Product Reviews

Portfolio has long been the asset management tool of choice for graphic artists, with its ability to create catalogues of images, sounds and QuickTime movies. Now version 6.0 brings a wealth of improvements that make it even easier to use.

One of the innovations is Portfolio Express, a separate utility that places a floating window in front of any application. Express can view the contents of any Portfolio catalogue while any file is open in the front application. A QuarkXPress XTension adds further compatability.

The floating window can be shown or hidden with a keystroke, and it's a quicker way of accessing files than switching back and forth between two different programs. If you only use Photoshop, the Browser feature in the forthcoming version 7 functions in a similar fashion.

Where in the past files had to be added to Portfolio catalogues manually, the new FolderSync utility allows you to automate this process. Clicking a button at the top of this pane will automatically check the folder and add any new items to the list. FolderSync also lets you manipulate files directly, without having to go to the Finder. This includes rotating JPEGs (the original files, as well as the thumbnails), moving and copying files between folders and renaming files.

You can also create new folders directly in Portfolio, which means you can finally organise the folder containing your email attachments without having to open each attachment to see what it is.

A new contextual menu plug-in allows you to add files to Portfolio catalogues directly from the Finder, by holding down the control key as you click on a file, and selecting Add to Portfolio from the pop-up menu. This action launches Portfolio so you can choose which catalogue to add to. A better solution would have been to provide a list of catalogues and for Portfolio to put the files in the background, but it's still a useful way of adding individual

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files.

Custom made

Portfolio can generate HTML pages using predesigned templates, although there is a limited choice. You can instead use the current view settings as the basis for your Web page, which means you can customise the appearance to a higher degree.

This feature is enhanced in version 6.0, with many more options for adding coloured backgrounds, drop shadows and other visual attractions to the catalogue images. Running parallel to the HTML ability is PortWeb, a plug-in for Web servers that allows catalogues to be published automatically.

Another useful feature is the ability to email images from Portfolio. It doesn't actually email them itself, but adds the files you select as attachments to a new document in your chosen mail client.

This upgrade is not without its problems. The main one is a conflict between Portfolio Express and the main application. You need to open files in Administrator mode in Portfolio to perform some tasks, such as upgrading from earlier versions of the software, which renders them non-backwards compatible. But if a catalogue is already open in Express, you can't switch to Portfolio if the default is set to open in Administrator mode, and you can't open in Express files already open in Portfolio in this mode. The result, in both cases, is a clumsy dialog box warning.

You also can't switch catalogues in Express when Portfolio is the foremost application. Although the Express window floats above the main application, it no longer functions correctly.

Extensis claims Portfolio 6.0 is fully compatible with digital cameras, to the extent of retaining EXIF data while copying and batch renaming image files. However, in practice, we were unable to make Portfolio recognise a folder on a digital camera as one that could be watched. The only solution was to add files individually from the camera.

Freeze frame

Cataloguing a large folder full of a variety of images caused a system freeze on a number of occasions. This may have been due to a corrupt JPEG image, but even so the program should have flagged up a warning rather than crashing. Finally, there's no menu in Portfolio providing quick access to recently used catalogues - an oversight that should have been resolved.

These problems aside, Portfolio 6.0 is a valuable upgrade that provides increased functionality with its many new features. It will only run under Mac OS 8.6 to Mac OS 9.2, however, although a Mac OS X update is planned for this year.