How do you organise your templates?

Josie

Josie

New member
I love to create my layouts with templates and have a ton of them. I sorted mine by designers. The thing is when I ned templates for specific themes (xmas, celebration etc.) I waste a lot of time to find them.
Do you have any tips for better organisation?
 
It’s been a long time since I scrapped, but when I was doing it on the regular and feeling like you do about wasting time trying to find supplies, I was using Lightroom to organize my preview- both kits and templates.

I would pull the previews into Lightroom organized by store and labeled by designer and name and then add relevant keywords to each preview like: Christmas, 2 page, green, etc

It’s a good amount of work upfront, but totally worth it on the tail end when all you need to do is a quick search and everything you need is at your fingertips.
 
I have a ridiculous spreadsheet but Karli-Marie's idea sounds much more reasonable. (To be fair, very few of my templates are thematic. I mostly let my kit choice tell that part of the story.)
 
I just have them organized by designer. I don't usually buy themed templates but the few I do have are still in the designer folder.

What I have done though is put a copy of all the previews into a Previews folder (for all kits as well). Then I use Adobe Bridge to look at the previews to see what might fit the layout I'm doing. I also use a color labeling system that indicates if I have already used any template from a set (and kits) so that when I look I try to use a template I've never used before. Doesn't always work but I've used up quite a bit of my stash this way.
 
I do folders for number of photos they hold (1,2, 3, etc) and themes.

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Like HavaDrPepper, I have a previews folder. When I'm looking for a certain template type, I open it up and just scan it. If I'm looking for a certain theme (birthday, holiday, etc), I use the search bar. I type "tag:" and the theme I'm looking for. Since I use Metadata to tag all my previews (kits and templates etc), it pulls up anything with that tag. I like using Metadata cuz it's associated with the file, not a program. That way, if (well, WHEN lol) I get a new computer, I don't lose any of my tags.
 
All great suggestions!
I use the search function here in the shoppe ;) It only works if the product is still for sale though.
 
I have well over a thousand templates -- I've been collecting for almost 20 years! A good amount are freebies. I'm starting to go through them and delete those that no longer interest me or those I have previously used or those that I question why I ever downloaded them. LOL Within my Templates folder, I have a folder named Christmas. Right now there are about 30 (but I know there's more! I'm still organizing). For other themes, after the name of the file, I write the theme, like "Designer name - template 40 - Easter" or ...family, ...happiness, things like that. For the non-themed, I'm adding the number of photos to the name of the file. I started sorting them by designer, but I wasted a lot of time going in and out of folders looking for what I needed. Since the name of the designer is in the file name, they're basically sorted anyway.
 
I use ACDSEE and a folder system. All the templates by one designer go in that designer's folder, then I use ACDSEE and tag by number of photos, and by theme if it's a themed template.
 
I used to organize by photo, but often times I end up using a pocket card or something else in the photo spots and it just didn't work for me. I'm currently doing by store, then designer. I do use the search function within the store first when looking for something specific, then go look in my folders for the exact product name.
 
Tree City said:
Like HavaDrPepper, I have a previews folder. When I'm looking for a certain template type, I open it up and just scan it. If I'm looking for a certain theme (birthday, holiday, etc), I use the search bar. I type "tag:" and the theme I'm looking for. Since I use Metadata to tag all my previews (kits and templates etc), it pulls up anything with that tag. I like using Metadata cuz it's associated with the file, not a program. That way, if (well, WHEN lol) I get a new computer, I don't lose any of my tags.
Click to expand...

I used Bridge to tag my previews with general themes. In Picasa, if I open the tags panel, the tag shows up. I can also see the tag using windows file explorer. So depending on what program is used to tag them, they can also show up in others.
 
HavaDrPepper said:
I used Bridge to tag my previews with general themes. In Picasa, if I open the tags panel, the tag shows up. I can also see the tag using windows file explorer. So depending on what program is used to tag them, they can also show up in others.
Click to expand...
Maybe it depends on the program. I'm glad you didn't lose the tags, but I know some people have used certain programs and they lost their sorting system. But I don't know how people are organizing their items, so i can't offer a "diagnosis" lol. For me, the important thing is making sure the information easily transfers to another software.
ETA: I should have said that IDK how people are "tagging" their items, because if a software is set up to tag via the Metadata, then that's great! But if a software is set up with its own system for classification, then that could be a problem.
 
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Mine are done by number of photos...I find even the Christmas or Halloween templates can be changed to match any theme. :)
 
I take all the templates from the original folders and put them into a folder called "Templates 2024". That way I can see all of them at once, with their original file names, so I know the product name and who designed it. If I have several from one designer, I put a folder with the designer's name and all the templates she created in that folder.
 
I have mine stored by designer which isn’t super helpful when I’m trying to find something.

I also have Pinterest boards for digital kits I own from each shop. This is a quick and easy way for me to see what I’ve got and usually where I would look first to find a template.
 
I use bridge collections. I have collections for the number of photos on the template and then theme and design collections. What I don't like about it is that when I switched computers, I had to set up my collections again.
 
I do mine by the amount of pictures each template can hold then theme if there is one. So much easier to search by the # of pics I want to scrap.
 
I use bridge collections. I have collections for the number of photos on the template and then theme and design collections. What I don't like about it is that when I switched computers, I had to set up my collections again.
 
Thank you all for your feedback! I like Laura's suggestion with the Pinterst boards. I will probably do that.
 
I do a similar method to Jacinda & Vanessa.
I have my psd/tiff/jpg file folders by designer (with _preview folder with jpgs in each designer folder).

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Then, once I've added them to the designer folder, I put previews of templates that are more themey into a separate folder - this is my basic framework. It takes maybe an extra minute when I'm sorting my purchases.

HLhO4L3.jpg
 
Tree City said:
Maybe it depends on the program. I'm glad you didn't lose the tags, but I know some people have used certain programs and they lost their sorting system. But I don't know how people are organizing their items, so i can't offer a "diagnosis" lol. For me, the important thing is making sure the information easily transfers to another software.
ETA: I should have said that IDK how people are "tagging" their items, because if a software is set up to tag via the Metadata, then that's great! But if a software is set up with its own system for classification, then that could be a problem.
Click to expand...

Sorry I didn't see this before, I was on vacation. If you use the keyword tagging in Bridge, the tag will show up in the "Details" tab in the file properties.... aka metadata. I've already edited in that tab and the change shows up in both Bridge and Picasa.
 
HavaDrPepper said:
Sorry I didn't see this before, I was on vacation. If you use the keyword tagging in Bridge, the tag will show up in the "Details" tab in the file properties.... aka metadata. I've already edited in that tab and the change shows up in both Bridge and Picasa.
Click to expand...

That's good! I don't know how each program works, so I didn't want to make assumptions about metadata tagging. Also, yay for vacation!
 
I also have preview folders by theme. I just put templates previews in with the kits and change the name to have an underline so templates are at the beginning of the folder. I also use these folders when shopping because I can see if I've bought a very similar kit or template already. It doesn't mean that I won't buy a kit/template exactly like one I already have, but it's nice to know. :D
 
I used to really go all out with my kit organization, but not anymore. I have a folder called "scrapbook kits", then within that I have a folder for each store - and then within that each designer. I don't typically purchase any holiday specific templates though. I think if I did, I would probably create another folder within each store called Christmas or Halloween or whatever, and then put a duplicate copy of those specific templates or kits in it. It would drive me nuts not to have the kit also in the designer's folder though!
 
I scrap on my iPad so there is no great app for tagging. I finally broke down and pulled all of the templates from their original folders into folders by number of photos in the template. If the designer name is not clear in the file name I rename it. Any themed templates are in the theme folder. So much easier. I am so happy I changed to this. I use to do by store then by designer and I spent way to much time looking for things. This way is so much easier. And I do not have to worry about loosing my tagging from program to program!
 
Mine is just organized by designer in their own folder. I've lost way too much time in having a super organized and tagged stash after multiple ACDSee database crashes where I lost all my tagging so I just haven't bothered anymore. Means I don't necessarily know my stash as well as I used to but given I only shop at two stores mostly, I've made peace with the current situation.
 
My actual templates are by designer. But I make copies of the previews and organize those. I don't have many themed templates--and the ones I do have I usually use off theme anyway--so I don't have themes. I have folders with previews by number of photos, one for 2-pagers, one for large photos no matter the number (which is the folder I find myself pulling from most), and one for pocket pages.
 
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