- Meet iPhoto
- Importing Photos
- Managing Photo Information
- Organizing Photos
- Editing Photos
- Sharing and Displaying Photos
This chapter is from the book
This chapter is from the book
This chapter is from the book
Sharing and Displaying Photos
Assuming that your photos are now imported, organized, and flawless-looking, you would probably like to share them. How? Let us count the ways. Print them on your inkjet printer. Order professional prints. Make a slideshow or a web page. Burn them to CD or DVD. Or share your albums over your home network with other iPhoto users. We cover one final way, printing a photo book, in the project section at the end of this chapter.
Printing Your Photos
You can print photos from any iPhoto view; the options are the same in Organize and Edit view. Book view has its own printing features. If you need to print your photos' titles and/or comments, pick a book template that supports text and use Book printing. You can initiate printing by clicking the Print button in Organize view, or choosing File -> Print. To print photos from an album, select the album before choo sing Print. To print specific photos, select them first. The many wondrous ways you can print photos to your own printer can be found on the Styles pop-up menu in the Print dialog. When you choose one, more options appear, along with a Preview window. Figure 3.26 shows your options for printing a contact sheet. Here's the full list of printing options and how you can use them:
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Figure
3.26 A contact sheet prints small versions of your entire album.
Contact Sheet. Print thumbnail-sized versions of selected photos. Use the slider to change the number of items per page. If one photo is selected for printing, the contact sheet repeats that photo.
Full Page. Print a selected photo to fill an entire page. Moving the margin slider widens or narrows the page's margins.
Greeting Cards. This option prints a photo on the top half of a card (single-fold) or the top quarter (double-fold).
N-Up. Like contact sheets, N-Up prints display several photos per page, but N-Up uses a vertical orientation. If you click the One photo per page check box, N-Up duplicates one image the number of times selected in the Photos Per Page pop-up menu.
Sampler. This layout enlarges one image, and prints smaller versions of subsequent ones. Sampler includes two templates, available from the pop-up menu of the same name. Figure 3.27 shows Template 1.
Standard Prints. This is the template that best captures the way most of us are used to dealing with photos. Choose a print size from the size pop-up. Click One photo per page to limit the number of prints.
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Figure
3.27 The two Sampler templates print one image at a fairly large size, and
the rest much smaller.
Each iPhoto print option gives you a thumbnail preview of how the pages you are about to print will look. To see a larger version, click the Preview button. After some churning (lots of churning if you're using a slow Mac), the Preview application opens, displaying a temporary PDF version of what you're about to print. Click the thumbnails on the right to page through your album. Use the Save As PDF command instead of Preview if you want an electronic copy you can keep or send to others.
Besides the iPhoto–specific layout options, you always have access to the usual settings that apply to your printer. You should also use Page Setup (File -> Page Setup) to choose correct paper size and page orientation.
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Never printed photos on your inkjet printer? Be sure to choose Adjust the Output and Image Quality Settings in the Print dialog box to get the best possible images from your color printer.
Ordering Prints
Like iTunes with its very popular music store, iPhoto comes with opportunities for you to spend some money with your friends at Apple. The quickest way to do that is to order prints from your digital photos. You can also order photo books and use .Mac to put photos and slides on the Web, but we'll get to those later in this chapter.
Apple sells prints ranging in size from the typical 4x6 up to 20x30. As of this writing, 4x6 prints are $.39 each, a pretty competitive price. It's always a good idea to check for the best deals locally, or on the Internet. Our local grocery, drug, and discount stores all offer prints from digital photos. iPhoto does offer the convenience of direct print ordering, without the extra step of exporting files or burning a CD to take to your local photo shop, although even retail stores sometimes offer online printing.
Choose an album of photos you want to print, or create a new one to contain them. You will be able to select photos to print individually, so it's not strictly necessary to create a new album, but it is easier not to have to scroll through batches of photos you don't intend to print. Check to see that each photo you want to print has been cropped and edited to your satisfaction, and that it has been sized to an aspect ratio that works with the print size you want to use.
Select the album you want to print from, or select individual photos in Organize view. Click Order Prints. iPhoto whirs for awhile, then displays thumbnail versions of your photos, along with a price list and quantity fields for each type of print. Initially, all the fields are dimmed because you are not logged into your Apple account. Whether you have an Apple ID or not, click Set Up Account. If you don't have an account, click Create Account. If you do have one, enter your Apple ID and password. By the way, you might never have set up an Apple account in iPhoto, but you do have one if you have bought music from the iTunes Music Store or registered a product with Apple. The ID you created at that time will work with iPhoto, and your account information will pop up when you enter the ID and click Sign In.
If you need to create a new account, you'll be asked to fill out three dialog boxes with your name and email address, a password, and billing and shipping addresses.
With account information entered or confirmed, you're back to the Order Prints dialog (see Figure 3.28), but the order form is now ready to use. Begin by typing the number of prints you want to order from the first photo, and in what size or sizes. Scroll through your list to order more photos. Notice that your subtotal changes as you add more prints to the order.
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Figure
3.28 Type the number of copies of each print you want to order. Your total
is updated automatically.
The largest photo sizes might be preceded by a warning icon. As explained at the bottom of the order dialog, the photo's resolution might be too low to look good when printed at such a large size. You have been warned. If you shot or scanned the photo at a very high resolution, you might not receive a warning, and your prints will probably look just ducky.
Most of the time, you'll probably want to order 4x6 prints of all selected photos. Do that quickly by clicking the 4x6 Quick Order button in the upper-right corner of the dialog. Clicking the up arrow adds one copy of each print to your order.
And finally, note that you can choose from Standard and Express shipping, and that the estimated cost, as well as applicable sales tax, is updated as you change your order. When you're satisfied with your order, click Buy Now. If the 1-click ordering feature has been enabled, clicking the Buy Now button places your order.
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To print photos elsewhere, verify that your photo printer will accept electronic files and then burn a CD as described in "Burning CDs and DVDs," later in this chapter and take it to the local business.
Slideshows
To turn an album or a group of photos into a slideshow on your screen, complete with music and a choice of snazzy transitions, first choose an album or add some photos to a new one. (You knew we were going to say that, didn't you? There is a pattern to this stuff.) In Organize view, select the album or the group of photos you want to use, and click the Slideshow button. The Slideshow Settings dialog opens (see Figure 3.29).
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Figure
3.29 Use Slideshow Settings to configure the look of your show.
First choose the type of transition you would like to use between slides. When you choose a different transition and/or a direction, the preview thumbnail shows how it will look. Use the Speed slider to make transitions slower or faster. Next, type the number of seconds you would like each slide to stay onscreen. Use the set of check boxes to tell iPhoto whether to play slides at random, whether to repeat the show when all slides have been shown, and whether photos should be scaled to fill the screen. You can also decide what should appear with the slides, including titles, ratings, and controls. The controls are those we introduced you to in the "Photo Triage" section of this chapter. They're used for controlling playback, as well as rotating, rating, or deleting images.
Slideshows need not be silent. By default, iPhoto plays Minuet in G when you fire up a show, but you can choose a different tune with a little help from iTunes and your music library. Click the Music tab in the Slideshow settings. If you don't want to include music in your slideshow, click to uncheck Play Music During Slideshow and skip the rest of this paragraph. To use music, either choose one of the items in Sample Music, or select an iTunes item (library or playlist) from the Source menu. Click a song to select it (see Figure 3.30), or don't click a song to use the entire playlist as a soundtrack. To locate a particular song, type text in the Search field. To deselect a previously selected song, pick another one or Command-click the original.
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Figure
3.30 Choose a song to go with your slideshow in the Music tab.
When you have finished setting up the slideshow's look and music, click Play to start it. If you want to preserve these settings for the current album, click Save Settings. Each album can have its own settings.
To play the slideshow without a stop at the settings dialog, click the Play button in the Info section of the Source pane. You can control some aspects of the slideshow with the keyboard and mouse. To temporarily pause the slideshow on a particular slide, press the spacebar. Indicator arrows appear near the bottom of the screen (see Figure 3.31). Use the left and right arrows to move forward and back within the show. The up and down arrows change the show's speed. Move the mouse to make the slideshow controls appear at the bottom of the screen. Clicking the mouse or pressing a key other than the spacebar or arrow keys ends the show.
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Figure
3.31 The slideshow indicators appear when you use the keyboard to control
the show.
Emailing Photos
Email gives you another way to share photos. You may have sent pictures to friends or family by attaching them to mail messages, and you can certainly take that route with your iPhoto images. Or you could save a few steps by creating the email and attaching photos from within iPhoto.
iPhoto uses the application you have selected as your default email program for this Mac. The Email icon in Organize view reflects this (see Figure 3.32). To use a different one, choose iPhoto -> Preferences, and pick a program from the Mail Using Pop-up menu. You can choose from Apple Mail, Eudora, Microsoft Entourage, or America Online. Only the ones you actually have installed are available from the menu—others are dimmed.
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Figure
3.32 This user's default email program is Eudora, so iPhoto displays a
Eudora icon in Organize view.
To send iPhoto images, be sure that you're in Organize view and select one or more photos you want to send via email. Click the Email button. iPhoto tells you how many photos will be attached to the message, and the file size of the combined attachments, assuming that you send the photo at the default 640x480 pixel size. You can change the photos' sizes to decrease the attachment's size (makes the photos smaller) or increase its size (send higher-quality photos). When you pick a new item from the pop-up menu, iPhoto updates the photos' estimated size (see Figure 3.33). Keep your recipients' Internet connection in mind when sending photos. A 1MB attachment is a large mouthful for a dial-up user's connection to swallow. Many ISPs restrict the size of email attachments to 3 or 4MB, even for those with fast connections.
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Figure
3.33 You can choose the size of photos to be sent with an email
message.
Click Compose. iPhoto makes copies of your photos at the resolution you have chosen, opens your email program, and attaches the photos to a new message. Address the message, replace the "great photos" subject line if you want, and type a message. Now you're ready to send 'er.
Web Pages and Slides with .Mac
Apple intends its .Mac Internet service to be an extension of Mac OS X. Many of its features are accessible directly from Apple applications, including iPhoto. You can use a .Mac account to place photos on the Internet for your friends and family to enjoy. Upload the images to a home page, or create a set of .Mac slides.
Naturally, to use iPhoto's .Mac features, you must have a .Mac account. Apple charges $99 per year for an account that includes an email account, 100MB of disk storage, access to a library of Apple and third-party software, and website hosting. Although .Mac is not for everyone, it is well integrated into OS X, offers nifty tools, and is worth exploring, especially if you're interested in publishing a website or backing up your Mac files to a secure server.
If you aren't logged into .Mac or don't have an account, clicking the HomePage or .Mac Slides button in iPhoto brings up a dialog box telling you that your .Mac information is unrecognized. You can either click .Mac Preferences to go to the .Mac system preferences pane, or click the Join Now button. Either way, you'll be taken to the .Mac website. If you are opening an account, the web page contains a form to fill out, registering you for a free trial. If you're already a .Mac subscriber, your .Mac web page opens. Sign up for or log in to .Mac, and we'll meet you back here when you're done.
Once you've logged in to .Mac, you can go back to iPhoto and begin building your web page or slide gallery.
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Drag a photo from iPhoto to the Dock icon of your email program to open a new message and attach a 640x480 version of the photo to it.
HomePage. A .Mac home page can include any sort of web content you like, but the HomePage command creates pages that contain rows and columns of images from your photo albums. You're limited to 48 images on a single iPhoto home page, and iPhoto will squawk if you try to add more. In Organize view, first locate the album containing the photos you want to upload to .Mac. Click the HomePage button. The Publish Home Page window opens, displaying the selected photos. The page's title text is selected, allowing you to type a title for your page. Press Tab and type a description for the page. Pressing Tab again takes you to the title of the first photo, which you can change. In fact, you can type a multi-word caption if you like (see Figure 3.34). You can drag photos within the window to rearrange them. On the right side of the Publish Home Page window are several themes, each of which has its own background, fonts, borders, and other attributes. Click one to try it on for size, and then another.
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Figure
3.34 The Publish HomePage window is a preview of your .Mac web page. You can
edit the page title, a caption, and title/captions for each photo on the
page.
Below your page are a few display options. Your .Mac account is already selected, but you can switch to a different one from the Publish To Pop-up menu. You can change from three to two columns (makes your photos larger), and/or add an email link and counter to your page. The counter tells visitors how many visitors have viewed the page. Click Publish when you're happy with the look of your page. iPhoto connects to .Mac and uploads your photos. When uploading is finished, iPhoto confirms that the page is ready, and provides a URL you can give to friends and family. You can see your page live by clicking Visit Page Now. In addition to your photos, the web page includes a Start Slideshow button. Click it to page through enlarged versions of the photos on the page.
The .Mac website gives you tools for managing and editing your HomePage albums. Using iPhoto, you can add more groups of photos, just as you did the first one. Go to the .Mac website (http://www.mac.com) and log in. Next, click the HomePage link to see your photo albums. You can edit the same information about the album that you did when you created it in iPhoto. Click an album and then the Edit button. An editable version of the page appears. Update the page title or caption, move images around, or hide a photo by unchecking the Show check box (see Figure 3.35).
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Figure
3.35 Move photos around or hide them by disabling the Show check
box.
When you have made all your changes to the page itself, click the Themes button and choose a new look for it. If you want to preview the page after choosing a new theme, click Edit and then click Preview. Finally, click Publish to update the album.
You can use the .Mac website to rearrange and combine your albums in any way you like. You can even delete albums and build new ones with the photos you have already uploaded. Photos stored with your account count toward your included 100MB of .Mac storage space. Apple will be happy to sell you additional storage, however.
.Mac Slides. A .Mac slideshow is a special gift from a Mac user (you) to other Mac users (those who have had the good sense to use Mac OS X, specifically). The basic idea is this: You upload photos that your Mac-using family or friends will like, and they subscribe to your slides, which then appear as a screensaver on their Macs.
In Organize view, select the photos you want to turn into slides. Click the .Mac Slides button. iPhoto lets you in, assuming that you have a .Mac account and are logged in as described in the previous section, and then asks if you're sure you know what you're doing. (It doesn't actually say that, but you get the idea.) Click Publish and iPhoto uploads your images. The dialog informing you that the slides have been uploaded comes complete with a button from which you can send an email announcing the slideshow. It's a nice option, especially because the automated message includes step-by-step instructions for connecting to the slideshow.
Make Your Own Screensaver or Desktop Photo. To make your own slideshow screensaver, first create an iPhoto album containing the photos you want to use. Open the Desktop & Screen Saver pane and then click the Screen Saver tab. Scroll down the list on the left and choose an album from the iPhoto section (see Figure 3.36). The first photo in the album appears in the sample pane. Set the other screensaver options and click OK. To use an iPhoto image as a desktop pattern, select it in Organize view and then click the Desktop button. For more fun with iPhoto on your desktop, open the Desktop & Screen Saver pane in System Preferences and choose Desktop this time. Click an iPhoto album to view its photos. Either choose one (the equivalent of clicking the Desktop button in iPhoto), or click the Change Picture check box and choose an interval. Your desktop picture updates accordingly.
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Figure
3.36 Select an iPhoto album as your screensaver.
Burning CDs and DVDs
Once again, in the mold created by iTunes, Apple has endowed iPhoto with the capability to quickly turn files on your hard drive into CDs or DVDs. There are a few limitations to the feature, and you might need to work around them to burn discs for your PC-using friends. First we'll show you how to quickly burn an iPhoto disc.
Select the photos you want to burn to disc, or burn an album by selecting it. Notice the combined size of the photos in the Info area, below the Source pane (see Figure 3.37). A CD holds around 650MB, whereas a DVD holds about 4.7GB. If you have selected more photos than your disc can hold, you will need to complete the burn in multiple steps. Unlike iTunes, iPhoto won't automatically burn multi-disc projects.
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Figure
3.37 The library won't fit on a single CD. Either manually select a
group of photos that will fit on a disc, or create an album containing photos
less than 650MB in total size.
Click the Burn button. iPhoto asks for a blank disc. Click OK when you have inserted it and then click the Burn button again. You now have one more opportunity to change your mind, confirm the burn, or set further options. Click Eject or Cancel, or click the triangle near the top of the dialog box to see more options. You can change the burn speed, or tell iPhoto whether to verify the disc after burning. In most cases, you won't need to change these options. Once you've clicked Burn for the final time, iPhoto completes the task and ejects your finished disc.
When an iPhoto disc is inserted into a Mac, iPhoto opens and the disc appears as an item in the Source pane. The photos are displayed under the film roll titles from your original iPhoto library. Choose View -> Film Rolls to hide the display. Your recipient can now run a slideshow, print the images, and import them into her own library.
PC-Friendly Discs. iPhoto's Burn command creates an iPhoto disc that will open iPhoto when inserted in a Mac drive. Although iPhoto images open just fine on Windows machines when double-clicked, inserting an iPhoto disc will not invoke Windows automatic disc-handling features. Too, iPhoto's file storage structure makes your pictures hard for PC users to view and locate. The best way to burn a disc everyone on your photo list can use is to export the photos first and then burn the folder containing them to a disc using OS X's built-in disc-burning feature, or a tool such as Roxio's Toast. We describe exporting files in the "Exporting Photos" section of this chapter, which, as it happens, is coming up next.
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Importing an album for which you have already saved slideshow settings in iPhoto will bring those settings (audio, timing, and transitions) into iDVD.
iDVD Slideshows. Here's one more example of iPhoto's integration with other iLife applications. Apple's iDVD, included with all SuperDrive-equipped Macs and available as part of iLife '04, makes it possible for you to create DVDs that will play on a computer or on any DVD player connected to a television. With the iPhoto iDVD command, you can send photos to iDVD, from which you can burn a slideshow to DVD. To burn a disc in iDVD, you must have either an Apple SuperDrive, or a compatible third-party DVD recorder. You can create iDVD projects on any Mac with iDVD installed, however.
In iPhoto, choose the photos or album for your DVD slideshow and then click the iDVD button. After a while (maybe a couple of minutes if you're using lots of photos), iDVD opens. Click the Customize button to see a view of iDVD themes, and drag one into the main pane to select it. Because you imported images from iPhoto, your DVD already contains a slideshow (see Figure 3.38). Chapter 5, "iDVD," describes using iDVD in detail. You'll learn how to add audio, movies, and text to complete the project. You can also import more photos from your iPhoto library using the Media tab.
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Figure
3.38 Choose an iDVD theme and edit text, audio, and photos to build your DVD
slideshow. Double-click on the name of the album you imported to work with your
slides.
Exporting Photos
Think of iPhoto's exporting features as more generic (and often more useful) alternatives to some of the photo-sharing features we've described in previous sections. You can export files for sharing with PC users or burning to disc, export web pages to use on a non-Apple website, or make your own QuickTime slideshow, suitable for playback on Macs or PCs—any computer with the QuickTime player installed.
Exporting Files. Because of iPhoto's cryptic directory structure, you can't simply find and copy photos from the iPhoto library to another location. You could try, but we suggest you take the much easier way, which offers the added benefit of being able to choose consistent file quality and sizes for the items you export.
Select an album or group of photos and choose File -> Export. Click the File Export tab (see Figure 3.39). Here you can choose the size, quality, and a few other attributes for the photos you're about to export from iPhoto. To simply copy the files at the same quality at which they were imported, leave all settings unchanged. To change file formats, choose one from the Format pop-up menu. For web or email photos, use JPEG, and choose other options to shrink the photos. If you intend to print them, try TIFF, and don't make any other changes that will decrease their quality. PNG is a PC format that is compatible with the Web and can be read on either Macs or Windows machines.
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Figure
3.39 Choose a file format, size, and name information for photos you export
from iPhoto.
Scaling images makes them easier to manage on the Web or in email, and also decreases the file size—a good thing if you have lots of photos to send or to burn to a CD. If you're exporting to JPEG, you can click the Scale image no larger than button to work with width and height dimensions. Typing a number in either box changes the other dimension in proportion. Type 640 in the width box. iPhoto adds 480 in the height box. Scaling isn't available for TIFF or PNG formats. Next, choose whether to use the photos' filename, title, or album name to identify the exported versions. To use a filename extension (not necessary on the Mac, but required by other systems), leave the Use Extension check box enabled. Click Export and then navigate to a convenient location on your hard drive. Click Create New Folder to keep the exported images organized.
Export Web Pages. The web page export feature combines file exporting with an HTML generator. The result is one or more HTML pages and a set of JPEG files that you can upload to any web server—no .Mac required. iPhoto creates both thumbnail and large versions of each image. When a visitor clicks on the thumbnail, the larger version opens.
Choose File -> Export and then click the Web Page tab (see Figure 3.40). Type a title for the page and choose the number of rows and columns per page of photos. iPhoto calculates how many pages will be needed. Next, you can choose a background color or an image to serve as background for the web page, and a contrasting text color.
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Figure
3.40 Type a name for your web page and choose size and color
options.
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You can also export files by dragging them to the Finder. iPhoto copies the file with its original format and size. You can't export albums this way.
Choose dimensions for the thumbnail and large versions of each image, and use the check boxes to display each photo's title and/or comments. Click Export and navigate to a convenient location. Be sure to create a new folder first, and don't change its name, or the names of any of the new files, lest you break the links iPhoto has built for you. When the export is complete, switch to the Finder and open the folder where you exported the pages and photos. Double-click the HTML file to preview it in your web browser. Because the page is a standard HTML file, you can edit it in any text editor. If you know HTML, you can customize the appearance of this and all the other pages iPhoto created. When you are satisfied with your page, use an FTP client to upload the folder to your website. If your site is stored on your own Mac, copy the folder there.
iPhoto gives the top-level page of your new folder the same name as the folder. When you upload the folder to the root level of a website whose domain you own, the URL for your photos looks like this: http://www.mydomain.com/Photos/photos.html.
QuickTime Export. Apple's QuickTime Player can show full-motion movies, but it's also a great way to share an iPhoto slideshow. You can mail a QuickTime slideshow to anyone who has the QuickTime Player installed, including Windows users, display the movie on the Web, or burn it to a CD. Exporting photos into QuickTime is about as easy as it gets. If you want to use music with the movie, select or create an album, click Slideshow, and find the song you want to use. Open the Export dialog and click the QuickTime Export tab. Change the dimensions of the movie if you want. Changing one dimension does not adjust the other proportionally, so be sure to calculate a new value for the second dimension if you want the movie to remain proportional. Tell iPhoto how long to display each image, choose a background color or image, and leave the check box selected to add music to the movie. When you click Export, iPhoto asks you to name the movie. By default, it will be saved to the Movies folder in your home folder. Figure 3.41 shows a QuickTime movie containing a slideshow.
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Figure
3.41 When you double-click a QuickTime slideshow, it opens in QuickTime
Player.
Network Photo Sharing
We return yet again to an iTunes comparison. Like its musical sibling, iPhoto makes it possible to share the contents of its library with other Mac users on a local network. The photos you share are "read only." Those who view them can't make any changes to the photos themselves, or change how they're organized. Shared photos can be copied, emailed, or printed, however. You can share your entire library, but it's a better idea to share albums, because less data has to travel the network when users connect to your Mac. If you want to share a lot of photos, share lots of albums that people can connect to individually, and encourage them to use them one or two at a time.
To share your photos, choose iPhoto -> Preferences and click the Sharing tab to see your options (see Figure 3.42). Click the Share My Photos check box to activate sharing. Click Share Selected Albums and choose those you want others to be able to see remotely. Give your library a new shared name and/or a password, if you like.
From another Mac on your network, open iPhoto. Look for shared iPhoto albums in the Source pane (see Figure 3.43). If there aren't any, choose iPhoto -> Preferences and be sure that the Look For Shared Photos check box is enabled. Click a shared album in the Source pane to see its contents.
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Figure
3.42 Share your iPhoto albums.
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Using fewer photos per page will make each page load more quickly.
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Figure
3.43 Shared albums appear in iPhoto just as other albums do. You can change
your view, export, or burn a shared album to disc.
Project
Create sure-to-embarass book of photos from your fabulous dance party
What better proof that your party was a success than a printed gift book of photos? Using iPhoto's Book view and Apple's ordering service, we're going to show you how to commemorate the mugging couples, the graceful dance moves, and even the slightly inebriated fellow who guarded the keg all evening.
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ORGANIZE PHOTOS: Create a new album of photos for your gift book. You can use an existing album, but it's easier to isolate the images you plan to use for the book. Edit and/or crop the photos to make them look their best. In Organize view, place the photos in the order you would like them to appear in the book by dragging them. The first image in the album will be on the cover. To include it inside the book, too, press Command-D to duplicate it and drag the duplicate approximately where it should show up in the book. You can make some photo order changes in Book view, but it is simpler to organize the album before you begin working on the book's layout. If you plan to use photo titles in the book, choose View -> Titles and make sure they're all correct. To include comments in the book, select a photo and add or edit comments in the Info pane. When you're done, click Order a Book.
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CHOOSE A THEME: To build a book, you must first choose one of the seven themes. Pick one from the Theme menu and notice how each one changes the arrangement and orientation of the photos. Some themes include photo titles, and others don't. The Collage and Story Book themes include boxes for additional text. The rest do not. The screenshot on the left shows the Collage theme. To hide titles, comments and/or page numbers from themes that use them, disable the corresponding check boxes next to the Theme menu. These check boxes have no impact on themes that do not support text.
- DESIGN PAGES: Themes specify the orientation of images, but you can choose how many photos appear on individual book pages. The available design options change based on the theme you are using, but all themes include a cover page, an introduction page, and as many inside pages as are needed to display all photos in the book. Clicking on a thumbnail selects the current design for that page. Cover pages have one photo and the title of the book (the same as the album's title). Introduction layouts have no photos, just text. Collage has both. Besides cover and intro pages, each theme's Page Design menu gives you options for placing one to eight photos on a page. Click the thumbnail for page 2 in your book. From the Page Design menu, choose Three to place three photos on the page.
- REARRANGE PHOTOS AND PAGES: If you like the design of a page, but not the photo placement, drag images over one another to switch them. To move a photo to a different page, go to Organize view and drag the photo between two others you want to appear on the page with it. In many page designs, some photos are larger than others. Moving them around will change which photo is displayed at a larger size, thus emphasizing it. To change page order, drag a thumbnail over the page you want to replace. The other pages shove over. Photos move with the page, so changing page position also reorders the images in the book and in Organize view, too. When you're happy with your changes, select a page and click Lock Page to prevent photos from being moved accidentally.
- ADD AND EDIT TEXT: You can create or edit text anywhere there's a text box. In themes whose layouts allow titles and comments (Catalog, Classic, and Year Book do), you can edit these boxes, too. Introduction pages in most themes are blank, except for the name of the album and any text you add. To add text, click page 1 of your book with the Introduction design selected. Use the zoom slider to enlarge your view, and scroll to the text box containing the album title or the line below, which identifies the date and owner of the photos. Click in the text box to add text, or select it and type to replace it. To change text attributes, select text and Control-click to see the contextual menu. Show Fonts opens a character-level dialog box you can use to change text typeface, size, color, and weight. You can also check spelling from the menu. If you notice warning icons next to photo titles or comments, it means the text is too long and will be truncated when you print your book unless you edit the text.
- PREVIEW THE BOOK AND ITS PAGES: When you're satisfied with the placement of photos, pages, and text, double-click a page thumbnail or click the Preview button to see the entire book. You can edit text or move photos (on the same page) in Preview mode, but you can't zoom in or change text styles. Left and right arrows take you from page to page, or you can type a page number in the box between the arrows. (You won't be able to move photos from a locked page.)
- PRINT A DRAFT: The minimum price for the bound hardcover photo books Apple sells is $29.99 ($3 per page), so it's a good idea to print a draft version on a color printer before placing an order. You can check for text errors and make sure that your photos are arranged, cropped, and edited the way you would like them to be. Choose File -> Print. To adjust printer options, especially to get the best-looking pages from your color inkjet printer, click Advanced and choose output options that maximize quality. To print a really, really rough draft, just use the default or high-speed settings. When you're happy with your print settings, click Print.
- ORDER BOOKS: Once your book looks exactly the way you want it to, you can order books immediately or wait a while. As long as you don't change anything about the photos in the album your book is built on, the final product will look like the draft print you have made, only a whole lot nicer. Either click Order Book in Book view, or return to Organize view now or later and click Order Book. iPhoto prepares your book, warning you if there are any low-resolution photos or text blocks that are too large. (Did you miss a warning icon?) A book must be at least 10 pages long. If yours is shorter, iPhoto warns you about that, too. If you already have an Apple account with 1-click ordering enabled, the order screen will be ready and waiting for you, complete with the cost of each book. Just choose one of four cover colors from the pop-up and enter the number of books you want in the Quantity field. If you haven't set up an account, iPhoto takes you through the process before you can place your order.
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MAKE A PDF BOOK: Perhaps the price of your book gave you the shivers, and put you off ordering one for the 30 people who attended your party (even with the 10% discount for orders of 30 or more.) If you've retreated to a more modest couple of books, why not send PDF versions around to your other guests? In Book view, choose File -> Print and then click Save As PDF. Name and save the file where you like. Double-click it to have a look (it will probably open in the Preview application) and then email it to those for whom love does have a price.
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Figure 3.44 Start by organizing and editing an album.
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Figure 3.45 The Collage Theme shows photos at angles, bleeding into one another.
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Figure 3.46 Page 2 of a portfolio book looks like this with three photos.
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Figure 3.47 Drag photos around the page to rearrange them.
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Figure 3.48 You can edit and style text from the Fonts dialog box.
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Figure 3.49 Double-click a thumbnail to preview the page.
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Figure 3.50 Print a draft of your book.
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Figure 3.51 The price of your book is based on the number of pages.
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Figure 3.52 Save your book as a PDF file.