Nuance ImageAXS for Macintosh 4.0 Professional User guide

I

MAGE

AXS P

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ERSION

4.0

FOR

M

ACINTOSH

U

SER

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UIDE

1301 Marina Village Parkway

Alameda, California 94501

USA

(800) 449-6220 Sales • (510) 814-7200 Support

(510) 814-6100 Fax

http://www.dascorp.com

ImageAXS

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tion or disclosure. No part of the contents of this document may be reproduced or transmitted in any form or by any means without the

written permission of Digital Arts & Sciences.

reserved.

Sample images distributed with ImageAXS Pro and pictured in this manual are made available for non-commercial, personal use only.

Copying or redistribution in any manner for personal or corporate gain is not permitted. Commercial publication or exploitation of these

ﬁles is speciﬁcally prohibited.

Use of this document and ImageAXS Pro is governed by a Software License Agreement that speciﬁes their permitted and prohibited uses.

This document contains conﬁdential and proprietary information constituting valuable trade secrets. This document (or any porti-on

thereof) may not be: (a) disclosed to third parties, (b) copied in any form, or (c) used for any unauthorized purpose.

ImageAXS is a trademark of Digital Arts & Sciences. All other company and product names are trademarks of their respective companies.

This technical data is provided with RESTRICTED RIGHTS. Use, duplication, or disclosure by the Government is subject to restrictions as

set forth in subparagraph (c) (1) (ii) of the Rights in Technical Data and Computer Software clause at DFARS 252.227-7013, and in sub-

paragraphs (a) through (d) of the Commercial Computer - Restricted Rights clause at FAR 52.227-19, and in similar clauses in the NASA

FAR Supplement, when applicable. Contractor/Manufacturer is: Digital Arts & Sciences, 1301 Marina Village Parkway, Alameda, CA

94501.

This Software media is warranted to be free from defects in materials and workmanship for a period of 90 days from the date of shipment.

DIGITAL ARTS & SCIENCES, ITS LICENSOR(S), AGENTS AND DISTRIBUTORS MAKE NO WARRANTIES, EXPRESS OR IMPLIED,

INCLUDING WITHOUT LIMITATION THE IMPLIED WARRANTIES OF MERCHANTABILITY AND FITNESS FOR A PARTICULAR PUR-

POSE, REGARDING THE SOFTWARE. THEY DO NOT WARRANT, GUARANTEE OR MAKE ANY REPRESENTATIONS REGARDING

THE USE OR THE RESULTS OF THE USE OF THE SOFTWARE IN TERMS OF ITS CORRECTNESS, ACCURACY, RELIABILITY, CUR-

RENTNESS OR OTHERWISE. THE ENTIRE RISK AS TO THE RESULTS AND PERFORMANCE OF THE SOFTWARE IS ASSUMED BY

YOU. BECAUSE THE EXCLUSION OF IMPLIED WARRANTIES IS NOT PERMITTED BY SOME JURISDICTIONS, THE ABOVE EXCLU-

SION MAY NOT APPLY TO YOU.

IN NO EVENT WILL DIGITAL ARTS & SCIENCES, ITS AGENTS, DISTRIBUTORS, LICENSOR(S), AND THEIR DIRECTORS, OFFICERS,

EMPLOYEES OR AGENTS (COLLECTIVELY DIGITAL ARTS & SCIENCES’ LICENSOR) BE LIABLE TO YOU FOR ANY CONSEQUEN-

TIAL, INCIDENTAL OR INDIRECT DAMAGES (INCLUDING DAMGES FOR LOSS OF BUSINESS PROFITS, BUSINESS

INTERRUPTION, LOSS OF BUSINESS INFORMATION, AND THE LIKE) ARISING OUT OF THE USE OR INABILITY TO USE THE

SOFTWARE EVEN IF ANY ONE OR ALL HAVE BEEN ADVISED OF THE POSSIBILITY OF SUCH DAMAGES. BECAUSE SOME JUSRIS-

DICTIONS DO NOT ALLOW THE EXCLUSION OR LIMITATION OF LIABILITY FOR CONSEQUENTIAL OR INCIDENTAL DAMAGES,

THE ABOVE LIMITATIONS MAY NOT APPLY TO YOU. Digital Arts & Sciences’, its licensors’, agents’, and distributors’ liability to you for

actual damages from any cause whatsoever, and regardless of the form of the action (whether in contract, tort (including negligence), prod-

uct liabilty or otherwise), will be limited to $50.

The detailed terms of the Limited Warranty and Disclaimer, and Limitations of Liability are set forth in the Software License Agreement

enclosed with the Software.

Printed January, 1999

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What Is ImageAXS Pro? 1-1

Key Concepts and Terms 1-1

Getting Help and Technical Support 1-4

C

HAPTER

2G

ETTING

S

TARTED

System Requirements 2-1

Installing ImageAXS Pro 2-1

Starting ImageAXS Pro 2-4

Where Do I Go From Here? 2-5

C

HAPTER

3V

IEWING

C

OLLECTIONS

Opening and Closing Collections 3-1

Viewing Collections 3-2

Viewing Thumbnails 3-7

Changing Thumbnails View Options 3-9

Viewing Text Field Data 3-12

Changing Text List View Options 3-14

C

HAPTER

4V

IEWING

R

ECORDS

AND

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OURCE

F

ILES

Selecting Records 4-1

Viewing Info Sheets 4-2

Viewing Source Files 4-6

Viewing Images 4-7

Playing Movies, Animated GIFs, or Sounds 4-10

Viewing 3D Files 4-11

Changing Source File View Options 4-11

C

HAPTER

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REATING

A

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OLLECTION

Creating a New Collection 5-1

Choosing a Collection Format 5-3

Editing Collection Formats 5-4

Choosing a Database Type 5-7

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Overview: Adding Files to a Collection 6-1

Acquiring Individual Files 6-2

Acquiring All Files in a Folder 6-3

Acquiring From Removable Media 6-3

Acquiring From Digital Cameras or Scanners 6-6

Acquiring From a Video Source 6-8

Acquiring From an Audio Source 6-14

Acquiring From Adobe Photoshop 6-15

Changing Options for Acquiring Files 6-16

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NTERING

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IELD

D

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How Do I Use Data Fields? 7-1

Entering Data in an Individual Record 7-1

Entering the Same Data in Multiple Records 7-3

Importing a Text Data File 7-4

C

HAPTER

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SING

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EYWORDS

TO

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ESCRIBE

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How Do I Use Keywords? 8-1

Viewing and Managing Keywords 8-2

Creating Keyword Families 8-5

Importing Keywords From a Text File 8-6

Adding Keywords to Data Records 8-7

C

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REATING

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ORTFOLIOS

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OLLECTIONS

What Is a Portfolio? 9-1

Creating a Portfolio 9-1

Saving and Renaming Portfolios 9-2

Managing Portfolios 9-3

Managing Records in a Portfolio 9-4

CHAPTER 10 SEARCHING AND SORTING COLLECTIONS

How Do I Search a Collection or Portfolio? 10-1

Keyword Searches 10-1

Searches Based on Field Data and/or Other Characteristics 10-2

Using And/Or in Complex Searches 10-4

Sorting Collections and Portfolios 10-5

CHAPTER 11 MANAGING DATA RECORDS

Creating New Records 11-1

Copying Records 11-1

Deleting Records 11-4

Updating Records 11-5

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CHAPTER 12 MANAGING SOURCE FILES

Managing Source Files in ImageAXS Pro 12-1

Editing Source Files 12-1

Selecting an Alternate Editing Application 12-3

Moving Source Files 12-4

Copying Source Files 12-4

Renaming a Source File 12-5

Deleting Source Files 12-6

CHAPTER 13 CREATING WEB PAGES

Creating Web Pages in ImageAXS Pro 13-1

Choosing Page Types 13-4

Thumbnails Page Options 13-5

Full View Page Options 13-7

Adding Headers and Footers to Web Pages 13-9

Editing ImageAXS Pro Web Page Templates 13-11

CHAPTER 14 CREATING E-ZCARDS

What Is an e-ZCard? 14-1

Creating an e-ZCard 14-1

Image Options 14-3

Caption and Title Options 14-5

Text Descriptions of e-ZCards 14-6

CHAPTER 15 EXPORTING DATA TO OTHER FORMATS

Exporting Data Records 15-1

Exporting to a Character-Delimited Text File 15-1

Exporting to a CSV Text File 15-5

Exporting to Other Versions of ImageAXS Pro 15-6

CHAPTER 16 SLIDE SHOWS

Displaying Slide Shows 16-1

Changing Slide Show Options 16-2

CHAPTER 17 PRINTING

Printing ImageAXS Pro Collections and Records 17-1

CHAPTER 18 SCRIPTING AND RECORDING

Scripting and Recording in ImageAXS Pro 18-1

WHAT IS IMAGEAXS™ PRO?

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IMAGEAXS PRO MACINTOSH USER’S GUIDE

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WHAT IS IMAGEAXS™ PRO?

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1

What Is ImageAXS Pro? 1-1

Key Concepts and Terms 1-1

Getting Help and Technical Support 1-4

WHAT IS

I

MAGEAXS PRO?

ImageAXS Pro lets you create visual databases to organize and

manage the ﬁles on your computer — especially image, movie,

sound, and 3D ﬁles.

The database ﬁles it creates (called collections) combine text

information with thumbnail images of the original ﬁles, so you can

see what you’re describing, even if the ﬁles are on a CD-ROM, an

Iomega Zip disk, or a networked drive that isn’t currently connected

to your computer.

ImageAXS Pro offers several ways for you to view, search, and

organize your collections. You can use ImageAXS Pro to organize

your ﬁles from scratch, or by importing information to expand on a

database you've already created.

ImageAXS Pro also provides you with a variety of ways to share

your multimedia ﬁles with others, including slide shows, Web pages,

and mini-brochures (called e-ZCards) that can be opened without the

help of any other program and are small enough to send by e-mail.

KEY CONCEPTS

AND TERMS

The basic elements of how ImageAXS Pro works are deﬁned brieﬂy

below. Becoming familiar with these terms will help you learn the

program more quickly.

SOURCE FILES

A source ﬁle is any ﬁle on your computer (or a separate disk or

storage device) that is catalogued in ImageAXS Pro.

CHAPTER 1

ImageAXS

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WHAT IS IMAGEAXS™ PRO?

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IMAGEAXS PRO MACINTOSH USER’S GUIDE

The ﬁle is referred to as a source ﬁle because it is the source for the

data record created by ImageAXS Pro.

ACQUIRING

Acquiring is the act of making an ImageAXS Pro data record for a

source ﬁle. To use ImageAXS Pro to manage the ﬁles in a particular

folder, for example, you would acquire all of the ﬁles in that folder

(see Chapter 6, “Adding Your Files to a Collection”).

COLLECTIONS

Collections are the documents created by ImageAXS Pro. A

collection contains a data record for each source ﬁle that you acquire

(as well as blank records, if you create any).

With ImageAXS Pro, you can create and open as many different

collections as you want.

N

OTE

Although the records in ImageAXS Pro collections describe your source

ﬁles, they do

not

contain the ﬁles themselves. You can move or delete the

collection without affecting the source ﬁles, and vice versa.

In the Finder, ImageAXS Pro collections are represented by two ﬁles:

one with a “.db” extension (containing text information), and the

other with a “.blob” extension (containing thumbnail images).

ImageAXS Pro cannot open a collection unless both of these ﬁles are

in the same folder. (To remind you to keep them together, the “.db”

and “.blob” ﬁle icons are two halves of an open notebook.)

PORTFOLIOS

Portfolios are subsets of collections — for example, a collection of

family photos might include separate portfolios for your children,

your parents, your brothers and/or sisters, your in-laws, and so on.

Placing records in a portfolio does not remove them from a

collection, and any record in a collection may belong to several

different portfolios.

You can create a portfolio automatically by searching a collection, or

manually by making a personal selection of records (for example,

your favorite photos or best works of 3D art).

ImageAXS™ Pro

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WHAT IS IMAGEAXS™ PRO?

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IMAGEAXS PRO MACINTOSH USER’S GUIDE

RECORDS

An ImageAXS Pro data record contains information about a source

ﬁle. A thumbnail image of the ﬁle and some basic data (such as the

ﬁle size, and when it was created) are included in the record when

you acquire the source ﬁle. You can add to each record by entering

data in text ﬁelds and attaching keywords.

THUMBNAILS

A thumbnail is a smaller version (in both actual size and disk space

required) of an image. When you acquire an image, movie, or 3D

ﬁle, ImageAXS Pro includes a thumbnail version of the ﬁle in the

data record.

KEYWORDS

Keywords are terms you choose that describe one or more source

ﬁles in a collection. They may describe the literal content of a ﬁle

(such as objects in a photo, or events in a video clip) or its subjective

aspects (for example, adjectives like beautiful or intense).

Unlike information in text ﬁelds, keywords do not have to conform

to a category that applies to every ﬁle in a collection. You simply add

them to the Keyword List for the collection, then attach them to one

or more records as you see ﬁt.

Keywords are powerful search tools. If you add keywords

extensively across a collection, you'll be able to ﬁnd almost unlimited

combinations of records instantly based on keyword searches.

ImageAXS Pro lets you organize keywords into hierarchies (or

families) so that one keyword may contain several related keywords.

For example, the keyword “United States” might have child

keywords for each of the 50 states; attaching a keyword for one of the

states (such as “California”) to a data record would attach the

“United States” keyword as well.

WHAT IS IMAGEAXS™ PRO?

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IMAGEAXS PRO MACINTOSH USER’S GUIDE

VIEWS

Views are different ways of displaying information about a collection

and/or its records. ImageAXS Pro offers four different views,

including two ways to look at all of the records in a collection:

• The Thumbnails View displays thumbnail images for each record

in a collection.

• The Text List View displays the text ﬁeld data (in a row-and-

column table format) for each record in a collection.

The other two views let you see information about individual

records that you select:

• The Info Sheet View displays the thumbnail, text data, and

keywords associated with a source ﬁle.

• The Source File View displays image or 3D ﬁles, or plays movie,

sound, or animated GIF ﬁles.

GETTING HELP

AND TECHNICAL

S

UPPORT

Because Digital Arts & Sciences is committed to helping you get the

most out of ImageAXS Pro, we have provided several different

options to assist you in learning how to use the program and

resolving any problems that you encounter.

BALLOON HELP

Virtually every menu item, button, and dialog box option in

ImageAXS Pro includes Balloon Help, which provides a brief

explanation of what that item, button, or option does.

To see Balloon Help, click the Balloon Help button in any ImageAXS

Pro window or choose Show Balloons from the Help menu, then

point at the item for which you want to see information.

IMAGEAXS PRO HELP

ImageAXS Pro also includes extensive Apple Guide–based online

help, with step-by-step instructions for accomplishing most of the

tasks in the program.

To open ImageAXS Pro Help, click the Help button in any ImageAXS

Pro window or choose ImageAXS Pro Help from the Help menu.

Balloon Help

button

ImageAXS Pro

Help button

WHAT IS IMAGEAXS™ PRO?

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1-5

IMAGEAXS PRO MACINTOSH USER’S GUIDE

Use this manual for a broader narrative overview of how ImageAXS

Pro works, and to see screen illustrations of the elements and

features of the program.

CUSTOMER SUPPORT

Digital Arts & Sciences provides technical support for ImageAXS Pro

users on the Internet, as well as by fax, telephone, or regular mail.

For sales or upgrade information, product news, or answers to

frequently asked questions, visit the Digital Arts & Sciences website

at http://www.dascorp.com.

N

OTE

You can access the Digital Arts & Sciences website while using ImageAXS

Pro by selecting ImageAXS on the Web from the Help menu.

For technical support via email, send your questions and comments

to [email protected]. If you wish to fax your questions or

comments, call (510) 814-6100.

Free telephone support is only available to customers who have

returned an ImageAXS Pro registration card or registered over the

Internet (to do this, select Register ImageAXS Pro from the Help

menu). If you are a registered ImageAXS Pro user, call our customer

support department at (510) 814-7200 (press 1 at the main menu

when the phone is answered).

Telephone support for registered ImageAXS Pro users is available

Monday through Friday between 9:00

A.M. and 5:00 P.M, Paciﬁc time.

GETTING STARTED

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IMAGEAXS PRO MACINTOSH USER’S GUIDE

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GETTING STARTED

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System Requirements 2-1

Installing ImageAXS Pro 2-1

Starting ImageAXS Pro 2-4

Where Do I Go From Here? 2-5

SYSTEM

R

EQUIREMENTS

To use ImageAXS Pro, your Macintosh must have the following

minimum characteristics:

• A CD-ROM drive (for installation only)

• 68030 or faster processor (Power Macintosh recommended)

• System 7.5 or more recent operating system

• 10 MB of RAM available (more if you will be managing large ﬁles

or collections)

• 20 MB of hard disk space available

INSTALLING

I

MAGEAXS PRO

You can install ImageAXS Pro on your Macintosh in just a few

minutes. Follow these instructions:

STEP 1 Insert the ImageAXS

Pro CD-ROM into your CD-ROM drive.

A window showing the contents of the CD-ROM appears

on the desktop. (If this window does not appear, double-

click the CD-ROM icon.)

STEP 2 Double-click the ImageAXS Pro Installer icon in the disc

contents window.

The ImageAXS Installer window appears.

STEP 3 Click Continue.

The ImageAXS Pro license agreement window appears.

STEP 4 Read the license agreement, then click Agree.

The Easy Install dialog box appears.

NOTE

If you click Disagree, the installation process will be cancelled.

CHAPTER 2

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IMAGEAXS PRO MACINTOSH USER’S GUIDE

The Easy Install option installs the ImageAXS Pro application, a

sample collection, various plug-ins and system extensions, folders

containing AppleScripts and Web page templates, and a ReadMe

document into a folder that you create later during the installation.

In addition, the Easy Install option installs QuickTime 3.0 in the

Extensions folder of the System Folder on your startup drive,

replacing any older version of QuickTime you may have. (QuickTime

will not be installed if you have a newer version on your system.)

STEP 5 Click Install to begin the Easy Install, or choose Custom Install

from the pop-up menu in the upper left corner of the dialog box

to select installation options.

If you click Install, skip to Step 7.

The Custom Install dialog box contains six options. Click the

checkbox next to an option to include it in the installation.

• ImageAXS Pro

This option installs the ImageAXS Pro application, along with

supporting system extensions, plug-ins, scripts, and Web

page templates.

• Sample Collection

This option installs a sample data ﬁle you can use to help

learn the basic features of ImageAXS Pro before you create

collections of your own.

The sample image ﬁles on which the collection is based are on

the CD-ROM, but will not be installed. You may wish to copy

these image ﬁles manually from the CD-ROM to your hard

drive.

• Navigation Services Support

This option installs a system extension that lets ImageAXS

Pro use Mac OS Navigation Services dialog boxes for opening

and saving ﬁles on computers running a Mac OS 8.0 or 8.1

operating system.

Do not install Navigation Services Support if you are using

Mac OS 8.5 or a more recent operating system. Also, the

ImageAXS Pro Web Templates folder may not appear in

Navigation Services dialog boxes on computers using Mac OS

8.0 or 8.1.

N

OTE

The Navigation Services Support feature can only be installed as an option

in the Custom Install dialog box. It is not part of the Easy Install ﬁles.

GETTING STARTED

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IMAGEAXS PRO MACINTOSH USER’S GUIDE

• QuickTime

This option installs QuickTime 3.0 in the Extensions folder of

the System Folder on your startup drive.

• User’s Guide

This option copies the ImageAXS Pro Macintosh User’s

Guide (the manual you are currently reading) into the folder

where you install ImageAXS Pro.

N

OTE

The User’s Guide can only be installed as an option in the Custom Install

dialog box. It is not part of the Easy Install ﬁles.

• Contextual Menu Module

If your Macintosh has a PowerPC processor, this option

installs a system extension that includes an “Acquire in

ImageAXS” command in the contextual menus that appear

when you press and hold

CTRL on your keyboard, then click

documents in the Finder (see Chapter 6, “Adding Your Files

to a Collection”).

• Sample Scripts

This option installs a folder of sample AppleScripts for users

with advanced scripting skills to use as building blocks in

creating their own scripts. (For more information, see the

Scripts ReadMe document in the folder where you installed

ImageAXS Pro.)

N

OTE

The Sample Scripts can only be installed as an option in the Custom Install

dialog box. They are not part of the Easy Install ﬁles.

STEP 6 Select the custom installation options you want, then click

Install.

A standard ﬁle dialog box appears, prompting you to

choose where you want to install the ﬁles you selected.

STEP 7 Choose a name and location for the folder containing your

ImageAXS Pro ﬁles.

If you do not change the default settings, the installer

creates a folder named ImageAXS Pro on your startup disk.

STEP 8 Click Install to begin installing ImageAXS Pro.

A progress window appears as the ImageAXS Pro ﬁles you

selected are installed.

NOTE

To cancel the installation, press COMMAND-PERIOD (z-.) on your keyboard.

In the dialog box that appears, click Reinstall to return to the Easy install

window. Click Quit to close the installer application entirely.

A dialog box appears when the ImageAXS Pro installation

is complete, prompting you to quit or install ﬁles again.

GETTING STARTED

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IMAGEAXS PRO MACINTOSH USER’S GUIDE

STEP 9 Click Quit.

If you chose to install the ImageAXS Pro application, the

QuickTime 3.0 installation process will begin.

Use this same procedure to install optional ﬁles at a later time if you

do not include them when you ﬁrst install ImageAXS Pro.

INSTALLING PLUG-INS

Some of the ﬁles installed with ImageAXS Pro are plug-ins that work

with other programs. These ﬁles need to be moved into other folders

on your Macintosh.

In the folder where you installed ImageAXS Pro, each plug-in is

stored in a subfolder whose name tells you where to move the ﬁle.

N

OTE

In the Finder, open each ImageAXS Pro subfolder and drag the plug-in

inside it to the appropriate folder. Do

not

drag the subfolders out of the

ImageAXS Pro folder; if you do, the plug-ins will not work properly.

• Drag item into Photoshop Plug-ins ƒ

If you have Adobe Photoshop installed on your Macintosh (or

other image-editing applications that can use Photoshop

plug-ins), drag the IAXAcquire/Export ﬁle contained here

into the Plug-ins folder inside the Photoshop folder.

• Drag item into Preferences, TWAIN

If you have software for capturing images from TWAIN-

compatible scanners installed on your Macintosh, drag the

Source Manager ﬁle contained here into the TWAIN folder

inside the Preferences folder of your System Folder.

• Drag item into Quark XTension ƒ

If you have Quark XPress installed on your Macintosh, drag

the ImageAXS PictureDrop ﬁle contained here into the

XTension folder inside the Quark XPress folder.

STARTING

I

MAGEAXS PRO

To start ImageAXS Pro, open the folder in the Finder where you

installed the ImageAXS Pro ﬁles, then double-click the ImageAXS

Pro application icon.

If you are using ImageAXS Pro for the ﬁrst time, you will see an

empty window with the ImageAXS Pro menu bar at the top of the

screen. (If you have used ImageAXS Pro before, any collections that

were open when you last closed the program will automatically

open.)

ImageAXS™ Pro

application icon

GETTING STARTED

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OPENING A COLLECTION

To start working with ImageAXS Pro, you must open a collection.

If you have not created any collections (for example, if you are using

ImageAXS Pro for the ﬁrst time), you can either create a new

collection (see Chapter 5, “Creating a New Collection”) or open the

sample collection. Opening and viewing the sample collection is a

good way to learn the basic features of ImageAXS Pro (see Chapter 3,

“Viewing Collections”).

To open the sample collection:

STEP 1 Choose Open Collection from the File menu (z-O).

A dialog box appears, prompting you to select a collection

to open.

STEP 2 In the dialog box, locate the folder where you installed

ImageAXS Pro.

STEP 3 Double-click the icon labeled Sample Collection.db.

You can recognize collections by the ImageAXS Pro ﬁle icon

and/or the ".db" extension at the end of the ﬁle name.

You can also open the sample collection (or any other ImageAXS Pro

collection) in the Finder by dragging and dropping the collection

icon on the ImageAXS Pro application icon.

To open the sample collection (or any other ImageAXS Pro collection)

if you have closed it recently, highlight Open Recent Collections in

the File menu, then select the collection from the submenu that

appears.

WHERE DO I GO

F

ROM HERE?

If you have opened the sample collection, go on to Chapter 3

(“Viewing Collections”) and Chapter 4 (“Viewing Records and

Source Files”), which explain how to view collections, data records,

and source ﬁles.

If you want to get started using ImageAXS Pro to organize and

manage your ﬁles, skip ahead to Chapter 5 (“Creating a New

Collection”). After creating a collection of your own, return to

Chapters 3 and 4 to learn about the different ways to look at your

new collection.

ImageAXS™ Pro

“.db” ﬁle icon

VIEWING COLLECTIONS

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IMAGEAXS PRO MACINTOSH USER’S GUIDE

ImageAXS

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VIEWING COLLECTIONS

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Opening and Closing Collections 3-1

Viewing Collections 3-2

Viewing Thumbnails 3-7

Changing Thumbnails View Options 3-9

Viewing Text Field Data 3-12

Changing Text List View Options 3-14

OPENING AND

C

LOSING

C

OLLECTIONS

Collections are the documents created by ImageAXS Pro. They

consist of data records for each ﬁle on your computer that is

associated with the collection, plus a thumbnail image that

represents each ﬁle.

With ImageAXS Pro, you can create and open as many collections as

you want.

N

OTE

Although ImageAXS Pro collections describe the ﬁles on your computer and

storage drives, they do

not

contain the ﬁles themselves. You can move or

delete the collection without affecting the original ﬁles, and vice versa.

In the Finder, ImageAXS Pro collections are represented by two ﬁles:

one with a “.db” extension (containing text information), and the

other with a “.blob” extension (containing thumbnail images). If you

want to move or rename a collection, you must move or rename both

ﬁles.

OPENING A COLLECTION

To open a collection that you have used recently, highlight Open

Recent Collections in the File menu, then select the collection from

the submenu that appears.

If the collection you want is not on the list, follow the steps below.

To open a collection:

STEP 1 Choose Open Collection from the File menu (z-O).

A dialog box prompts you to select a collection to open.

CHAPTER 3

VIEWING COLLECTIONS

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IMAGEAXS PRO MACINTOSH USER’S GUIDE

STEP 2 In the dialog box, locate and select a collection.

You can recognize collections by the ImageAXS Pro ﬁle icon

and/or the ".db" extension at the end of the ﬁle name.

STEP 3 Double-click the collection name, or highlight it and click Open.

You can also open any ImageAXS Pro collection in the Finder by

dragging and dropping the collection icon on the ImageAXS Pro

application icon.

N

OTE

If you have used ImageAXS Pro before, any collections that were open

when you last quit the program will automatically open the next time you

start the progam.

CLOSING A COLLECTION

When you close a collection, all windows related to the collection

(including those for all records and portfolios, and the Keyword and

Portfolio Lists) will close automatically.

To close an open collection:

• With any window of the collection active, select Close Collection from

the File menu.

VIEWING

C

OLLECTIONS

ImageAXS Pro gives you two main ways to look at all of the records

in a collection — the Thumbnails View and the Text List View. These

views share many common interface elements, which are discussed

below.

IMAGEAXS PRO HELP AND BALLOON HELP

Each ImageAXS Pro collection window has three buttons in the

upper right corner. Click the button on the far right to open

ImageAXS Pro Help, an Apple Guide help ﬁle that provides step-by-

step instructions for accomplishing most of the tasks in the program.

Click the middle button to show Balloon Help, which provides a

brief explanation of virtually every menu item, button, and dialog

box option in ImageAXS Pro. After opening Balloon Help, just point

at any item in a window to see information about that item. Click the

Balloon Help button again to turn Balloon Help off.

ImageAXS Pro

“.db” ﬁle icon

ImageAXS Pro Help

Balloon Help

VIEWING COLLECTIONS

3

3-3

IMAGEAXS PRO MACINTOSH USER’S GUIDE

COLLECTION INFO

In the upper right corner of any ImageAXS Pro collection window,

click the leftmost button to open the Collection Info dialog box.

N

OTE

If information has been entered in the Collection Info dialog box, the

Collection Info button will display a solid “i” symbol. An empty or outlined “i”

indicates that no information has been entered for the current collection.

Use the Collection Info dialog box to enter general information (up to

32,000 characters) about your collection, or to edit information that

you have already entered. You can type this information, or paste

text that you have copied from another program.)

The lower left corner of the Collection Info dialog box displays where

the collection is located in the Finder.

Collection Info window

To save any changes you make and close the Collection Info dialog

box, click OK. To close the dialog box without saving your changes,

click Cancel.

Collection Info

VIEWING COLLECTIONS

3

3-4

IMAGEAXS PRO MACINTOSH USER’S GUIDE

USING THE BUTTON PANEL

The button panel along the left side of ImageAXS Pro collection

windows gives you quick access to the basic ways to view and

organize your collections.

To show or hide the button panel, do either of the following:

• Select Show Buttons (or Hide Buttons, if the button panel is

shown) from the View menu

• Click the Show/Hide Buttons icon on the upper left corner of

most ImageAXS Pro windows.

Here is a brief summary of what each button in the button panel does

(from top to bottom):

T

HUMBNAILS VIEW

Displays the thumbnail images for all data records in the collection.

T

EXT LIST VIEW

Displays the ﬁeld data for all data records in the collection.

I

NFO SHEET VIEW

Displays the thumbnail image, ﬁeld data, and keywords for a

selected data record.

S

OURCE FILE VIEW

Opens a read-only version of the source ﬁle for a data record.

K

EYWORD LIST

Displays a list of keywords you have created to describe records in

the collection.

P

ORTFOLIO LIST

Displays a list of smaller groups of records that you have created

within the collection.

S

EARCH

Lets you ﬁnd records that share ﬁeld data, keywords, and/or other

characteristics.

S

ORT

Lets you reorder all records in the collection based on ﬁelds that you

select.

O

PEN SELECTION AS PORTFOLIO

Creates a new portfolio window containing the records you have

selected.

Show/Hide Buttons

VIEWING COLLECTIONS

3

3-5

IMAGEAXS PRO MACINTOSH USER’S GUIDE

FILE TYPE ICONS

The ﬁle type icon for a data record indicates the type of the source ﬁle

and whether the source ﬁle is online. It appears to the left of the

thumbnail caption for each record in the Thumbnails View, and at the

left end of the data row for each record in the Text List View.

The terms online and ofﬂine refer to whether ImageAXS Pro is able to

ﬁnd the source ﬁle for a record. For example, a source ﬁle located on

a network drive that is not currently connected to your computer

will be ofﬂine in ImageAXS Pro.

Ofﬂine source ﬁles are indicated by a red “X” through the ﬁle type

icon for the record. You cannot open the Source File View for records

that are ofﬂine; in addition, you cannot copy, move, rename, delete,

or edit the source ﬁles for these records. (For non-multimedia ﬁles,

you will not be able to open the source ﬁle from within ImageAXS

Pro.) For information on updating the location of ofﬂine source ﬁles,

see “Updating Records” on page 11-5.

File location pop-up window

NOTE

Click the ﬁle type icon to display the Finder location of the source ﬁle in a

pop-up window. Select the ﬁle name from this pop-up window to open the

source ﬁle in its original application, or select a disk or folder name to open

that disk or folder in the Finder.

CHANGING THE BACKGROUND COLOR

ImageAXS Pro offers a choice of backgrounds, either of which is

applied to all windows in the program. The default Dark Gray

background, with text and buttons in light gray, is often preferred for

viewing images. You may ﬁnd the Light Gray background, with text

and buttons in black, more useful for reading text information.

Use the ImageAXS Pro Preferences dialog box to change the

background color of all ImageAXS Pro windows at any time.

Image ﬁle icons

Sound ﬁle icons

Movie ﬁle icons

3D ﬁle icons

Document ﬁle icons

Application ﬁle icons

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Nuance ImageAXS for Macintosh 4.0 Professional User guide

Nuance ImageAXS for Macintosh 4.0 Professional User guide

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