#Best way to organize photos on mac 2019 archive#

You might find yourself having to figure out what to do with versions of files that you have edited, or perhaps saved at a lower resolution for sharing online. Secondly, give it your best guess and come back to it later once youРІР‚в„ўre sure. On Windows, simply right-click on a file in Explorer, choose РІР‚СљPropertiesРІР‚Сњ, select the РІР‚СљDetailsРІР‚Сњ tab and scroll down. MacOS users can do this by opening a file in Preview and choosing РІР‚СљToolsРІР‚Сњ and РІР‚СљShow InspectorРІР‚Сњ. If you canРІР‚в„ўt figure out the exact date when certain photos were taken, there are two options.Р”Р‡irstly, you can check the metadata of an individual file. Whatever you choose, remember to use two digits to describe the month - ie., 01 for January, 02 for February - otherwise your file browser might end up listing РІР‚Сљ1 JanuaryРІР‚Сњ next to РІР‚Сљ11 NovemberРІР‚Сњ and РІР‚Сљ12 DecemberРІР‚Сњ, which can be annoying. If you find it easier, just add the name of the month after the number so that your folders begin with РІР‚Сљ01 JanuaryРІР‚Сњ, РІР‚Сљ02 FebruaryРІР‚Сњ, etc. WhatРІР‚в„ўs useful, though, is being systematic in how you name your folders, and remembering that year, then month, then day means that browsing through your files will be more logical.Р”Р‡or example, if you use the names of the month instead of the number, your file browser will organize these folders alphabetically, putting April and August at the top. Ultimately, the number of tiers that you have isnРІР‚в„ўt too important. If you shoot far more regularly, you might want to add an extra level of photo organization that splits each year into individual months, with events then placed inside each month.

Note how the highest folder is the year which is then split up into individual events labelled according to the date: the month first, then the day, and then a description of the event. You can see an example of a folder structure organized and based on the date in the image above. Organising photos by date will work best for most people as other means of categorising can be confusing, particularly if suddenly your categories start to overlap.Р”Р‡or example, if you have РІР‚СљTravelРІР‚Сњ and РІР‚СљFamilyРІР‚Сњ, what happens in a few years when you get married and go on holiday with your partner or other family members? Most likely youРІР‚в„ўll find that you adapt yourself to whatever system you choose, and the biggest hurdle is getting started. The best option is to simply pick one and go with it.

If that sounds familiar, hereРІР‚в„ўs the answer: there is no perfect system. ItРІР‚в„ўs not unusual to find yourself unable to decide what sort of photo organizing system to implement as youРІР‚в„ўre not sure whether to organize by location, date, or camera. Alternatively, once youРІР‚в„ўve gathered your files together, you can start organizing. You may wish to set up a system before you start gathering your files into the same photo library or location. Having a system for naming your image files and organising them into a folder structure might seem time-consuming and even slightly outdated, but when it comes to managing your files and being able to move them between hard drives or simply back them up, having a system will be invaluable. You either need to do some digging and tweak where files automatically appear, or simply remember to move them each time theyРІР‚в„ўre added.

#Best way to organize photos on mac 2019 archive#

One of the complications encountered when attempting to unify an archive is that some software programs - operating systems in particular - tend to have already decided that certain folders are the best place for your files. If you currently have your images split between a desktop computer and a laptop, and with insufficient room on either to contain all of your images, itРІР‚в„ўs probably time to invest in an external drive (details coming up!).Р”В®ven if you think you might not need all of the additional space offered by an extra drive once youРІР‚в„ўve finished sorting out your duplicates and rejects, you can still make good use of that drive as a backup. This step might mean having to rethink your photo storage. Backups work best when they are consistent and automated, and this process is far simpler once your images have been brought together - and renamed (see below). Not only will this make it easier to manage, but also far easier to back up.

One of the most important initial steps in taking control of your archive is to gather it into one single location. Given that the number of devices we use seems to increase by the year, itРІР‚в„ўs easy to find yourself in a situation where your digital images are spread across multiple different locations, making any sense of order almost impossible.