How to apply text to "Special Instructions" IPTC fields across multiple images?

[Keith]

I'm using EOS Template with PM 4.5. It allows for the creation of sub-categories via the Special Instructions field. How do I select a portion of the photos and globally enter Special Instruction info (or other IPTC fields, for that matter) to selected images only?

Thanks

Keith

[mervifwdc]

Pretty easily.  Select all the images for a given section, (ctrl+click on each one, or Shift+click on the first and last from a range of them), then pres CTRL+I. This brings up your best friend, the stationary panel.

set the instructions field to whatever you want displayed as your section.

Press the "apply stationary to selected" button.

move to the next set of images and go again.

A couple of tips: I create a custom sort called EOS sort, which is instruction followed by capture time. You'll need to sort the images like that before the export with the template. And if you use it always, it groups them together quite nicely.

also, if you can go into edit and preferences, then click on the "contact sheet" tab. Over on the right there is a labels drop down. I usually set it to file name plus 1 label, and I set the label to be: {instructions}- {time}

This shows me what the instuction for each file is on the contact sheet, so I know what ones I still have to do. I put the time there as it suits me to see it.

Hope this helps.

[Keith]

Hi Merv,

That's excellent. Thank you very much. (Guess how I did it for my first site? Doh!)

FYI: Relating to our earlier conversation, on EOS Template, I've got the first site built -- still modifying it a bit. I hoped to have it online Wednesday as it was ready to go then... but I discovered that my .mac account, which I've used to publish a few galleries and other pages, doesn't support PHP. Of course I now know PHP is a must for EOS... So, looks like I am gonna pony up for web hosting service, which is actually pretty reasonable. I should then be set!

Keith

[Keith]

Merv,

I've just had some time to sit down and think a little bit more about the organization of my galleries. Setting the Contact Tab preferences to File + label is really going to help. I'm already on to an EOS sort of sorts for each of the (four) different trial hosting organizations. With this in place, prepping the photos for online posting using EOS should be very quick indeed.

Do you happen to know if two different sets of Special Instructions in PM would result in the same image showing up in two different locations on an EOS template?

Oh, and by the way, here's a link to my first agility trial shots:

http://www.utahdogphotography.com/galleries/USDAA/

Keith

[mervifwdc]

Hi Keith,

Well done on the shots - they look great!

A small comment (not even a tip - it may be different with you) is that 4*6, 7*5 and 10*8 are not a large enough range. We dropped 7*5 completely. We could have been wrong, but....
Also, we offer an electronic version, many of these folks breed their dogs, and need good images for web sites.

As to you question: Do you happen to know if two different sets of Special Instructions in PM would result in the same image showing up in two different locations on an EOS template?

well, any specific image can only have 1 specific special instruction, so it will only show up in 1 place in the gallery. If you want to put an image into another gallery, you either need to have another copy of that file in the directory your going to turn into a PM gallery, or use some kind of fancy filtering on one large directory (sounds tricky). Anyway, if you have 2 copies of the file, each copy can have a different special instructions. If you've only 1 copy, it can only have 1 special instructions.

Perhaps I'm not understanding what your thinking of doing?

Merv

[Keith]

I meant to respond to this days (weeks?) ago, Merv. My bad.

Here's the reasoning behind wondering whether it might be possible to have an image show up in two sections: I organize by class. Easy enough. When I know I am going to get a multiple image order (surprisingly, this is happening...), I'd love for the client to be able to visit the gallery and find a section all of their own. But I guess 'I want it all' as I'd like for those same images to also live in their respective class section.

I think I understand now though that I have to either choose one section only or load duplicates of the images in question into a gallery.

Keith