Mac Hints & Tips

Featured -- BEGIN HERE!VIDEO: A QuickStart Guide To This Site

info@machintsandtips.com (Mac Hints & Tips) — Mon, 06 Apr 2009 00:46:09 +0000

Our short screencast shows you how to get the most out of the redesigned Mac Hints and Tips.

High Res Version Here.

Photoshop -- Tricks to Control New Document Sizes in Photoshop

info@machintsandtips.com (Mac Hints & Tips) — Mon, 09 Nov 2009 17:00:55 +0000

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 document in Photoshop while you have something on the Clipboard (for example, if you have copied something from an existing document), your new document will be sized to fit the pixels on the Clipboard.
To make a new document the same size as the last new document you created, hold down the Option key while you choose File > New.

InDesign -- .,/&X in InDesign

info@machintsandtips.com (Mac Hints & Tips) — Fri, 06 Nov 2009 20:00:49 +0000

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 it with a gradient, pressing slash (/) fills it with None, and Shift/X swaps its fill and stroke colors.

~ David Blatner is the editorial director of The Creative Suite Conference and InDesign Magazine , the author of 15 books including Real World Adobe InDesign CS4, and the co-host of InDesignSecrets.com. ( http://indesignsecrets.com/ )

iTunes -- Three Audio Tips

info@machintsandtips.com (Mac Hints & Tips) — Wed, 28 Oct 2009 20:00:34 +0000

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 easy to use. Watch their how-to video to be convinced.
www.bias-inc.com
www.roxio.com

Listen to your friends’ music collections on your computer, anywhere in the world with SimplifyMedia (free). Their iPhone app even lets you listen on the road.
www.simplifymedia.com

InDesign -- How to Link an Excel Spreadsheet to a Table

info@machintsandtips.com (Mac Hints & Tips) — Mon, 26 Oct 2009 20:00:46 +0000

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 8, just enable the Link to External Data checkbox when creating the table.

Bridge -- Adjust Multiple Images in Camera Raw

info@machintsandtips.com (Mac Hints & Tips) — Tue, 20 Oct 2009 23:00:48 +0000

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.

Illustrator -- Live Paint Colors Overlaps

info@machintsandtips.com (Mac Hints & Tips) — Sat, 17 Oct 2009 17:00:49 +0000

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 click in the area where the two shapes overlap.

If you move the shapes, the live painted intersection area will update.

Internet -- Create Your Own Blog Avatar

info@machintsandtips.com (Mac Hints & Tips) — Thu, 15 Oct 2009 17:00:36 +0000

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, GIF, or PNG format. Most blogs will then connect your name with your avatar and display it when you post.

Websites -- Top 10 Advertisements

info@machintsandtips.com (Mac Hints & Tips) — Mon, 12 Oct 2009 17:00:41 +0000

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.

Photoshop -- Click-Drag Lightness, Hue, and Saturation

info@machintsandtips.com (Mac Hints & Tips) — Sat, 10 Oct 2009 17:00:46 +0000

Photoshop CS4 has a powerful new Targeted Adjustment tool hidden in the Curves and Hue/Saturation areas of the Adjustments panel — it looks like a finger.

When you click it, you can then click and drag on your image to change either the saturation or the hue of the pixels similar to where you clicked.

For example, click and drag left or right on an object in your image to increase or decrease that object’s saturation. You might want to try it on some lips. You can also click and drag up or down to change the object’s hue — try it on a shirt.

To use the Targeted Adjustment tool in the Curves Adjustments panel, click and drag up or down on your image to lighten and darken tones in an object.

The tool affects all similar pixels in the image, so you may want to first drag a rough selection around the area you want to affect.