Documentation » Getting Started

  • The First Time You Run Scoop

    The first time you run Scoop it will scan your Pictures directory, and automatically catalog and import any images it finds (which could take a few minutes depending on the number of images in your Pictures directory).

    Scoop will import JPG, PNG and GIF images, as well as many different RAW image formats (support for RAW images depends on what is supported in Mac OS X - see Supported digital camera RAW formats for more details).
  • How Scoop Organizes Images

    Scoop follows the directory structure already in place in your home Pictures directory (i.e. /Users/yourname/Pictures), and then adds a powerful tagging engine allowing you to organize and group images based on the criteria of your choosing.

    As an example, let's say you have multiple directories within your pictures directory based on the month the picture was taken:
  • You may have your images organized in folders
  • When you launch Scoop, you will see these directories in the Scoop interface. Scoop always respects the file system layout first and foremost, but extends your ability to group images with tags.
  • Grouping Images with Tags

    When Scoop is importing and cataloging your images, it will read any extra data fields it can find (i.e. EXIF data) and use that information to create a set of default tags that you can use to search and display images with. The default tags include:

    The Date the image was taken
    The Camera Make and Model
    The Aspect ratio

    These are "auto tags" - every image imported automatically gets tagged with this information.

    For more information about using Tags, make sure and read Working with Image Tags.