them. Finally, choose a color Profile and Rendering Intent by clicking on the menu options.

10 DESKTOP PRINTING: PAGE SETUP
Before you send a photo to your desktop printer you’ll want to set up the page dimensions and orientation. Press Command-Shift-P (PC: Ctrl-Shift-P) or click the Page Setup button located at the bottom of the left-side panels area. This will open the Page Setup dialog where you need to first select your printer (Format for), the Paper Size, and the Orientation (vertical or horizontal). As a side note, it’s typically best to leave the Scale set to 100%.

11 PRINT TO PRINTER, PART 1
In the Print Job panel, select Print to: Printer, then choose the Print Resolution. Add Print Sharpening based on the file’s output resolution and media type. Keep in mind that this Print Sharpening is added to any sharpening that you may have already done in the Develop module. In most cases, you’ll find that Standard Sharpening will work best.
Note: If your printer is capable of printing in 16-Bit Output, then select that option; however, if you’re printer doesn’t print in 16-bit output, selecting this option will slow the creation of the print.

12 PRINT TO PRINTER, PART 2
In the Color Management section, first select the Profile for the printer. Next, choose either Perceptual or Relative Rendering Intent. Select Relative when you have fewer colors that are out of gamut, as Relative rendering preserves all of the in-gamut color, and shifts out-of-gamut colors to what it determines as the closest reproducible color. Choose Perceptual if you have many out-of-gamut colors, as it tries to preserve the visual relationship between colors, and shifts out-of-gamut colors to colors that can be printed.

13 PRINT TO PRINTER , PART 3
Finally, we’ll open the printer’s dialog to finalize the print settings. Press Command-P (PC: Ctrl-P) or click on the Print button (at the bottom of the right-side panels area). Note: Your printer’s Print dialog may be different.
In the Print dialog, you’ll want to select the media (paper) type and turn off color management. Both of these steps are equally important, but it’s especially critical that the printer color management is turned off because we’re printing with a custom profile. Now click OK and, if you’re like me, wait with excitement as you printer creates the final print.

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Printing Tips for Lightroom’s Print Module

1 CREATING PRINT COLLECTIONS
Photos that you select to print are typically the best of the best and a print collection lets you create a group of photos based on your print needs. To create a print collection, navigate to the Print module then select from the Filmstrip the photos you want to add to the collection. Next, click on the plus icon (+) in the Collections panel header and choose Create Print. In the dialog that appears, name your collection, check the Include Selected Photos box, click Create, and a distinct icon appears next to your collection in the panel.

2 USING PRINT TEMPLATES
Creating prints and print layouts in Lightroom requires making prints over and over again at specific sizes or configurations. Therefore, using a predetermined template (or creating your own template) can drastically increase workflow productivity.

To use a Print Template, select one or more photos in the Filmstrip. Then, in the Print module, open the Preview and Template Browser panels. Hover your cursor over one of the Lightroom templates and you’ll see the layout appear in the Preview panel above. When you’ve found the template that will work best, click on the template name to select it.

3 CREATE A CONTACT SHEET
A contact sheet is a printed “grid” of many small thumbnails on one page. Photographers frequently use these to review or create a visual catalog of images on a CD, DVD, or drive. This visual catalog lets you see the images without having to browse the media storage device. Creating contact sheets is an integral step in most workflows and it’s simple to do in Lightroom. Just select multiple images in the Library module or Filmstrip, choose one of the two Contact Sheet templates in the Template Browser panel, and you’ll see the layout ready for printing in the main window.

4 CONTACT SHEET/GRID, PART 1
To create or customize a grid layout, click on the Contact Sheet/Grid option in the Layout Engine panel. In the Image Settings panel, choose Zoom to Fill to fill the entire cell—click-and-drag the cursor over the image to position the image. Select Rotate to Fit to view the largest image that fits in the image cell. Check Repeat One Photo Per Page to create a contact sheet with one image per page. Next, choose Stroke Border to add a border, click on the color swatch to choose a new color for the border and drag the Width slider to change its size.

5 CONTACT SHEET/GRID, PART 2
To customize the Grid, use the Guides and Layout panels. In the Guides panel, click Show Guides on/off to see how each guide affects the display. Then in the Layout panel, make specific adjustments. If you’ve chosen to show the Rulers in the Guides panel, select a Ruler Unit, then drag the various controls to make any layout modifications.

Or you can position the cursor over the Margins, Cell Spacing, or the Cell Size in the layout and when the cursor changes into a line with two arrows, click-and-drag to resize that aspect of the layout.

6 PICTURE PACKAGE CELLS
The Picture Package allows you to create a layout that prints one photo on one or more pages—this is especially helpful when you need to print one image in multiple sizes for a client. First, in the Library module or Filmstrip, select the image that you’d like to use. Next, in the Print module, select a Picture Package template in the Template Browser or click on the Picture Package option in the Layout Engine panel. Then use the Image Settings and Rulers, Grid & Guides panels to customize the layout.

7 ADDING OVERLAYS
The Overlays panel can be used to add creative or technical information to your print layout. In both the Contact Sheet/Grid or Picture Package layouts, you can add your Identity Plate, which can be customized with regard to position, rotation, color, and opacity.

In the Contact Sheet/Grid layout, you can also add Page Options—Page Numbers, Page Info, and Crop Marks—and Photo Info, including any of the following: Caption, Custom Text, Date, Equipment, Exposure, Filename, Sequence, or Title.

8 ADD A CREATIVE BORDER
As mentioned above, the Overlays panel can be used to add creative information to your images. Here’s an idea, thanks to Sean McCormack. First, create a border file in Photoshop with semi-transparent edges and nothing inside the border. Save the file as a PNG file, then click in the Identity Plate preview, and choose the border.png file. Next, click on the triangle in the lower-right corner of the Identity Plate preview and select Custom (your border identity plate), then modify the positioning and scale of the border to fit over the photo.

9 PRINTING TO JPEG
When sending images to a lab, you’ll need to convert the files to JPEG. So, in the Print Job panel, choose Print to: JPEG File, then make your print selections: File Resolution; Print Sharpening—Standard typically works best; Media Type (Matte or Glossy) for the type of paper; and JPEG Quality. Turn on the Custom File Dimensions box, hover your cursor over the file dimension numbers, then click-and-drag left or right to decrease or increase them. Finally, choose a color Profile and Rendering Intent by clicking on the menu options.

10 DESKTOP PRINTING: PAGE SETUP
Before you send a photo to your desktop printer you’ll want to set up the page dimensions and orientation. Press Command-Shift-P (PC: Ctrl-Shift-P) or click the Page Setup button located at the bottom of the left-side panels area. This will open the Page Setup dialog where you need to first select your printer (Format for), the Paper Size, and the Orientation (vertical or horizontal). As a side note, it’s typically best to leave the Scale set to 100%.

11 PRINT TO PRINTER, PART 1
In the Print Job panel, select Print to: Printer, then choose the Print Resolution. Add Print Sharpening based on the file’s output resolution and media type. Keep in mind that this Print Sharpening is added to any sharpening that you may have already done in the Develop module. In most cases, you’ll find that Standard Sharpening will work best.

Note: If your printer is capable of printing in 16-Bit Output, then select that option; however, if you’re printer doesn’t print in 16-bit output, selecting this option will slow the creation of the print.

12 PRINT TO PRINTER, PART 2
In the Color Management section, first select the Profile for the printer. Next, choose either Perceptual or Relative Rendering Intent. Select Relative when you have fewer colors that are out of gamut, as Relative rendering preserves all of the in-gamut color, and shifts out-of-gamut colors to what it determines as the closest reproducible color. Choose Perceptual if you have many out-of-gamut colors, as it tries to preserve the visual relationship between colors, and shifts out-of-gamut colors to colors that can be printed.

13 PRINT TO PRINTER , PART 3
Finally, we’ll open the printer’s dialog to finalize the print settings. Press Command-P (PC: Ctrl-P) or click on the Print button (at the bottom of the right-side panels area). Note: Your printer’s Print dialog may be different.

In the Print dialog, you’ll want to select the media (paper) type and turn off color management. Both of these steps are equally important, but it’s especially critical that the printer color management is turned off because we’re printing with a custom profile. Now click OK and, if you’re like me, wait with excitement as you printer creates the final print.

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Working with Database Catalogs

Working with Database Catalogs in Lightroom

1 UNDERSTANDING DATABASE CATALOGS
Many of my colleagues say, “The Lightroom database catolog thing is daunting…I don’t even know what a catalog is!” At first glance, it does seem confusing; so let’s dispel this misconception. For starters, a catalog is simply how Lightroom tracks file location and remembers file information—file previews, metadata, Develop module settings, ratings, keywords, and collections. Why have catalogs? They provide flexibility in managing, identifying, and organizing photos and media files. For example, you can transfer files from a laptop to desktop and preserve the changes. Think of a catalog as something that contains file location and information.

2 WHY CATALOGS MATTER
Understanding catalogs is important for two reasons: First (and maybe most importantly) is that certain catalog techniques can optimize performance, i.e., make Lightroom run faster. As your image library grows in size and scale, you’ll need to take specific steps to ensure Lightroom runs quickly. The second benefit is that catalogs allow you to work in Lightroom without any loss of information across multiple computers. In this case, catalogs become instrumental.

3 CATALOG SETTINGS—BACKUP
Catalogs contain valuable image information; therefore, it’s critical to back up your catalogs frequently. Choose File>Catalog Settings and in the dialog that opens, from the Back Up Catalog drop-down menu (under the General tab), choose how frequently the current catalog is to be backed up. How much you use Lightroom will determine how often the catalog needs to be backed up; for example, power users would choose at least Once a Week. This way, if a catalog is accidentally deleted or becomes corrupt, the backup file may help you recover your data.

4 CATALOG SETTINGS—OPTIMIZE
One of the main advantages of using Lightroom is that it gives you quick access to large collections of images; however, you may experience performance issues as your database of images grows or if you’ve removed a number of files. If you feel as if Lightroom is “chugging,” your first plan of attack should be to Choose File>Catalog Settings and in the dialog that opens, click the Relaunch and Optimize button. Optimization takes a couple of minutes but it’s well worth the wait!

5 CATALOG SETTINGS—FILE HANDLING
To quickly view your images, the Lightroom catalog contains important file previews, and as your image library grows, the number of previews grows as well. So, in the Catalog Settings dialog, first click on the File Handling tab and choose a Standard Preview Size that’s no larger than your monitor resolution; e.g., if your laptop resolution is 1280×800, choose 1280 or less. Next, choose Medium for Preview Quality, which is probably best for most users. Finally, to keep your catalog file lean and mean, choose After 30 Days in the Automatically Discard 1:1 Previews field.

6 ONE COMPUTER, MANY CATALOGS
Another way to increase performance is to use multiple catalogs, thus preventing one catalog from becoming too big. Choose File>New Catalog, name your catalog, and save it in a specific folder. (I recommend saving all your catalogs in one location.) To open a catalog, just choose File>Open Catalog. The number of catalogs you use will be contingent upon how much you shoot. (I know one prolific wedding photographer who creates a new catalog for each wedding; on the other hand, a colleague of mine only creates a new catalog for each calendar year.)

7 ME AND MY COMPUTERS
Working with catalogs is critical when using multiple computers. Consider the following scenario: I use a laptop when traveling or on location, and while on the road, I import and process my images in Lightroom (I also back up the images to two external hard drives). Upon returning to the studio, I need to transfer the files to my studio backup system to, you know, back up the files and access them from my desktop. (Note: The following techniques will be effective when using any type of computer.)

8 LAPTOP TO DESKTOP—EXPORT
To export your catalog choose File>Export as Catalog. (Think of exporting a catalog as similar to taking your images, proof sheets, etc., and boxing them up to be sent to a new location.) Name your catalog and choose a destination folder. Be sure to check the Export Negative Files and Include Available Previews options, as these are the best choices when moving an entire catalog from one computer to another.

9 LAPTOP TO DESKTOP—IMPORT
The catalog is now ready to be imported to the studio backup system so you can access it on your desktop computer. Open Lightroom on the desktop and choose File>Import from Catalog. (I like to think of importing a catalog as a merger.) What literally happens is the laptop and desktop catalogs become one, with the end result a “super” desktop catalog that contains all of the laptop catalog images, previews, information, etc.

10 LET’S SHARE
Other Lightroom workflow scenarios require sharing images and database catalogs, and in these situations, the workflow model is based on teamwork. In the following steps, let’s consider a workflow where a photographer shoots and then imports and processes images in Lightroom. After the photographer has completed her work, an assistant adds keywords to all of the images, then finally, a studio manager will deliver the images to the client.

11 PHOTOGRAPHER—EXPORT
The first step in this scenario is for the photographer to import and process the images in Lightroom. Once she has completed the workflow, she’ll have to export the catalog. This step is identical to Step 8: Choose File>Export as Catalog, then name the catalog, and select a destination folder. Because the catalog will be shared, it’s critical to check the Export Negative Files and Include Available Previews boxes.

12 ASSISTANT—OPEN AND EXPORT
The next step is for the assistant to add keywords to the images. In this case, the assistant will need to open (as opposed to Import) the catalog (File>Open Catalog). The catalog will then remain intact (it won’t be merged with another catalog). When the assistant’s work is complete, he’ll need to export the catalog (File>Export as Catalog)—again choosing a name and destination for the catalog and checking Export Negative Files and Include Available Previews (because the catalog will be shared).

13 STUDIO MANAGER—OPEN
For the final step in this scenario, the studio manager opens the catalog to manage the images and deliver the files to clients, etc. In this case, the process mirrors the initial procedures in Step 12: Choose File>Open Catalog. The process is now complete.

Note: If the studio manager needs the assistant to do some more keywording, the catalog would have to be exported.

14 GOOD OL’ ACHILLES
Now that you’ve learned some Lightroom database skills to improve your overall workflow, let’s not forget about the Achilles’ heel! So what’s our potential weakness? The database catalogs and our images live on hard drives that have a limited lifespan. Therefore, make sure to follow the words of Peter Krogh, digital asset management guru: “Don’t put all your eggs in one basket. Put your files on at least three hard drives.” If you haven’t backed up your files recently, let today be the day—you won’t regret it!

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