CreativeTechs Tips

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The cursing has already started. You’ve installed CS4, but most of your studio’s active projects are still in InDesign CS3. Now each time you double-click on an InDesign CS3 document in the Mac Finder, it opens up in InDesign CS4.

InDesignProxy is a free utility that fixes this annoyance by working as a ’stand-in’ for InDesign. Drag any INDD file onto the InDesignProxy application, and it automatically opens your file in the correct version of InDesign.

[Update: Kris Coppieters has provided us a link to InDesignProxy 1.0.5 which allows you to set the Finder to open all INDD files this way automatically. We'll be updating our tip later today to reflect the new version.] Read the Full Tip »

Most InDesign production artists have a routine they repeat dozens of times a day: Place a graphic into an image frame, and quickly type a keyboard command to fit the graphic to the frame size. It becomes an instinctive keystroke.

Command-Option-Shift-E fits the graphic proportionally.
Command-Option-Shift-C fills the frame with your graphic.

But, no matter how fast your fingers are, there is a quicker way: InDesign’s frame fitting options. Select an image frame, and choose Object > Fitting > Frame Fitting Options. You can preset how you want your graphics to fit when they are placed into that frame. Perfect for catalogs and magazines where large numbers of images are used in existing layout templates. Add this setting to an Object Style and you’ve really got a timesaving technique!

Read the Full Tip »

Tracking individual serial numbers is hard work. It costs you money in time and frustration, and the hassle is easily avoided.

If you manage a creative team with even a few designers, please, please, take advantage of Adobe’s Volume Licensing program when you purchase Adobe software and upgrades. Just call Adobe’s volume licensing service at 800-443-8158, or visit the website to easily break the cycle of serial number management in your studio.

Link: Adobe Volume Licensing

Source: We’ve preached this message for years here, here, and here!

Lots of new books are coming that dig into Creative Suite 4. But if you’re looking for something fast and free to whet your appetite, download a copy of the 70-page CS4 Superguide at PhotoshopCafe.com:

Link: CS4 Superguide

Note: You’ll need to subscribe to their mailing list for a download link.

And, for an updated collection of new and upcoming books about CS4, check out Amazon’s new CS4 Books page:

Link: Amazon CS4 Books

Even before CS4 shipped, Adobe released the entire documentation on the web. So if you have questions about a particular CS4 feature, you can go right to the source. Follow these links to the web documentation, a downloadable PDF manual, or jump right into a summary of what’s new in each CS4 application:

Photoshop CS4 — PDF (44MB) — What’s New in CS4?
InDesign CS4 — PDF (39MB) — What’s New in CS4?
Illustrator CS4 — PDF (32MB) — What’s New?
Dreamweaver CS4 — PDF (20MB) — What’s New in CS4?
Flash CS4 — PDF (16MB) — What’s New in CS4?
Fireworks CS4 — PDF (16MB) — What’s New in CS4?
Bridge CS4 — PDF (4MB) — What’s New in CS4?
Acrobat 9 Pro — PDF (24MB) — What’s New in Acrobat 9?

Last Wednesday, October 15th, Adobe began shipping CS4. This week we bring you a special much-too-long collection of CS4 links for designers and photographers who are debating if and when to upgrade to Adobe’s latest creation.

Link: Adobe Online Store
Link: Adobe CS4 Upgrade Eligibility Tool
Link: Apple CS4 Buying Guide
Link: Amazon CS4 Page

This 4-minute clip demonstrates the most requested features added to Illustrator CS4: Multiple Pages! Or in Illustrator terminology, multiple artboards. Long-suffering Freehand users rejoice. This video was recorded at a recent CS4 Preview hosted by CreativeTechs and Luminous Works in Seattle. We’re posting new clips from Steve Laskevitch’s CS4 presentation each week until CS4 ships.

Read the Full Tip »

This 7-minute clip shows off the new 3D Transform tools in Flash CS4. Entertainingly presented by a non-Flash expert. See how Flash CS4 is more accessible to non-Flash users than it’s predecessors. This video was recorded at a recent CS4 Preview hosted by CreativeTechs and Luminous Works in Seattle. We’re posting new clips from Steve Laskevitch’s CS4 presentation each week until CS4 ships.

Read Flash CS4 Documentation — 3D Graphics.

Read the Full Tip »

Here is a short 5-minute preview of InDesign CS4 showing off the powerful new “GREP Styles” feature. This video was recorded at a recent CS4 Preview hosted by CreativeTechs and Luminous Works in Seattle. We’re posting new clips from Steve Laskevitch’s CS4 presentation each week until CS4 ships.

Read InDesign CS4 Documentation — Create GREP styles.

Read the Full Tip »

Last week’s CS4 Social at Luminous Works was a hit. Hours after the Adobe unveiling, a lucky group of Seattle designers and photographers had a chance to see CS4 in person (including some of the new 3D features in Photoshop CS4). Tonight, we’re holding another CS4 preview at the CreativeTechs office in South Lake Union:

Register: Tonight’s CS4 Preview

Source: Trainer and founder Steve Laskevitch’s fun CS4 presentation helps illustrate why Luminous Works has been ranked the #4 Adobe Authorized Training Center Worldwide. Check out the Luminous Works Calendar of upcoming classes.