Software Articles

March 12, 2011

Adobe Acrobat Techniques For Manipulating Document Pages

Filed under: Acrobat — Tags: , , — admin @ 8:32 pm

It is quite common that, after you have generated a PDF file, you will want to manipulate the pages within the document without having to return to the original pre-PDF version. You may for example need to update, remove or add pages. Acrobat contains a number of menu commands and other techniques for working with pages. There are two ways of working with pages in Acrobat: firstly, you can use the commands in the Document menu and, secondly, you can use the Pages panel. The pages panel contains its own panel menu offering all of the page manipulation commands found in the Document menu as well as other useful commands and techniques.

Acrobat contains four main menu commands designed for manipulating pages within a PDF document: Insert, Extract, Replace and Delete. These commands are found both in the Document menu and in the Pages panel menu. The Document menu also contains one extra page manipulation command: Split Document.

The Insert command is a sub-menu offering two options: From File and From Clipboard. If you choose From File, you are presented with a browse dialog where you can navigate to the appropriate file and double-click its name. The Insert Pages dialog then appears, allowing you to specify where the incoming file will be inserted: either before or after a given page. If you choose the Clipboard option, the contents of the clipboard will be converted into a one page PDF document and inserted at the specified position.

The Extract command can be used to copy or move a single page (or a range of pages) into a separate new file. When the command is used, you can specify the page range to be extracted and whether or not the extracted pages should be deleted from the original document. Thus, the Extract command can be used to split an original document into several new and smaller documents. However, if the document has bookmarks, the Split document is more useful, since it will perform the operation in one step.

The Split Document dialog allows you to split a document mechanically (x number of pages in each file, for example). However, more usefully, it also offers an option called Top Level Bookmarks. This causes Acrobat to use each bookmark as the signal of where each of the new documents should start and end. You also have the option of placing the newly created PDF documents into a separate folder and using the bookmark names as the names of the new documents.

It’s not uncommon that one or more pages in a PDF document need to be updated. Rather than recreating the whole PDF, the Replace command can be used to choose an incoming PDF file and then specify which page or pages it should replace. Thus, Replace is equivalent to inserting a document and then deleting the pages which it is designed to replace.

Finally, we have the Delete command. No prizes for guessing that this allows you to choose a range of pages which will be permanently deleted from the document. This command cannot be undone; so it is probably a good idea to ensure that a backup version of the document exists before using it.

Adobe Acrobat training courses in London.

Finding Effective Microsoft Powerpoint Tuition

Filed under: PowerPoint, Software — Tags: , , — admin @ 8:04 pm

Depending on how busy a person is Microsoft Powerpoint Training can be very complex and detailed or be as simple as spending an afternoon with the training program offered by the Microsoft company on their website.

There are many colleges and training centers that provide training to individuals seeking Microsoft Powerpoint Training. The purpose of these courses is to provide individuals with the basics of using the program so that they can return to their home or business and experiment with the program. In most of the classes the special functions that are taught are those that are used most by people who use Powerpoint on a regular basis.

Sitting with someone who has used the Powerpoint program for a long period of time is a great way to get effective Microsoft Powerpoint Training. These people know many different functions that a person who does not use the program on a regular basis would not know. They can teach an individual how to get faster results or produce more effective presentations in fewer keystrokes.

If one starts using the program and finds that they need assistance there are access points within the program that will provide short tutorials on a specific function or feature. An individual can click on that icon and be directed to a detailed explanation and walk-through to make the function or feature operate properly.

Many books have been written that provide more exhaustive Microsoft Powerpoint Training. One can purchase a book and learn many of the secrets that are used by programmers and developers that are not made public. By using some simple techniques one is able to create more dynamic presentations.

Microsoft Powerpoint Training does not end. There is always something new to learn with the program and a new method for creating exciting presentation, slideshows, brochures, and pamphlets. When an individual gets to a point where they feel they have learned all that they want to know they can stop.

Microsoft PowerPoint training classes.

Organizing Training For Microsoft Excel Professionals

Filed under: Excel, Software — Tags: , , , — admin @ 7:51 pm

There are a lot of different resources available for Microsoft Excel training. You can find training on how to use all parts of Microsoft excel as well as very specific training on how to use certain parts of Microsoft excel. There are many different excel professionals that provide training and tips about using excel. You can do a lot with excel but most people don’t know how to use certain functions.

The individuals in your company that use excel may have different skill levels and this can make getting a project done difficult as you will need to train different individuals and this can cause problems with productivity. By having everyone on the same skill level you will find it is much easier to complete all of your projects.

Many different job positions require some Microsoft excel knowledge as this include accountants, office managers, small business owners, teachers and students. If you need something for a business career day or other employee training then a seminar on Microsoft excels training can be a great addition. You can learn how to use Power excel, how to create charts, actions that can be used from the data menu and learning how to use pivot tables.

If you don’t have a seminar in your future then there are several online courses on how to use excel. The time length of these courses last from 30 to 60 minutes. The online topics you can find courses are filtering external data, excel macros, importing text files into excel, creating charts, different printing options and other excel features.

There are other books and texts that are Microsoft excel training guides. Many of these books have supplement cds that provide examples and tutorials on using excel. There are even books that can help you gain your certification as an excel specialist or expert.

Some additional and more advanced training can be found for analyzing data and other content, how to manage workbooks, creating data and formatting content and data.

Excel VBA training classes in London.

March 6, 2011

Benefits Of Using Layers In Adobe InDesign

Filed under: InDesign — Tags: , , , , — admin @ 9:58 pm

Several programs within the Adobe Creative Suite have a layers feature: Photoshop, Flash, Illustrator and InDesign. Their function differs from program to program but, in general, the use of layers serves to offer flexibility of composition. Items of related content can be placed on their own individual layers. Layers can then be made visible or hidden or can be locked to prevent their content being changed. Equally, the stacking order of layers can be changed to determine which elements are displayed in front of which other elements. Layers are not always necessary when creating a publication in InDesign, but they can beneficial in several situations.

Intricate page layouts often require the creation and complex manipulation of many different InDesign elements. This process can sometimes be made much easier by placing elements on a series of layers.

Perhaps the most common reason for using layers is where you need to produce several different versions of a publication. For example, there may be one version of a catalogue for in-house use and another for clients; or you may need to create different language versions of the same document.

Layers are also useful where certain page elements take a long time to redraw. For example, if you’re creating a large poster with a high resolution background image, you may find it useful to place it on a separate layer and hide the layer when you are working on other elements.

Since layers can be made none-printing simply by hiding them, it is also possible to use layers to store text and other elements which are relevant to the publication but are not to be included in the final version. Such layers could also be used for comments and reminders and can simply be deleted once the publication has been completed.

Another trick is to use layers for creating a document by using a similar publication as a template. A full sized scan of the original document can be placed on a locked background layer and used to ensure that each part of the layout is in the right place, has the right dimensions and so forth.

PowerPoint users often complain that elements placed the slide master will always be behind elements placed on the slides. Whilst the same if true of InDesign master page elements, using layers allows to overcome this fact. Simply place all those items which need to be front-most on a separate layer and move that layer to the top of the heap.

Adobe CS5 training courses in London.

Getting To Know The Microsoft Word 2007 Ribbon

Filed under: Word — Tags: , , — admin @ 9:49 pm

The ribbon is the most important element in the Microsoft Word interface. It contains the vast majority of the commands that the program has to offer. These commands are arranged in a series of tabs. To activate a particular tab, simply click on its name. The commands displayed in each tab are related in some way. For example, the commands in the Home tab are those which are most frequently used in Microsoft Word: commands such as Cut, Copy And Paste and commands for changing the character and paragraph attributes of your text.

The Insert tab features commands for adding elements to your page such as tables, pictures, headers and footers.

The Page Layout tab is home to commands relating to the formatting of the page as a whole, such as the orientation and margins.

The References tab contains a number of options for adding references to longer documents such as tables of contents and indexes.

The Mailings tab has controls for creating mail merge documents. Mail merge involves a combination of a data document, which normally contain a list of recipients, with a main document, which is normally a letter, to produce a series of personalised mail merge documents which can then be sent out to each recipient.

In the Review tab, you will find tools for proofing your document. Here, you can check your spelling and grammar and also you have tools for reviewing a document by inserting comments and then tracking these comments as the document is passed from person to person.

The View tab contains all the options for displaying the document in various ways. It also houses controls for zooming in and out

Finally, the developer tab contains controls for recording, creating and editing macros and Visual Basic.

The controls in each tab are arranged into groups. For example, the groups in the Home tab are labelled Clipboard, Font, Paragraph, Styles and Editing. As always in Microsoft applications, placing the mouse over a control displays a tool-tip. In the case of Office 2007, these tool-tips are pretty extensive. They contain a description of how the control works, what it does and the keyboard shortcut which is equivalent to clicking on that control.

As well as the regular ribbon tabs, Word also contains context sensitive tabs. These are tabs which only appear in a certain context, typically when a certain type of object has focus. For example, whenever you insert a table, you will notice that Word immediately displays two context sensitive tabs relating to tables: Design and Layout. As long as an area within the table is highlighted, these tabs will remain visible and they behave in exactly the same way as the regular tabs. However, as soon as you click outside the table to deselect it, the context sensitive tabs relating to tables will disappear.

Microsoft Word training courses in London.

March 5, 2011

Any Experienced User Can Master InDesign Scripting

Filed under: InDesign, JavaScript — Tags: , , , , — admin @ 12:56 am

InDesign is widely acknowledged as the industry standard in print and publishing software. It has a huge range of functions and a large base of users, many of whom have an in depth knowledge of the program. Anyone who uses the program regularly, especially those who use it for fairly challenging tasks, will welcome the ability to automate some of their workflows. However, there is no easy way of achieving this in InDesign.

The recordable actions facility found in Photoshop and Illustrator simply does not exist in InDesign. Instead, InDesign allows the user to write executable scripts using a choice of three programming languages: JavaScript, AppleScript or Visual Basic. The major benefit of using JavaScript as the programming language is that it is cross-platform: scripts will run equally well on Windows and Macintosh.

For anyone working in a Mac-only environment, AppleScript will be the obvious language of choice. It offers the benefit of easy integration with scripts written for automating other programs on the Macintosh platform, for example, extracting information from FileMaker and then taking it into InDesign.

For anyone interested in automating InDesign on the Windows platform, Visual Basic is the logical choice. Additionally, it is possible to control InDesign using Visual Basic for Applications (VBA), a variant of Visual Basic which is used to automate Microsoft Office. This option would be ideal for someone automating the production of financial reports heavily reliant on Microsoft Excel spreadsheets.

Be forewarned that, in order to be able to control the program with scripting, you must know InDesign CS5 very well. This is essential; since it is impossible to understand many of the subtleties of the InDesign object model without an intimate knowledge of the elements of InDesign which these scripting objects represent. Basically, in order to automate InDesign, you need a good knowledge of three elements. Firstly, InDesign: the program and all its major functions. Secondly, a compatible scripting language such as JavaScript. Thirdly, the InDesign object model: the programming syntax which is used to represent every nook and cranny of InDesign itself.

InDesign CS5 Automation Using XML & JavaScript by Grant Gamble is available now from Amazon.

February 26, 2011

Learn The Best Photo Editing Tricks With Adobe Photoshop Training

Filed under: Computers — Tags: , , , — admin @ 8:02 pm

Photoshop is the industry standard for image manipulation and editing in every professional field where graphics are used. Adobe Photoshop has revolutionized the design potential of graphic artists, engineers, and architects across the planet. As Lachmi Khemlani said in AECbytes, “I haven’t come across a single architectural practice in the U.S. that doesn’t use Adobe Photoshop … Photoshop literally rules the roost when it comes to image editing and compositing in architectural firms.” Sign up for Photoshop training today and find out how the power of Photoshop can help you achieve your full potential.

Photoshop’s interface hasn’t changed too much since the earliest versions, so users can easily upgrade to Photoshop CS5 from any previous version. Photoshop CS5 has powerful new features that will aid designers in all fields. You can literally use Photoshop CS5 to create any visual effect that you can image-if you can dream it, you can create it with Photoshop. Like previous versions of Photoshop, CS5 is available for both Macintosh and Windows. And the best thing about the new version is the price: Photoshop CS5 costs less than previous versions of Photoshop.

Great new features in Photoshop CS5 make it easier to composite images in multiple layers. In earlier versions it was necessary to select a required layer in the Layers palette. But now it’s possible to select multiple layers by using a marquee tool. The Show Transform Controls feature allows objects to be reshaped faster than ever before, and it works across multiple layers. Smart Guides is another innovation that makes it easier to align objects, even if they’re on different layers.

So what exactly can Photoshop training can do for you? Well, Photoshop is the industry leader for professional image creation, compositing, and editing. The first time you sit down to check out Photoshop, you’re amazed by how much it can do. Photoshop CS5 has tools and filters that let you create any kind of visual effect imaginable. Adobe Photoshop lets you create everything from simple effects for your own line of greeting cards to breathtaking effects for a feature-length film.

Photoshop training is an ongoing part of the career development of many film and video professionals make. Photoshop is the film and video industry standard for design, creation, and editing of digital images. Adobe Photoshop is the No. 1 tool for image editing, storyboarding, frame editing, compositing, painting, title design, and still photography imaging. As filmmaker Scott Billups said, “Photoshop is the single most commonly used application in motion picture and high-end TV production. Everybody uses it, whether they’re in pre-visualization, production, post-production, or distribution.”

Recent versions of Photoshop now make it easier than ever to integrate film images with computer-generated images and still photographs. If you work in the film or video industry, you already rely on Photoshop CS5 in all stages of the production process. And if you’re considering a career as a graphic designer or visual effects artist, Photoshop training is one of the best ways to achieve your career goals.

Adobe Photoshop training courses in London.

February 25, 2011

InDesign Scripting With The ExtendScript Toolkit

Filed under: Computers — Tags: , , , , , — admin @ 12:55 am

ExtendScript is the Adobe implementation of JavaScript which is used to automate the Adobe Creative Suite. The ESTK is an ExtendScript editing utility which contains a number of useful features; however, there is nothing to stop you using your favourite code editor instead. The ESTK development environment now resembles a standard Adobe application with everything in its usual place; which makes it fairly easy to get used to.

Panels are docked on the right and are hidden or made visible by choosing their names from the Window menu. The arrows for Collapse to Icons and Expand Dock work as they do in the Creative Suite programs.

On the right of the menu bar is a drop-down menu containing preset workspace names which, when chosen, automatically rearrange the floating panels into a given configuration. If you come up with an arrangement of panels which you find ideal, you can save it by choosing Create New Workspace from the workspace drop-down menu in the top right of your screen.

The ESTK can display line numbers: an essential feature when working with programming code. This feature can be activated or deactivated by choosing View – Line Numbers or by using the keyboard shortcut: Control-Shift-L on Windows; Command-Shift-L on Mac.

It also offers the colour-coded highlighting of syntax, whereby the colour of words and statements confirms their role within the code: for example, JavaScript keywords are shown in blue and fixed text strings (inside quotation marks) in burgundy.

Another useful feature is Code Collapse whereby the program automatically displays buttons for hiding and revealing blocks of code. This feature simplifies navigation in longer scripts: you can temporarily hide lines as an alternative to constantly having to scroll past them to get to another part of your script. This feature can be activated and deactivated by choosing View – Code Collapse. The program automatically recognizes blocks of code and places a minus-sign icon at the start of each block. If you click on the minus-sign icon, the entire block is hidden and replaced by a horizontal line. The minus-sign icon then changes to a plus-sign. To reveal the hidden block once more, click on the plus-sign icon.

If you have used any of the Microsoft code-editing tools such as the Visual Basic Editor used to create macros in Microsoft Office, you will be familiar with the concept of intelliSense, whereby the code editor offers you a list of context-sensitive options as you enter keywords. By choosing an option from the list, you avoid making syntax errors and you don’t spend so much time looking things up. Adobe Dreamweaver offers a virtually identical feature called code hinting. The ESTK also has an auto completion feature. However, it falls far short of the equivalent features found in Dreamweaver and the Microsoft editors. When you type certain words, lists of suggestions do appear; but they are not very closely targeted to the code you are entering. However, when you are learning a new programming language, every little helps; so why not try it and see what you think. This feature is activated by default: if you wish to deactivate it, choose Edit – Preferences (Windows) or ExtendScript Toolkit – Preferences (Macintosh). Click on the Help category on the left of the Preferences dialog then uncheck the option Enable Auto Completion.

InDesign CS5 Automation Using XML and JavaScript by Grant Gamble

November 24, 2010

Understanding Photoshop’s Marquee Selection Tool Features

Filed under: Photoshop — Tags: , , , , — admin @ 11:28 pm

Adobe Photoshop’s Marquee tool is one of the three tools which are used to make selections, the other two being the Lasso and Magic Wand. It is perhaps the most basic of the three, allowing you to make a rectangular or elliptical selection on any part of the image. As with all of the other selection tools, it can be used to make both new selections and to modify existing selections. To choose the marquee shape you wish to create, simply click on the tool and hold the mouse button down until the flyout menu appears then choose either “Rectangular” or “Elliptical”.

If you are making a new selection, the modifier keys can be used to determine the behaviour the tool. If the Shift key is held down while you drag to describe the selection, the resulting selection will either be a circle or a rectangle. If you hold down the Alt key while creating the shape, the shape will be drawn outward from the point you initially click on. Naturally, you can use these two keys in combination to draw a circle or square from the centre.

Similarly, if there is an existing selection in place, you can use the same two modifier keys to determine how the selection you make will interact with the existing selection. This time, Shift is used to add to a section while Alt is used to subtract from the selection. Thus, for example, if you want to make a semi-circular selection, you could start by making a circular selection with the elliptical Marquee tool. You could then switch to the rectangular Marquee tool, hold down the Alt key and draw a rectangle which intersects one half of the circle. The area where the two shapes intersect will be subtracted from the selection.

The behaviour of the Marquee tool can be modified in the options toolbar. You can switch from Normal mode to Constrained or Fixed Size. Thus, for example, if you were creating a series of images which all need to have a 4 by 3 aspect ratio, you could choose the Constrained option and enter 4 for the with and 3 for the height. Each selection you make with the Marquee tool will then automatically have this shape.

As well as the elliptical and rectangular shape, the Marquee tool flyout menu also allows you to choose “Single Row” and “Single Column”. In this mode, simply clicking on any part of the image creates a selection one pixel high or wide going right across the image. If you zoom in, you can hold down the Shift key and click again to make it two pixels, three pixels, etc This mode is sometimes useful when restoring old photographs to select a crease in the original photograph prior to using the cloning tools to remove the flaw.

Adobe Photoshop training courses in London.

November 14, 2010

How Dreamweaver Templates Speed Up Web Development

Filed under: Dreamweaver — Tags: , , — admin @ 1:06 am

Adobe Dreamweaver CS4 templates are one of the most powerful development aids that the program contains. Basically, a template is a master design which can be copied repeatedly to generate an boundless number of web pages all containing the same shared elements. Unsurprisingly, each time the template generates a new page, the page can be customised and the requisite elements added to it to make it unique. This is achieved by a scheme of locked page regions and editable regions.

When the template is applied to a page, locked regions cannot be modified. (You have to return to the template to adjust them.) Only the areas of the page designated as editable regions can have content added to them.

To create an editable region anywhere on the template, you simply position the cursor in the desired part of the layout and choose Insert – Template Objects – Editable Region. Enter a name for the new region and click OK. One frequent problem experienced by new users of Dreamweaver is the accidental positioning of and editable region inside a heading or paragraph tag. This means that when the template is applied to a page, only text can be placed in the editable region. To fix this problem, return to the template, click in the editable region and examine the Tag Selector on the left of the Status bar. Having located the offending tag (usually h1, h2, p, etc.), right-click on it and choose Remove Tag from the context menu.

To associate an existing page with a template, open the page and choose Modify – Templates – Apply Template to Page. Next, double-click on the name of the template to be applied. Strangely enough, there is no Dreamweaver command that enables you to apply a template to several pages at once. However, here are two suggestions for applying a template to multiple pages reasonably quickly.

Begin by selecting multiple pages in the Files panel using the classic techniques of Shift-click or Control-click (Command-click on a Mac). Then, you can right-click one of the selected files and choose Open from the context menu to open all of them. Next, activate the Assets panel (Window – Assets) and click on the Templates button (the second icon from the bottom). Finally, drag the icon of the required template onto each of the open pages. To speed up the process, use Control-Tab to switch from page to page.

To create a brand new page based on a template, choose New from the File menu and, when the New Document window appears, select the Page From Template option, click on the site that contains the template (It should already be highlighted.), then choose the template. To get the most benefit from a template, before clicking the Create button, make sure that the option “Update Page When Template Changes” is activated.

Adobe Dreamweaver CS5 training courses.

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