Tip 1
Force
Apps to Launch Into Classic
If you have an application
that can run natively in
both Mac OS X and Mac
OS 9 (such as Acrobat 5 or
Photoshop 7), you can
dictate into which environment
it will open.
For example, if you prefer
to always launch Photoshop
7 into Mac OS X’s
Classic environment so
that you can use your favorite
third-party plug-ins,
select the Photoshop 7 application
icon in the Mac
OS X Finder, choose File>Get Info, and enable the
checkbox labeled “Open in
the Classic environment”.
From then on, when you
launch that application it
will launch into Classic. If
you sometimes like to
launch the application into
each environment, duplicate
the application and
make the above change to
one of them.
You may want to rename
the Mac OS 9 version to
avoid confusion. (Tip:
don’t move or rename the
Mac OS X application because
application updaters
often get confused when
the application’s name has
been changed.)
Tip
2
Convert Acrobat 6 PDFs to Acrobat
4
It’s not obvious how to
convert a PDF document
from Acrobat 6 (v.1.5) to
Acrobat 5 or 4 (1.4 or 1.3).
Here’s how: open the PDF
into Acrobat 6, then choose
Advanced> PDF Optimizer…
and then choose Acrobat
5 or 4 from the
“Compatible with” popup
menu. Be sure to disable all
image downsampling options
if you want to keep
your images as they are.
(Compression is fine, but
Downsampling removes
image data.)
If your images are already
low-resolution, then an
easier way is to choose
File> Reduce File Size and
choose Acrobat 5 or 4
from the “Compatible
with” popup menu. This
will reduce your images to
about 150 dpi. However,
some users report that this
approach corrupts some
PDF files. Use with caution.
Tip 3
Why’s This PDF So Big?
If your PDF file sizes seem
bloated, you can find out
which elements are causing
the bloat by using Acrobat’s
Audit Space feature
(Acrobat 5: Tools> PDF
Consultant> Audit Space
Usage; Acrobat 6: Advanced> PDF Optimizer>
Audit Space Usage button).
It will show the sizes
of images, content, fonts,
links and annotations,
form fields and more.
One way to instantly
shrink a PDF that has been
edited is to choose File>
Save As, and resave it. Acrobat, like several other
Adobe applications, doesn’t
remove deleted items when
you save a document. Instead,
they’re only marked
as “deleted” and are not removed
from the file until
you choose File> Save As.
Tip 4
Use Arrow Keys in Illustrator
Adobe Illustrator lets you
edit vector shapes interactively
while you create
them, including the roundness
of corners and arcs,
polygon sides, points on
stars, spiral tightness, and
grids.
While click-and-dragging
a new rounded-corner
shape, press the up and
down Arrow keys on your
keyboard to increase or
decrease corner radius,
and the left and right Arrow
keys to remove the
curve or apply the maximum
curve available.
When creating a star, the
up and down Arrow keys
add or delete points, the
Command key adjusts the
inner and outer radius,
and the Shift key points
the star straight up.
When creating a spiral, the
Command key adjusts the
decay rate and the Arrow
keys add or delete segments.
David Creamer
Tip 5
InDesign’s
Magic“Layout Adjustment”Feature
If you need to change the
size or orientation of your
InDesign layout, you can
save a lot of time by enabling
the Layout Adjustment feature, found in the
Layout menu.
When enabled, it automatically
rearranges page objects
when you change the
layout’s size or orientation,
keeping their relationships
similar to the way they
were originally laid out.
For example, any text box
that reaches a column or
margin guide will automatically
resize to the new
guides.
You can specify whether
graphics and groups automatically
scale or not,
whether ruler guides should
move or not, and whether
locked objects can move.
Catrine Turillon
Tip 6
More Info on Fonts & Pictures
in QuarkXPress
QuarkXPress will show you
more information about
imported pictures and
fonts if you go to the Usage
dialog (Utilities> Usage)
and click the More Information
checkbox. There,
you can see the fonts used
in the document, and their
type and version number.
You can also see an image’s
file type, location, color
depth, original dimension,
resolution, and modification
date.
Tip 7
How to Delete Photoshop CS Preferences
In Mac OS X, it’s not obvious
how to “delete Photoshop’s
preferences,” a common
troubleshooting
technique. Here’s how:
Quit Photoshop, then hold
down Command-Option-
Shift and relaunch it.
When prompted to delete
the Settings folder, release
the modifier keys and press
the Yes button. Note: this
will remove all your custom
Actions and Presets,
so export them first by using
Save Actions on the flyout
menu of the Actions
palette, and Edit> Preset
Manager to do the same.
Peter Bauer, in Mac Design
Nov/Dec 04, pg.95
Tip 8
CBest Scan Resolution
for Line Art
When scanning line art
(such as a logo or signature),
try to create a file
containing 900 ppi, at the
size you’ll be printing it.
The human eye can’t distinguish
differences in image
quality past 900 ppi,
and lower ppi may show
jagged edges when printed
on an imagesetter. (For
laser printed output, 600
ppi should be fine.)
Tip 9
Cleaning Digital Cameras
www.cleaningdigitalcameras.com was
created by a professional camera repairman
and “camera repair’s most
published author”. The
website explains in detail
how to clean the image
sensor on your digital
camera, using inexpensive
supplies and tools. Appropriately,
they strongly warn
that if you’re not comfortable
with the instructions,
take your camera to a professional
for cleaning.
Tip 10
Acrobat 7 by Jan 1st
Adobe Acrobat 7 should
be released in the next few
weeks. Among its promising
new features for designers
are: CMYK color
conversion in Distiller;
thicken hairlines; increase
the media size; manage
printing inks; add printer
marks; and enable commenting
from within
Adobe Reader.
This last feature is clever:
you must have Acrobat
Professional to create a
PDF that enables the free
Adobe Reader to allow
users to add comments to
the PDF. That way, you can
send your layout to a
client and they can comment
directly on the PDF.
Also, those comments can
be tracked, collected and
saved. Pricing: Acrobat
Professional costs $449, or
$159 to upgrade from Acrobat
6 (standalone or in
Adobe’s Creative Suite)fixed in version 6.5, but you may want to look into
that folder for any abandoned PostScript files, which can be quite large.
Tips and Tricks Archive
November 2004
October 2004
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August 2004
July 2004
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2004
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2004
