It’s been awhile since I had sent a tip out to my Extra-Strength Tip e-mail list, so I sent one last night (although I included an old date in the subject line, so I hope it wasn’t ignored by too many people). This one covers Photoshop CS’s File Browser.

The Extra-Strength Tips for the Clients and Friends of Ben Willmore (www.digitalmastery.com):

Ok, I know it’s been awhile, but as many of you know my schedule is like a series of wild roller-coasters, and the tips get done when I’m taking a breather between screamers. So, while I’m still breathing let’s get a few in, shall we?

This time around we’re going to explore Photoshop CS’s File Browser. When navigating the folder list in the upper left pane of the Browser window, there’s a quick way to expand or collapse a folder in order to view any subfolders. Use the up and down arrow keys to switch folders and then hold Command (Mac), or Ctrl (Win) while pressing the right or left arrow keys to expand or collapse a folder.

If you’d like to view the contents of multiple folders, then click the search icon (it looks like a pair of binoculars), point it at the main folder you’d like to search, turn on the Include All Subfolders checkbox and then search for files with file sizes greater than 1KB. That will usually turn up any images that are in the subfolders.

If you later switch to view the contents of a folder, you can quickly get back to your search results by clicking the Search Results option that appears under the Favorite Folders choice at the bottom of the folder list.

Once you’ve navigated to the folder you’d like to view (or completed a search), and you’d like to hide the left side of the File Browser, just click the double arrow icon that’s found in the lower left of the thumbnail image pane. That will create much more space to browse the thumbnails. Click the icon a second time when you want to access the folders, preview or metadata panes of the Browser window.

If you work with a large number of RAW format images, then you’ll most likely want to choose Edit>Preferences (from within the File Browser’s menu bar, not the one at the top of your screen) and turn on the Allow Background Processing checkbox. That will allow the File Browser to create thumbnail and preview images while other programs are being used. That way you can be checking your e-mail or browsing the web while the File Browser chugs along creating preview images.

If you ever need to scale and save a bunch of images as TIFF’s or JPG’s, then go check out Dr. Brown’s Image processor at www.russellbrown.com His web site includes movies that describe how the free Photoshop script works.

My next on-line class, Photoshop Mastery: The Essentials, is set to begin April 6th. For details on the 8-week course, visit http://www.betterphoto.com/photocourses/BEN01.asp This is a unique opportunity that allows people outside the U.S. to attend one of my classes without having to travel. The last two classes sold out, so if you’re even thinking about it, don’t procrastinate.

I also have an upcoming in-the-field/hands-on class that I’m teaching with the great George Lepp on July 25-29. This class will be held in Los Osos, CA where you will learn how to get the best possible images out of your camera while you’re in the field shooting with George, and then you’ll learn how to maintain the highest quality when adjusting your images in Photoshop with me. Details can be found at http://www.leppinstitute.com/LeppInstitute/quality.htm

-Ben Willmore

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