On startup: This is how you would like Photo Mechanic to behave when it launches

  • Do nothing
    • MacOS: The program will open without a window. This option is useful if you want Photo Mechanic running to perform a task like Auto Ingest, but don't need an open Photo Mechanic window
    • Windows: The Photo Mechanic window will open with no other dialogs
  • Open empty contact sheet opens a contact sheet with no photos, this option will only appear on MacOS
  • Show Open contact sheet dialog allows you to pick a folder to open as a Contact Sheet, using your operating system's File Picker
  • Show Ingest Disks dialog allows you to start an ingest immediately 
  • Restore Contact Sheets from last session: if there were Contact Sheets open when Photo Mechanic was most recently closed, those Contact Sheets will open. 

On mount of Camera Disk: choose what you would like to happen when Photo Mechanic detects that a camera disk has been mounted

  • Do nothing: Photo Mechanic will not open the Ingest dialogue or create Contact Sheets from folders on the disk. The disk should still appear in the Navigator.
  • Show Ingest dialog: the Ingest window will be shown. This option must be selected in order to use Photo Mechanic's Auto Ingest feature
  • Open as Contact Sheet(s): Each folder on the memory card containing images will be opened as a separate Contact Sheet tab

Color Classes: 

Photo Mechanic provides eight color classes that can be assigned to photos and used for sorting, selecting, and filtering on the Contact Sheet. The options in the General Preferences window allow you to change the color and text labels for each color class, as well as some options to syncing Photo Mechanic's color classes.


Read more about how to use Color Classes in Photo Mechanic 



To modify the color displayed for a color class: Click on the box that shows the color.

  • On MacOS a separate color picker window will appear. Changing the color in this window will instantly change the displayed color for that color class.
  • On Windows, a dropdown will appear with several color options. Choose from this dropdown, or select "More Colors..." to choose a color that is not shown.


To modify the labels for your color class: click in the text box to the right of the color box and type the desired name. compatibility with Adobe® products, set the labels and colors here to match the labels and colors you use in Adobe products. 


Synchronize Color Class with IPTC/XMP Label: Check this option for better Adobe compatibility with color classes. 

Synchronize Color Class with IPTC/XMP Urgency: Use this option only if you need compatibility with iView Media Pro. 

Please also see our quickstart guide to Photo Mechanic preferences.