Ahh, to be organized. Everything in it’s place. The minimalist life. An uncluttered office makes for an uncluttered mind.

Well, that’s not my life as much as I constantly try to make it so. There is however, an often overlooked little diddy in Aperture to help simplify your photographic life.

It’s the “Favorite Projects” feature which allow you to choose specific projects to unclutter the projects tab for a more “zen” Aperture interface.

I do a lot of presentations using Aperture. I love the flexibility to move through a library and create instant slideshows with music and the work really sings in full screen mode.

But depending on who I'm presenting to and the time allotted, I will tailor the content to suit the audience. I select projects (or albums within them) I plan to show, making them "favorite projects" so only those favorite projects are visible in the project pane. It’s cleaner and less confusing for me.

Contemplating a messy projects pane. Photo Copyright Steve Simon

When I combine the “All Projects” view with Favorite Projects, it gives the audience a bit of a preview into what they will see, since the Key image of your choice represents that project. In Favorite Projects view, only those faves you designate will turn up in All Projects view.

it’s always fun to scroll through the images contained within the project simply by placing the cursor over the project icon and move the mouse or your finger on the trackpad, across the image to quickly scroll through pictures in that project. While scrolling, if you come across a better Key image, just press the space bar and you’ve created a new project icon.

It's easy to designate a favorite project, simply click on that project and click "add to favorites" from the pull-down menu.

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