Aperture Tutorial: Your Partner in Pictures
Step 7: A whole new world is brought to life when you press the F key. You are taken from the standard view into Full Screen View, entering a blacked-out environment — but one in which all the previous functionality is still available. With the whole area of the screen at your disposal, this is the best approach when looking to zoom in on images at 100%.
Step 8: View an image at 100% in its entirety by pressing Z. This means you’ve now got a couple of options for getting around the image. To the right-hand side is the Navigator. Click and drag the red rectangle to move the image around. Alternatively, with the pointer anywhere on the image, press the Spacebar and click. The pointer becomes a hand and you can drag the image. Also remember that when you’re zoomed in you can still operate the Loupe tool and examine other images in the Filmstrip at the same time.
Step 9: Press Z once more to move back out to see the whole image, and then move your pointer to a part of the image you’d like to view in more detail — you don’t have to click. Now press Z and you’re taken straight to that point at 100%.
Step 10: The Filmstrip has live controls that give you far greater functionality than just scrolling around in the normal way. Using the Shuttle control at the bottom left of the screen allows you to find your way through large numbers of images in the Filmstrip at whatever speed you like. But it really comes into its own when you control the Shuttle — use the keyboard shortcuts and it becomes an addictive tool. J and L give you movement left and right across the Filmstrip.
You don’t need to keep the keys held down either — it keeps on moving like a movie. Press K to stop the Filmstrip motion. However, the fun doesn’t end there. Tap away at L and the speed of movement increases. Start hitting J and it slows down. Or vice versa depending on your direction of movement. Remember there’s always K in the middle to bring everything to a halt.
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Jonathan Briggs is a former MD of The Association of Photographers (AOP). Now a director of Magic Bean — a company set up to offer technical training and event logistics for companies working within the creative industry — Briggs has over ten years’ experience working with Macs and associated software across the design, imaging and photographic sectors. This series of guides offers a real-world user perspective on how you can get the most out of Aperture.