This TechNote describes how to prepare files and create an Aldus Fetch Browser catalog. The procedures assume that you are familiar with creating and updating Fetch catalogs as described in the Aldus Fetch User Guide, with the product issues described in the two ReadMe files that accompany the retail product, and with mastering CDROMs. In addition, you should be familiar with ResEdit, pnot resources, and the Aldus Fetch Converter (which converts Type 2 catalogs to Type 1). We recommend that you read this file carefully before you create your catalog and master your CDROM and that you print and keep it with your Aldus Fetch User Guide.
If you have any questions about the procedures or about obtaining and using specific software, call the Aldus Developer╒s Desk at 206-628-6593 between 9:00am and 5:00pm PST, Monday through Friday.
Before you create your Browser catalog, you need to prepare your files and folders by naming them in a particular way, by adding keywords, and by creating any necessary thumbnails. Preparing the files will help to ensure that your users find and view files more efficiently.
Ñ Naming files and folders
File and folder names can affect the order in which items are cataloged and can make your keyword list more useful. When you catalog the contents of a folder, Fetch catalogs the files in alphabetical order. Therefore, if you want the files cataloged in a particular order, give them names that force them to appear in that order. (Items retrieved by a search always appear in the Gallery window in the order they were added to the catalog. Users can temporarily re-order the items within the window using the commands on the View menu.)
Also, because Fetch can extract filenames and folder names to use as keywords in the catalog (you can set this option in the ╥Add/Update Options╙ dialog box), using descriptive names for individual files and their folders can add useful keywords to a catalog.
As you name your files and folders, also keep the following restrictions in mind:
- Volume names: The volume name is displayed beneath each thumbnail in the Gallery and Pasteboard windows (Thumbnail view). Volume names longer than 20 characters may be truncated. If you create a long volume name, check the catalog to see if the entire name is visible.
- Folder names: The Apple Alias Manager 7.01 limits folder names to 27 characters.
- File names: Long filenames will also be truncated in the Gallery and Pasteboard windows. If you do not want the names to be truncated, follow the same rule as for volumes ╤ check the catalog after you create it. If long filenames are important to you, put unique information at the beginning of the name where it will always be visible.
- Aliases: Do not include aliases to other volumes within your folder hierarchy. Fetch catalogs the aliases, but users will not be able to preview any of the files because the volume will not be there once users mount the CDROM disc on their own computers. Also, make sure that all the items you catalog reside on the same volume. You can view a list of volumes within a catalog by selecting the ╥Volumes╙ command in the Admin menu.
Ñ Adding keywords and descriptions
Fetch lets you add keywords and descriptions to items in a catalog. Each catalog item can have an unlimited number of keywords (each up to 31 characters long) and a single description (up to 32,000 characters long). Keywords help users search a large catalog, while descriptions let you include information about each item, such as the owner of a photo, copyright information, or a telephone number for ordering.
You can add keywords and descriptions to individual files by using an application called ResEdit, or you can add keywords and descriptions to the Fetch catalog by using Fetch itself. If you want to make keywords and descriptions a permanent part of each file, you need to use ResEdit. If the Fetch catalog is rebuilt or recreated, these permanent keywords and descriptions remain in the files. Permanent keywords and descriptions appear in italics in the catalog and cannot be edited by users even if user editing of keywords and descriptions is permitted. For information about obtaining and using ResEdit, call the Aldus Developer╒s Desk at 206-628-6593.
Keywords and descriptions added using Fetch are a part of the catalog only (and are lost if you or your user builds a new catalog using the same files). Such keywords and descriptions appear in normal type in the catalog and can be edited by users if you permit user editing of keywords and descriptions. Fetch lets you add keywords and descriptions in two ways:
- as you catalog, by checking the options ╥Edit Keywords╙ and ╥Edit Descriptions╙ in the ╥Add/Update Options╙ dialog box.
- after you catalog, by selecting an item, then choosing ╥Keywords╙ or ╥Description╙ from the Edit menu.
Ñ Creating thumbnails for unsupported file types
If you have an item that does not already have a thumbnail (for example, an unsupported file type such as MacroMedia Director), you can create a special thumbnail. To do so, first create a PICT preview (for example, using a screen capture program to capture a representative frame), then attach the preview to the file using a pnot resource. For details on using the PNOT resource, call the Aldus Developer's Desk at (206) 626-6593.
CREATING THE CATALOG
Once your files are organized and appropriately named and you have added keywords and descriptions, you are ready to create the catalog. To create the catalog, follow the steps below:
1. Give your hard drive a temporary name that is different from the name you want for the CDROM. It is very important to make this temporary name different from the name of the CDROM.
2. Launch the retail version of Fetch from your Macintosh desktop.
3. Choose ╥New╔╙ from the File menu. When prompted, enter a name for the catalog, then click ╥Save.╙
4. Choose ╥Add/Update Items╔╙ from the Admin menu. In the ╥Add/Update Options╙ dialog box, choose the settings you want. Make sure to record the settings you use. When you update the catalog later in mastering the CDROM, you will need to use the exact same settings.
For a summary of the options available in the ╥Add/Update Options╙ dialog box, refer to page 54 of the Aldus Fetch User Guide. For additional information, use Balloon Help when the ╥Add/Update Options╙ dialog box is open. Additional guidelines follow.
Thumbnails: You can choose 1-, 8-, or 32-bit thumbnails, or any combination of these options. If the items within the catalog require QuickTime for playing or previewing, we recommend that you create only 32-bit thumbnails. This provides the best quality of thumbnails while keeping the catalog as small as possible.
Compression Setting: We strongly recommend that you set the ╥Compressor Type╙ option to ╥Best Overall.╙ In most cases, this setting will perform better in terms of both speed and resulting size. If, for a thumbnail that has subtle gradients, ╥Best Overall╙ produces a banding effect, try using ╥High Quality╙ compression on the file. Update the catalog with just that file, using the ╥Update Unconditionally╙ modification method.
Extract Thumbnails: All source files except movies should be cataloged with the ╥Extract Thumbnails╙ option checked (this is the default). Movies should be cataloged separately from other items, with the ╥Extract Thumbnail╙ option unchecked. Movies must also be updated separately. If you have "Extract Thumbnail" checked for a movie file, a smaller QuickTime-generated thumbnail (80x80 pixels) will be stored instead of the 120x120 pixel thumbnail that Fetch generates.
NOTE: If you are cataloging movies and other types of source files in the same catalog, we recommend that you start by cataloging all files, regardless of type, in the order you want them to appear in the catalog, with the ╥Extract Thumbnail╙ option checked. Then, to generate proper thumbnails for the movies, choose ╥Add/Update Items╔╙ from the Admin menu; set the ╥Modification Method╙ to ╥Update Unconditionally,╙ uncheck ╥Extract Thumbnail,╙ and uncheck all file types in the list box except ╥QuickTime Movie.╙ Then update the catalog.
5. If you want to add keywords and descriptions using Fetch, do so now following the procedures on pages 63-67 of the Aldus Fetch User Guide.
6. If you want to prevent users from editing keywords or descriptions, choose ╥Privileges╔╙ from the Admin menu. In the ╥Privileges╙ dialog box, uncheck the ╥Keywords╙ option, the ╥Description╙ option, or both.
7. Delete all extraneous volume names from the catalog using the ╥Volumes╔╙ command in the Admin menu.
8. Delete all extraneous file types from the catalog using the "Preferences" command in the Edit Menu.
9. Once all files are in their final location, update the catalog. If the catalog contains references to movie files, use the special steps described earlier in this file to make sure that the movie thumbnails are as large as possible in the Gallery window.
10. Check updated catalog links by double-clicking on thumbnails to confirm that Fetch can find the original files without issuing a prompt.
11. This step is optional. If you would like to create an export file of the catalog, use the "Export" command from the Admin menu. An export file of the catalog can be imported by your users into Fetch and merged with a previously created catalog. Though users can create their own export file, this process can take a significant amount of time for large catalogs. The export file that you include would be a courtesy to your users, to save them time.
CUSTOMIZING YOUR CATALOG
You can customize your catalog after creating it by adding a custom splash screen.
If you want a custom splash screen to appear whenever users open your catalog, start by creating a custom image using the template provided (Photoshop PICT file). Although the splash screen can be in any bit depth you want, using an 8-bit depth indexed to the System palette yields the smallest size file with the highest quality image.
If you convert the splash screen from 8-bit color to RGB in Photoshop, then you need to save it as 8-bit indexed to the system palette. Otherwise, since Fetch uses a color look-up table to draw the startup screen, the colors could be translated improperly.
If you need to conserve disk space, you can compress the image using Picture Compressor from Apple (users will need to have QuickTime to view a compressed splash screen). Then use ResEdit (or a similar application) to edit the Fetch catalog that you have just created. Add a PICT resource number 128 to the catalog and paste your splash screen into the PICT resource.
MASTERING THE CDROM
Once you have the catalog exactly as you want it, you are ready to master the CDROM. To master the CDROM you will actually need to create two CDROMs. The first CDROM acts as temporary storage to redirect the pointers in the Fetch catalog; the second CDROM is the one you will use to replicate the CDROMs for your users. To master the CDROM, follow the steps below:
1. Defragment your hard drive and reset your desktop. Follow normal procedures for preparing your master hard drive to make a master of a CDROM disc.
2. Ensure that the Fetch Browser, your Fetch catalog, your source files, the export file (optional), and anything else you want (such as a ReadMe file) are on the master hard drive. If you change anything, make sure to update the catalog again.
3. Set the Finder windows the way you want them to appear when opened up on the user's hard drive.
4. Make the Desktop folder and the Trash Can invisible by using ResEdit under System 7.
5. Build a 6.0 Desktop file by mounting the hard drive on System 6.
6. Rename the master hard disk the exact same name you want the CDROM to be named.
7. Master the CDROM disc. Using your CDROM writing software, make an image of your hard drive as it is exactly. At this point, the Fetch catalog on the CDROM points to the source files that are on the master hard disk.
8. Mount the newly mastered CDROM disc on a computer that has access to the master hard disk.
9. Update the Fetch catalog on the hard disk so that it points to the files on the CDROM that you just mastered. Do this by starting Fetch on the hard drive and opening the catalog. Then select all the files and/or folders on the CDROM and drag them over the Fetch application (the application will be highlighted). When the Add/Update dialog box appears, choose Update as the modification method. Also make sure that the settings for thumbnail type, compressor criteria, and compressor type are exactly the same as the settings you chose when creating the catalog (you recorded these selections in Step 4 of Creating the Catalog). When you have finished choosing the settings, press Continue. The files will then be automatically updated to the new volume, which is now the CDROM. In the Modification Status window, the total number of examined items should equal the total number of updated items.
10. Delete the listing of the hard drive volume by using the Volumes... command in the Admin menu.
11. Use the Aldus Fetch Converter to convert the catalog on the hard disk from type 2 to type 1. For information about obtaining and using the Aldus Fetch Converter, call the Aldus Developer╒s Desk at 206-628-6593.
12. Master a second and final CDROM. The catalog on the CDROM will now point to the files on the CDROM. Use this second CDROM to replicate CDROMs for your users.
13. Test the second CDROM. It is important to test the CDROM on a computer that does not have access to the original source files. Copy the catalog from the CDROM to a hard drive, dismount the CDROM, and then start Fetch by double-clicking the catalog icon. Check to make sure that Fetch prompts you to mount the CDROM and that it can correctly locate the source files when you try to preview or print items.
