Rebecca, thanks for starting this thread! I love learning about the different approaches everyone takes to managing their digital supplies.
After years of trial and error, I've finally got a system that works really well for me. (I'm on a PC, and I work with Lightroom and Photoshop.)
When I get a new kit, after the unzip, I do the following:
1. Delete all TOU & thank-you images, plus TXT files and PDFs.
2. Use Lightroom to quickly add the following metadata keywords to every file:
- designer name
- kit name
- store name
3. Use Lightroom to quickly add detailed keywords to the Preview image(s) only for things like colors & themes.
4. Then I move all the files into the master folder for the designer.
So my Kristin Cronin-Barrow folder, for example, has 49,732 files in it. Every file for every kit and product I've ever bought from her.
Then I can use the Search bar in Windows Explorer to look for something like PREVIEW CHRISTMAS and it will pull up all 78 preview images in her folder tagged with Christmas. I can add the word BLUE to the search and it narrows it down to the previews for her Christmas products that are blue. When I pick the one I want, I type in the kit name - like ADIFFERENTKINDOFCHRISTMAS - and all 260 files for that kit appear.
No fuss, no muss, no endless kit and product subfolders to deal with.
And the benefit of having all the products for a designer in one folder is this: if I'm working on a layout and the kit I'm using doesn't have an item I need, like a ribbon, I have easy access to every item I own by that designer in one place so the style will match and I don't have to dig through endless folders. I just type "ribbon" in the search window and because the designers are so good about how they name their files, up come the 900 ribbons from every kit I own from KCB.
Little different approach ... it's the one I've found works really well for me!
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