billtils Posted May 18, 2015 Posted May 18, 2015 I was unaware of the Media Browser until the recent posts about it in the AP Forum. Eventually found it hiding in the View menu, and gave it a run. Hey-ho, great news it lists my Aperture libraries, which could open the door to a much simplified workflow. Sadly, it's "could" and not "would" since no combination of key strokes or patience was rewarded with the library actually opening. Next step was to test it a bit more by sticking a few jpegs in the Pictures folder, and they showed up OK, as did the various sub-folders. Is there a bug in the working of the browser? If the answer is "It is working as designed and opens folders and images in Pictures" could this BR please be moved to Feature Requests as the ability to see my Aperture libraries and their folders would take me to the gates of Heaven (entry delayed until the Serif/Affinity DAM is released). Thanks Retina iMac (4K display, 1TB SSD, 16GB RAM) OS X 10.11.6 Capture One 10.
billtils Posted May 18, 2015 Author Posted May 18, 2015 Update: Made a new folder with a good selection of images that are currently being worked on (or were worked on recently) and dragged it to the browser. Worked nicely - except that the .afphoto files in it would't open B) Retina iMac (4K display, 1TB SSD, 16GB RAM) OS X 10.11.6 Capture One 10.
MikeFromMesa Posted May 18, 2015 Posted May 18, 2015 Update: Made a new folder with a good selection of images that are currently being worked on (or were worked on recently) and dragged it to the browser. Worked nicely - except that the .afphoto files in it would't open B) Hi Bill, I filed a bug about the Media Browser not displaying the afphoto thumbnails, but I was able to open them. It just looked like there perhaps were no thumbnails in the files. At least on my system. There are several things about the Media Browser, much as I like it, that I find a bit annoying. Months ago I asked if it could be minimized but there is still no minimize button. You must either keep it open or close it. And if you right-click on an image you get the option to open it in Preview. It would be much nicer if you could select which app to open it in. Still it is a very nice concept and perhaps it will grow into something like Adobe's Bridge.
billtils Posted May 18, 2015 Author Posted May 18, 2015 Hello Mike Ah, yes indeed, the .afphoto files do open when you double click them, just no thumbnail, which is a bit of a nuisance since unless you have a photographic memory (!) or have renamed the files from the camera's notation you will not know what the image is. Also when the file opens it says it is read only, but as far as I can see (from trying some basic manipulation and exporting) the editor works on the file. Agree it is a nice concept and hope it is on the "to do after we get AP to the release stage" list. Regards Bill Retina iMac (4K display, 1TB SSD, 16GB RAM) OS X 10.11.6 Capture One 10.
Staff MEB Posted May 18, 2015 Staff Posted May 18, 2015 The Media browser will be improved at some point. It's already on our roadmap for Affinity Designer an will include user categories for shapes and objects (with thumbnails), so i'm sure those and other improvements will also be reflected in Affinity Photo. A Guide to Learning Affinity Software
billtils Posted May 18, 2015 Author Posted May 18, 2015 Thanks for the info MEB - look forward to it (but it's not a major priority for me). One thing that has become a major priority after this weekend's shooting: any news on when the updated RAW engine will be out? I ask because a combination of altered workflow and a difficult subject (white swan on darkish water) revealed a major issue. The exposure was tricky to set up in order to avoid blowing the whites but I was happy with the camera settings and preview, and delighted with the end product in the Develop persona, but on switching to the Photo persona - disaster, the whites were blown and could not be recovered. Regards Bill Retina iMac (4K display, 1TB SSD, 16GB RAM) OS X 10.11.6 Capture One 10.
MikeFromMesa Posted May 18, 2015 Posted May 18, 2015 The Media browser will be improved at some point. It's already on our roadmap for Affinity Designer an will include user categories for shapes and objects (with thumbnails), so i'm sure those and other improvements will also be reflected in Affinity Photo. MEB: Any chance that the Open In Preview can/will be extended to allow Open In XXX where the user could select the app for external editing?
Staff MEB Posted May 18, 2015 Staff Posted May 18, 2015 @MikeFromMesa, Sorry but only AndyS can say for sure. I don't want to create false expectations around this. A Guide to Learning Affinity Software
billtils Posted May 18, 2015 Author Posted May 18, 2015 Update to the Develop/Photo persona issue: all went well with the swans using .25331 (don't know which of the many fixes/enhancement in this build did the trick - but thanks anyway!) Retina iMac (4K display, 1TB SSD, 16GB RAM) OS X 10.11.6 Capture One 10.
MikeFromMesa Posted May 18, 2015 Posted May 18, 2015 Update to the Develop/Photo persona issue: all went well with the swans using .25331 (don't know which of the many fixes/enhancement in this build did the trick - but thanks anyway!) Bill, Where did the update help? In the Develop Persona or the Photo Persona? I ask because it seems to me that they made a lot of changes to raw processing in the Develop Persona with the latest release. I was curious as to whether or not you wanted to post the swan image. If it is challenging it might be nice to see what the new release will do.
billtils Posted May 18, 2015 Author Posted May 18, 2015 Mike The Develop personas were pretty much the same; the difference is in the initial Photo persona where the image that comes up when you switch to Photo in the current ('331') looks the same as it did in Develop but in the prior release the whites are blown out and the detail in the wing feathers is lost. I have attached 3 jpegs that I hope will pass the Forum size filter but show what I mean. The titles are self explanatory (the '_m' denotes size reduced to medium email). These are all unedited. (And as mentioned, the previous release Develop persona image looks the same as that with '331', but the difference in the Develop images is obvious, and the wing feather detail is lost). Retina iMac (4K display, 1TB SSD, 16GB RAM) OS X 10.11.6 Capture One 10.
MikeFromMesa Posted May 19, 2015 Posted May 19, 2015 Bill, That is an amazing photo. Where did you take it? And how much did you have to pay the swan to pose like that? :D
billtils Posted May 19, 2015 Author Posted May 19, 2015 Thanks Mike (blushes). I'll send you a PM in a few minutes from now. Retina iMac (4K display, 1TB SSD, 16GB RAM) OS X 10.11.6 Capture One 10.
seenickvuz Posted June 16, 2015 Posted June 16, 2015 Since Apple have not yet implemented Edit in External Editor in their Photos app, I eventually found the Media Browser in AP. To be honest, it's not in the most logical place - I would have thought the File menu would have been better? Or even incorporated in the Open... item? Anyway it finds my Photos library and sees the files but there are no thumbnails. I notice you say it's a work in progress - could be a very useful function for me as I tend to use the Photos app for organisation and external editors for processing. I look forward to updates!
MikeFromMesa Posted June 16, 2015 Posted June 16, 2015 Anyway it finds my Photos library and sees the files but there are no thumbnails. What OS version are you running. I use Yosemite and I have thumbnails (except for the afphoto images).
seenickvuz Posted June 17, 2015 Posted June 17, 2015 What OS version are you running. I use Yosemite and I have thumbnails (except for the afphoto images). Hi, running under the latest OS (10.10.3). I just get grey squares where I expect thumbnails should be. I've left it for a few minutes incase it is just slow but so far nothing appeared.
billtils Posted June 17, 2015 Author Posted June 17, 2015 @seenickvuz No, you are out of luck. The Apple files for iPhoto and Aperture - and therefore I would expect Photos (but I refuse to have anything to do with that) - do show in the Media Browser but will not open. If you want to edit them in APB you will either need to export one at a time, or find a way to save them to the Apple Pictures folder, or some place else. Are you transferring the RAW or JPEG files from your camera directly to the Apple Photo app, or are you using the camera manufacturer's S/W for this - if the latter you are in luck as you can drag its folder to MB and browse and open without problems. @Mike - are you able to open files from the Apple Photo app in MB? Retina iMac (4K display, 1TB SSD, 16GB RAM) OS X 10.11.6 Capture One 10.
seenickvuz Posted June 17, 2015 Posted June 17, 2015 Hi, running under the latest OS (10.10.3). I just get grey squares where I expect thumbnails should be. I've left it for a few minutes incase it is just slow but so far nothing appeared. I just had a thought and tried a rival (!) editing app with a similar browser. It, too, showed the filenames but no thumbnails! So I guess it's not an AP problem. Maybe some bug in the Apple photos app? Or something odd in my system?
billtils Posted June 17, 2015 Author Posted June 17, 2015 @seenickvuz No, I don't think it's a bug, I suspect it is made that way to "keep it in the family". If you want to use AP to edit your photos (and I'd strongly encourage you to do so - it's a great app) you need to either get your photos in another folder (not proprietary "Apple" branded other than "Pictures") first of all or laboriously export them one at a time since you say that there is no option in Apple Photos to call an external editor. Personally, I use one of my camera manufacturer's apps to transfer from the camera to my MBP and then APB's Media Browser for the edits, which I then send to Aperture for filing and library management - if Apple Photos is the same as iPhoto, you could do that too. But I'm looking forward to the day ... (If you've looked at other posts on this from me you will see I have used several permutations for the download/edit/filing-library management workflow, but what is above is where it's at now). Retina iMac (4K display, 1TB SSD, 16GB RAM) OS X 10.11.6 Capture One 10.
MikeFromMesa Posted June 17, 2015 Posted June 17, 2015 I just had a thought and tried a rival (!) editing app with a similar browser. It, too, showed the filenames but no thumbnails! So I guess it's not an AP problem. Maybe some bug in the Apple photos app? Or something odd in my system? Seems odd. Here is my system running the Media Browser
seenickvuz Posted June 17, 2015 Posted June 17, 2015 @seenickvuz No, you are out of luck. The Apple files for iPhoto and Aperture - and therefore I would expect Photos (but I refuse to have anything to do with that) - do show in the Media Browser but will not open. If you want to edit them in APB you will either need to export one at a time, or find a way to save them to the Apple Pictures folder, or some place else. Are you transferring the RAW or JPEG files from your camera directly to the Apple Photo app, or are you using the camera manufacturer's S/W for this - if the latter you are in luck as you can drag its folder to MB and browse and open without problems. @Mike - are you able to open files from the Apple Photo app in MB? @seenickvuz No, I don't think it's a bug, I suspect it is made that way to "keep it in the family". If you want to use AP to edit your photos (and I'd strongly encourage you to do so - it's a great app) you need to either get your photos in another folder (not proprietary "Apple" branded other than "Pictures") first of all or laboriously export them one at a time since you say that there is no option in Apple Photos to call an external editor. Personally, I use one of my camera manufacturer's apps to transfer from the camera to my MBP and then APB's Media Browser for the edits, which I then send to Aperture for filing and library management - if Apple Photos is the same as iPhoto, you could do that too. But I'm looking forward to the day ... (If you've looked at other posts on this from me you will see I have used several permutations for the download/edit/filing-library management workflow, but what is above is where it's at now). Thanks. I've been trying a few more things and it is ONLY the photos library that refuses to play ball! Seems like the entire library is permission "locked". Other, simple, folders seem to work fine (thumbnails and all). Will have to have a look at other workflows for now!
billtils Posted June 21, 2015 Author Posted June 21, 2015 The Aperture / iPhoto library appears to be a size issue. I created a new Aperture library with just 1 Folder and 1 Project, containing 10 images. The library was present in MB, showed the Folder and Project, and the images opened fine. I have not had a chance to explore the size limit, or if indeed it is a "Won't open" or a "Takes forever to open" problem. Thanks to @MikeFromMesa for pointing the way here. Retina iMac (4K display, 1TB SSD, 16GB RAM) OS X 10.11.6 Capture One 10.
billtils Posted June 21, 2015 Author Posted June 21, 2015 Oops, it may have appeared to be a size issue but further investigation shows not. I dumped a lot of other images into the library referred to in my post above (#22) to take it to 12GB (which is larger than at least one of the Aperture libraries that MB will not open) and it works just fine in MB. The only clue is that it is a subfolder in the Pictures folder, not a main folder on its own. Retina iMac (4K display, 1TB SSD, 16GB RAM) OS X 10.11.6 Capture One 10.
MikeFromMesa Posted June 21, 2015 Posted June 21, 2015 Oops, it may have appeared to be a size issue but further investigation shows not. I dumped a lot of other images into the library referred to in my post above (#22) to take it to 12GB (which is larger than at least one of the Aperture libraries that MB will not open) and it works just fine in MB. The only clue is that it is a subfolder in the Pictures folder, not a main folder on its own. Bill, I am hardly an expert in this area since I have only played around a bit with the Aperture Catalogs, but one of the things I have found (or think I have found) is that the MB will only open an Aperture catalog if it is in the right place and has the right name. I copied my Aperture catalog to an external drive and then tried to open it in MB. It did not even see it. I then copied it to a subfolder of the Pictures folder and the MB did not see it there either. The only place I have been able to open an Aperture catalog is in the Pictures folder and only if it has the original name. Renaming it means I lost it from view in the MB. At least that has been my experience.
billtils Posted June 21, 2015 Author Posted June 21, 2015 Mike, Looks like we are seeing the same thing here. Bill Retina iMac (4K display, 1TB SSD, 16GB RAM) OS X 10.11.6 Capture One 10.
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