Best Plug-in/External Editor for Aperture Local Adjustments

I've been playing with trial versions of Nik's plug-in suite, Lightzone, and I have a version of CS3.
From the standpoint of making local adjustments ( hopefully something we will see in the next version of Aperture), which do you feel is the easiest to use without compromising results.
I sorta lean towards Nik's plug-in especially Viveza but would like to hear from those of you who have had some serious usage with any of these tools as with the trial period and being busy, there's only so much time I can spend on it. Nik suite is being bundled for discount and there's also a discount on Lightzone as an external editor.
Thanks,
Larry

CS3 is a great external editor- If you want something that is really easy and quick to use the Nik software is amazing. The three tools that I use a lot from Nik (I use them directly from Aperture and in Photoshop on smart objects) are Viveza, Silver EFEX Pro, and sharpener.
RB
Ps. I have a couple of reviews on my site just look up the product name [http://photo.rwboyer.com]

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PSE 10 as external editor for Aperture 3 - 8-bit TIFF and what color space?

Hi all,
I'm taking the plunge and trying PSE 10 as my external editor for Aperture 3. I understand that I need to export as 8-bit TIFF files (not 16) because PSE can't do certain things with 16-bit files. Is that right? Should I specify a color space in Aperture or leave it as "no profile selected"? (I don't know much about color spaces; I'm not a pro.) I print on an Epson RX580 Stylus Photo printer, if that matters.
I'll be grateful for any help and advice. Thanks.

Can I suggest you buy Philip Andrews book, Advanced Photoshop Elements 10. he explains colour spaces and much much more very clearly and exactly what can be done with 16 bit files and what you then have to change to 8 bit to accomplish. He's written basic and advanced guides for Elements since day one. Usually available from Amazon for under £20.

How to I set up PSE12 to be the external editor for Aperture - aperture is exporting the photos but they are not showing up in PSE

I want to use PSE12 as external editor for apetture . the photos are exportd but do not show up in PSE. Must be some adjustment I can't find?

The article below is for PSE 10, but should be relevant for PSE 12. I recently used the instructions for editing Aperture photos in PSE 11
http://barbarabrundage.com/2011/10/05/adobe-hide-and-seek-setting-pse-10-as-exte rnal-editor/

Using (Parallels) PS as an external editor for Aperture

I am new to the Mac so perhaps this has already been addressed. If so, I apologize.
I am using Aperture for my photo editing and have been using PhotoShop CS5, through Parallels, as an external editor. Much to my surprise this works reasonably well most of the time although sometimes I run into a very puzzling situation.
Typically I use CS5 to take care of lens distortion since Aperture does not have that functionality built-in. I adjust an image and, if it needs perspective adjustment, I call CS5, through Parallels, convert the object into a Smart Object, Transform the object using the Distort functionality, flatten the image and save it to return to Aperture. Most of the time this works just fine. However sometimes I end up with an image that Aperture tells me it cannot open and, when I try to open it with PS again, it also fails. Sometimes the newly adjusted image just never shows up in Aperture and it is as though it dispappered into the ether.
I have tried Save and I have tried Save As using the same location specified by PS. Save normally works but sometimes fails as described above and Save As always seems to fail. Can anyone tell me what is going on here?
One more note. When the attempt to adjust the photo in CS5 fails I have tried again and again and it always seems to fail for those images. I have no idea why this should be but repeated attempts fail. I have success about 60% of the time and the rest of the time either I get an image that cannot be opened or an image that just disappers. I am using CS5 under Parallels because Adobe will not give me a license for the Mac version unless I upgrade and I would rather not pay the $200 and I don't want to end up in CC.
There are really two issues here. First, why is CS5 occasionally failing and, second, is there a good replacement for CS5 that will work with Aperture to do Perspective Adjustments. I have the trial of PTLens but CS5 is much more flexible in how it allows me to distort an image since not all my image distortions from UWA lenses are symetrical and PTLens only handles symetrical distortion.
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Agreeing with 99jon, and adding that in my opinion, the only logical use of the two programs is to use the Lightroom Library Module (not the PSE Organizer) as the tool for organizing your photos, and the Lightroom Develop module as your primary editor, and the PHotoshop Elements Editor as the supplemental editor for the situation where you need more power editing than Lightroom provides.
Why? Because Lightroom is designed so that it can relatively seemlessly send photos to PSE for extra editing and receive the edited photo back from PSE.
There is no relatively seemless way to have the PSE Organizer send photos to Lightroom and receive the edited photo in return. You will do a lot of extra work to make this work. I am also very skeptical about this statement, I don't think it opens your photos in the Lightroom Develop Module, but I admit I haven't tried it: "I figured out how to configure Elements to call Lightroom to edit a picture directly. (Edit-> Preferences->Editing) WIth that setting, I can now use lightroom on my photos."

How do I get Elements 12 to work as an external editor in Aperture?

I can't seem to get (my TRIAL Version) of Elements 12 to work properly as an external editor for Aperture.
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Any help/suggestions would be appreciated
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My guess would be that you chose the logical file rather than the correct file as the PSE editor. You want this one:

Problem using Aperture as external editor for Photoshop CS5...

I am having trouble using Aperture as my external editor for Photoshop - if, for example, I select twenty photos and choose "edit in photoshop CS5," for some reason or another, only ten or twelve photos will show up. Some photos are always missing, and there seems to be no rhyme or reason to it. Has anyone else noticed this? It is really frustrating and slowing my workflow down immensely. Any words of advice would be greatly appreciated!

Hi Casey.
First lets make sure we have the flow going the correct way. You are using Aperture, and use PSCS5 as your external editor (external to Aperture). Right?
Second, what size are your Masters? When you use PS directly (not calling it from Aperture) do you regularly open twenty files at a time?
My Masters are about 25 MPix each. PS sizes them in the 140 MB range. Opening twenty of them at once -- for me that's about 3 GB of data -- will probably bog things down. Does the problem occur if you open just, say, five at a time? What's your hardware? How do you have PS set-up?
And -- my top suggestion for improving your work rate: do in Aperture as much of the work as you can, and send out to PS as little as possible. You don't say what kind of work you are doing, but Aperture, for many, suffices for almost all of there photograph processing needs.
Message was edited by: Kirby Krieger -- some minor changes.

Trouble with PSE12 as External Editor in Aperture 3.3

I previously used Photoshop Elements 6 (PSE6) as my external editor in Aperture 3.3 with no problem. After having installed PSE12 and set it as the external editor in Aperture, something is amiss. When I choose a photo for external editing in PAS12, PSE12 launches but the photo never opens in PSE12. Has anyone else experienced this? Am I missing something? Should I just stick with PSE6? Thanks.....

Have you selected the PSE application or the PSE folder in the settings for the external editor? When you are setting the external editor, make sure you dive into the PS Elements Support folder, where the application is hidden.
See Barbara Brundage's article:
http://barbarabrundage.com/2011/10/05/adobe-hide-and-seek-setting-pse-10-as-exte rnal-editor/

How to remove an external editor in Aperture 3

I've searched but can't find how to remove an external editor in Aperture 3. The external editing software I was using as a trial simply didn't make the cut.

Are you sure you're talking about an external editor and not a plug-in?
When you remove the application you're using as the external editor it should no longer show up in the *Photos->Edit with* menu. There is no way, short of editing the Aperture plist file, of having it not show up in the *Preferences->External Photo Editor:* field.

External Editor in Aperture

I mistakenly selected using Lightroom as an external editor in Aperture. When I go back to preferences, I can't seem to make the Edit With field blank.
Or in other words, how can I change it such that I always edit with Aperture?

Just tried with my one, Go-to Aperture > Preferences > then when box comes up select Export, it says chose external image editor then all i done was to actually select Aperture itself. It works on my one Michael. Again dont leave it blank make sure you select itself. Hope this works

Photoshop elements 11 as external editor for iPhoto

I have set up Photoshop Elements 11 as external editor for iPhoto on my iMac. I believe if set up correctly the edited photo should never leave iPhoto. When saving the edited version it should automatically appear in iPhoto. This is not happening. When either closing the edit window or choosing: <file : save> another dialogue box appears asking where to save the picture. Can someone please help me to set up Photo shop Elements so that the photo stays in iPhoto?
[moved to PSE forum]

Go to Photoshop Elements Editor >> Preferences >> Saving Files
Choose:
On first save: Save Over Current File
Click OK

Have set Elements 12 as external editor for iPhoto =, but pictures identified for editing don't appear in Elements

Have just installed Elements 12 and nominated it as the external editor for iPhoto. When I identify a pic for edit in iPhoto and direct it to Elements it doesn't appear in Elements.
Help please

Usually that means you selected the logical file as your external editor instead of the correct one. The actual PSE editor is buried inside the Support Files folder:

Aperture as external editor for iPhoto problem

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Re: Leone's post May 2014 about how to best use an external drive with Aperture

I am trying to find Leone who had a great post May 2014 to Diane. I posted tho same message as a 'Reply' to the Leone/Diane posts but then was worried it would not show up since that was some time ago so I decided I should post it as new. Apologies if it comes through twice. I am having trouble as indicated below:
I found this response to the question about Aperture and external hard drives from last May. I bought a WD My Book 4TB and need to back up photos I have in Aperture (many!) to free up space. I am a photographer and need to be able to plug the external drive in as needed, pull a photo out from the WD and back into Aperture to work on it if needed.
I read your directions to Diane and have the external drive formatted Mac OS Extended (Journaled). I read the two ways you suggest to move part or all of my library to an external drive and still be able to use it in Aperture with all the metadata saved, as I need to continue to work with the images. I am not completely clear about the advantage of the 'referenced' method but decided to go with the Split Library because it sounded like the Referenced method would still keep originals (and take space) in Aperture. I'm not sure about this, but that was what I chose.
I have backed up my computer, formatted the drive then went to Aperture to begin. I do the 'Export' and it shows the external drive it will go to but when I click 'OK', it says "EXPORT LIBRARY FAILED - Library could not be create because the file system of the destination volume is not supported." I doubled checked to be sure the drive was Journaled which it was. I did call WD and talk to them but they told me this was outside their area.
Also, in Aperture, I have my photos in Projects by yymmdd. Is it possible to transfer Projects into the ext. drive without having to break them out of the Projects?
Any direction anyone might give would be greatly appreciated, Sandy

Hi Sandy,
I suggest taking a week or two to get to know Aperture better before proceeding. Aperture can do many things, and can do what you want. It's important to be specific about what you want, however. From what you've said, it appears that you don't yet know.
bybeeler wrote:
[1] I found this response to the question about Aperture and external hard drives from last May. I bought a WD My Book 4TB and need to back up photos I have in Aperture (many!) to free up space.
[2] I am a photographer and need to be able to plug the external drive in as needed, pull a photo out from the WD and back into Aperture to work on it if needed.
[1] A back-up is a copy of digital files stores on a separate device. A back-up is recommended because drives fail, and humans make mistakes. A back-up is not used to free up storage space.
[2] Aperture can be set up in many equally-usable ways. The program files reside (almost always) on your system drive. The data files can be anywhere you want them, as long as they are on locally-mounted drive(s). The main data file is your Library. The best place for it is on the drive that has the fastest throughput to your logic board. This is, in nearly 100% of machines, the system drive. But Aperture functions well with Libraries of secondary drives — internal or external — with sufficient throughput. USB-3 and Thunderbolt I (& II) provide sufficient throughput for using an Aperture Library on a secondary drive.
Nearly all photographers will fill whatever storage space is available (making data is what photographers do). The question is: what do you do when your Library no longer fits on your system drive? (And remember, you should leave at least 10% (I recommend 20% for heavy users of Aperture) of your system drive free.) The answer depends, primarily, on whether your computer is portable or fixed in location.
If fixed, just buy a more-than-large-enough secondary drive of USB-3 or faster throughput, mount it permanently, and move (using Finder) your Library to it.
If your computer is portable (and you can't increase the on-board storage), you have to select the best from several confusing alternatives:
• Put your Library on an external drive with throughput at least as fast as USB-3
— Pros: Easy to maintain and back-up.
— Cons: Must have drive with you in order to use your Library.
• Leave your Library on your system drive, but relocate your Images' Originals to an external drive.
— Pros: You can work on your Library without having the external drive available.
— Cons: You can't export (except Previews), Print, or make adjustments until your external drive is mounted. Significantly more difficult to administer, especially importing and backing-up.
• Leave your Library and and _some_ of your Images' Originals on your system drive, and relocate most of your Image's Originals to an external drive.
— Pros: You can do any work on those Images whose Originals are stored in the Library regardless of where the external drive is.
— Cons: Yet another level more difficult to administer.
If you are comfortable with the administrative overhead, the third set-up will be the most rewarding. Keep all _current_ Images Originals inside your Library, and routinely relocate the Originals of Images no longer current to the external drive.
In no case is it recommended that you at any time remove from your Library an Image (not the Original — the Image in Aperture) that you expect to ever use again.
HTH,
—Kirby.

How to add more than 1 External Editor to Aperture 3?

I am evaluating Aperture 3...I have LR, CS4 as well as some of the editors from Nik Software e.g. Viveza, DFine...How can I add more than one of these as external editors without going into Preferences and changing Export every single time when I want to edit a photo with one of these?
Thnx

you always use ps for the external editor. To use the plug ins, you simply pick edit with plugin when you right click on a file to edit.

How do I set up Premiere Elements 13 as the custom external editor for Lightroom 5?

Situation
I own Lightroom 5.6 and I'm experienced. I've just bought Premiere Elements 13 and I'm a video-editing virgin (be gentle with me). I've spent a day experimenting, reading, watching videos and I'm still stuck (I've tried reasonably hard to solve my own problem).
Problem
I've tried to set up the custom external editor in Lightroom 5 to send photos to Premiere Elements, so that I can incorporate images into movies. Having set it up, when I use it by selecting Photo/Edit In/Premiere Elements 13/, there is an exciting lull as a copy of the image is created and appears in LR, then Premiere Elements launches, then what??? There is no clue as to what has happened to the image regarding its import into Premiere Elements 13. It doesn't appear on the screen, it doesn't appear in the Organizer, it's no-where to be seen, other than in LR!
Resolution sought:
Can anyone tell me
1. Is it possible to use Premiere Elements as an external editor in LR5 ?
2. What are the precise settings should be for each field?
3. If I configure it correctly, what does good look like: what should I expect to see happen in Premiere Elements?
I don't know if this is relevant: MacBook Pro 16GB 2.8Ghz i7, 750GB SSD (i.e. plenty of space, plenty of horsepower), OS X 10.9.5
I also don't know if I this is the right place for my question (Adobe directed me here) so please don't shout at me if I've come to the wrong place (I expect if I get no joy here, when I post it to an LR forum, they'll shout at me too :-)
Thanks
Phil

Phil
You wrote
1. Is it possible to use Premiere Elements as an external editor in LR5 ?
I do not have Lightroom 5 or other version of it. I did do some work on an earlier version tryout of it.
And, I believe now as then, that the answer to your question is No. Bottom line, if there is integration
to be found between Lightroom, it is between Photoshop Elements and the Elements Organizer, not the Premiere Elements Editor.
The following is the extent of my travels through Lightroom with focus the Slideshow Module.
Lightroom 4.1 Slideshow Module Visited - Elements Village
Good suggestion to get the Lightroom view point at the Adobe Lightroom Forum.
Best wishes
ATR

Best Plug-in/External Editor for Aperture Local Adjustments

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