Installing and Launching Youpix

Youpix consists in a single file, that you may save anywhere on your computer : in a dedicated folder or (recommended) directly on the "Desktop".

Windows users:

For launching Youpix: double-click the Youpix icon.

For creating a shortcut to Youpix, on the "desktop": right-click the Youpix file, and select "sent to...Desktop".

To add Youpix to the start menu of Windows: create a shortcut on the desktop, and drag it to the Start button.

Linux users:
Type the following command:
java -jar youpix_11.jar (pour la version 1.1 de youpix)

Opening Photos, Selecting Photos

To open pictures : click, a file chooser window appears. Choose a picture ("JPEG" or "JPG" document), and Click "Open". Then Youpix opens your picture and it is displayed on the screen.

Youpix also opens all the photos within the same folder, and you can go through them by clicking and (or, faster, by hitting the keyboard arrows).

To select a picture : click (or, faster, by hit the keyboard "up" arrow). A set of selected pictures is called an album.

Creating an album allows you to find your favourite pictures quickly , and, in addition, to : play a slideshow, Copying / reducing your pictures, Renaming your picture files

To de-select a picture: click (or, faster, hit the keyboard "down" arrow):

To select or de-select all the pictures: click

Tip: to go through your pictures and select them, use the keyboard arrows: you will go much faster !

Tagging a Photo with Hearts

Hearts allow you to tag the photos you like most. They are saved in your album, with the other data concerning your photos. They may be inserted in the names of your files, as "+" characters, thanks to the renamming function. Thus, the files of your favourite photos may be immediately found when you browse your computer folders. And you can even automatically look for your favourite photos by using the "+" including in the file names.

To add hearts to a photo : click (or, faster, by hit the keyboard "up" arrow).

To suppress hearts : click (or, faster, hit the keyboard "down" arrow).

Rotating a photo

Click . The photo is rotated when displayed only, the original file is not changed.
The new orientation of the photo is kept in your album once saved.

Erasing a photo

Click . The photo is erased from your computer.

Saving an album

An album is a list of selected photos with the related information, if any (titles, comments, labels, hearts, orientation). The photos themselves remain at their original place on your computer, the album is a mere text file.

To save it : enter a name for your album at the top of the Youpix panel, and click "Save Album".

Youpix creates a text file. If you want, you can read it with any text editor. And even change it (but pay attention not to change its overall structure or it will become unreadable by Youpix).

Opening or changing an album

To open an album :

• Click .
• Choose an album file (a text file created by Youpix), and Click "Open".
• Youpix opens all the photos of the album file.

Once the album open, you can go through your photos exactly the same way as when you open photos by selecting a photo file in a directory.

To delete photos in an album : deselect each photo to be deleted by clicking on until the green frame disappear. Then save your album.
Note: this action does not delete the photos from your computer, but only from your album. Unlike with the erasing function.

To add photos to an open album :

• Click .
• Select "open other pictures FOLLOWING those already opened".
• Choose a photo file (JPEG or JPG type) : Youpix opens the photo and all other photos of the directory, in addition to the previously opened photos.
• ... or choose an album file (TXT type) : Youpix opens the photos of the album, in addition to the previously opened photos.
• Select the photos you want to add to the current album
• Save your album.

Describing a photo

You can describe your photos with a title, a comment, labels (keywords).These data are stored in your album with the file names of your photos. Titles and labels may be used for renaming photo files.

To set a title : type a title in the "Title" field.

To comment a photo : type a comment in the "Comment" field.

To add keywords to a photo : use the label system of Youpix.
>Use labels for indicating persons, location, things present on your photo. Labels come in addition to the title (you can also put labels and no title). Thanks to keyboard shortcuts, you can describe photos with labels very quickly.

To add a label to a photo : in the case you create a label you never used before, just enter a keyword in one of the 6 label fields and press ENTER. If the keyword is already known by Youpix and displayed in the "Labels" zone, just Click the numbered button at the left of the keyword you want to apply. Or, faster, press the corresponding key (keyboard shortcuts).

To suppress a label on a photo : use the numbered button or key again.

Sorting photos and describing them with Youpix

Renaming photos

Tiles and labels allow to build new names for your photo files.

Thus, a photo which name is "DSC_1270" at the output of your camera, and part of the album entitled "summer 2008 holidays", may take a new name such as :
DSC_1270--summer 2008 holidays_beach games__Isabelle_Tom
or even, if you do not want to keep the original name :
001--summer 2008 holidays_beach games__Isabelle_Tom
This will allow you to find it much more easily on youor computer. In a manual way by browsing your folders, or in an automated way by using the searching functions of your computer.More about file searching.

For setting new names for your files :

• Describe your photos with titles and/or labels. You can also tag your photos with hearts , which may be inserted in the file names as "+".
• Click the "Rename files" button of the Youpix panel, and choose the information items you want to include in the new file names.
• Check the proposed new names, and then click "start renaming".

For renaming in one shot all the photos of a folder without describing them each of them : just set an album name, and include it in the information used to build the new file names.
For instance, you can decide that all the photos of a folder make up an album entitled "summer 2008 holidays", and give them, in just one click, the names 001--summer 2008 holidays, 002--summer 2008 holidays, etc...

Classifying and finding your favourite photos

Youpix offers two ways for that :

• by creating albums (lists of selected photos),
• by renaming the photo files : a file such as "DSC_483.jpg" will have a much more explicit name based on what is present on the photo. Thus, you will be able to find the photos of interest quickly, either manually by browsing your photo folders, of in an automated way by using the searching features of your computer.

For making an album with your favourite photos : select the photos you like , and then save the album. An album may include photos from different folders, without the photos being moved from thei original places on your computer.

For opening the photos of an album : just open the album with Youpix. Youpix finds your photos, opens them and displays them.

For giving explicit names to your photo files in order to find them more easily on your computer : describe your photos, and then use the renaming function.

For finding your favourite photos thanks to their filenames :use the searching function of your operating system (Windows, Linux, Mac, ...). It allows you to easily find all filenames which includes a given word. Thus, you can easily find your photos again, even without Youpix !

• Example 1 : you are looking for all photos of your son Thomas and you have previously renamed your photos using a "Thomas" label : just type "Thomas" in the file searching tool of your computer, and it will find all files which names include "Thomas", and thus the photos your are looking for.
• Example 2 : your are looking for all the photos you like most, say those that have at least two hearts. If you have renamed your photo files using the rating as renaming information (1 heart = 1 "+" sign), then these photos may be found automatically by typing "++" in the file searching tool of your computer.

Copying / reducing photos

You can copy a full batch of photos in one shot. At the original format, or at a reduced format. This function is very useful in the following cases :

• You want to copy, in a separate folder, your favourite photos for them to be printed or processed,
• You want to have reduced copies that take less space than the original ones on your computer, making them suited to various usages such as : e-mail sending (to avoid saturating the mail box of the recipient), uploading to a web site, exporting to a mobile phone, inserting in a document, etc...

for copying / reducing all the photos of an album, in the same format

• Select the photos you want to copy or reduce
• Click "Copy / Resize photos"
• Check "Copy all album photos in the same format, for ...", and choose the format
• Click "Start copies"
• The photos are copied in a subfolder of the current folder. This subfolder is created by Youpix, automatically.

For copying / reducing photos in a format you want to specify for each photo

Start with marking the photos you want to process, with copy labels (blue labels): to do this , select the type of copy in the "Copy / Resize" frame and, if not done automatically, apply the label by clicking the "0" button (or using the "0" key of the keyboard). Click "Copy / Resize pictures" Check "Copy the pictures that are selected for copy, at the choosen format for each of them". Click "Start copies". The photos are copied in one or several subfolders of the current folder. These subfolders are created by Youpix, automatically, each of them being dedicated to a format.

Note that you can apply several copy labels to a photo.

Also note that if you want your printing lab to produce 2 prints of a same photo, among a set of photos to be printed once, an easy way to achieve that is to ask Youpix to perform a double copy of it.

To add a special mention to the filenames of your copy : Check "mention like copyright or other" in the dialog ,window. Useful for :

• Indicating the origin of the photos (author...)
• Indicating what the copies are for. Example : "for Mary".

Launching a slideshow

Select the photos you want to watch, and click .

Check your preferences and launch the slideshow : the photos are displayed automatically during the specified duration.

The arrow keys of the keyboard stay active, so that it is possible to come back or go forward during the slideshow.

Pause function : hit the spacebar of the keyboard. Hit it again for exiting the Pause state.

Manual slideshow : use the Pause function for interrupting the automatic mode, and then use the arrow keys to go though your photos.

For stopping the slideshow : hit the Escape (Esc) key , or click the screen.

The Help mode

In normal mode, Youpix gives short tips about each button when you move the mouse cursor over it and wait 2 seconds.

Youpix also offers an Help mode which allows you to display more information about buttons and screen zones. Still as bubble tips, but with more text and instantaneous display.

To activate the Help mode: click . You can still use Youpix in help mode !

To deactivate the Help mode: click again.

Entering the authorisation code for using Youpix without limitation

Click , the "About Youpix" window pops up. Click then "Enter the activation code".

The authorisation code is sent to you by e-mail when you buy Youpix. It has to be entered with the user name.

Getting the Youpix version, and the User License

Click , the "About Youpix" window pops up and indicates:

• the release number of the software,
• wether it is a trial version or a registered version (granted to a user who has boght and entered its authorisation code)
• the user license terms and conditions.

Validity of an album after moving it to another folder or another storage unit

A Youpix album is a list including the names and locations of your photos on your computer. Troubles may occur if you move the photos of an album or if you move the album file.

If you move the album file without moving the photos: Youpix will find your photos again, thanks to the access paths included in the album.

If you move an album file and the related photo files simultaneously: Youpix will generally find your photos again. If the album is made up photos of several folders, the folders must have been moved or copied all together, as well as the folder that contains them all. Thus, you can copy (for backup purposes for instance) a folder containing photo files, subfolders, and albums : the albums will stay valid.

If you move some photo files without moving the album file in the same way: Youpix will not find the moved photos. You will have to edit the album file manually (with a text editor) and indicate the new locations of the photos.

Validity of an album after having renamed photos

A Youpix album is a list including the names and locations of your photos on your computer. Troubles may occur if you change the names of the photo files without the album being properly updated.

If you rename the photo files of an album with Youpix: Youpix updates your album automatically so that it stays valid.

If you rename photo files that are referenced in an album, but not using Youpix with this album for renaming the photo files: the album will not be valid again (or will be partially valid only). To recover the album, you will have to edit it manually (with a text editor) and indicate the new names of the files.