How to Video: Custom Adobe Captivate 5 Buttons

From the Adobe Captivate Blog:
The "video shows the process for creating Captivate 5 Buttons, and attaching Sounds either through rollovers, or through clicks. Either way the sounds are able to play each time the user clicks / rolls over."

Tip of the Week - Scott Kelby is Coming to Boston March 24th

From Scott Kelby:

Light it, Shoot it, Retouch it, Tour

This are just some of the dates from the first leg of my new nationwide “Light it, Shoot it, Retouch It” tour, but since we have these dates already locked down, I thought I’d share them.

• Boston, MA – Thursday, March 24th
• Minneapolis, MN – Monday, April 4th
• Indianapolis, IN – Wednesday, April 6th
• Chicago, IL – Thursday, April 7th

Here’s how each session is structured:

1. I start each session with an empty stage and then I build the lighting set-up for a particular kind of lighting look from scratch, explaining everything as I go, all step-by-step.
2. Then, I actually do a portrait shoot live in each class, sharing all the camera settings, lighting settings, and exactly what you need to do to nail that type of look.
3. Finally, I take those images into Photoshop to show you how to do all the post processing, including editing the Raw image, all the portrait retouching techniques, and the finishing effects, so you see the entire process, from beginning to end, with nothing left out.

Not only will you be able to nail all these exact same looks, (using a simple, inexpensive studio lighting set-up), but best of all you’ll learn all the post processing techniques as well.

This all takes place in every class session, all day long—–the lighting set-up, then the shooting, and then all the post processing for every set-up, and every look.

I hope you’ll join me in one of these cities. It’s only $99 for the full day of training (or $79 for NAPP members), and includes a detailed, step-by-step workbook that follows along exactly with what I’m doing in the class.

As soon as the rest of cities and dates are locked down, I’ll announce those here too. I am super psyched about this tour, and I can’t wait to get there with you guys. Here’s the link to the full class schedule, or to sign up. I hope I get to see you in person soon.

Bert Monroy's Latest Creation

A few years back, I had the privilege of seeing Bert Monroy in action. Bert is a digital artist. His paintings are created entirely in Photoshop. Every inch has been created using filters, shapes, etc. The results are nothing short of amazing.

Bert's latest creation will be on display in Florida at Photoshop World next month. For those of you like me who won't be able to attend, here's a peak. The people don't look super realistic to me, but when you consider what he is working with they are still amazing. The rest is fantastic. Zoom in close to get a better look. I promise you it is worth your time!

Check out Bert's website for some of his other work. It will give you an inkling of how many different ways you can be creative with Photoshop. BTW - some of his images have more than 15,000 layers and are quite large.

Great Site for Free InDesign Scripts and More...

InDesign Magazine's Tip of the Week e-mail, I often find links to other sites and this week was no exception. InDesign's partner, CreativePro.com offered "Free For All: Because We Love You", a list of links to free stuff for InDesign users. One of the best was a freebie from a site called IndiSnip. The site has a script that allows you to choose object styles while placing - who wouldn't like that? It also gives you instructions on how to add the script to InDesign. It was easy to do.  You might also like the "Interactive Shortcut Guide for InDesign CS5".

Here are a few other articles from CreativePro:

• Interactive InDesign
• Create a Classical Page Grid in InDesign
• Six Ways to Make Grids in InDesign
• Making eBooks from InDesign, Part 1
• Making eBooks from InDesign, Part 2
• Analyze Images in InDesign Documents
• But Will It Print?
• Recipes for Applying -- and Ignoring -- Text Wrap
• InDesign Tutorial: Preflight Files in CS4
• Take Object Styles Where They've Never Gone Before
• InDesign Transparency: No Longer the Forbidden Fruit
• Solve Layout Dilemmas with Tables

My Blackberry Is Not Working! (A little humor to start your day)

WHY do fonts look nicer on IE vs Firefox?

Marge Sawtelle asked me the above question. I sent her the directions on  how to fix the issue with Firefox. I thought you might like to know as well. Here's what I sent Marge:

Hi Marge - It's a Windows style that you need to set for other browsers (automatic with IE because it is a Microsoft program).

You can fix it for all programs by choosing Clear Type. Here's what you need to do:

Enable ClearType:
1. Right click on the desktop and choose Properties.
2. Click on the Appearance tab and then choose the Effects button.
3. In the ‘Use the following method to smooth edges of screen fonts:’ choose ClearType.
4. Check out the results in Firefox.

How to Work with Layers - CS5

Great video from my favorite InDesign/Photoshop guru, Terry White. If you are like me and have had a hard time getting into the habit of using layers with InDesign, Terry shows how easy it is to take previously created documents and adding layers.

Tip of the Week - Control Guides Quickly with InDesign

Here's a great tip from InDesign Magazine's Claudia McCue:

Here are three quick ways to control Guides:

1. Step and Repeat. Select a guide and choose Edit > Step and Repeat, as you would with any object in the page.
2. Distribute. Select three or more guides and use the Distribute controls in the Align panel (Window > Object > Layout > Align). This is a great way to get equal spacing between them.
3. Change color. Select guides with the Selection tool, then choose Layout > Ruler Guides and pick from the absurdly long list of colors (including Lipstick and Cute Teal).

Claudia McCue

Changing the guide color may seem silly, but think about it. If you have a document that has the same color as the guides in it, you may have a hard time finding the guides. Change the guide color to something not in your document and the problem is solved! FEC

New Microsoft Access Link

I've been getting quite a few Access and Excel (2010) questions lately, which prompted me to look for more links. One that I particularly like is Allen Browne's tips for Microsoft Access. Lots of tutorials and it's free. I added it to the Microsoft 2010 page, but I thought it deserved an extra mention. Take a look and let me know what you think.

How to change the Theme of One Slide in MS PowerPoint

Pam Doherty sent me a link on How to change the Theme of One Slide in MS PowerPoint  from Bright Hub.com to share with you. Take a look and see what you think.

Tip of the Week - Adobe Creative Suite Video Podcasts with Terry White

Some of you got to experience Terry White live in Boston with me and were blown away by him. For those of you who couldn't be there and also those who'd like to continue the experience, I have a treat to share. Terry White has some wonderful video podcasts that are the next best thing to being in the room with him. Topics include:

• Things that I Do to Every Portrait
• Ways to Show Your Work
• Place InDesign files as graphics in Other InDesign Files
• Fix a Family Photo Using Photoshop CS5

Go to his tech blog or link directly to his Adobe CS Stuff page for more. You won't regret it!