Finding a single photo in an iPhoto library of thousands of images can be a chore - unless you use keywords.

WHAT YOU NEED

> iPhoto 6 (part of iLife ’06, $79, www.apple.com)

> A whole mess of unorganized digital photos

When your iPhoto library had a hundred or so pictures in it, finding images was relatively easy. But like the universe, your iPhoto library continues to expand, and now it’s getting a bit unruly. iPhoto’s little-used keyword feature can help you take control of your photo collection and make any image that much easier to find.

1. Click the Key to Begin

Launch iPhoto. To view the keyword list, click the key icon in the lower left of the iPhoto window. (Note: The keyword button is only available in thumbnail view; it’s grayed out in other views.) A small panel will slide upward from the bottom of the Source pane showing a handful of default keywords that are preloaded in iPhoto. These standard offerings are handy as a starting point, but to be effective, keywords should be plentiful and specific. It’s also a good idea at this point to select View > Keywords. This makes the keywords you’ve associated with photos appear below the photos in thumbnail view.

The key will open doors for you - click it

to get started working with keywords.

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