Monday, November 23, 2009

Most boring post ever...

I am such a nerd. I love to organize my workspace and organizing my computer files is no different. I want to share with you today how I organize my digital files as it can become a pain sometimes. You know you bought pink and brown papers once but how and where to find them is a headache. Well, this is my system and it totally works for me.

1. I created a folder on my external hard drive for Digital stuff. I named mine A Digital then it shows up right at the top...(i keep my folders organized alphabetical according to name)



2. Now, in that Digital folder, I have a folder for every digital designer. Again, it's just my preference. It makes it easy for me to just drag the new kit from Rhonna into her folder. After a while you will have your favorite designers (just like paper manufacturers).



3. Now for the fun part: Drag the preview image (usually a jpeg) from every kit/papers/elements you buy into a preview folder. If you havent done this yet, it will take you some time. If you are just starting digital scrapbooking, I recommend you do this from the beginning. I use this folder A LOT! when I am looking for colors and or embellishments etc, i go to this folder and look for what I want to use. Now, after I selected what i want to use, i know exactly where to find it as it's in the designer's folder. This preview folder is also organized alphabetically so, mostly the designer's stuff is all together.

You can even go more geek than I did... by making a preview folder for papers and one for elements / templates / quick pages etc.




So, to conclude, when I buy a new kit I:
* Download it.
* Drag the whole folder into the designer's folder.
* Copy the preview image and paste it into my preview folder.

Remember to back up your digital folder from time to time. I have a mirror external HD for my external HD. I warned you: I am such a nerd. Any way, if you have questions, please leave me a comment and I can explain more.

2 Cor 3: 16-18 Whenever, though, they turn to face God as Moses did, God removes the veil and there they are—face-to-face! They suddenly recognize that God is a living, personal presence, not a piece of chiseled stone. And when God is personally present, a living Spirit, that old, constricting legislation is recognized as obsolete. We're free of it! All of us! Nothing between us and God, our faces shining with the brightness of his face. And so we are transfigured much like the Messiah, our lives gradually becoming brighter and more beautiful as God enters our lives and we become like him.

Smiles
Photobucket

9 comments :

caro said...

this info is totally cool: I'm almost ready to start with digi (in December), and the thought of finding my stash is scary. So, please excuse my amateur nerdiness, but do you have two external HD's? or where is the mirror sited? P.S. go bokke! (aka Wilna)

Unknown said...

hi Caro! I have 2 external Hard drives... to back up the back up.
he-he

caro said...

okay - so like a spare hard-drive "to go"? I have mailed your gmail.

Anonymous said...

So bly ek ken 'n Techie soos jy :-) Merisa

Ella Swan said...

This is a totally cool post - just the kind I like the most. I am just THINKING about starting to scrap digitally a bit...have been semi-thinking about it for a few months but now REALLY thinking about it...so you on the 2 Peas team (WOO HOO!) had me very excited because I know you are very generous with your information & I know I will be learning a lot from you. I am just like you in that I have to have everything sorted out, whether in real life or on my virtual (pc) desktop & files. My question is:- Are both your External Hard Drives plugged into your pc simultaneously together AT THE SAME TIME...and do you just back up manually to each all the time? And question 2:- Is this how you back up your photos aswell, or do you use DVD's? Do you think DVD back-ups are a good idea? I have one external hard drive but have been thinking about getting another one for a coupla months now, since I read that Karen Russell uses two to back up her photos - reason being that you can then back up much more regularly than waiting to fill a DVD & also because using an external hard-drive is so much more convenient & less hassle. What do you think? XX

Unknown said...

Hi Helen! great questions!

1. I have 2 computers that I work on. each computer have their own 1TB external hard disk attached to it. These 2 external HD are a carbon copy of one another. I unplug one each week and plug it into the other computer (so that I have both disks on one computer) and then I do a sync. My reasoning is that the chances of both disks going bad at the same time is very little AND I want the same information on both computers.

2.YES! A external HD is way safer and more secure than a DVD or a CD. You can actually just leave your extra HD in a closet somewhere. Especially for pictures!

I hope this answer all your q's!
Smiles
Wilna

Ella Swan said...

Thanks Wilna - this is confirming what I have been starting to think myself...just need to convince DH now as he needs to buy for me LOL!

Kristi said...

Wilna...
My question is on the organizing.
What are your thoughts of ACDSe (sp) organizing software as opposed to what you just shared on organizing your digital elements. You're way sounds so clear to my brain. I had previously registered for a class on that software and couldn't finish it at the time, however, I can go finish it. I'm just getting ready to embark on digital but really would like to have a system down prior to getting all my digital elements,as I realize it's much easier to start in the beginning organizing than after you have already uploaded all that stuff..
What are you thoughts?

Amelia said...

Placing preview files into a preview folder is a great organizing tip! Thanks so much!