Tip of the Week - How to Design a PDF Portfolio

You all know how much I love the PDF portfolio because I've talked about it in webinars, etc. but I feel it deserves another mention, so here's a video on that very subject from Adobe TV (wonderful videos you really should take the time to watch).

Want to create a form the easy way? Check this out!

Adobe has created Form Central. A quick, free way to create a form. To utilize Form Central, you need an Adobe account - free and easy to create. Sign in and then start creating - on your own or from one of their templates. It's easy and looks professional.

If you want to see an example check out this form I created for my user group blog. It is a registration form for new members. You can add images (I didn't), chance the colors, fonts, etc. Once you publish your file, it will give you an e-mail link to the file. You can add it to your e-mail, webpage or blog and then sign in when you want to view the responses. Form Central keeps track of all your forms and responses for you. Lots of fun and it only took me a few minutes to create. Give it a try and let me know what you think.

Tip of the Week - 22 Best Photoshop Text Effects

I've shown you lots of text effects, but here's a great tutorial from HONGKIAT.com that gives you 22 more. Trying them out will help you get comfortable with layers, text, etc. and rev up your creative juices.

Take one of the effects and create something of your own to share. Post it here before April 5th (UNHCE staff only) and you will be eligible for a prize. Looking forward to seeing what you can do!

InDesign Magazine Tip

TIP: Lock It Away with CS5

When you want to prevent yourself from editing an object on the page, lock it by pressing Cmd/Ctrl+L. To unlock just the object, click the lock icon at the edge of its frame. To unlock everything on the spread, press Cmd+Opt+L (Ctrl+Alt+L). Another way to lock objects is to use InDesign's Layers panel to individually lock any item on the page.

James Fritz

Tip of the Week - Captivate 5 Beginner Tips eSeminar from Adobe

Captivate 5 Beginner Tips: How to Avoid the Most Common Mistakes
Watch this previously recorded eSeminar for some great Captivate tips. Here's the authors write up:

"In this eSeminar I walk listeners / viewers through an introduction to Billy Simington the mistake machine. By following poor Billy’s misadventures we learn a ton of tips and tricks for beginners about how to use AdobeCaptivate. Included were brief discussions of text, rollover text, transitions, preferences, object styles and working with the timeline. I’m also including here a link to the resource files I used in the demo, as well as of course the link to the eSeminar."  Allen Partridge, Adobe E-Learning Evangelist

You will need an Adobe account (free) to watch. For more  Captivate eSeminars, Go to the Rapid eLearning /Adobe Captivate Blog.

Four Indesign CS5 Tips from Layers Magazine's RC Concepcion

Watch this video from Layers magazine for some great InDesign tips.

Choosing the Right Font: A Practical Guide to Typography on the Web

Check out this article on typography by Max Luzuriaga, a young web designer and developer based in Philadelphia.

Tip of the Week - Scott Kelby's "The Grid" Premieres Today!

The Grid is a live program about  "Photography, Photoshop, and anything else remotely related" launches today at 12:30pm EST. Don't worry if you can't watch live, they will be available afterwards. However, if you attend the live show, you can ask questions. Today's guest is, Jeremy Cowart, a world renowned  photographer.

Alternative to drop.io

I've had people asking me what to do when they need to send files that are too large for e-mail. We used to use drop.io, but they no longer exist. We often use Google Docs, which is great for uploading smaller files and when you want to have multiple people editing/sharing/viewing a document, but the problem with Google Docs, is document size. If you have a large document (i.e. PowerPoint presentation), or many documents, it's just not the way to go.

So, I've been looking for a free alternative. I found Dropbox.com. Dropbox allows you 2GB
of space for free and is easy to set up (less than a minute), use and share. Check out their features. I think you will be pleased.

Tip of the Week - Pixel Bending with Photoshop

I found a neat tutorial on a free Adobe Labs filter called Pixel Bender. It's fun and creates some really unique effects. Here's a before and after image:

It looks like an impressionist painting doesn't it? You can play with the effects or try one of the other effects. This one is called "Oil Paint". Want to know more? Watch this 9 minute video tutorial. You can download the filter from Adobe Labs and have some fun. Send me your results. I'd love to see what you do!

By the way - there is a CS4 version as well. :-)