Migrating iPhoto keywords to Aperture Keywords

There seems to be a lot of confusion regarding iPhoto keywords in Aperture. Aperture seems to treat keywords imported from iPhoto differently to keywords assigned in Aperture. Does anyone know a way to get the iPhoto keywords to display in the Keyword HUD? I think once we've achieved that we could successfully migrate our keywords into Aperture, arrange them in hierarchies etc.
Would be good. Ideas?

You can add them manually to the Keyword HUD. Make a top-level keyword called "iPhoto" and put all the iPhoto keywords under it. You can then remove them and add them using the keyword buttons.

Similar Messages

Iphoto keywords versus Aperture keywords

I was happy to succesfully import my iPhoto library. But surprised that the keywords were distinct from Aperture keywords. That is, I have a keyword "Birds" in iPhoto, but when I go and add the keyword "Birds" (by typing it in the box) to a new photo, I now have two keywords, "Birds" and "Birds (iphoto)" which are distinct. I want them to be the same. How do I do that?

As DaveyJ pointed out, the iPhoto keywords are in a sub-level.
Your best course of action (this will take a while) is to create a smart album and set it to show all images with one of the keywords in the iPhoto group/level.
Once Aperture shows you the applicable set of images, use the Keywords Control bar to add the non-iPhoto version of the keyword to all of the images; i.e., Select All, then click the keyword. With all of the images still selected, use the Keyboard Controls bar again and shift-click on the iPhoto version of the keyword. This will remove it from the selected images.
You could write an AppleScript to help with this process. I've been experimenting and it can be done. You would use a Smart Album to gather the iPhoto keyword images together and then run the script to remove the iPhoto keyword and add the non-iPhoto keyword.
Here's an example script (that works) to get you started:
tell application "Aperture"
-- set the target to the "Smart beetles" album at the top level of the library.
tell album "Smart beetles" of folder ""
-- get a list of the images in the album.
set x to every image version
-- move through the images one by one, deleting and creating the appropriate keywords
repeat with i from 1 to x's length
tell x's item i
-- Note. if the keyword is top level, then the parents value is "".
delete (every keyword whose name is "Australia" and parents is "Location")
make new keyword with properties {name:"Sydney", parents:"Location"}
end tell
end repeat
end tell
end tell
iMac Duo Core 2GHz 2GB Mac OS X (10.4.6)

Aperture Keywords From iPhoto

1) I have imported my iPhoto Library
2) I realize that iPhoto keywords are distinct from apeture keywords and I need to select photos by keywords.
a) I have selected the old iphoto keyword via the smart setting library. The old photos appear. I then add new aperture keyword. (ie Sally Smith). This is easy.
b) Then I delete the old iPhoto keyword via the most annoying thing of creating the keyword (see previous posts). Then shift enter the keyword away (see previous posts).
c) HERE IS THE QUESTION. But it remains in the "not so" smart keyword library. Now I will have twice the number of keywords and have to remember which are old dead iPhoto keywords. I tried the plist trick (no luck). What do i do? Stay with iPhoto. This kind of *****.
j
Quad G5 with 30 inch Mac OS X (10.4.4) twin 500 gig drives

I suspect that Aperture writes the keywords to the images or their version copies. to get rid of the old iPhoto keywords, make sure that they're no longer in the Keyword HUD and then rebuild the Aperture database. this will probably remove unused keywords from the filter list.
while launching Aperture, press and hold option-command.

How can I see my iPhoto keywords in Aperture

I have iLife 08 and Aperture 1.5.6. I thought from the training video I would be able to see my keywords from iPhoto in Aperture. When I imported from iPhoto to Aperture, I don't even see my smart albums in there.

Are you looking for your entire list of keywords, or the keywords assigned to individual photos? The keywords in the photos should be there since Aperture knows how to read yoru iPhoto library in which your keyworded photos were stored.
Where are you looking for the keywords and not finding them? (I know that's not a very well phrased question. Like when I was a kid and my parents asked me and my brothers "Who didn't take out the garbage." The answer, of course, is "everybody in the world, since's still in the house.")
Okay, so where were you expecting to find the keywords that you didn't?
nathan

Aperture keywords and iPhoto and the iPod video error -50

A heads up for anyone who is moving photo's from Aperture to iPhoto. If you have use nested keywords in Aperture then you export to use in iPhoto ( since there is know iLife integration at this time)( also very poor on apples part ) you will get a error in iTunes -50 unknown error.
To fix this all you have to do is remove the offending keyword from iPhoto's master keywords list and you good to go. Wish it did not take me 2 full day to figure this out.

I actually did something similar. Except I dumped whole projects or split projects in two and then dumped one, until I was left with 1 project with only 1 image. Took a few hours but finally found one image who's caption seemed to be corrupt (had garbage character at the front). Once I deleted the caption (had to do it in GraphicConverter) it all worked. The photo was part of a set of photos that I had imported from iPhoto, so I definitely think it has something to do with Aperture's iPhoto import. So not quite the same issue as you, but I think probably related.

Aperture Keyword inconcistency

Aperture Keyword Inconsistency
All photos were migrated from iPhoto to Aperture because Apple insisted iPhoto database not as stable as Aperture.
What I am trying to understand…
If the Keyword Hud shows as Flowers …. 1,000
If I select Photos at the top left I am told that includes all photo's in the data base.
In Filter: Photos … Flowers entered
The filter finds only 900 Flowers
Where are the other 100?
How do I resole this.
This is the first of several Keyword mysteries. Hoping this answer will unlock a solution
to the others.
Thanks in advance for any kind help.

Frank Caggiano and Badunit … Thanks guys for the help.
Why use Filter: Text rather than Filter: Keyword
Started out that way. When several keywords in HUD were not represented in Filter: Keyword, I thought of using the text w/ copy/paste for exact duplication.
Kirby, Can't thank enough for hanging with me.
Stacks .. After manually checking and opening the few I saw in Library > Photos, all photos not unstacked, I unstacked them. Then did: Menu Bar > Stacks > Open All Stacks. Open All Stacks menu selection appears dimmed. Close All Stacks shows un-dimmed.
Trash Items .. Rejected, great tip. I have just trashed stuff and not emptied trash till I could get around to verifying I'm not deleting something valuable. I have found good stuff, though infrequently, in the trash. It has just mushroomed.
Graphics clearly depicts what I was clarifying just below. Again, nice graphic!
From our "trash" discussion: Keywords in trash add to active image keywords to make the total in Keyword HUD. ie: 50 Flowers in "Photos", 10 Flowers in Trash … Keyword HUD shows 60? A text search would reveal only the 50 in "Photos"
So: when I put all trash into a new Project and Check for exact numbers… I should get super close. GREAT IDEA!
Kirby, not two rules at once. See note at top to Frank and Badnit. Text rather than Keyword because that Keyword does not appear in the Filter: Photo > Keyword > include all of the following .. list of keywords. Nice graphic! Using the Filter Trash will give me equally another way to investigate
Once I get the numbers understood and in line, then I want to address why a few keywords appear in the HUD but can not be seen in any of the ways I've tried to uncover them. I bet I find them in trash. Several HUD Keyworfd that show 0 … when I go to delete the Keyword I get a Warning: 6 photos have this keyword .. Or something quite similar. Others showing 0 stay 3 versions have this Keyword.
I have gone over the Filter rules in the manual and parameters. It does bear way more careful review, which I will do.
I will: Look at images in Trash via the graphic example & document findings … Take images out of Trash to new Project then see if numbers come into line and document … Report results here.
Review Filter rules and parameters.
Great, Great ideas, suggestion and help!!! I'll be back.
Owww, a PS: By way of qualifying accuracy. I have searched everywhere for a discussion on … Unstack versus open stack. Nothing I looked for answered this. I totally believe they are the same thing ... yet the to commands appear at opposite ends of the Stacks menu selection.

Batch-Change Aperture Keywords

Does anyone known of a script that can convert the iPhoto keywords to normal Aperture keywords?
There seems to also be an issue if I re-classify a keyword in the Keyword HUD, there ends up being 2 versions of the keyword in the search HUD because some images are tagged with Family>Dad and some are tagged with Family>Parents>Dad.
I want to be able to update all the photos that have Family>Dad and change them all to Family>Parents>Dad.

Thanks. That script helped and it gave me an idea for another way of doing it.
1. Add the offending iPhoto keyword manually to the Keyword HUD (create a top-level keyword iPhoto and create the keyword under it).
2. Create a smart album doing a search for the offending keyword (say, Pets (iPhoto)
3. Create a keyword button set containing both the offending keyword and the new keyword (make sure you know which is ordered first because the buttons will not show the distinction)
4. select all the images in the smart album
5. Add the new desired keyword to all the images
6. Shift-click the offending keyword to remove it from all the images
For reference, the apple script that does the same thing is below (adapted from the script posted in the other thread):
<pre>
tell application "Aperture"
-- set the target to the smart album "Test" at the top level of the library.
tell album "Test" of folder ""
-- get a list of the images in the album.
set x to every image version
-- move through the images one by one, deleting and creating the appropriate keywords
repeat with i from 1 to x's length
tell x's item i
-- Note. if the keyword is top level, then the parents value is "".
-- Note, multiple parents should be in ascending order, for example: "Image type Photo specs" for the Action keyword
delete (every keyword whose name is "Pets" and parents is "iPhoto")
make new keyword with properties {name:"Pets", parents:"Family Personal"}
end tell
end repeat
end tell
end tell
</pre>
G5 Dual 2.5GHz, iMac 2GHz Core Duo Mac OS X (10.4.6) Nokia 3650, Nikon D50

Aperture keywords issues

Is it just me or are there major issues with searching by keyword?
I've just given three pictures the same keyword and when I use the filter with 'Library' selected only one of them is found. The un-found picture is in an iPhoto library - do keywords not work on managed files? if not what is the point of inputting the keywords?
A second point - how hard is it to go from aperture to lightroom? Will lightroom import the projects along with their keywords from aperture.

Lightroom will not import whole projects and you will lose all your adjustments. I believe that if you export your images with xmp files, that those file will contain the keywords, and Lightroom will bring them in. Do a test. Don't be in a big hurry blow out your Aperture libraries. Lightroom is very different from aperture, and it took me several months to figure out that I was fighting it's workflow, and it was actually costing me significant amounts of time. YMMV.

Autofilling Keywords in Aperture

I am new to Aperture (coming from iPhoto), and am trying to see if there's a way for my keywords to be autofilled as I enter them. I need to tag each picture with the last name of the subjects, so I have over 150 potential keywords for each picture (too many to look for a button for each one). In iPhoto, if I go to 'add keyword' under the photo and begin typing, the keyword autofills with a pulldown menu showing all of the options beginning with the letters I type.
I've imported my Keywords (they appear in the 'keywords' window), but when I begin typing, nothing autofills. The research I've done so far sends me to the 'Edit Autofill' list and 'IPTC Keywords.' If I bring my keyword list into there, will I get the autofill function? If so, how do I import the keywords I have already established?
Thank you for any input.

You can use the Keyword Control Bar as described here http://documentation.apple.com/en/aperture/usermanual/index.html#chapter=10%26se ction=4%26tasks=true under the section 'To apply a new keyword using the keyword controls'.
You have to start typing in the 'Add Keyword' entry field and then there appears an autofill list based on the characters you already entered. Hope that helps

Aperture Keywords

I have Aperture 3.4.1 installed. I have used Aperture for several years. I am not new to this.
I have covered all the basics here. I have run a repair on my library, and restarted the computer. I will discuss the problems that I am seeing.
I use keywords a lot. I have a smart album that specifically shows me images that do not have keywords, so that I can assign them.
When I assign keywords I am assigning several of them at one time. The pupose for this is tha I am an artist. I take photographs to support my artistic work. So I might be doing a piece that I need a train, or a flower, or a person on a beach in Maine, or even a specific place that I have been. I can create a quick smart albumn and find all the images matching my needs and then filter them down from there. Very useful.
In another example, I was asked for a picture of my neice. I said what sort of picture. Once they gave me the specifics, that it was a picture of her at a birthday party, at an uncles house; I was then able to create a smartalbumn with all the necessary keywords and boom all those images oh my neice appear. We found the one the person needed and made a print.
My keywords are organized in groups. I have all the main ones: states, cities, people, family, extended family, objects, places, parks, museums, etc.
Inside each group I have several keywords that fit into those group buckets.
When I assign pictures keywords I select all the images that have those keywords, select multiple keywords using the command button, and then drag that group of keywords onto the selected images. Pretty easy stuff, but I have a lot of hours invested in placing keywords on my images.
Problems:
- moving a keyword and letting go, while it is still inside the keyword list, the keyword disappears and does not come back.
- Restarting aperture will show sometimes duplicate groups of keywords. Each group has a different count number of images for the keyword.
- Merging keywords does not appear to update the image count, or combine the image count.
- Occassionally when starting aperture all the keywords are gone
- Occassionally when starting the groups are there, but all the keywords are no longer inside the groups.
- Smart Albumns do not always find the images, but if you look at the image data, the keyword is right there on the screen. So a Smart album that looks for the Automobile keyword will show no images, but I can find several images that have this keyword on it.
- it does not appear that the images lose the keywords assigned. Aperture just does not see them, or does not organize the list properly.
- Some keywords will not show any image count, when I know there are several thousand images with that keyword.
- lifting and stamping keywords does not stamp the group it was in. Therefore, the next time you start aperture the keywords that were stamped appear in the keywords list outside of the groups. I think I stopped stamping keywords in Aperture 2. This has not worked right for as long as I have been using Aperture.
- keywords in group have a number of images containing that keyword. However, the group never shows a total for the group. Would be nice to have so that I can see how many pictures I have in these different groups. That could be really valuable for stock photographers as well. They could track how many photographs of objects, people, animals, autos, builds and more, that they have.
I have over 10,000 images in my library. Most images in my library have 3 or more keywords assigned to them.
Deleting a smart albumn and creating a new one will still not display any images.
All these smart albumns and keywords had bugs, but for the most part I had work arounds for those bugs and could still do things. Right now I am trying to organize a portrait of someone and I cannot perform any filtering to find the images of that person. So I have to go through hundreds of projects by hands to look through thousands of images to try and find it manually.
Has any one used Keywords or seen problems with it? Again, this all worked before 3.4.1 was installed. I got this recently as an update, but before that everything worked (smart albums). Now I cannot even get it to keep the list of keywords in order.

Kirby,
Thanks for the reply. Sorry. My post was sort of long. I wanted to be sure to give the full story so that people were not replying with things like "Did you restart your computer?" "Did you repair your database?".
Problems:
- moving a keyword and letting go, while it is still inside the keyword list, the keyword disappears and does not come back.
This sounds like you are accidentally dragging your Keywords to a different level/parent in your Keyword HUD. Is that possible? The proper way to cancel a drag-and-drop operation is to press "{Escape}".
I was very careful and while dragging made sure that the cursor and keywords where over their starting place. I was not aware of the Escape key press for canceling a drag-n-drop. I will have to remember that for next time.
- Restarting aperture will show sometimes duplicate groups of keywords. Each group has a different count number of images for the keyword.
Where are you seeing these groups? What do you mean by "group"? The same Keyword can exist at different levels of your Keyword hierarchy ("Black" is not the same as "Colors➞Black"; each can be separately assigned and will have a number independent of the other).
Sorry. Let me define my use of the word groups. I use the term group to define a top level keyword, or top of a branch. It will typically have an arrow next to it that can be clicked on to expand. A keyword is a term that I use for a label that is defined in the main list, or inside an expandable label (a group).
So, for example I could have a Family->Mom keyword twice in my list. One that says it has 42 images and the second that says it has 8. If I combine them I do not get 50. I get some other number, as if it was random. More importantly is that I don't have two different Family->Mom keywords. Why aperture started with a duplicate is beyond me.
It should. There is a bug where the numbers in the Keyword HUD are sometimes cropped at the right edge. Have you tried enlarging the Keyword HUD?
I noticed this problem as well and did not have it on my list. Hmm. Thanks. When the keywords hud does that I have been able to correct it, sometimes, by expanding the HUD horizontally and then slowly reducing the size and drag the numbers with it.
- Occassionally when starting aperture all the keywords are gone
Gone? And you have re-input them more than once? How do you know they are gone?
Gone, yes gone. I mean I open Aperture and either use the Shift-H, or icon on tool bar, for opening the keywords HUD and the entire list is empty. Nothing there. I have even tried searching in the search box at the top of the HUD and get no matches. The list is just empty.
When this happens I just quit aperture and shut down the computer. After restarting, sometimes, the list magically repopulates.
- Occassionally when starting the groups are there, but all the keywords are no longer inside the groups.
What groups? Do you mean Parents with children Keywords? How do you know the children are missing? Do they return?
Yes, I mean the Parent with children Keywords, or as I just added above a label (parent is better word) that can be expanded with keywords inside it. When I look at the list, For example, I have a Parent Keyword called Family. That group does not have an arrow and cannot be expanded. Furthermore, all the keywords that were at a lower level inside the Family group are now in the main list of keywords, or the highest level possible. If I want things to return to normal I have to restart the computer and aperture. Although that is not a garuntee to work everytime.
Again, I assume by "group" you mean the parent Keyword. Lifting a child Keyword and stamping it will apply that Keyword. Aperture does not assign the parent Keyword, but it does understand that the stamped Keyword is a child of the parent Keyword. If you filter using the Rule "Keyword" and check the parent Keyword, all Images with any of the children Keywords will be selected.
Yes, and thanks for providing me with the term Parent keyword. I will use that more in the future. I don't have any problem with how the image is stamped with the keywords. But if I have a keyword Family->Mom and I lift this and stamp another image. That image will have the keyword Mom. Aperture now updates the master keyword list inside the HUD and shows Mom at the highest level with everything else. I don't want that, because now I have to merge the Mom keyword back into the Family Parent. I don't doubt that Aperture knows what to do when searching, but the keyword HUD does not.
Thanks again for all the feedback. I do not have much exposure to other people using Aperture. I will do better at my terminology in the future. It is good to know that I am doing some things the same way everyone else does. I was thinking that maybe I was doing something more than everyone else. I wonder why no one else has said anything about the keywords issues. I would think that with so many peopel using them, there would be more complaints, or discussions.

Migration, iPhoto and Aperture

I recently migrated my library from an emac running iPhoto 05 and using iPhoto Buddy to manage my libraries, to iPhoto 08. Wow, bit of a struggle but got there in the end. I only had 2 libraries running, work and home, which was a blessing. Now when I try to launch Aperture the message reads that my library is earlier than iPhoto 06, which clearly it isn't! More trouble. It has been suggested to me that I should remove my now complete one big library and reinstall it so Aperture recognises it. It sound like a good idea but how do I do it and is there an easier way for a non techi?
Thanks,
Tim

Hi TD,
I'm getting there. What iPhotoBuddy did before was help to create multiple libraries (I made a home library which was called iPhoto library and a 'Work' one) and then it put up an interface to choose between the two. It was simple but effective. I didn't realise you could simply hold down the Alt key when you launched iPhoto and that would allow you to do the same (choose between libraries).
I am using iPhoto 7.1.3, by the way and yes, I have recently migrated from an older emac running iPhoto 5. When I migrated, iPhoto opened up in 'Work' library, obviously the last one I was using before I migrated. And I got in a stew because I couldn't find my other library. Eventually I found the other library and merged the two but in the process lost my names and albums from the iPhoto original library. You've just shown me how to toggle between the two, thank you.
And, better still, they now both appear in Aperture which was the original problem.
So to recap, both libraries now appear in Aperture, thank you for that. I now know how to toggle between the two, thank you for that. I now have my two libraries back operational and can move from one to the other by a key stroke on launching. I may well consider iPhoto manager if you recommend it. Sounds a bit like iBuddy. My only problem now is that I have all my work and home photos merged in my 'Work' library and I spent hours renaming all the photos, and of course there is a lot of duplication in the iPhoto library and the Work library. I could go through and simply delete the family photos from the work library (after I spent hours renaming them). I'd be interested now you've helped me resolve my problems, with great patience I should add, what should I do, carry on using the amalgamated Work folder, delete the family photos from the work folder and press alt to move between libraries on start iPhoto start up, or download Photo Manager?
Many thanks,Tim

Can Aperture keywords be shared with LR/Bridge users?

Upcoming project/shoot and I use Aperture all the time now. I used to use LR and Bridge but, found Aperture 3 faster and just a lot better (for me).
I know other photographers there will be using Windows PC's and also Lightroom and Bridge. Keywording is going to be utilized a lot. I want to know if the keywords I use in Aperture can be utilized/seen by users of LR/Bridge. In other words, when I submit my photos to use, will the keywords be there for them to be able to sort through my photos? Or will I be forced to use LR/Bridge for them? I've tried opening a photo I have keyworded in Aperture with Bridge and don't see the keywords I've set.
Any help on this appreciated.

I only use a referenced library so my thoughts on this issue are strictly in the context of a referenced library.
I use ImageIngesterPro to import my raw NEFs. Metadata that is applicable to the whole shoot is applied during import and stored in XMP sidecar files - master files are untouched. I may modify this metadata in Bridge and/or Lightroom before importing into Aperture.
When I import the folder as a project into Aperture, it reads the metadata stored in the XMP file and duly stores this metadata in its database and populates the appropriate metadata fields of the version(s) associated with each master file - master files are still untouched, everything that Aperture knows about each master file has come from the XMP sidecar.
My contention is, that if Aperture can read the metadata in XMP side car files on import, then extending this capability to read metadata from XMP side car files after import would greatly enhance a workflow such as mine.
I would like to think that we will reach a stage where (IPTC) metadata is interchangeable between all applications. If I happen to be working in Bridge, or Lightroom or Aperture any metadata I add in one of these programs should be read either, automatically or by way of a command by any of the other applications, be it via sidecar files or writing to the raw file.

Aperture keywords - back to default setting please

Hi, my keywords in Aperture are in a right mess and I want to reset them back to the application default. I have tried deleting the .plist file but that doesn't work.
How can I sort this out?

I'm not sure, however, if you've been using keywords on your photos I'd suggest you just reorganizing them. You can create master items, then drag and drop other words into those masters and so forth. This allows the keywords to stay linked to your photos. Of course, I'm not sure what kind of mess you have so this might not be an option. The other thing You could do is select the top one, shift click the last one and hit command delete or just delete and remove them all and start over.
good luck,
glenn

Aperture Keywords VS IPTC keywords

The Aperture manual says:
Important: If you are planning to export your keywords as IPTC data, make sure your keyword phrases are no more than 64 characters in length. Longer keyword phrases may not be displayed properly in other IPTC editors or operating systems.
OK. But how do I export my Aperture Keywords to IPTC data????
Thanks
Marion

I copied the text shown below from the online manual.
*Applying IPTC Metadata and Keywords to Your Images*
<SNIP> You can apply these keywords to your images when
exporting to JPEG, TIFF, and PSD file formats. <SNIP>
To include metadata with images at export:
1 Select the image or images you want to export.
2 Choose File > Export > Versions (or press Command-Shift-E).
3 Navigate to the location where you want the exported images placed.
4 Choose Edit from the Export Preset pop-up menu.
5 In the Export Presets dialog, select the export preset you want to use to export
your images.
6 Select the Include Metadata checkbox.
7 Click OK.
8 Choose a name format for your exported files from the Name Format pop-up menu.
9 Click Export Versions.
I am ok for steps 1,2,3. But, after I navigate to the folder, I don't see where I can "choose edit from an Export Preset Pop-up Menu"
I don't have an Export preset Pop-up Menu....
Is it on the file navigation window? Or the main Aperture pull-down menu?
Thanks

Searching for parent keywords only, Aperture 3

Hello everyone,
I want to search for images that have top-level keywords only, but not the child keywords. For example, if I have a 'birds' keyword with child keywords in it...
Birds
-Bald Eagle
-Heron
--Green Heron
--Blue Heron
-Pheasant
...if I keyword search for 'Birds', it brings up everything else in that birds category.
Normally this would be fine, but sometimes I don't know the name of birds in my photos, so I just assign them the generic keyword 'birds'. Occasionally, I would like to be able to go back to my 'birds' keyword, and find only those images that haven't been tagged with a deeper-level keyword.
Is this possible to do? I can't seem to find a way to do it. I appreciate any help.
-Jeff

I'm pretty sure Apple has actually improved the handling of parent keywords and the keyword hierarchy since 3.0 came out. It used to not really work at all.
Now it works as described in this thread. (Search on the parent keyword, and Aperture will find all images tagged with any of the children keywords.) This is, imho, very useful, and requires (I think) only one small user restriction to give Aperture the behavior most seem to expect from a nested (i.e.: hierarchical) keyword structure.
The "user restriction" is to give a special marker to parent keywords (to identify them as containers of keywords, separate from keywords), and to use these container keywords only as containers (that is, do not apply them to images).
I prefix all top-level containers with "aa.". This is arbitrary, but it has some reasons to recommend it:
. it forces the containers to the top of the keyword hierarchy
. it stands out without making the name harder to read at a glance
. the period allows one to double-click either the prefix or the suffix to select it in isolation
. it allows straightforward modification for hierarchy depth (see below).
In practice (using the example in this thread), the keyword hierarchy might be (as a starting point):
aa.Animals {top-level category}
bb.Birds {second-level category}
cc.Hawks {third-level category}
HawkUnspecified {child in third-level category}
HawkRedShouldered {child in third-level category}
HawkSharpshinned {child in third-level category}
{Etc.}
This immediately (afaict) solves several related usage problems. All hawk images show up when images are filtered for "Animals" or "Birds". One can easily search for "all hawks" or a specific hawk. One can easily tag hawks to be specified later, and easily recall those images. All the "Hawk" tags are gathered together alphabetically (as well as hierarchically) -- makes creating filters much easier. The Keyword HUD is much more useful as a reporting tool. (There is an added complexity: the keyword "HawkUnspecified" must be manually removed after the hawk is specified (a good use of a complex Smart Album).)
Additionally, this system allows for (IME) much easier maintenance of the Keyword list (renaming and moving).
#1 Keyword hint: use "{Option}+click" in the Filter HUD Keyword Rule to limit the selection to the clicked Keyword. Any time you filter on Keyword and don't get the result you expect, this is the first thing to check.
For me, Keyword use in Aperture is still very much a work in progress. Suggestions and comments are welcome.

Migrating iPhoto keywords to Aperture Keywords

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