Apple Frequently Asked Questions About Aperture - Manual (Page 4)

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What’s the difference between a folder, a project, and an album?
You use folders to organize groups of projects and albums. For example, you might
create folders to hold the projects you shoot for a long-term client or for a specific type
of image, such as shots of sporting events or weddings. You can create folders at the
top level of the Projects panel and inside projects. Folders only hold projects and
albums; you cannot place images directly in folders.
Projects hold your digital master files and image versions created from those files. You
import images into projects. If a project has many images that need subdividing, you
can create albums within a project. When you delete a project, you delete the digital
master files that it holds.
Albums hold only image versions, not master files. You can have as many albums within a
project as you need. You can create albums in folders, in projects, and at the top level of
the Projects panel. When you delete an album, only the image versions it contains are
deleted. The corresponding digital master files (that reside in a project) are not deleted.
What’s a good way to organize my projects to handle large numbers of images?
How you organize your images depends largely on the type of photography you do.
Because it’s more difficult to navigate through large numbers of images in a single
project, it’s a good idea to keep images divided into many small projects and albums,
as opposed to large projects that hold thousands of images. Organizing images in
smaller projects and albums can make scrolling and searching for images easier.
Where are my digital master files?
When you first import an image, the digital master file is placed in a project. The
thumbnail image that appears in the Browser is a representation of the digital master file.
If you make changes to the image, the thumbnail displays the changes, but it also remains
connected to the original master file. You can move a digital master file by dragging the
thumbnail to a different project. If you drag the thumbnail to a different album, the digital
master file stays in the same place, and only a version is copied into the album.
On your computer’s hard disk, your digital master files reside in the Aperture Library
file. By default, this file is located in your Pictures folder (although you can specify a
different location if you wish). You should never open your Aperture Library file in the
Finder to access your images. If you need to use the files outside of your Aperture
system, select and export the images you need. Opening the Library file in the Finder
and making changes could render the Library unusable by Aperture.