Copyright: Copyright 1996 Rio Grande Valley Software


PhotoAccess Help Contents
PhotoAccessPC Help


PhotoAccess Description and Features
PhotoAccess Description

PhotoAccess PC is a photo software package specifically designed for digital camera owners who take many, many photos. PhotoAccess PC is built around the premise that, since digital photos are nearly free, you want to gather, organize, and use many pictures – rather than just editing or “playing with” one or two photos.  Pictures are information, and you need an easy way to acquire, store, edit, database, display, and export this digital information.

Using PhotoAccess, you easily input photos from disk or from any TWAIN compliant camera directly into a user-defined database.  The database records each contain a digital picture, plus any number of other numeric, text, and date fields.  Using the gallery, any database can be sorted, searched, and filtered on any field.

PhotoAccess databases are a single file, saving disk space and clutter, which can be easily copied and distributed.  Other software can access these database files through the PhotaAccess programming interface.  Photos can be exported, edited, or displayed on album pages.

Groups of photos or single photos can be edited, changing their contrast, colors, and orientation.  Any number of photos in the database can be placed on any number of album pages for display.  These pages allow free-form placement of photos, page and photo zooming, and photo cropping and overlapping.  Text can also be placed for annotating pages and photos.

Album pages do not add to the size of PhotoAccess databases, so you are free to display many photos printers exactly as you see the page on the screen. in many different ways.   Album pages can, of course, be printed to color or black and white printers – just as you see them on the screen.

Features

Importing Photos

directly from digital cameras, scanners, video capture units, and other TWAIN complaint devices.

from files using standard file formats such as jpeg, tif, bmp, etc.

automatic jpeg compression for cameras that do not support jpeg

set default field values for incoming photos

import single photos or entire groups of pictures

Exporting  Photos

export photos from the database in their original form, or in standard file formats

export entire album pages as new jpeg pictures

Database Features

fully customizable database structure including fields of a variety of  text, numeric, and Boolean types

multiple record sort levels, in ascending and descending order

record searches, multiple step database filters

freedom to choose which fields are visible in the gallery

export selected records and field to new databases

merge PhotoAccess databases

database capacity tested with over 2500 photos

Photoaccess databases are single files, reducing disk space requirements and clutter

Photo Editing

interactively change photo contrast, brightness, colors (RGB palette), and orientation

photo edits can be set to be applied to all imported photos

Photo Display and Printing

copy photos to album pages for free-format display

album pages do not add to the size of databases

photo zooming, cropping, and overlapping

add text annotation in any font, color, and orientation

page zooming

WYSIWYG print album pages on color and black and white printers

Database Access (optional)

a programming interface is available to allow other programs to access Photoaccess databases directly


Software Installation

PhotoAccessPC is distributed on several floppy disks and is installed like any other Windows95 or Windows NT program.  With the first of the disks in your 3.5 inch floppy drive, select the Control Panel from the Start - Settings menu, and begin the installation by starting the Add/Remove Programs routine from the Control Panel.

The Add/Remove Programs routine first requires you to select “install”, then a “next” before finding the setup program in the A: drive.  One more “next” and the PhotoAccessPC setup program begins.

The setup program will present initial screens, then will allow you to change the default directory for the software.  You can select another directory by typing in a directory name, or selecting browse to select or create a directory.  By default, PhotoAccessPC is installed in the directory:

c:\Program Files\RGVS\Photo Access

Regardless of where you select to put PhotoAccessPC, the directory will be created if it does not already exist.

The next setup screen is for selecting which components of PhotoAccessPC to install.  Since PhotoAccessPC is a compact program (less than 3 Mbyte required), selecting components does not effect the installation, and all programs, examples, and help files will be installed.

The file copies follow, and you will be asked to insert the second PhotoAccessPC disk when it is needed.

When the file copy is completed, finishing the setup will return you to the operating system. PhotoAccessPC will be installed, and the software can be run by all the usual Windows methods, including the start menu.  When using PhotoAccessPC for the first time, Windows95 may expect the sample files to be on the desktop, so you may have to go to the actual install directory to find the sample file.


Uninstalling Software
Uninstalling the Software

PhotoAccessPC can be removed from your computer like any other Windows95 or Windows NT program.  Again from the Window 95/NT control panel, select “Add/Remove Programs”, and follow the standard instructions from there.


Ordering PhotoAccess

If you have downloaded the evaluation version of PhotoAccess, you need to purchase and register the software within thirty days if you intend to use it.

The easiest way to order PhotoAccess is to send us this form, along with a check, credit card number, or a company P.O.  This electronic form could be filled out from within a word processor and faxed to RGVS, printed and faxed to RGVS, or even mailed to RGVS.  Once we receive your order, we will immediately e-mail your registration code, which can be entered in your downloaded copy of PhotoAccess to register that copy.  In addition, we will send you the latest PhotoAccess diskettes via regular mail.

Once you have your registration code, it needs to be entered into PhotoAccess from the Help/Register screen.  Type the code in exactly as you see it, including case and the dash.  This should remove the registration notice from your album pages and photos.

View Order Form


Technical Support

Technical support is available to registered users through a number of methods.  If you have downloaded the evaluation version, and are not yet a registered user, please see the Ordering PhotoAccess section in this manual.

Some hints and support is available on the Rio Grande Valley Software web page, located at:     www.thuntek.net/photoaccess.  Specific questions can be addressed to Rio Grande Valley Software in a number of ways.   E-mail is probably the best method, our e-mail address is:    rgvs@thuntek.net.   Faxing your questions is also a good option, our fax number is:  1 800 308 7158.   For a live person, you can call our phone number at 505 899-2499.  You may have to leave a message at the phone number, we will try and return your call promptly.


Getting Started
Starting PhotoAccessPC

As with any Windows95 or Windows NT program, PhotoAccessPC can be started a number of ways.  Upon installation, the software is added to the Start Menu, under the program name and group Photo Access.

A short cut can be created by placing the PhotoAccessPC executable icon on the desktop simply by finding the main PhotoAccessPC icon, typically located in the default directory of “c:\program files\rgvs\photo access”, and dragging it to the desktop.

Upon startup, you are prompted to select a database type to use.  PhotoAccess databases can have almost any combination of fields, and some standard database setups are listed.  If you plan on starting a new database, you should select the setup with fields close to your desires – knowing that the setup can be changed from within the program.  If you intend to open an existing database, it doesn’t matter which setup you select – it will be replaced by the database definition of the PhotoAccess file you open.

Once a database setup has been selected, the PhotoAccessPC main screen is presented.  The left sided of the screen is the album area, where photos can be placed and arranged.  The right side contains the database Photo Gallery where images and other data are imported, acquired, edited, sorted and searched.  Standard menus and tool bars are along the top of the screen.  The bottom line of the screen is a status bar, and explanations for each command are provide there when the cursor is placed over the command.

PhotoAccessPC  begins with a blank database gallery and no images in the album.  The fields in the gallery are set to their default for the database type you just selected.  From this point, it is possible to open an existing album, load photos from disk or acquire photos from devices, or change the configuration of the database in the gallery.  Opening albums is discussed below as is a brief description of importing images and acquiring photos from devices.  Database gallery configuration and full explanations of importing and acquiring images is discussed in the Gallery section of the manual.


Opening Albums and Photos
Opening Albums and Importing Photos

Photos, album pages, and the photo gallery database information structure are all stored in a single PhotoAccessPC file.  These files contain all the information for saving and restoring your photos, album pages, database structure and any photo formatting.  Many different album files, all with different photos, album pages, and database structures can be stored on your computer.

The installation program placed a sample PhotoAccessPC album file in the main PhotoAccessPC directory.  The file, called Album1.PAA can be opened using the standard File/Open command from the pull down menus along the top of the screen.  The file is located in the directory you installed PhotoAccessPC in, (Programs\rgvs\photoaccess by default) not on the desktop.  Alternatively, the same File/Open command is available by single clicking the Open icon (shaped like an opening folder) along the toolbar on the top of the screen.   Selecting the open command brings up the standard file selection dialog and the Album1.PAA example album file can be selected.  Once selected, the database structure, album pages, and custom formatting for that album is loaded, and the first page of the album is displayed.

Pictures stored on your hard disk in standard file formats can immediately be loaded into the database photo gallery.  If the gallery is blank (as it is when PhotoAccessPC is first started), or full of photos, new photos are added the same way.  Clicking on the Import File.. button on the lower right of the photo gallery brings up the standard Windows file selection dialog box.  Select a photo stored on your hard disk from any allowed image format (JPEG, BMP,TIFF, PCX) and the photo will be added to the gallery.  The photo can then be edited or added to an album page.


Acquiring Photos from Devices
Acquiring Photos

PhotoAccessPC is capable of acquiring photos directly from TWAIN compatible sources.  TWAIN is an interface standard that most digital cameras, scanners, and other input devices use to transfer data to the PC.

To acquire photos, it may first necessary to select the default device to use. Clicking on the Select Source button on the lower middle of the Gallery brings up a dialog box to select from available sources that may be installed on your PC.  Choose the source you want to use, and hit the Select button to close the Select Source window.  If no devices are listed in the window, the TWAIN drivers for you camera may not be installed properly.  Check the TWAIN index item in this help file for assistance.  Clicking on the Acquire button on the lower middle of the Gallery starts the acquire process. PhotoAccessPC  starts the device TWAIN interface – the device manufacturer should provide information about how to select photos and transfer photos from the interface.  Depending on the device, the TWAIN interface may start behind the main PhotoAccess screen, so you may want to minimize PhotoAccess and check for the interface if you don’t see it.  All photos downloaded from your device through the TWAIN interface will be input directly into the database Gallery, rather than being transferred to the PC hard disk.  If your device and device interface is capable of acquiring (or transferring) multiple photos at a time, the multiple sets of photos will also be entered into the database Gallery.


Using the Database Gallery
Using the Gallery

The PhotoAccessPC Photo Gallery is a full featured image database.   The database tools provide easy access to all the images and ancillary information stored in a PhotoAccessPC album.  All importing of photos, adding comments and other information, and selecting images for your album or export is done through the Photo Gallery database.

The Gallery interface is the large box with buttons that by default is loaded on the right hand side of the PhotoAccessPC screen.  The Gallery can be moved around, hidden by closing it (clicking on the X on the upper right hand part of the Gallery window) or re-shown by selecting Show Gallery from the Gallery menu on the main PhotoAccessPC menu bar at the top of the screen.  In addition, the width of the Gallery can be changed by dragging the sides of the gallery while clicking the left mouse button.

The Gallery shows a thumbnail of all photos in the database, along with associated fields (see the Gallery section for a detailed discussion of the Gallery and its database features).  Scroll bars along the top and right of the Gallery window allow you to scroll through your data.  Sort tabs along the top of the Gallery will sort the images on any field merely by clicking the ascending or descending tabs above the field to be sorted on.

Photos and their associated data can be edited either by double clicking on the photo, or selecting the photo with one mouse click and hitting the Edit button on the Gallery screen.  Editing a photo brings up a editable list of all data associated with the photo, and the opportunity to edit the orientation and color of the actual photo.

Data in the Gallery can be filtered to show only the data matching your selected criteria.  This filtering process is key to managing large sets of photos, since it allows you to display in the Gallery only the photos that are currently of interest while holding all photos in the database.   Hitting the Filter button on the right hand side of the Gallery brings up a dialog box to specify which photos and data to show in the gallery.  The Show All button removes the effect of filtering, and all photos and data in the Gallery are shown.

Any number of different types of fields can make up a gallery definitions.  PhotoAccessPC ships with a number of default sets of Gallery definitions, and any new Gallery type you create can be saved for future use.  Fields in any Gallery definition, such as Date, Time, People, can be removed or changed by setting up the Gallery fields.  In fact, all the fields can be removed and easily replace with fields with new names and data types.  In addition, default values for the fields can be set – the fields will have the specified default value for when new photos are added.  Setting up the database fields is discussed at length in Section 4 of the manual but is accessed from the main menu under Gallery / Setup Fields.  The Gallery menu also provides access to a tool for defining which fields are visible in the gallery (the default is all fields visible).


Using Album Page Layout
Using Page Layout

The page layout features PhotoAccessPC allow you to display and print your photos much as you would in a photo album.  Any photos in the Gallery can be placed on any number of album pages and displayed in many ways.  The album pages are displayed on the left side of the PhotoAccessPC screen, with one page on the screen representing an 81/2 by 11 inch album page.   Page Layout is discussed in detail in Section 3 of the manual and in the Page Layout portion of this help.

Any photos from the Gallery can be placed on album pages.  Select any photo or number of photos in the Gallery using the left mouse button and add it to the currently displayed album page by clicking the Add to Page button on the lower right corner of the Gallery.  This will copy the photos to the album page.

New pages can be added by selecting the Add Pages command from the Album pull down window on the main PhotoAccessPC  screen.  All pages but one page (albums must at least one page) can be removed using the Delete Page command from the same Album menu on the top of the main screen.

PhotoAccessPC makes extensive use of the Windows95 right mouse click.  When working on the page layout screen, many features are available by clicking on the right mouse button, and the available features change depending on the operation being performed or the location of the mouse on the album page. In any cursor mode, the right mouse button gives options for that mode along with the ability to change to a different cursor mode.

When the mouse is placed on an album page, but not over a photo, right clicking on the mouse brings up several options.  The first is the option to select all photos and other objects on the page.  This feature is helpful for moving all photos, text, and boxes as a group.  In addition, there is the option to either use the select tool, which makes the cursor an arrow, the text tool, which places text on the screen, the rectangle tool, for drawing boxes, or the album zoom.  The select mode allows you to select, resize, crop and move photos.  The zoom mode allows you to zoom in on the entire album page or any portion of the page by selecting the zoom tool and, while holding the left mouse button down, dragging over the section of the page to be zoomed into.  The text tool allows to place single line text in any font, color, or orientation.  Again, in any cursor mode, the right mouse button gives options for that mode along with the ability to change to a different cursor mode.

Once a photo is selected (by clicking the left mouse button on the photo), a number of other tools are available. The photo can be moved by placing the cursor over the edge of the photo, and when the cursor changes to the hand symbol, dragging the photo to the desired location on the page.  The photo can be re-sized in a similar manner, by selecting the photo, and dragging on edges of the photo to make it the desired size.

Once a photo is selected, the right mouse button provides access to another zoom tool.  This zoom tool zooms only this particular photo with respect to the page, it does not zoom in on the page.  The photo expands within its window and scroll bars are provided along the window to select the portion of the image to be displayed.  De-selecting the image after a photo zoom operation will remove the scroll bars and display the photo on the album page in its zoomed stated.  In the photo zoom mode, the right mouse button provides access to several different zoom features.


Printing Album Pages
Printing

Album pages can be printed to black and white or color printers.  Selecting the Print command from the file menu brings up the standard Windows print dialog box.  Standard Print Preview, and Print Setup commands are also available from the File menu.


Photo Gallery Introduction
Photo Gallery--Introduction

The PhotoAccessPC Photo Gallery is a full featured image database.   The database tools provide easy access to all the images and ancillary information stored in a PhotoAccessPC.  All importing of images, adding comments and other information, and selecting photos for your album or export is done through the Photo Gallery database.

The database uses a flat-file format and allows the user to add or delete fields and records at any time.  Tools are provided for searching, sorting, and filtering on any fields.  Multiple filters and search priorities are supported.

Photos are stored in the Gallery in their original imported format.  Photos imported as JPEG files, for example, remain compressed in the Gallery and are decompressed on-the-fly each time they are displayed.   Any combination of different image formats can be in the Gallery.   There is no limit to the number of photos of any types that can be put into the Gallery.

A single PhotoAccessPC file, with the extension .PAA, contains all the database field definitions, and all the photos and associated data.  In addition, this file also carries the definition and formatting of any album pages created.

All photos, whether acquired from devices or imported from files are kept in the database Gallery in their original format.  Since these photos can easily be exported (also in their original format) it is not necessary to keep the original copies of the photos on your hard disk.  The Gallery’s standard database and album file is a more efficient method of storing the photos than leaving them in their individual files.

Terms Used

There are a few common database terms that are used throughout the next section.   In the database, a field is a single piece of information, such as a date or comment, that is attached to a photo.  Other common fields are a time field, a place field, or an event field.  A record is the grouping of all the field appropriate for a given photo.  Each photo and all its fields like time, date, place, comment, comprise a single record.  There are typically many, many records in a database.

Photo Gallery

The gallery can be hidden by clicking on the X in the upper right hand corner of the gallery frame.  The gallery is again made visible by selecting “show gallery” under the Gallery menu on the main PhotoAccessPC window.  The width of the gallery can be changed by dragging on the sides of the gallery box while holding the left mouse button down.

The main portion of the Gallery screen contains a list box of records, beginning with the photo field.  The vertical scroll bar along the right if the list box allows you to scroll through the records in the database.  The horizontal scroll bar along the bottom of the list box scrolls through the fields.  The field names are along the top of the list box, along with buttons for selecting the sort fields.

Single records are selected and deselected by clicking the left mouse button on the record.  Many records can be selected by holding down the left mouse button and dragging up and down the list box.  Single mouse clicks in conjunction with the shift key selects records and all the records in between selections.  Single mouse clicks in conjunction with the control key adds additional records to the selection, one at a time.

The left side of the Photo Gallery contains buttons for accessing data in the gallery.  The bottom of the gallery has the buttons for importing data into the database either from file or directly from cameras or scanners, for exporting individual photos or database portions, and for copying images from the database to the photo album pages.  The database structure and the fields to show in the Gallery are set up through the Gallery item on the main menu.  The next sections describe these features in detail.

Sorting

Sorting the records is accomplished by clicking on the sort bar along the top of the records display.  Selecting the bar below the field name sorts and displays all visible records by that field.   Sorting the records by date, for example, is as easy as clicking the sort tab below the field name “Date”.   Ascending and descending sort order can be toggled by clicking the +/- button to the left of the sort tabs.

Two sets of sort tabs are provided.  The upper set provides a primary sort, while the lower set is for the secondary sort.  Records are first sorted by the primary sort, and all records with the same primary sort value are then sorted by the secondary sort.  If the first sort was by date and the second sort by time for example, all records would first be ordered according to their date.  Records with the same date would then be sorted by time.


Import File
Photo Gallery--Import File

The Import File command reads existing photo files from disk and inserts them in the Gallery.  This is obviously important if your photos are already on disk, or did not come directly from a TWAIN supported device. PhotoAccessPC supports most flavors of the following file formats:

BMP 	the “native” Windows95 format.  Typically uncompressed

PCX     	another uncompressed file format used in Windows

JPEG  	a common, compressed file format for photos

TIFF 	another, often uncompressed file format

To import a photo file, hit the Import File button, and the standard Windows95 file select dialog box appears.  Use the interface to select a photo in a supported file format, and the photo will appear in the photo field in a new record at the end of the Gallery.  It is then possible to edit that record, add information to its related fields, and of course, place it in the album.

When photos are imported, (and for that matter acquired from devices), the original photo, in its original format, is kept in the database Gallery.  Since these photos can easily be exported (also in their original format) it is not necessary to keep the original copies of the photos on your hard disk.  The PhotoAccessPC database and album file, with the extension .PAA, is a more efficient method of storing the photos than leaving them in their individual files.


Import All
Photo Gallery--Import All

The Import All command is similar to the Import File command, except this command reads all files that are in a selected directory of the same file type in at once – eliminating the need to run the Import File command many times for a set of photos.

To import a group of photo files all at once, hit the Import All button.  A warning box pops up to make sure you really want to import all the picture files in a particular directory.  After the warning box, the standard Windows file open dialog box appears.  You can select any supported picture file in any directory, and when you do, all the files in the same directory with the same file extension (jpg, .tif, etc.) will be added to the database Gallery.


Select Source
Photo Gallery--Select Source

The “Select Source” button sets the default device to downloads images from.   When selecting a source, a list of all currently installed TWAIN compatible devices is provided.  The default source can be selected by highlighting the device with a left mouse button and choosing the “Select” button, or by double clicking the left mouse button on the device name.  The selected device will be used on future Acquire commands until the source is changed again.

Select Source provides a list of devices for which drivers are installed on the computer.  The software has no idea whether the device is physically connected to the PC or not.  If no sources are listed in the dialog box, either no TWAIN compatible device drivers are installed or the 32-bit TWAIN support is not properly installed on your machine.

TWAIN Drivers

If no sources are listed on the Select Source dialog box, and you have installed your camera or other device software, it is likely that the TWAIN drivers are not properly installed on your system.  TWAIN is a standard format for transferring data from devices, but there are many TWAIN flavors and versions.  PhotoAccessPC uses 32-bit TWAIN support, and many cameras ship and install 16-bit drivers.   The 32-bit drivers must be installed in addition to the 16-bit drivers.   The 32-bit drivers are provided in the PhotoAccessPC distribution, and were copied to the same directory that PhotoAccessPC is installed in on your computer, and must be copied to your Windows directory.  The four files on disk three are:

 - TWAIN.DLL

             	 - TWAIN_32.DLL

             	 - TWUNK_16.EXE

- TWUNK_32.EXE

These files must be copied from the diskette to the \WINDOWS subdirectory on your machine.  There may be other TWAIN related files in that subdirectory, or other TWAIN related subdirectories, but those four files reside in the \WINDOWS directory.

Copying those four files and re-starting your machine should allow your installed devices to be seen by PhotoAccessPC using the Select Source command.


Acquire Photos
Photo Gallery--Acquire

The acquire button downloads photos from external devices like digital camera and scanners.  Hitting the acquire button immediately brings up the software interface to the device selected in the “select source” button described below.

How the Acquire button operates depends heavily on the source being acquired from.  Most digital cameras, for instance, are capable of sending many photos in a compressed form to PhotoAccessPC all at once, while scanners often can only send uncompressed data, one photo at a time.

After the Acquire button is hit, the native interface for the currently selected device is started.  Most camera and scanner interfaces first check to see if the hardware is installed, so if the device is not installed, or not powered on, there may be a significant delay before the interface appears.  Once the device interface is started, you use the interface much like you would from outside PhotoAccessPC.   In a camera interface, for instance, you would typically select commands like “Download photos to disk”.  Rather than appearing on disk, however, the photos will be placed in PhotoAccessPC in the Gallery.

PhotoAccessPC supports single and multi-photo downloads from devices.  Since PhotoAccessPC is designed for photos, JPEG compression is the default format for transferring data from devices (it is also the default for most digital cameras).  For cameras that don’t support JPEG compression (some Kodak cameras for instance) PhotoAccess automatically compresses these files when they are downloaded.


Add Photo to Album Page
Photo Gallery--Add to Page

To place images on a visible album page, merely select the photo (or photos) in the Gallery with the left mouse button.  Hitting the Add to Page button on the Gallery “copies” all the currently selected Gallery photos to the visible album page.  If more than one photos is selected, the photos are “tiled” into the upper left portion of the album page.  Any number of photos can be placed on a page, and any number of copies of a given photo can be place on a page or in the album.  Adding photos to album pages and adding album pages does not significantly increase the size of the PhotoAccessPC file.


Editting Records in the Gallery
Photo Gallery--Edit

The “edit” button on upper left hand screen allows you to edit all visible fields for the selected record.  Double clicking on the record also invokes the edit feature for that record.  If more than one record in the database is selected, this edit button is not available.  Fields are made visible using the “define visible fields” button under the “custom” button

Editing a record brings up the edit dialog box. The field names are listed on the left, with their current values for this record on the right.  Fields that are editable have a white background.  The ability to edit each fields is selected in the database definition (reached from the Gallery/Setup Fields menu items).   The “Edit” button allows you to adjust the colors and rotation of this photo.   Entries may be typed into editable fields, though the range of values for the field or the type of entry may be constrained by the database definition.  In the example above, for instance, the date field must be entered as a date in the mm/dd/yy format, and that date is error checked for reasonable values (again setup in the database definition).

Editing a Photo

The orientation, colors, and contrast of a photo can be changed using the Edit command from the Edit Record dialog box discussed above.  Editing a photo changes the way the photo is displayed in the Galley, in the album, and when album pages are printed.  Editing a photo does not change the actual picture in the Gallery.  This means that at any time, you can revert back to the original acquired or imported image, even after saving and exiting the program.

Hitting the Edit button from the Edit Record dialog box brings up the photo editing screen. The photo, in its current state, is shown along with controls for adjusting the photo’s color, contrast, and orientation.

Changing the picture colors, contrast, or orientation will also change any copies of the photo in the album.   While this allows you to change the colors without replacing or moving the album photos, care must be taken when rotating photos to ensure the album photo windows remain appropriately sized.

Color Controls

The three sliders on the upper right hand of the Edit dialog control the basic colors of the photo.   The color in all photos can be broken into their red, green, and blue components.  Changing any of the three sliders has an immediate, and rather drastic effect on the photos.  The “restore image” button can be used at any time to revert back to the original image.

Many cameras have a tendency to need a slight color adjustment, particularly in low light.  A color change, a bit less red, for instance, can be made on all subsequently acquired images by setting the colors to make the change, and selecting the “Keep as Camera Defaults” button.

Contrast Controls

Sliders are provided for adjusting both the brightness of the image and its contrast.  Like the color controls, the settings can be applied to all subsequent acquired images by selecting “Keep as camera defaults” button.

Keep as Camera Defaults

The effect of color and contrast changes can be automatically applied to all images acquired in the future.  Selecting the “Keep as Camera Defaults” button applies the currently selected color and contrast changes (but not rotation changes) to all newly acquired photos.

These changes are automatically applied to the photos seen in the Gallery and the photos copied to the album pages.  The photos actually in the Gallery, however, are, of course, the original photos received from the camera.  The original photos can always be recovered by simply selecting the “Restore Image” button, or by using the photo export commands.

Rotation

The four radio buttons can select the orientation the photo is displayed.  Checking 90,  180, or 270 degrees rotates the photo by ¼ turns.  As usual, the effect any rotation can be removed by selecting the “Restore Image” button, or simply by selecting 0 degrees of rotation.

Restore Image

As the previous paragraphs stated, the original, uncorrected photo is always kept in the Gallery database.  Thus if you want to remove the effect of photo edits, including those applied automatically to acquired images, simply select the “Restore Image” button.


Deleting Records in the Photo Gallery
Photo Gallery--Delete

As you might expect, the delete button removes selected records from the database.   To delete a record or group of records, select them, and hit delete.  The traditional "are you sure” dialog appears, and clicking yes will permanently delete those records from the database.  Remember that images displayed on album pages really reside in the database, so removing a record from the database will also remove the associated photo from that album


Hiding Records in the Gallery
Photo Gallery--Hide

The hide command is similar to the delete command, but hide merely hides selected records in the gallery.  The record and all of its data are still in the database, it just doesn’t appear in the gallery.   Hide has no other effect on the photos in the album.


Showing All Records in the Gallery
Photo Gallery--Show All

The “show all” command removes the effect of any previous record hiding in the gallery, or any previous filtering, and all records are shown.  Show all also has no effect on photos in the album.


Filtering Records in the Gallery
Photo Gallery--Filter

The “filter” command allows you to specify which records you would like visible in the Gallery.  This filtering process is key to managing large sets of photos, since it allows you to display in the Gallery only the photos that are currently of interest while still holding all photos in the database.   The Filter command differs from the Find command, discussed below, in that Filtering actually hides all records that do not meet the filtering criteria, while find just places you at the first record that meets the search criteria.

Hitting the Filter button on the right hand side of the Gallery brings up a dialog box to specify the fields and ranges to filter over. PhotoAccessPC allows multiple filters to be applied sequentially to the database.  You may want to, for instance first filter on a “People” field to select all photos containing a particular person, and then apply a date filter to that same set, selecting only photos containing that person taken between specified dates.

PhotoAccessPC filtering uses a quick “fields that match values” format.  A simple example would be “Dates” (the field) that “Equal” (the operator) “11/12/96” (the compare value) to select all records with dates of 11/12/96.

To filter the records, first select the Field Name to limit.  All the field names that are searchable (as defined in the Define Searchable Fields tool from the Custom command) are listed in the pull down menu on the left side of the Filter dialog box. Typing the first letter of the field will move you to that field in the list. The Compare Value box on the right side is where the desired values are typed in.  Note they must be typed in the format appropriate for the field being searched.  Date fields, for instance, would require Compare Values to be entered in the standard MM/DD/YY format.

The available Operators include the following:

=	the Field must be equal to the Compare Value

!=    the Field cannot be equal to the Compare Value

< 	the Field value must be less than the Compare Value

> 	the Field value must be greater than the Compare Value

<=	the Field value must less than or equal to the Compare Value

>=	the Field value must be greater than or equal to the Compare Value

contains	the Field value must contain the Compare Value

excludes	the Field value must not contain the Compare Value

The last two operators, contains and excludes, are typically used on text type fields.  They allow you to search for partial text strings when the spelling or case of the actual data in the text field is not known.

The two buttons on the bottom of the filter dialog box allow you to either apply the currently selected filter to the entire database, thus removing any previous filtering, or to apply the new filtering to the currently filtered set.  When using multiple filters, as in the example of filtering both on person name and date, it is very important to first filter on the entire set, but thereafter select the “Apply to Current Data Set” button, so that the date filter is applied only to the names that match the first filtering.  Any number of multiple filters can be applied, but only if the “Apply to Current Data Set” button is selected after the first filtering operation.


Finding Records in the Gallery
Photo Gallery--Find

The “Find” command finds records matching selection criteria.  The command searches the database and places the user at the first record that meets the selection criteria.  The Find command differs from filtering in that it does not change the records that are visible in the Gallery, it just moves you to the first record in the Gallery that matches your selection criteria.

Hitting the Find button on the right hand side of the Gallery brings up the Find dialog box.  Most of the features and rules used in filtering data apply to the Find command.

PhotoAccessPC uses a quick “fields that match values” format to find records.  A simple example would be “Dates” (the field) that “Equal” (the operator) “11/12/96” (the compare value) to select the first record in the database with a date of 11/12/96.

To find records, first select the Field Name to search on.  All the field names that are searchable (as defined in the Define Searchable Fields tool from the Custom command) are listed in the pull down menu on the left side of the Find dialog box. Typing the first letter of the field will move you to that field in the list.  The Compare Value box on the right side is where the desired values are typed in.  Note they must be typed in the format appropriate for the field being searched.  Date fields, for instance, would require Compare Values to be entered in the standard MM/DD/YY format.

The available Operators include the following:

=	the Field must be equal to the Compare Value

!=    the Field cannot be equal to the Compare Value

< 	the Field value must be less than the Compare Value

> 	the Field value must be greater than the Compare Value

<=	the Field value must less than or equal to the Compare Value

>=	the Field value must be greater than or equal to the Compare Value

contains	the Field value must contain the Compare Value

excludes	the Field value must not contain the Compare Value

The last two operators, contains and excludes, are typically used on text type fields.  They allow you to search for partial text strings when the spelling or case of the actual data in the text field is not known.

When you hit OK from the Find dialog box, you are placed a the first record in the Gallery (from the top, on the current sort order) that matches the search criteria.  No other change to the Gallery is made.

If no record in the Gallery matches the search criteria, a message is displayed to that effect.


Finding Next Record in the Gallery
Photo Gallery--Again

When there is more than one record that matches a Find search criteria, the “Again” can be used to repeat the last find and step through the Gallery.  If there is only one record matching the search, or if there has been no Find command issued since this session PhotoAccessPC of was started, the Again command is not available.


Export Photos
Photo Gallery--Export

The export button allows you to copy photos in the Gallery to disk files.   This allows you to use the photos in other applications.  The Export command is only available when a single record in the Gallery is selected, as most photo file formats only support one image per file.

Choosing Export brings up the standard file selection dialog box.  A filename for the image, and the format for the image, currently limited to either JPEG, TIFF or BMP, must be selected.  The photo for the currently highlighted record will then be written to the file.

When exporting photos to standard disk files, all changes made to the photos color, brightness, and rotation will be included in the photo.  To export the photo as the camera originally took the image, first edit the photo and select Restore image to remove any changes you have added.

Using Export, field information will, of course, be lost.  To write your photo out with its field data intact, or to write more than one photo to a file, choose the Extract command and create a Gallery Exchange Format file.


Extracting Portions of the Database
Photo Gallery--Extract

The Extract command is used to write out a selected portion of your Gallery photos and information to a separate disk file.  This file, written as a Gallery Exchange Format file with the extension .GXF, is in an ASCII form, which makes it easy to distribute through e-mail.  The extracted portions of your Gallery database can then be re-imported into PhotoAccessPC using the Merge command.

The Extract command saves photo and field information for the records currently selected in the Gallery to disk.  ll records selected (highlighted) in the Gallery when Extract is begun will be written.  The fields that are included are those defined by the Define Export Fields command from the Custom menu on the Gallery.

The created GXF file is in ASCII text format, and as such is easy to e-mail.  The files tend to be about twice the size, per extracted record, as the original PhotoAccessPC database files.   Only the selected Gallery information is saved during the extraction process, no album pages are being written to the file.

The extracted GXF files can be read back into PhotoAccessPC with the Merge and re-inserted into the Gallery.   Be aware that in order to merge a GXF file into PhotoAccessPC, the GXF file must either have the same fields defined as the PhotoAccessPC Gallery currently open in or there must be no Gallery currently open in PhotoAccessPC.


Merging Databases
Photo Gallery--Merge

The Merge command reads in GXF files extracted from other PhotoAccessPC databases using the Extractcommand inserts the data in the GXF into the currently opened Gallery.  The GXF files can have any number of records or fields, but in order to be inserted into PhotoAccessPC using Merge one of two conditions must exist.   Either the field definitions in the selected GXF file must exactly match the field definitions currently in the Gallery, or there must be no data currently in the Gallery.

When merging a GXF with a currently opened Gallery containing data, assuming the field names and types are identical, the records in the GXF file will be added to the end of the Gallery.  They will then appear as normal Gallery records.  No change will occur on the Album pages.

When merging data from a GXF file into a blank Gallery, the field definitions for the GXF file will replace the default Gallery field definitions.  The records in the GXF file will then be placed in the Gallery.  No information will appear in the album pages, though once the Merge command is complete, Gallery photos can be placed on the pages as usual.


Find in Layout
Photo Gallery—Find in Layout

The Find in Layout button provides a simple means for finding the location of a particular Gallery photo in the album pages.  Pushing Find in Layout searches the album pages for the photo currently highlighted in the Gallery.  If the photo is found, the album moves to the page the photo is located on.  If there are multiple copies of the photo in the album, a small screen pops up asking you to select which copy of the photo in the album you would like to turn to.  If the highlighted photo is not in the album, a notice to that effect is displayed.

There is a similar command, Find Picture in Gallery that is used on album pages to find where in the Gallery the selected album picture resides.


Setting Up the Gallery
Photo Gallery—Setting Up The Gallery

The Gallery menu item on the main screen contains tools for setting up the gallery and saving the Gallery structure.  From this menu, the database fields are defined, the Gallery display is defined, and the Gallery structure can be saved  for creating future databases with the same or similar structures.


Hide Fields
Photo Gallery--Hide Fields

The hide fields menu item box brings up another dialog box with all the field names for your database.  Clicking on the box next to the field name adds or remove a check mark in the box.   Adding a check mark makes that field visible in the photo gallery image list box and when editing an individual record.  Those without check marks are not visible, but are, of course, still kept in the database.


Edit Database Definition
Photo Gallery—Setup Fields

The structure of the database is modified through the setup fields menu item.  Fields can be modified, added, deleted, or their definition and valid values changed.

Currently defined fields are displayed in a pull down box on the upper left portion of the dialog.  Clicking on the right of the pull down box shows all currently defined fields.

Adding Fields

New database fields can easily be added by clicking the “New Field” button from the edit database dialog.  “New Field” brings up the dialog box for defining the name and properties of the new field.

The field name is entered first, and can be any string.  Very long field names may not display properly in the Gallery.  Date taken, project number, etc. might be common field names.

The type of field, text, numeric, etc. is entered next.   The field types, accessible by left clicking on the arrow on the right side of the field type box are Boolean, comment, date, integer, real number, text, and two time types.   These types, and the way they are used in the database are described below.

Boolean:  True or False field.  Only T or F are allowed

Comment:  A long, multi-line text field for comments

Date:   A date field in the form MM/DD/YY

Integer:   An integer (no decimal) from 0 to 32767

Real Number:  An real number including decimals and exponents

Text:  A single line text field.

Time: HH:MM:SS    A time field including seconds

Time: HH:MM:SS:MMM   A time filed, down to the millisecond

The default value for the field can be entered next.  This feature is very helpful to avoid typing in field values for each record when the field has a common value.  Typing in a default name in a photographer field or a default project code in a project number field are examples.

For integer and real number fields, the minimum and maximum allowed values can also be specified.  The database will only allow entries for these fields within the min and maximum.

Finally, the locked field box can be selected to make it more difficult to accidentally change or delete fields.  Fields created with the locked field box checked can only be edited after supplying a password.  See the password discussion below.  If locked field is not checked, the field can easily (and dangerously) be edited at any time.

Hit OK to accept this field definition.   The field definition can be edited later using the Edit Field command.

Editing Fields

Any field definition can be edited.  After selecting the field from the pull down list, select the Edit button.  If the Edit button is grayed out, first select the Password command as described above.  Editing field definitions is exactly the same process as setting up a field initially, and is described in detail above.

Deleting Fields

Any field can also be deleted.  After selecting the field from the pull down list, select the Delete button.  A warning box will pop up after the delete command, since deleting a field will permanently remove it and an data in that field for each record from the database.  Once the warning box “Yes” is selected, the field is gone and cannot be retrieved.


Save Gallery Structure
Photo Gallery—Save Gallery Structure

The “Save Gallery Structure” menu item allows you to save the current field definition as a new database type.  This database type will be accessible any time you create a new database from the File/New command, or whenever you start PhotoAccess.  Selecting the command brings up a dialog box asking you for the name to save the structure under.

The Gallery structure definition is actually saved in a file with the Galllery structure name and the file extension “.gdf”.  These files are located in a subdirectory of the PhotoAccess installation called “ext”.  These files can be copied from this directory and given to other users.  When the .gdf file is placed in another user’s ext subdirectory under their PhotoAccess main directory, that gallery structure will be available for the new user as well.


Database Structure and Access
Photo Gallery--Database Structure and Access

A single PhotoAccessPC file contains all the database field definitions, and all the photos and associated data.  In addition, this file also carries the definition and formatting of any album pages created.   This single file approach is used both for simplicity for the user and to work around the familiar FAT limitations of Dos and Windows95 that tend to use entire blocks of large hard disks, even for small image files.

Photos are stored in the database in their original imported format.  Photos import as JPEG files, for example, remain compressed in the database and are decompressed on-the-fly each time they are displayed.   Any combination of different image formats can be in the database.   There is no limit to the number of photos of any types that can be put into the database.

Within the database file is a complete directory structure never seen by the users.  The structure contains obvious entries like the images and ancillary data themselves, but also contains the database definition, desired changes to the photos such as color table or rotation changes, and the entire page layout information (like which images are in the album, and what size, and where, etc.).

The database files, which typically have the extension .PAA, are binary files.  They can be copied to any location on your disk, or compressed and decompressed using a variety of third-party programs.  They can also be e-mailed, if you have network software that supports binary e-mail.

This version of PhotoAccessPC may have been shipped with a utility to allow programmers to access the database files, without using PhotoAccessPC. This utility, which is a Dynamic Link Library (DLL) provides the library routines to allow other C programs to open up a database, check its file structure, and retrieve images from the database file.

If your version of PhotoAccessPC  came with this DLL, a readme file, called “DLL readme.txt” will be on the disk and will contain the latest instructions and calling parameters for using the library.


Page Layout Introduction
Page Layout--Introduction

The page layout features of PhotoAccessPC allow you to create photo albums from photos stored in the database Gallery.  The features follow a traditional photo album theme, allowing you to place any number of photos on any number of pages.  Since the album is digital, PhotoAccessPC allows you to add and remove effects such as zooming, cropping, and adding drawing symbols.  Adding photos on album pages does not increase the size of the PhotoAccess file.

Single photo album pages are displayed on the left side of the main PhotoAccessPC screen.   The white area represents a single, 81/2 by 11 inch album page.  Note that it is possible to change the page size by selecting the Print Setup command from the File menu.  Selecting a landscape paper size from the print setup dialog box, for example, changes the layout page to landscape.  Black and white or color print outs are created exactly as these album pages are seen on the screen.  Any number of album pages can be added (or deleted), and any number of photos can be added to any page.  The same photo can even be displayed many different ways on the same page or on different pages.

The photos on the album pages must exist first in the database Gallery.  None, some, or all of your Gallery photos can be place on album pages. When a photo is copied from the Gallery to an album page, it appears to exist on the page in with your desired zooming, cropping, annotation, etc.  In reality, all the photos on the album pages are just representations of the photos in your Gallery.  Copying photos from the Gallery to the album pages does not increase the size of your PhotoAccessPC file, only the codes to re-create each album page exactly as you specified are saved, since the actual photos are always kept in the Gallery.   Feel free to place many photos in your album, and zoom them to any size you wish, since additional album pages do not take up any additional disk space.

The page layout tools depend heavily on the use of the right mouse button.  The functions of the right mouse button are dependent on the operation currently underway.  This allows editing to proceed quickly but may be a bit confusing at first.  Right mouse clicks typically provide options for the currently selected function and the ability to change functions.  Just remember that the function you are looking for is probably accessible from the right mouse button, and the options the right mouse button provides change for different operations.


Getting Around The Album
Page Layout--Getting Around the Album

In a typical PhotoAccess screen, the white portion of the screen is of course, one album page.  The region to the right of the page is a non-printable portion of this page.  Photos can be placed on this dark gray part of the screen, but only the fraction of the photo actually on the album page will print.

Adding Pages

Additional photo album pages can be created two ways.  From the Album pull down menu, selecting the Add Page command places one page following the currently displayed page.  The same command is available on the toolbar as a page symbol with an arrow on it.  Any number of pages can be added to the album.

Deleting Pages

Entire album pages can be deleted.   Again from the Album pull down menu, the Delete Page command removes the currently displayed page.  Note that no warning is given, and even if there are photos on the page, the page will be removed.  The actual photos are, of course, still in the database Gallery.  The toolbar icon for this command is a page symbol with an X on it.

Moving Between Pages

The different pages in the album can be flipped through in two ways.  From the Album menu along the top of the screen, there are Next Page, Previous Page, and Go To Page selections.  There are also icons, drawn as pages with arrows on them, along the toolbar for the next page and previous page functions.

Adding Photos to Pages

All photos for the album pages must first exist in the Gallery.  Photos are placed in the Gallery using either the Import File or Acquire commands, which are discussed in Section 4 of the manual.  To place images on a visible album page, merely select the photo (or photos) in the Gallery with the left mouse button.  Hitting the Add to Page button on the Gallery “copies” all the currently selected Gallery photos to the visible album page.  If more than one photos is selected, the photos are “tiled” into the upper left portion of the album page.  Any number of photos can be placed on a page, and any number of copies of a given photo can be place on a page or in the album.  Adding photos to album pages and adding album pages does not significantly increase the size of the PhotoAccessPC file.

Album Zoom

One of the PhotoAccessPC zoom tools zooms in on the album pages.  The other tool zooms in on photos within a page. The pages are typically displayed so that one page fits on the left side of the screen.  To zoom in on an album page, click the right mouse button when there are no images on the album page selected, and select the Zoom option on the lower half of the pop-up menu. The functions of the right mouse button are dependent on the operation currently underway, so it is important to ensure that no photo is selected when you try and zoom on an album page.  If an image is selected, the zoom tool operates on that image, not the whole page.  When you change pages, the zoom for the album remains, so that page is also zoomed.

Once the album zoom tool is selected, the cursor changes to a magnifying glass.  Select the album page region to zoom into by clicking and dragging the left mouse button over the region you would like displayed.  Actually select the region you want to look at while holding the left mouse button down.  Clicking once with the left mouse button will zoom to the maximum allowable, centered on your click, which may not be the desired effect.

If the album zoom selected exceeds the size of the screen, scroll bars are provide so you can scroll to different areas of the album page.

Fit to Window

The second option on the right mouse button pop-up menu is Fit to Window.  This zoom option resets the album page size back to the default of having one page fit on the left hand side of the screen.

Exiting Album Zoom

Again, a right mouse click while in album zoom brings up zoom options Fit to Window discussed above) and the other functions available to the user.  The only other function available in this context is to exit zooming by returning to the select tool (the arrow cursor).   Choose Select to discontinue zooming.

Album Page Printing

Album pages can be printed to black and white and color printers.  The pages, which already represent 8 ½ by 11 inch album pages, print exactly as you see them on the screen.

The three standard print commands, Print, Print Preview, and Print Setup are available from the File menu on the main pull down menus.   Print brings up the standard Windows95 dialog box appropriate for your currently selected printer.  Print Preview shows you exactly how your printouts should look, and is capable of displaying two pages at once.  Print Setup starts the standard Windows95 printer selection process.

The quality of PhotoAccessPC printouts is highly dependent on your printer.  Modern laser and color printers are capable of representing your photos well, however quite a bit of “tweaking” is typically necessary.  Obviously, using the printers “photo friendly” settings such as error diffusion (random scatter), and color matching, and adjusting the printer contrast are important.


Photo Manipulation
Page Layout--Photo Manipulation

Photos placed on album pages can be moved, enlarged, cropped, and deleted by working with them on the album pages.  Changing the photos colors, brightness, and orientation can be done in the layout or done by selecting the photo in the Gallery and editing it.   Changes made to the pictures in the Gallery automatically appear on the photos in the album.

Selecting and Moving Photos

A photo or other object is selected by clicking the left mouse button on it.  Many object can be selected by left click dragging the select cursor (the arrow) around them.  To move the photo or object, place the arrow cursor near the edge of a selected photo.  The cursor will automatically change to a hand symbol, indicating you are in move mode.   When the cursor turns to the hand symbol, hold the left  mouse button down and drag the image to another location on the album page.

Photos, text, and rectangles can be moved anywhere on the page.   Photos moved off the page are only visible when they are selected, and are portrayed by a dashed line at other times.  Photos and portions of photos off the page will not be printed.

Groups of objects can be selected and moved together by dragging a box around all the objects when the select tool (arrow) is in use.

Objects (photos or text or rectangles) can be placed in front of or behind other objects by selecting objects and using the Move Selection commands from the Graphics menu on the main screen.

Deleting Photos

Deleting a photo from the album page is easy, simply select the photo and hit the delete key on the keyboard.  Deleting a photo from the album does not the effect the photo in the Gallery.  The Gallery photo can still be re-copied to the album pages at any time.

Resizing Photos

The frames that the album page photos are in can be resized independently of the size of the photo.  It is possible to make the frame much smaller than the photo or much larger.  If the frame is smaller than the photo, scroll bars appear when the photo is selected, so that you may move any portion of the photo to be displayed within the frame.  If the frame is larger than the photo, white space fills in the frame around the picture.

To change a photo frame size, first select the photo.  Next, move the cursor to the edge of the select frame, so that the cursor changes to a double arrow.  The cursor will change to the double arrow when placed over the small white rectangles that are on the select frame.  With the cursor as a double arrow, hold down the left mouse button and drag the frame to the desired size.

Photo Zooming

The magnification of a photo within the frame can be changed with photo zooming.  This zoom tool is different then the Album Zoom, discussed above, in that this zoom only effects the magnification of the currently selected photo.

To zoom a photo, first select the photo.   With the photo selected, click the right mouse button.   Select the zoom tool from the pop up list of available tools.  This changes the cursor to a magnifying glass when the cursor is again placed within the photo.  Left mouse clicks will then magnify the photo.  Note that if you place the cursor on the select frame, it again returns to either the select tool  (arrow) for moving the frame and moving the scroll bars or the re-sizing tool (double arrow) for re-sizing the frame.

When using the zoom tool, another right mouse click will give you the option to fit the photo to the frame option to discontinue zooming and return to the other tools. Fit to Window  changes the photo size to best fit the current frame size.  The easiest way to make a tiny photo, for instance, is to make the photo’s frame very small, and select the Fit to Window command from the zoom tools.

Photos that have been zoomed such that they do not fit within their frame are provided with scroll bars for selecting the portion of the photo to display.  These scroll bars disappear when the photo is not longer selected, so they do not show up in your album.

Photo Editing

When a photo is selected, a small rectangle appears in the upper left hand corner of the photo.  Clicking on this small corner brings up several options, including the option to Edit the Picture Info.  Choosing this option brings up the photo editing dialog box just like the one available from the Gallery for editing field content, and picture colors, contrast and orientation.  See the Gallery section for details.


Find Photo In Gallery
Page Layout—Find Picture in Gallery

When a photo is selected, a small rectangle appears in the upper left hand corner of the photo.  Clicking on this small corner brings up several options, including the Find Picture in Gallery that, not surprisingly, finds the currently selected album photo in the Gallery.  The Gallery is paged so you can see the selected photo, and the photo is highlighted in the Gallery.

There is a similar tool Find in Layout, for finding layout pictures from the Gallery.


Text and Rectangles
Page Layout—Text and Rectangles

Text and boxes can be placed anywhere on photo album pages.  Text objects can only be a single line, though they can have any size, font, color and orientation.  Rectangles can be any size and color.   Text blocks and rectangles appear on the album pages as objects, just like the photos.  When selected, they can be re-sized and deleted in much the same way as the photos.

Note that there is a subtle difference between placing text on a blank spot on an album page or even over a photo versus placing text in a photo.  The commands work the same but the Image Text command, available when a photo is selected, places the text object within the photo object and the Text command, available when no photo is selected, places the text object within the album page.  This difference is the same for the other Page Layout tools.

To place text, change the cursor to the text tool (a vertical line for the cursor) by right clicking the mouse on an album page when no objects are selected.  This pops up the menu for the album tools, and choosing text changes tool the text tool.  You then left click anywhere on the album page, and a window appears to type your text in.  Type in the window, choose OK, and the text appears on the album page where your left mouse click was.

When the text tool is being used, another right click brings up many alignment, font, and text rotation options. Selecting the font setup also allows you to change the default text size and color.  These text options all change the default setting for the next text boxes that are created.

Text boxes that are already placed can be edited.  To edit placed text, you first must select the text with the arrow (select tool).  If you are using the text tool, you must right click and choose the select tool.  With the to text to edit highlighted, another right click brings up options for editing the text, or editing the text font.  Note that the text alignment and orientation cannot be edited once the text is place.

Rectangles are placed in a similar fashion.  Right click on an album page and choose the rectangle tool, which changes the cursor to a crosshair.  Another right click with then allow you to change the fill color for the rectangle.   To place a rectangle, just left click and drag the mouse over the region to contain the rectangle.

Default font styles for text and file and line styles for rectangles can be set from the Attributes menu items on the Graphics menu item on the main menu bar.