Late-Breaking News About Aperture This document provides updated information about Aperture and covers these topics: Â Late-Breaking News About Aperture 1.5.2 (p. 2) Â Previous Release Information About Aperture 1.5 (p. 4) Â Previous Release Information About Aperture 1.1 (p. 24) Â Previous Release Information About Aperture 1.0 (p. 27) This document may be updated as new versions of Aperture are released or new information becomes available. You can check for updated information by choosing Help > Late-Breaking News when Aperture is open. For the latest information about product updates, tips and techniques, and qualified third-party devices, visit the Aperture website at http://www.apple.com/aperture. For the latest support information from AppleCare, choose Aperture Support from the Aperture Help menu. To receive automatic notification about new support issues, use Safari to bookmark the AppleCare Aperture RSS page at feed://docs.info.apple.com/rss/ aperture.rss. See Safari Help for more information about configuring RSS feeds. There is no late-breaking information about Aperture 1.5.1. 1 Late-Breaking News About Aperture 1.5.2 Aperture 1.5.2 provides performance, reliability, and compatibility enhancements. Note: Aperture 1.5.2 is designed to run natively on both PowerPC-based and Intelbased Macintosh computers. Suppressing Preview Generation When Opening Aperture When Aperture is opened, it begins updating previews for those projects whose Maintain Previews setting is enabled. (For more information about maintaining previews, see "Controlling Previews with the Project Action Pop-Up Menu" on page 13.) This can cause problems if a project contains damaged files or images in unsupported file formats. In Aperture 1.5.2, you can suppress preview generation when opening Aperture, allowing you to more easily identify the damaged image files. To do this, press the Shift key while opening Aperture. You can also cancel the current preview maintenance operation using the Background Task List window. For more information, see "Viewing Preview Generation Progress in the Background Task List Window" on page 17. Note: If you have canceled a preview maintenance operation, the previews are not updated until another change is made to the image. To force Aperture to update the preview for an image, see "Controlling Previews with Shortcut Menus" on page 14. The next time you open Aperture, automatic preview maintenance resumes. Scaling Watermarks Aperture 1.5.2 provides the ability to turn watermark scaling on and off. Aperture allows you to scale a watermark by the same amount as the exported image. For example, if the image is exported at 50 percent of its original size, the watermark is also scaled to 50 percent of its original size to maintain the watermark's visual appearance in relation to the image as a whole. However, you can keep watermark scaling turned off when it's important to maintain the size of your watermark regardless of the size of the exported image. To export images with scaled watermarks: 1 Select the images you want to export. 2 Choose File > Export > Export Versions (or press Command-Shift-E). 3 In the dialog that appears, choose Edit from the Export Preset pop-up menu. 4 In the Export Presets dialog, select the export preset you want to use to export your images. 2 5 If necessary, choose an output dimension option from the Size To pop-up menu. Note: Watermarks are never scaled above 100 percent of the size at which they were created. If an image is exported at 100 percent of its original size, the watermark is not scaled. If the watermark is too small in relation to the image as a whole, you will need to create a new watermark at a larger size. 6 Select the Show Watermark checkbox. 7 Click the Choose Image button. 8 Select the image you want to use as a watermark, then click Choose. 9 Choose where you want the watermark to appear on the images from the Position pop-up menu. 10 To adjust the opacity of the watermark, drag the Opacity slider to a new position. 11 To scale the watermark by the same amount as the images, select the "Scale watermark" checkbox. Note: If you have already created the watermark to match the output dimensions of the exported images, you do not need to select the "Scale watermark" checkbox. 12 When you're satisfied with how your watermark appears in the watermark preview area, click OK. 13 Navigate to the location where you want the exported images placed. 14 Choose a name format for your exported files from the Export Name Format pop-up menu. 15 Click Export. Your images are exported and the watermark is scaled by the same amount as the exported images. For more information about exporting images and applying watermarks, see the Aperture User Manual in the Aperture Help menu. Corrections to Aperture 1.5 Documentation Page 390 of the Aperture User Manual incorrectly states that to relink a metadata box to an image in a book you should Command-click the metadata box. To relink a metadata box to the image, Control-click (or right-click) the metadata box and choose Link Metadata Box from the shortcut menu. 3 Previous Release Information About Aperture 1.5 Aperture 1.5 provides performance, reliability, and compatibility enhancements. Note: Aperture 1.5 is designed to run natively on both PowerPC-based and Intel-based Macintosh computers. Viewing Images with the Centered Loupe Aperture 1.5 has an additional, enhanced Loupe called the Centered Loupe. You can position the Centered Loupe over the portion of the image you want to magnify, or you can position the Centered Loupe off to the side of the image and have the Loupe magnify the image at the position of the pointer. Then, as you move the pointer, you see specific parts of the image magnified. The Centered Loupe is useful for examining the effects of adjustments as you make them, and making quick checks for sensor dust, flaws, fingerprints on film scans, or other issues. You can use the Centered Loupe on any image or thumbnail in the Aperture Library. Showing the Centered Loupe To use the Centered Loupe, you first have to show the Loupe you are accustomed to from previous versions of Aperture. To show the Loupe, do one of the following: m Choose View > Show Loupe, or press the grave accent (`) key. m Click the Loupe button in the toolbar. Note: To hide the Loupe, do any of the above again. Once the Loupe appears, you can show and use the Centered Loupe. To show the Centered Loupe: m Choose View > Use Centered Loupe, or press Command­Shift­grave accent (`). The Centered Loupe appears. Centered Loupe Centered Loupe pop-up menu Note: To switch back to the regular Loupe, repeat the step above. 4 Moving the Centered Loupe You can move the Centered Loupe by dragging it to different locations over an image. To move the Centered Loupe, do one of the following: m Drag the Centered Loupe to a new location. If you drag within the Centered Loupe, a circle appears that targets the area that will be magnified. m Press the grave accent (`) key, and the Loupe moves to the current location of the pointer. Using the Pointer to Magnify Parts of an Image You can leave the Centered Loupe stationary and have it magnify the portion of the image at the position of the pointer. Pointer position The Centered Loupe shows a magnified view of the portion of the image at the position of the pointer. To use the pointer to magnify parts of an image: m Choose Focus on Cursor from the Centered Loupe pop-up menu. Choose Focus on Cursor from the pop-up menu. To turn off this feature, choose Focus on Loupe from the Centered Loupe pop-up menu. 5 Changing the Size and Magnification of the Centered Loupe You can also change the size of the Centered Loupe and increase or decrease its magnification level. The Loupe scaling settings are respected by both the regular Loupe and the Centered Loupe. To change the size of the Centered Loupe, do one of the following: m Choose View > Loupe Scaling > Decrease Diameter, or press Shift-Option-hyphen (-), to decrease the size. m Choose View > Loupe Scaling > Increase Diameter, or press Shift­Option­equal sign (=), to increase the size. To change the Centered Loupe's magnification, do one of the following: m Choose the magnification level you want from the Centered Loupe pop-up menu. Choose a magnification level here. m Choose View > Loupe Scaling > Increase Zoom, or press Command­Shift­equal sign (=), to increase the Centered Loupe's magnification. Press these keys repeatedly to increase magnification more. m Choose View > Loupe Scaling > Decrease Zoom, or press Command-Shift-hyphen (-), to decrease the Centered Loupe's magnification. Press these keys repeatedly to decrease magnification more. m Place the pointer within the Loupe, and roll the mouse wheel to create smooth changes in magnification. 6 Displaying a Pixel Grid and Color Values You can have the Centered Loupe display the image as a grid of pixels that shows the actual pixel composition of the image, allowing you to see the individual pixel values at high magnification (400% or higher). You can also set the Centered Loupe to display readings of the color values of the image, showing the RGB, CMYK, HSL, or HSB values chosen for the Color meter. Note: The Show Color Value in Loupe command has moved from the Add Adjustments pop-up menu (in the Adjustments Inspector and Adjustments HUD) to the View menu. Centered Loupe set to display a pixel grid and color values To set the Centered Loupe to show a pixel grid: 1 Set the Centered Loupe's magnification to 400% or higher. For more information about setting the Centered Loupe's Magnification, see "Changing the Size and Magnification of the Centered Loupe" on page 6. 2 Choose View > Show Pixel Grid in Loupe, or choose Pixel Grid from the Centered Loupe pop-up menu. To turn off this feature, choose the menu item again. Note: You can also show the pixel grid using the regular Loupe by choosing View > Show Pixel Grid in Loupe. 7 You can turn on the display of Color meter values within the Centered Loupe. To turn on the display of color values in the Centered Loupe, do one of the following: m Choose View > Show Color Value in Loupe, or press Shift­Option­grave accent (`). m Choose Color Value from the Centered Loupe pop-up menu. To turn off this feature, choose the menu item again. Note: You can also display color values in the regular Loupe by choosing View > Show Color Value in Loupe. Understanding the Edge Sharpen Workflow The Edge Sharpen adjustment in Aperture is a professional tool that's used to sharpen photos. Using the Edge Sharpen adjustment controls in conjunction with the following workflow makes it easy to achieve professional results. To sharpen an image: 1 In the Edge Sharpen area of the Adjustments Inspector or Adjustments HUD, set the Intensity slider to the maximum value to see the effect of the operation. 2 Adjust the Edges slider so you can see which parts of the image are being sharpened. If possible, adjust the Edges slider so that edges are sharpened, but noise and texture in the image are not affected. 3 Adjust the Falloff slider so that the edge sizes you want sharpened the most are accentuated. 4 Decrease the Intensity parameter value until the sharpening effect is appropriately subtle. Values below 0.5 usually work best. Working with Preview Images Aperture 1.5 adds the ability to create JPEG previews of versions in the Library. These preview images are used within Aperture and can be shared with other applications. Previews are JPEG images generated by Aperture that represent the original master file with any applied adjustments. You can control the size of previews, from a preview image that has the full-size dimensions of the master file down to a preview image that is 1280 pixels in the longest dimension. You can also control the JPEG compression quality of the previews. You can have Aperture create and maintain previews automatically as you add or modify versions, or you can create previews manually whenever you need them. Furthermore, if your workflows do not benefit from previews, you can configure Aperture to not create them at all. 8 Uses of Preview Images Aperture preview images improve the display of images in Aperture and allow you to easily use your images in other applications. Displaying Images in Aperture Slideshows In previous versions, Aperture decoded the master file and applied the adjustments as the image was displayed during the slideshow. Now it uses the JPEG previews to display images in slideshows. The result is smoother, more responsive slideshows. However, if the previews are absent or not up to date, Aperture must render the preview images before the slideshow begins. Note: You can control the display quality of images in the slideshow using presets. "Best" quality uses the JPEG previews, rendering them if necessary before the slideshow begins. "Good" quality uses the 1024-p ...