Our short screencast shows you how to get the most out of the redesigned Mac Hints and Tips. High Res Version Here.
Continue reading...Aug 28, 2009
If you’re working in a window set to Column view, you’re going to run into this all the time — files with long names have the end of their names cut off from view, because the column isn’t wide enough. That doesn’t sound like that big of a problem, until you start working with more descriptive [...]
Continue reading...Nov 30, 2009
When blending from one object to another in Illustrator, you can make the blend follow an existing path by selecting both the blend and the path and choosing Object > Blend > Replace Spine. You can also use this trick to replace the spine in any blend with a new path. To directly edit the spine, [...]
Continue reading...Nov 18, 2009
If you’re not happy with the names assigned by QuarkXPress 6/7/8 to your exported PDFs, you can control that by choosing QuarkXPress > Preferences > PDF, and then choose a default naming convention: Project_Layout.pdf Layout_Project.pdf Project.pdf Layout.pdf (Note: in some versions, the dialog box mistakenly shows “:” instead of “_”)
Continue reading...Nov 9, 2009
If you need a new Photoshop document the same size as a document you already have open, do this: start to create a new document (File > New), and then select the name of any open document from the Window menu on Photoshop’s menu bar — which is still miraculously available. If you create a new [...]
Continue reading...Nov 6, 2009
Because Adobe borrowed many of InDesign’s keyboard shortcuts from Photoshop, if you press a single keyboard key (without using a modifier such as Command or Option), something happens. For example, when you’re not typing in a text frame, pressing the period key fills the currently selected object with the last-used solid color, while pressing comma fills [...]
Continue reading...Oct 28, 2009
Looking for album art for uncommon albums? Try www.albumartexchange.com. To automatically add album art to your songs in iTunes, try CoverScout ($40) or Curator ($25). www.equinux.com www.kavasoft.com Instantly remove noise from your recordings with Sound Soap ($95, or included with Toast 10 Pro for $129). It even removes background noise from videos. Yes, it really works and it’s [...]
Continue reading...Oct 26, 2009
Linking an Excel spreadsheet to a table in InDesign requires that you set an application preference before importing the spreadsheet into the table. In CS4, choose InDesign > Preferences > File Handling and tick the checkbox next to Create Links When Placing Text and Spreadsheet Files. In CS3, it’s under InDesign > Preferences > Type. In QuarkXPress [...]
Continue reading...Oct 20, 2009
In Adobe’s Camera Raw application, you can adjust multiple images at the same time by selecting their thumbnails, then applying a change to the active image. Try it with the Crop tool, exposure or color temperature. To adjust just one of the images, click its thumbnail before making changes.
Continue reading...Oct 17, 2009
The Live Paint feature in Illustrator lets you apply a color to the area created by the overlap of two shapes — if you then move or edit the original shapes, the overlap remains colored. To use it, just select both shapes with the Selection tool, select the Live Paint Bucket tool, choose a color, and [...]
Continue reading...Oct 15, 2009
If you post to blogs and other online forums, you’ll notice that some people have a small image next to their name — that’s known as an avatar. It can be a logo, a drawing, or a photo. To create one, go to www.gravatar.com, set up a free account, and upload your small square design in JPG, [...]
Continue reading...Oct 12, 2009
Worldwide AdCracker.com subscribers have chosen seven TV commercials and three print ads as the top 10 ads of 2009, based on excellence in branding, positioning and direct response advertising techniques. See them at www.adcracker.com/top10.
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Apr 5, 2009
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