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Chapter 15 An Overview of Image Adjustments 288
To choose a color value sample size (pixel area) for the Color meter
m In the Adjustments inspector or the Adjustments pane of the Inspector HUD, choose an
appropriate color value sample size from the Adjustment Action pop-up menu (with a gear icon).
Choose a color value
sample size here.
Using an External Editor
If you need to perform more advanced image operations, such as compositing, you can set an
external editor for use within Aperture. First you have to specify which application Aperture
should use and the le format (TIFF or PSD). You only have to do this once. Then you select a
photo and choose a menu command to have the photo open in the application designated as
the external editor. You can also set an external editor for audio and video les.
To set an external editor for photos in Aperture
1 Choose Aperture > Preferences, then click Export.
2 Click the Choose button to the right of the External Photo Editor eld, navigate to an application
in the Select Application dialog, then click Select.
The application’s name appears in the External Photo Editor eld.
3 Choose the appropriate le format (TIFF or PSD) from the External Editor File Format pop-up
menu, then enter a resolution in the dpi eld.
This is the le format Aperture uses when opening les in external editors.
Tip: It’s a good idea to choose the 16-bit option for the External Editor le format because the
larger bit depth provides an exponentially higher number of colors each pixel can express, and
the higher bit depth option helps reduce color clipping and banding.
To set an external editor for audio and video les in Aperture
1 Choose Aperture > Preferences, then click Export.
2 Do one or both of the following:
•
To set an external editor for audio les: Click the Choose button to the right of the External
Audio Editor eld, navigate to an application in the Select Audio Application dialog, then
click Select.
The application’s name appears in the External Audio Editor eld.