PSE Scrappers:
 

Do you use the project bin to drag onto/off of your layout?
I'm working on the handout for a digi class that I'm teaching next week and I've been working on the step by step, trying to make sure everything makes sense. I've been looking at some other tutorials, trying to make sure what I'm doing seems clear, etc.

Anyway, I came across this one http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IFJrYYhh4PE and she opens things using FILE/OPEN and then drags the element down into the project bin onto her layout. I've NEVER done this before, never even thought to. Maybe because I started years ago with Photoshop and there was no bin. I've always floated my windows and dragged my papers and elements in from the computer's folder, then dragged them from their window onto my layout canvas. In PSE 10 (which I just upgraded to recently) I found that I actually had to change my preferences to allow "floating windows" in order to do this. To me, dragging and dropping everything is so much simpler.

Which do you think is easier? I like to be able to drag and drop from my computer files into PSE (rather than having to do FILE/OPEN on every one), which you can't do if your windows are not floating. That *seems* easier to me, but I don't know if that other way would maybe be simpler for newbies.

Thanks for any input!

I do it like in the video, although I only watched the first couple of minutes. ;)

Yeah, that was all it takes. I just didn't know if my explanation made sense. If most people do that, I should probably teach it that way! Thanks for responding :)

I do it the opposite way. I have my paper open and drag my ellies onto the paper. And I don't go to File>Open to get my stuff. I just drag and drop from my folders.

Did that make sense?

Yes! I was thinking that way was easier, to pull up from the project bin onto your layout. But if your main canvas that you have open is maximized (vs. floating) then it doesn't let you drag and drop into PSE? (At least mine is not letting me) so do you have your big selected window maximized when you're doing that?

Umm. I must have, I guess. I'm not at home right now, but if you mean that I don't have everything floating on my canvas, just down in the bin, then yes. I just have my BG only in my canvas area.

When I have the background only in the main window, it doesn't let me drag and drop onto the workspace or the bin, only if I float the windows...

Nope I don't do it that way, I'm a copy and paster!! I use ACDSee so I place everything I want in it's photo bin and then select it all and drag it into PSE all at once. Then I CTRL+C and then CTRL+V each thing I want on to my page all at once. Then I hide layers and start at the bottom and work on building my page from the bottom up!!!

I wish I could drag "UP" from the photo bin but I can't in my version (PSE6), it creates this wierd gray background and when I googled it it said something about it creates a "frame" with all the info and becomes a "smart object" and PSE does not support that!!! :glare:

I hated PSE 6 for that very reason!!! I ditched it long ago! lol I am on PSE 10 and I use the bin - that's the only way I've ever known to do it (drag from the bin onto my layout)...but you gals are making me curious so I may have to try out different ways.

Well, crap. I changed my preferences to not allow floating so I could try this way and see if it was easier. As I mentioned, the only thing I didn't like was not being able to drag and drop from my files onto my workspace. Well, now I switched back to floating and I can't drag and drop anymore. Anyone know how to fix that?

I use the photo bin (PSE 9). I also use ACDSee to bring the papers/elements/whatever I'm using into PSE. (the shortcut to do that is ctrl alt x) You also have to have Elements set up as the default editor in ACDSee to do that. I like being able to view everything in ACDSee better than in the windows folders view.

When I was in PSE.......(version 6-9)

I went to file>open> to the kit> selected all I wanted and hit "Open". (I usually brought in all papers first.....once I was done with them then I would close all of them. Then I would do the same process for all the ellies I wanted, then alpha, ect.)

Then once everything was loaded into PSE then I clicked the top of my workspace where I just made it one item showing at a time. The item I always had showing was whatever project I was working on (usually a template). THen I would just drag items from my workbin to that project.

I hope that makes sense.

Now in 10, it has tabs up top of the canvas with all the file names. At least that's how it is for me. I can drag and drop into the program, and I can drag up from the bin. I have no idea why or why not I can do this, as far as settings.

I drag all the papers and element into PSE (I NEVER use file>open) and then drag things into my layout from the photo bin. Although papers are really slow that way so I drag the papers just from their window to my layout window. I keep everything floating though.

I drag and drop also.....it's so much faster. And I am working on two screens, that also helps in this case.
I also have photos first, then all papers, then alpha, then embellies!

Has anyone ever had their drag and drop stop working? I unchecked floating windows for a while and ever since I changed that, I can't drag and drop into PSE. I can't figure out how to fix it.

That is what I do as well. I have never really even tried to use the bin. Maybe I should. Maybe it would save me a whole lotta time! Then again if it ain't broken why fix it ;)

I have PSE8, although I am thinking of updating to PSE10 so I can make my own text paths...

Anyway, my routine is, I'll go into my documents library where I keep my scrapping files. Then click on the files I want. The files will automatically open in PSE. Then I minimize the files. They show up in the bin. Then I will drag the files UP from the bin onto the page I'm working on. The file name then stays on the layer, too.

It's probably a clunky way to manage it but it's what's been working for me.

I actually really miss the bin since switching to CS5... I would have my blank canvas or template in the upper left corner of the bin then I would open up the papers and then go back and open up the elements... I LOVED that I could see the whole kit at once... I tried floating windows on CS5 and it drove me absolutely nuts... I think it's just personal preference to how we learn... There are so many ways of doing it so I think we all probably gravitate to doing it the way we were taught. Since I'm a one kit scrapper I liked it this way... And it really isn't any different... I could still highlight every element I wanted in the bin and drag it all at once to the layout and really do all the same things that you would do with floating windows.

I wouldnt worry too much about how you teach it - but just mention that this is ONE way to do it and that there are other ways that they can discover that might be more comfortable for them. As we can see from this thread...there is ALWAYS more than one way to do things! :)

Or...give options when you teach! Mention more than one method. As long as you are comfortable with both, you can teach them both. Good luck!!