Focus, a.k.a. sharpening: I've set my default to soft sharpening with amount 300 and threshold 1, but some pictures can take more. I like the results from soft look and will sharpen during conversion unless I anticipate a significant amount of post-processing.

Once all settings are specified, hit the <Insert> key to add the picture to the batch development queue. By and large, I find that I don't run into the maximum files constraint of 20, as the thinking time to adjust each image is enough to keep the PC ahead. In any case, it's not normal that I develop every image in a folder. Typically, I am looking to create a selection for a web gallery, so I process the likely candidates for the next step in the workflow.

Working with Photoshop

I find that using C1LE it's possible to process many images so that little or no additional processing is needed for the full-size picture. However, C1LE does not allow resizing, so I must use Photoshop for this. While I'm there, of course, I consider whether anything further can be done to improve the final picture:

• Cropping: occasionally, I do this in C1LE, but I guess I'm used to doing it in  Photoshop.
• Tweak saturation: as I've said, I'll use either Digital Velvia or nik Multimedia's Brilliance/Warmth filter. DV can be done in 16-bit mode, but one trick I like is to use a layer mask to apply adjustments selectively.
• Tone adjustment: the thing I probably do most often is adjust the tonality of a picture. For this I tend to use Photokit for dodging and burning, and contrast masking and selective exposure adjustment.

Then I'm ready to create the different output files I want.

Saving Output Files

Most often, I'm processing a bunch of pictures for a new web gallery. What I do is save:

• A full-size PSD with any layers created (in case I decide to make further changes)
• A full-size, high quality JPG for my local PC gallery.
• A gallery slide - 720 pixels on the long side
• A gallery thumbnail 125x83 pixels