Create and apply effects

If you frequently use the same adjustment parameter settings, you can save the settings as an effect. For example, you can create an effect that converts a color image to black and white. You can create effects for individual adjustments or for a set of multiple adjustments.

When you create an effect, it appears in the Effects pop-up menu in the Adjustments inspector and the Adjustments pane of the Inspector HUD. New effects appear at the bottom of the Effects pop-up menu. As this list grows, it can become difficult to locate a specific effect in a long list of effects. You can rearrange the order of the effects to make them easier to find.

Figure. Effects pop-up menu in the Adjustments inspector.

You can also organize effects of like type by grouping them into effect groups, and you can export effects to use them on another Aperture system.

Important: In previous versions of Aperture, effects (formerly known as adjustment presets) for single adjustments were accessible via the Preset Action pop-up menu for each adjustment. Presets were created and stored in the preset dialog for that adjustment. If you created and saved adjustment presets in a previous version of Aperture, the adjustment presets now appear as effects in the Effects pop-up menu at the top of the Adjustments inspector or the Adjustments pane of the Inspector HUD. If you want to remove adjustment presets created in previous versions of Aperture, see “Modify effects,” below.

Create an effect

  1. Select a photo with the adjustment parameter settings you want to save.

  2. At the top of the Adjustments inspector or the Adjustments pane of the Inspector HUD, choose Save as Effect from the Effects pop-up menu.

    Figure. Effects pop-up menu showing the Save as Effect command.
  3. In the Effect Presets dialog, enter a name for the new effect, and click OK.

    Figure. Adjustment Presets dialog showing a new, untitled preset.

    The adjustment parameter settings are saved as an effect, and the new effect is now available for use in the Effects pop-up menu in the Adjustments inspector or the Adjustments pane of the Inspector HUD.

Apply an effect to an image

When you apply an effect to an image, the adjustment controls and parameter values update to reflect the settings saved in the effect. If you prefer, you can use an effect as a starting point in your image adjustment workflow and then fine-tune the effect after it’s applied to the image.

  1. Select a photo.

  2. In the Adjustments inspector or the Adjustments pane of the Inspector HUD, do one of the following:

    • To apply an effect in addition to any previously applied adjustments: Choose the effect you want to apply to the image from the Effects pop-up menu.

      Note: When you place the pointer over an effect in the Effects pop-up menu, a preview of the adjustment applied to the image appears to the right of the highlighted effect.

      Figure. Effects pop-up menu showing effect options and a preview of an effect applied to an image.
    • To replace any previously applied adjustments with an effect: Hold down the Option key while choosing the effect from the Effects pop-up menu.

Modify effects

  1. In the Adjustments inspector or the Adjustments pane of the Inspector HUD, choose Edit Effects from the Effects pop-up menu.

  2. In the Effect Presets dialog, do any of the following:

    • To remove an adjustment from an effect: Select the effect you want to modify, click the Remove button (–) beside each adjustment you want removed from the selected effect, and click OK.

      Figure. Effect Presets dialog showing a selected effect and Remove buttons next to the adjustments in the effect.
    • To rename an effect: Double-click the name of the effect you want to change, enter a new name, and press Return.

      Figure. Effect Presets dialog showing the effect name highlighted so that the spelling can be corrected.
    • To reorder effects: Drag the effects into the order you want, and click OK.

      When you drag an effect, a blue bar indicates where the effect will be placed.

      Figure. Effect preset being dragged into a new position in the Effect Presets dialog.

      The effects list in the Effects pop-up menu is updated to match the order of effects in the Effect Presets dialog.

    • To delete an effect: Select the effect you want to delete, and press the Delete key.

      You can also choose Delete Preset from the Effect Action pop-up menu and click Delete in the dialog that appears.

      When you delete an effect, any adjustments that were applied to images using the effect remain applied.

    • To restore the default effects that came with Aperture: Choose Reset All to Factory Settings from the Effect Action pop-up menu.

Create an effect group

Creating effect groups helps reduce the list of effects that are initially displayed in the Effects pop-up menu. For example, if you have several types of Color adjustment settings saved as individual effects, you can create an effect group for Color effects, named Color. When you choose Color from the Effects pop-up menu, the individual Color effects are displayed in a submenu to the right.

Figure. Effects pop-up menu showing individual effects in an effect group.
  1. In the Adjustments inspector or the Adjustments pane of the Inspector HUD, choose Edit Effects from the Effects pop-up menu.

  2. In the Effect Presets dialog, choose New Preset Group from the Effect Action pop-up menu .

  3. Give the new effect group a name and press Return.

  4. Drag effects into the effect group.

    Figure. Effect Presets dialog showing effects being dragged into an effect group.

    The effects are consolidated into the effect group and can be accessed by clicking the disclosure triangle to the left of the effect group’s name.

  5. Click OK.

Share your effects with another Aperture system

  1. On the first Aperture system, choose Edit Effects from the Effects pop-up menu at the top of the Adjustments inspector or the Adjustments pane of the Inspector HUD.

  2. In the Effect Presets dialog, select the effect you want to share.

    Note: To share more than one effect, you have to create an effect group and then select the group. For more information, see “Create an effect group,” above.

  3. Choose Export from the Effect Action pop-up menu .

  4. In the dialog that appears, enter an effect name in the Save As field, choose a location for the exported effect, and click Export.

    The effect is exported to the location you chose as [name].AdjustmentPresets. It’s a good idea to export the effect to a location the other Aperture system can access. Effect files are small and can be easily sent to another Aperture system via email.

  5. On the second Aperture system, navigate to the location of the effect file, Control-click it, and choose Open With > Aperture from the shortcut menu.

    The effect is transferred to the second Aperture system and appears in the Effects pop-up menu.