Apple MB673Z/A User Manual - Page 98

What Is the Library? The Aperture library tracks every project, album, master, and version no matter whether the images are stored in the Aperture Library file or in other hard disk locations. Aperture automatically creates a library file in your Pictures folder the first time you open Aperture. You can choose to import images into the library or have Aperture access them from other locations on different hard disks. The library tracks all your images and the information recorded about them, as well as information about where backup files are stored. You can access the library by clicking the Library icon at the top of the Projects inspector. You can change the location of the library file to a different folder or a different disk. You can specify where the library should be located using the Preferences window. For more information about working with multiple library files in Aperture, see "Working with Library Files" on page 106. Projects that you transfer from other Aperture systems to your Aperture system are also added to the library. And when you back up your masters to your vaults on external FireWire drives, those actions are tracked by the Aperture library as well. What Are Managed Images and Referenced Images? Aperture lets you choose how you organize your photos on disk. You can store your photos in the Aperture library, or you can import images by simply linking to the image files in their current locations, without placing them in the library. Images whose masters are stored in the Aperture library are called managed images. These masters are stored in the library exactly as they were in previous versions of Aperture. Aperture manages master image files in the library, keeping them always accessible, and provides benefits such as one-click backup of masters to vaults. Imported images whose masters haven't been placed in the library are called referenced images. Using referenced images in your Aperture system can provide a number of substantial benefits to your photography workflow. You can incorporate your existing portfolio of images into Aperture without changing the current location of the files. Importing images by reference does not result in a duplication of your image files in the Aperture library, thus saving hard disk space. You can also connect and disconnect hard disks holding your referenced images' masters as you need them. This allows you to keep masters for less-used images offline or to make specific types of images available for editing or adjustments as needed. Using referenced images in your Aperture system provides a means of building a flexible image management system customized to your work style. 98 Part I Interface and Acquisition