TOPIC: HIP Photos question

I am moving along quickly with HIP, using Serge's template (to my liking) and personalizing it.  I find the SW to be quite intuitive and have done first two inspection reports already with no assists thus far (tho currently taking several hours, I know I'll get much more efficient soon). 

Now, I have some general questions regarding tips for photos.

I like the bulk download feature for photos for timesavings.  Is it recommended that all photos are put in a (dedicated) folder and downloaded at once (then remove those not wanted in report from there?) Or, is it better to screen/prune photos first prior to downloading in bulk*?  Probabaly the latter if less than say 85% are actually used in the report. 

*I hesitate to lose photos (the ones I've pruned from the folder and not going to use in report) as they may come in handy later. 

What do other inspectors do for each inspection file-of-photos when complete?  I'm planning to keep using same folder by moving prior photos to flash drives...not sure its cost effective, but don't want to clutter or fill up computer, and at this stage not planning to use carbonite. 

Lastly, how are photo's getting into reports from those who do their reports in the field via laptop/pad/Q?  Seems alot to manage, and more difficult to see/review on the smaller screens.

I use Picasa to manage my photos and do the initial editing (flipping, straightening, deleting, etc) before I export them at a smaller size (480 pixels) into a folder on my desktop.
I then bulk load all these photos into the inspection and go through the pics and tag the ones I need to the appropriate sections/items- I don't delete pics from the inspection once they are loaded even if I don't use them.
By the way, the thumbnails showing the pictures in each section is a GREAT upgrade to the program- I used to tag photos last but doing them 1st and being able to see the thumbnails while going through each section is a big time saver.
Hope this helps,
Gill McLane

Thanks Gil!

Thumbnails, I don't get no freakin thumbnails, as I go thru each section of the report.  I'm running HIP 2.8.2.  I went thru both the Edit options and Report Settings option and didn't see how to turn this on.  I can well imagine how useful a feature this must be. 

Do you (or Dom) know how to turn this feature on?

Is Picaso a purchased program for managing your pics?  I've got a few options (Nikon, HP, PhotoExplorer, etc.), but they are now a bit buggy, and I think I may do away with them.

I think I'll follow the lead you outlined, w possibly one caveat...I might save the photoset to flash prior to deleting pics from the folder b4 bulk loading them.  My thinkin is that there may be something there worth saving (e.g., a litigation situation) which I might not see initially, or, want  in the report. 

...now, to get that thumbnail working...wow!

New Feature: Photo Slide Show appears to the right of damage/observation panels. After batch adding and slotting your photos you can then go through your report with the photos right showing right next to the comments. You have 3 options you can use here (selectable under Report Settings->Options->Photo Editing). The first option is to turn them off (will look like previous versions of Home Inspector Pro). The next option displays the slide show to the right of the Red/Black observations allowing you to see everything at once. The third option is useful for smaller screens and allows you to flip between Red/Black observations and photos with the click of a button. More flexibility will be added to this area as time goes on!

Remember- you wont see the thumbnails till you load and tag the pics.

Download the free version of Picasa here- picasa.google.com/

I archive all photos (I've got photos backed up since I started in late 2005)- the only photos I delete are doubles/triples/out of focus, etc.

Thanks,
Gill McLane

Thanks again Gill!  I checked around and the HIP SW feature is part of 2.9 which is still beta code...but, wow, that feature will really enhance report writing when I can get it.

Also thanks for the Picaso link.  I downloaded it and am absolutely amazed at its effectiveness, especially after dink around with so many other photo editors over the years.  I'm really impressed with it, even noticed some defects from it that were less obvious from another editor and which I missed on site.

I know I'm a newbie...but definitely gotta give a karma/applaud (or whatever) on your direct and useful responses. 

Looking forward to hearing back from others on the questions related to photo management using field platforms, like netpads and the like.

Gil has everything covered. Batch add ALL pics into HIP from the inspection. It will only print photos you tell it to but will save the rest for reference. Having the originals stored in another place is great as well. Make sure you have an online backup like carbonite.com as well.