This is about using the free application GraphicConverter to manage images. The advantage from this approach is that GC uses international standards not proprietary features, so images should be archived well and available in the future even when current software has expired.
Getting Graphic Converter
Note that there are professional versions of the software but the free version is adequate. Once downloaded, each time you open the application, you will have to wait for few seconds for it to work if you do not choose to pay for the software. Either way, it is top-quality and safe to use! You can safely download GC from https://www.lemkesoft.de/en/products/graphicconverter/download
Note that a very comprehensive Reference Manual is also available for free.
How to work
Browse images using the GC browser - open the GC browser and choose the folder with the images.
Find duplicate files - p 296
To find duplicate files, open a browser window with File / Browse. Select Edit / Find, compare and replace / Find duplicate files... to search for duplicates in the folder currently displayed including all subfolders. You can then delete any files you do not need.Adding descriptions using IPTC standard - page 49
When you are working with smaller quantities of pictures, it is easier to select the pictures in the browser and modify the IPTC info via the IPTC dialog, which you can call up with Command-I. Alternatively, you can copy all of the IPTC information with Edit / Copy / Copy IPTC and paste it into one or more pictures with Edit / Paste / Paste IPTC.
Add descriptions by clicking on the image and then pressing Ctrl-i in the usual way .To copy the same IPTC to a bunch of files, open and copy the text, select the target files and open them, press ctrl-i and then paste the IPTC.
Create Photo Albums for the Web/Internet - p 87
The software developed for publications on the Web (Internet) is useful in a number of situations. By making a small 'website' of your pics, you make something that anyone can access with their standard browser - for example, if I work on the folder of images, I can delete duplicates etc, write up descriptions, then ask GC to make me a small 'website' from those pics (see below), and share the website by sharing the folder made by GC.
The easy way is to use the GC Browser and click on FILE>CATALOG>HTML and then choose the folder of images you want organised into a small 'website'.
Selecting the Appropriate Picture Format
Only pictures in PNG, GIF and JPEG formats are used on the World Wide Web. All four formats are heavily compressed so that the Internet pages are displayed quickly to the viewer. Pictures in JPEG format can either have 16.7 million colors or 256 grayscales. JPEG format is therefore particularly suitable for photos. GIF format can only display 2 to 256 colors and is specialized in achieving higher compression rates for pictures such as pictograms, symbols and all pictures with sharp edges, for example, comics.
Note: this next bit is for experts! If you don't feel 'expert' try with the simple settings and see what you get!
When preparing pictures for the Internet, you should leave ColorSync enabled. Please remember though to enable the Merge color profile into image (for web usage) and remove Exif option when saving with the file selection dialog. Most internet browsers display images without profiles therefore you have to merge the profile corrections into the image.
Display Picture from Top to Bottom
There are different types of JPEG format as there are with GIF and PNG formats that you can select in the Save as... dialog with Options....
All three formats provide the option for pictures to be opened progressively from top to bottom in the browser with the final resolution. Alternatively the display can be selected from unsharp to sharp with the complete picture being shown straightaway.
Set the Row Order to normal for picture build-up from top to bottom independent of the format versions 87a and 89a for GIF format. The Progressive option must be dis-abled for JPEG format. The No Row Order option needs to be selected for PNG pictures.
Display Content from Low to High Resolution
Save your pictures for this display type
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in JPEG format and enable the Progressive option in the Save as... dialog under Options... or
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in GIF format and switch the Row Order option to Interlaced in the Save as... dialog under Options..., or
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in PNG format and enable the Adam 7 option in the Save as... dialog.
Note that not all WYSIWYG HTML editors can process every variant when you are creating Web sites.
File Format and Compression Rate
Use JPEG, GIF or PNG formats for the Internet and select the Save web ready (without resource) option in the file selection option.
(image missing) leave blank, Create LOWSRC,Make filename ready for the web,and Merge color... Tick the other three and save
The resource contains, for example, the preview picture that is displayed by the macOS but does not have a function on the Internet. Files without a resource are approximately 40 kB smaller than the same file with a resource. When you are working with small pictures about 40 kB, for example, saving with a resource would double the size of the file. If you check the file size in the Finder, it may often show the old value from before editing because the Finder even tends to be very slow on the fastest computers. One trick to update a Finder window is switching back and forth between the list and the icon display.
Do not forget to disable this option during the next save procedure if you are working on pictures for other purposes.
Make filename ready for the web changes the current filename upon saving so that it can be used on Internet servers without problems: Spaces are changed to the underscore character, special characters are replaced and all letters are written in lowercase. For example, “Next Field.jpg“ becomes “next_field.jpg”. You cannot see the changes in the file selection dialog because the text in the entry box cannot be changed. The saved file will have the modified name, however.
Minimizing JPEG Pictures
You can set a quality level when you save pictures in JPEG format. Select File / Save as... in the file selection option, set JPEG/JFIF as the format and click Options.... The lower the quality, the smaller the file. Data reduction is used in addition to data compression particularly for low quality levels. The dialog for selecting the quality opens automatically after you click Save unless you disabled this.
When looking at a preview, you should select Merge coclr profile into image because otherwise the browser might display it too dull.
Creating your picture collection
Create a folder, perhaps on a memory stick, and copy images into it. You may hve subfolders of images and even videos. To copy an image hold down the option key while you drag it.
Display the content of your folder in the GC browser. Clean out duplicates etc.
Display the content of your picture folder in the browser and click a picture. Select all pictures with Command-A. If you only want to use a few of the pictures in your album, select the ones you want while holding down the Shift key.
Now click the Catalog-Icon in the browser. Select HTML... in this menu.
Enter a filename with the extension .html. For photos we recommend selecting the Always JPEG option under Image and Thumbnail file format. Set JPEG Quality. Use the General button to set the number of images in rows etc.
Then enable Merge Profile into Thumbnail if you want to show images with profiles in a Web catalog since this includes the profile in the image.
Click OK to create the Internet pages and pictures.
GraphicConverter now creates one or more HTML pages and two folders for the pre- view pictures and the linked large pictures. If several overview pages are created, Graph- icConverter inserts links at the bottom of the pages so you can switch to the next or pre- vious page.
Copy the files and folders created on your Web server and set, for example, a link to the first catalog page of your homepage.