Managing files on a Mac

[Fujial]

After 30+ years on Windows I took the plunge and bought an M1 Macbook Pro earlier this year – how difficult could it be to move over?  At first glance I thought Photos was quite clever but when I tried to import photos and interact with Affinity and access/save files OMG….

I’d like to import images into a date based filing system from SD cards and then easily access them from Affinity and export processed images back with a related file name via a system that allows me to easily view and compare said images.  I’d also like to be able to view, compare and cull images easily.  At some stage I'd like to use/access an external SSD.

The only way I can get near this is via a folder structure in Desktop but even then access seems convoluted and the viewing options are very poor.  Finder and Preview don’t seem helpful.  The Photos Library is just a massive stack of thumbnails and saving processed images back to it complicated. Would something like ACDsee help or should I go and get a new Windows laptop while I'm still alive?  My skills in Affinity and overall output have nosedived while I try and fathom the Mac.  😞 Any help greatly appreciated.

[Dan C]

Hi @Fujial,

I'd agree that an app similar to ACDsee or XnViewMP would likely be best for your use case, as these can catalogue both your image files, and your Affinity documents.

This has been further discussed in the below threads, which may help with your decision:

I hope this helps

[v_kyr]

Just naming three freeware tools for tryouts here ...

• digiCam
• XnView MP
• nomacs
• ... and so on ...

... there are a bunch of commercial tools & DAMs for MacOS like ...

• Graphics Converter
• FastRawViewer
• RAW Power
• NeoFinder
• Picktorial
• Acdsee Photo Studio Mac
• Exposer X7
• Photo Supeme
• ABetterFinderRename
• ... and so on ...

... too much to list them all here.

[Fujial]

Thanks for your responses Dan C and V_kyr - I'll prob try ACDsee to see if it helps.  I do miss the easy control of my file structure / management that windows offered (but not some of the other windows stuff!). 

Should have picked up the clue that the guy in the Apple shop, who was a photographer, used a windows emulator and external SSD!

I feel a Dell coming on....

[Fujial]

I've now got Acdsee. 

When I'm in Affinity Photo in Windows, I've liked being able to use File / Open and then being able to go anywhere in my filing system complete with decent sized icon images to choose an image and then maybe File / Place to get an image to use in my processing and then File / Export to save directly back in my filing system (often checking the nomenclature of adjacent images to help me name my masterpiece).  

On the Mac if I try this I'm taken to a Finder window with tiny thumbnails at best.  I can 'edit with' Affinity direct from the Acdsee viewer but can't Place another image from Acdsee or Export back via Acdsee only via Finders woeful dialogue box/window.

Is the Mac OS just fundamentally different in this regard so you've maybe got to work via the desktop and accept a new way or working? or do I need a windows emulator on the Mac or maybe a new laptop? 

[v_kyr]

41 minutes ago, Fujial said:

On the Mac if I try this I'm taken to a Finder window with tiny thumbnails at best.  I can 'edit with' Affinity direct from the Acdsee viewer but can't Place another image from Acdsee or Export back via Acdsee only via Finders woeful dialogue box/window.

Is the Mac OS just fundamentally different in this regard so you've maybe got to work via the desktop and accept a new way or working?

This also highly depends on how the individual software has been designed to work file management wise and if it tries to be strictly MacOS conform or not.

See for example some of the Exposure 7 file management tasks etc. here ...

• Managing image files (tutorial video)
• Copying images from camera cards (tutorial video)
• Backups and Archives (tutorial video)
• Using Collections (tutorial video)
• Automatic Image Organization (rule based) (tutorial video)
• ... and so on ...
• General Tutorials Overview (tutorial video)

[R C-R]

45 minutes ago, Fujial said:

On the Mac if I try this I'm taken to a Finder window with tiny thumbnails at best.

At the top left of the Finder window in recent macOS versions you should see a button icon that looks like 4 horizontal lines. Click on that & you can choose from 3 "Show items as" choices, one of which is "Columns." If you use that you can see very large previews of the documents, albeit one at a time. This also displays more info about the file

You can also select any one item & tap the spacebar to get an even larger preview, another one at a time alternative.

To make this easier to use to browse through items withing a folder, you can use the up/down keys on the keyboard to move through the files.

[jmwellborn]

"At the top left of the Finder window in recent macOS versions you should see a button icon that looks like 4 horizontal lines. Click on that & you can choose from 3 "Show items as" choices, one of which is "Columns." If you use that you can see very large previews of the documents, albeit one at a time. This also displays more info about the file"

 

@R C-R  Help.  I must be really, really dense.  There is nothing to the left of the <> Back/Forward option.  Here is what I have on the rest of the Finder window.  Where is the button icon with the 4 horizontal lines?  I am using Big Sur, v. 11.7.

[R C-R]

2 minutes ago, jmwellborn said:

 There is nothing to the left of the <> Back/Forward option.  Here is what I have on the rest of the Finder window.  Where is the button icon with the 4 horizontal lines?

I guess they changed it for macOS 11 (or maybe earlier) but on Catalina when set to list view there is a 4 line button icon that opens a submenu.

From your screenshot, it looks like for you on V11, the equivalent is the 4 View icons, with the 1st one being icon view, 2nd one being list view & the 3rd one being the Columns view. Not sure what the 4th view is. Maybe a tooltip will tell you more about that?

[markw]

2 hours ago, R C-R said:

Not sure what the 4th view is.

That 4th one is Gallery view, at least that’s what it is in Catalina.
You get a big thumbnail in the main area of the Finder window of a selected file or Folder with smaller scrollable thumbnails along the bottom of the window of all other files/Folders in the same folder.

Its also possibly worth adding, for those new to Mac and Finder, that Finder windows and their content can be customised in several places within the OS
Finder > Preferences
Finder > View, where there is a long list of options. One of which is ‘Show View Options’ which brings up a sort of mini additional "Preferences" window for how content is displayed in Finder windows.
System Preferences > General

[v_kyr]

MacOS El Capitan - Finder:

 

Commander One - File Manager:

 

[R C-R]

5 hours ago, markw said:

That 4th one is Gallery view, at least that’s what it is in Catalina.

For me, it is there in Finder but not in the Open or Place popup in the Affinity apps (or in any other Mac apps that offer that popup in Open dialogs)?

Is it there for you in Open or Place in Affinity?

[markw]

No it's not there for me either. But then Open and Save windows, in all Mac apps, always use a sort of striped down version of the normal Finder window toolbar.
And Affinity’s Open and Place command windows follow the same pattern.

[RichardMH]

If you have a supported camera (Sony, Fujifilm, Nikon), Capture One Express might be worth a look. Otherwise, NeoFinder.

[jmwellborn]

22 hours ago, R C-R said:

I guess they changed it for macOS 11 (or maybe earlier) but on Catalina when set to list view there is a 4 line button icon that opens a submenu.

From your screenshot, it looks like for you on V11, the equivalent is the 4 View icons, with the 1st one being icon view, 2nd one being list view & the 3rd one being the Columns view. Not sure what the 4th view is. Maybe a tooltip will tell you more about that?

Nice to see that I am not dense after all.  Thank you.

[R C-R]

55 minutes ago, jmwellborn said:

Nice to see that I am not dense after all.

I never even for one second though you were! 😁

But I am curious about one thing: was your screenshot from a Finder window or the Open or Place menu item in Affinity? If the latter, I guess this is something Apple added in Big Sur that is not available in Catalina....

[v_kyr]

1 hour ago, R C-R said:

But I am curious about one thing:

Jmwellborn already told you ...

On 9/23/2022 at 6:42 PM, jmwellborn said:

Here is what I have on the rest of the Finder window.  Where is the button icon with the 4 horizontal lines?  I am using Big Sur, v. 11.7.

[R C-R]

1 hour ago, v_kyr said:

mwellborn already told you ...

Yes, she shows this for a Finder window but what specifically I want to know is if it is the same for the Open or Place window in Affinity (or in other apps).

Sorry I was not clearer about that earlier.

[jmwellborn]

23 hours ago, R C-R said:

But I am curious about one thing: was your screenshot from a Finder window or the Open or Place menu item in Affinity? If the latter, I guess this is something Apple added in Big Sur that is not available in Catalina....

The Finder window looks like this, when I use Open, or Place in Affinity.   Pretty basic.