ProofSheet Help

What Proof Sheet Can Do

Proof Sheet prints proof sheets (contact sheets), which are small images arranged in a grid on multiple sheets of paper.

Proof Sheet is unusually flexible, in that you can easily control the grid arrangement, the margins, the page and cell headers and footers, the font, and more. You can incorporate variables into headers and footers to display dates and times, captions, filenames, EXIF data, and IPTC data. Proof Sheet is better than Lightroom's or Photo Mechanic's proof-sheets, and better than any proof-sheet app in the Mac App Store.

Proof Sheet is not suitable for laying out a photo book, because you can't vary the page layout page-by-page, let alone photo-by-photo. But if you need quick, attractive proof sheets for a couple of hundred photos and don't want to spend all day on it, Proof Sheet can do the whole job in 5 minutes.

It's easy to learn Proof Sheet because the preview on the screen changes as you operate the controls. (Try it!) When you're ready to print, just choose Print on the File menu.

Photo and PDF Sizes

While Proof Sheet can handle JPEGs of any size, you'll find that the sliders are much more responsive if you keep the size to not much bigger than 1000x1000.

Another disadvantage of large photos is that PDFs you save can get large because they maintain the full resolution of the photos. You can see this if you save a PDF from Proof Sheet and then zoom in with a PDF reader (such as the Preview app).

Variables

The only tricky thing about Proof Sheet is entering the page and cell headers and footers. You can type plain text into the text fields, or include variables surrounded by braces, or a mixture of both, like this sample cell footer:

{Filename} • {DateTimeDigitized}

So you don't have to remember the variables, you can click the Variables button at the bottom of the window to choose from a list. If you type variables yourself, case doesn't matter.

The following IPTC variables are replaced by values from a photo, if that photo has a value:

These EXIF variables are supported:

DateDigitized is like DateTimeDigitized, but only the date appears (e.g., 2011-05-04).

The following special variables are also supported:

Center	See next section.
Date-dd-mmm-yyyy	Current date (not photo date) in the form dd-mmm-yy. For example, 4-May-2011.
Date-yyyy-mm-dd	Current date in the form yyyy-mm-dd. For example, 2011-05-04.
DateTime	Current date and time. For example, 2011-05-04 11:21:27 -0600. (The last number is the offset from GMT.)
Extension	The photo's filename extension. For example, jpg.
Filename	The photo's filename, exclusive of the rest of the path. For example, MJR_2011-0504_1045.JPG.
N	Inserts a newline, since a newline can't be typed in the edit field.
PageNum	The page number. The first page past the cover, if any, is numbered 1.
Path	The photo's file path on the local system. For example, /Users/marc/Pictures/Scans/20071122124657.jpg.
Sequence	The sequence number of the photo on the proof sheet, starting with 1.
Split	See next section.
SplitEqual	See next section.
TotalPages	The total number of pages in the proof sheet exclusive of covers, if any. Often used like this: Page {PageNum} of {TotalPages} which might display as: Page 4 of 17

Important things to remember about using variables:

• Spelling the variable name correctly is essential. Case doesn't matter.
• Don't forget the curly braces, and don't put any spaces between the braces and the variable name.
• If a photo doesn't have a value for a variable, the variable is simply ignored.
• A photo-specific variable (e.g., {filename}) in a page header or footer is always ignored, as there is no photo to reference.
• You can put blank lines in headers and footers for spacing.

Splitting and Centering a Header or Footer

The variable {split} within a header or footer causes the part before it to display flush left, and part after it to display flush right. The before part (flush left) can display in multiple lines, but that doesn't work for the part after. For example, this cell header:

#{Sequence}: {Filename}{Split}{DateDigitized}

might display like this:

Splitting works on both page and cell headers and footers.

{splitequal} is similar, but the right part starts at the center of the cell, and is flush left to that margin.

{center} causes the text to be centered (new with Version 1.4). It doesn't matter where in the text {center} appears (unlike {split} and {splitequal}). {center} can't be used in combination with {split} or {splitequal}.

Overflow Warnings

A header or footer (page or cell) that overflows its space is displayed in red in the preview window. It's printed in black, in case you want to print the proof sheet that way.

Cover Photos

The menu items Front Cover and Back Cover select photos for the front and back covers. These should be proportioned to match the paper size and should be large enough to cover the entire page.

To remove a front or back cover, click Cancel in the file-open dialog.

Covers are useful when you want to print the proof sheet as a book or magazine, such as when using MagCloud.

Facing Pages

If you check Facing pages, the Left Margin becomes the Inside Margin and the Right Margin becomes the Outside Margin. The Inside Margin is used at the right of even pages and at the left of odd pages, and the opposite is the case for the Outside Margin. Make the Outside Margin larger to allow for trimming, and make the Inside Margin larger to allow for binding.

This feature is new with Version 1.1.

Presets

Proof Sheet remembers the settings for a proof sheet, initially in a preset called "Default". You can create as many additional presets you want by choosing New from the Preset drop-down. Choose Delete to delete a preset.

Exporting JPEGs

Instead of printing a proof sheet or saving one as a PDF, you can choose Export JPEGs on the File menu to write JPEGs, one per page. You'll be prompted for the base name and the output folder. If the base name you supply is, for example, Preakness, the JPEGs will be named Preakness0001.jpg, Preakness0002.jpg, and so on.

This feature is new with Version 1.1.

Missing Buttons

Proof Sheet is somewhat unusual for an app because it has no Run button. Every time you change something, the preview window is updated, and you print whenever you're ready. There's no Save button for presets, either. They're saved automatically when they change.

©2011-12 Marc J. Rochkind. All rights reserved.

WARRANTY: THIS SOFTWARE IS PROVIDED BY THE COPYRIGHT HOLDER "AS IS" AND ANY EXPRESS OR IMPLIED WARRANTIES, INCLUDING, BUT NOT LIMITED TO, THE IMPLIED WARRANTIES OF MERCHANTABILITY AND FITNESS FOR A PARTICULAR PURPOSE ARE DISCLAIMED. IN NO EVENT SHALL THE COPYRIGHT OWNER OR CONTRIBUTORS BE LIABLE FOR ANY DIRECT, INDIRECT, INCIDENTAL, SPECIAL, EXEMPLARY, OR CONSEQUENTIAL DAMAGES (INCLUDING, BUT NOT LIMITED TO, PROCUREMENT OF SUBSTITUTE GOODS OR SERVICES; LOSS OF USE, DATA, OR PROFITS; OR BUSINESS INTERRUPTION) HOWEVER CAUSED AND ON ANY THEORY OF LIABILITY, WHETHER IN CONTRACT, STRICT LIABILITY, OR TORT (INCLUDING NEGLIGENCE OR OTHERWISE) ARISING IN ANY WAY OUT OF THE USE OF THIS SOFTWARE, EVEN IF ADVISED OF THE POSSIBILITY OF SUCH DAMAGE.