Month: April 2007

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InDesign CS2: Page too Big? Tile It!

The largest page size you can define in InDesign is 18 feet (216 inches). That’s really nice-but how do you expect to print a page that big? If you are like most people, your printer is not capable of printing pages larger than legal or tabloid size.

To print a proof of a larger page, you can take advantage of two things: InDesign’s ability to tile your pages when you print and the zero point area of the page rulers that lies at the intersection of the horizontal and vertical rulers.

To print Tiles

  1. Choose File > Print
  2. Select the Setup tab

    You will see the Tile checkbox options at the bottom of the dialog box. If you choose Auto tiling, InDesign will print your large document as tiles (pages) with an overlap and print as many tiles as necessary until the entire document has printed.

    If you choose Manual tiling, InDesign will print only one page. The part of the document that prints depends on where the zero point is set.

    InDesign's Print Dialog

  3. Click Cancel.

The Zero Point

You can control the zero point by dragging the zero point to the part of the page you want to print. When you print with Manual tiling, the single sheet of paper that prints will contain anything below and to the right of the zero point.

Indesign's Zero Point

Spend a minute or two dragging the Zero Point (shown circled in the picture above) to different positions on the page to change the zero point.

Double-click the intersection of the horizontal and vertical rulers to return the zero point marker to its default location (top-left corner of the page).

Want to learn more about InDesign? Click here.

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Tip of the Week: Making Text Bigger on the Fly

Note: The following keyboard shortcut works on selected text in several programs including InDesign, QuarkXPress, MS Word, PowerPoint and even selected text in a Captivate Text Caption.

  1. Select some text
  2. On your keyboard, press CTRL + SHIFT + >

    As you press the keys, notice that your font size gets bigger and bigger and bigger

  3. With the text still selected, press CTRL + SHIFT + <

    The selected text will get smaller and smaller.

How will you possibly remember that key combination? Maybe this will help: the > key means "greater than" or bigger; the < key means "less than," or smaller.

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Adobe Captivate 2: Perfect PowerPoint Imports

Anyone who has attempted to import PowerPoint slides can appreciate how frustrating it is when the slides, which look great in PowerPoint, look fuzzy in Captivate.

The problem isn’t with either program. There’s a good chance that you resized the PowerPoint presentation when you imported it into Captivate.

You have three choices when you import PowerPoint projects: resize smaller, resize larger or do nothing (keep the PowerPoint presentation at its original size).

If you resize smaller, the project backgrounds should look good in Captivate. But how small should you resize the project? You’ve probably noticed that when you select a specific size, the original size of the PowerPoint presentation may not proportionally match the new size you want in Captivate. If you don’t resize things proportionally, you could end up with a blurry look–which you probably don’t want.

If you resize larger, the PowerPoint presentation will almost certainly look blurry in Captivate. Again, that’s something you don’t want.

So how do you import a PowerPoint presentation, where the measurement system is inches, into a Captivate project, where the measurement system is pixels? Read on…

Let’s assume that your Captivate projects are all set up at 640 x 480 pixels and you’ve been asked to import a PowerPoint presentation that was set up at 8 x 10 inches. There is no way to Captivate can effectively resize or convert the 8 x 10 inch PowerPoint document down to 640 x 480 pixels–the sizes are not proportional.

The trick is to get the PowerPoint presentation resized to 640 x 480 before you import it into Captivate. However, PowerPoint’s Page Setup is in inches, not in pixels. How are you going to make the conversion? In your head? A fancy conversion table? I don’t think so. Try this instead.

  1. Open the Captivate project you’ll be importing the PowerPoint presentation into
  2. Right-click any slide and choose Copy Background
  3. Switch to PowerPoint and create a new presentation
  4. Choose Edit > Paste to paste the Captivate background into the PowerPoint presentation as an image
  5. Right-click the Image and choose Format Picture
  6. On the Size tab, make a note of the Height and Width of the picture (write the numbers down now)

    PowerPoint Image Size Tab

  7. Click Cancel and close the PowerPoint presentation
  8. Open the PowerPoint presentation you intend to import into Captivate
  9. Choose File > Page Setup
  10. Change the Width and Height to match the size of the picture (you did write those numbers down, didn’t you?)

    PowerPoint Page Setup

  11. Click OK
  12. Go through your PowerPoint presentation. You may need to adjust some of the text if the new size is dramatically different from the original size
  13. Save and close the presentation
  14. Back in Captivate, if no projects are open, choose File > Import and open your PowerPoint presentation.

    You’ll notice that the Width and Height (in the picture below, 640 x 480) are perfect.

    Import PowerPoint Into Captivate

    If you’re importing the PowerPoint presentation into an existing Captivate project, choose File > Import/Export > Import Microsoft PowerPoint Slides

After the import process, you’ll notice that the resulting slides aren’t blurry at all. In fact, they should look most excellent.

Want to learn more about Captivate? Click here.

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Adobe Captivate 2: WAV Won’t Import? What’s a Developer to Do?

When importing audio into Captivate, you have two options: WAV and MP3. Assuming you haven’t studied up on the meaning of WAV and MP3, allow me to fill you in.

The WAV format was developed jointly by Microsoft and IBM as the standard format for sound on PCs. WAV sound files end with a .wav extension and can be played by nearly any computer that supports sound. Since WAV files are not compressed, they can get huge.

MP3 (MPEG Layer 3) is a compressed audio format that allows for high quality sound that is significantly smaller than its WAV cousin.

Captivate converts imported WAV files into MP3’s when you publish.

Okay, so now that you know the difference between a WAV and an MP3, let’s move to the import process. You can import audio into a Captivate project in any one of three places: any slide object (show the Properties on an object, select the Audio tab and click Import); the slide (show the Properties of the slide, select the Audio tab and click Import); or the project (choose Project > Background Audio and click Import).

The decision to import an MP3 as opposed to a WAV really depends on what format you recorded or were provided. If you have an MP3, you will be happy to hear that MP3’s generally import into Captivate without a problem. However, WAVs can get a bit testy (I said that MP3’s generally import fine, but they have been known to cause problems too.).

It may surprise you to learn that WAV’s are not created equal. In fact, most audio editing applications offer several WAV export formats including, but not limited to: PCM RAW, Windows PCM, DVI / IMA wav, Microsoft AD PCM and ACM Waveform. Which format will work best with Captivate? Will they all work?

The answer is that not all WAV formats will import into Captivate. How will you know if a WAV will not import? Here’s how: You’ll step through the import process in Captivate, find the audio file you’d like to import and you’ll attempt to open it. Then you’ll see this message:

Failed Audio Import Error Message

Panic? You? Nahhh! You’ll click OK to the message above and you’ll try to import the file again (it may sound silly to try again, but I would).

Of course, you’ll see the screen below after your second attempt, and your third:

Failed Audio Import Error Message

At this point, you’re probably starting to get that feeling of panic. Never fear. Follow these steps for one solution to the problem:

  1. Start Sound Recorder (On my system, the program was found at the following location: Programs > Accessories > Entertainment > Sound Recorder)
  2. Open the troublesome WAV file.
  3. Choose File > Save As.
  4. Click the Advanced button.
  5. Click the Change button.

    6. Sound Recorder Change Area

    If the problem file was a WAV, you can select MPEG Layer-3 to convert the WAV into an MP3. You can also select PCM as a format and lower the Attributes until you find one that Captivate will allow you to import.

    Sound Recorder, MP3 Format

  6. After selecting a Format and Attributes, click OK.

The audio file should now import into Captivate. Of course, using Sound Recorder to convert your audio files is a last-ditch process and one you should take only if you are working on your project at the mid-night hour and don’t have access to an audio resource. Most audio applications allow you to batch-convert audio files, taking the chore out of converting several files.

Want to learn more about Captivate? Click here.

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InDesign CS2: The Mystery of Master Text Frames–Solved

There are plenty of people who know InDesign well, but are at a loss to explain the roll of a Master Text Frame. Read on and that won’t be your problem…

When you create a new InDesign document, you are given an opportunity to create a Master Text Frame in the New Document dialog box. When you select Master Text Frame, InDesign automatically draws a text frame on your page. As you add more pages to the document, every page will have an identical text frame because the text frame is actually on the master page.

Use a Master Text Frame when you want every text frame on every page to contain a color. It is easier to go to the master page and change the color of the Master Text Frame–which would change the color of the text frame on every page of your document. Without the benefit of a Master Text Frame, you would have to go to every document page and change the color of the text frames one at a time.

Create a document with a Master Text Frame

  1. Using InDesign, create a new document (select any options you like, however, ensure Master Text Frame and Facing Pages are selected)
  2. Click OK

    3. A Master Text Frame is invisible by default. You cannot type directly into it while you are on a document page without first selecting it. You can select the master page’s text frame by [command] [shift]-clicking on the page. Then select the Type Tool, click inside the selected text frame and begin typing.

Place text into the text frame

  1. Press [command] [d]
  2. Open any text file on your computer
  3. Move the mouse over the page

    4. The Master Text Frame is invisible, but it is on the page. The loaded text cursor, when moved over a frame, looks like a parenthetical shape. This is a visual indicator that you can flow text into the existing Master Text Frame.

  4. Press [shift] on your keyboard
  5. Click anywhere within the page margins
  6. Release [shift]

    7. The text flows onto the page and, if there’s enough text, the text flows onto more pages. The text has also flowed into Master Text Frames that are being controlled by the Master Text Frames on the master page. You will see how this can pay off next.

Modify a Master Text Frame

  1. Show the Pages palette (Window menu)
  2. On the Pages palette, double-click the words A-Master

    3. You are now looking at the document’s master page. Because you selected Facing Pages when you created the new document, there are two sides to the master page, left and right.

  3. Using the Selection tool, click one time in the middle of the left master page (not the thumbnail on the Pages palette, but the actual page)

    4. The left Master Text Frame should now be selected.

  4. Show the Swatches palette (Window menu)
  5. On the Swatches palette, ensure the Fill box is selected
  6. Click Yellow on the Swatches palette

    7. The fill color of the Master Text Frame changes to yellow.

  7. Change the fill color of the right Master Text Frame to Cyan (C=100, M=0, Y=0, K=0)
  8. Leave the master page by double-clicking the thumbnail for page 2 on the Pages palette
  9. Scroll through the document. Notice that the text frames on the pages alternate from cyan to yellow

Want to learn more about InDesign? Click here.

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Adobe Acrobat: Prevent Unauthorized Changes to Your PDFs

Unless you have protected your PDFs against changes, anyone with Adobe Acrobat can open your PDF and either make changes or copy your valuable content.

To prevent users from making changes to the PDF, you can save the PDF with an appropriate level of file security.

Before learning how to turn on Acrobat’s security features, perhaps you’d like to learn how to make an editorial change to a PDF using Acrobat? Good, read on.

  1. Start Adobe Acrobat 7 and then open a PDF
  2. Choose Tools > Advanced Editing > Touchup Text Tool

    The Advanced Editing tools are used to make changes to the PDF file such as creating buttons and form fields, inserting movie clips, and making minor corrections to the text.

  3. Using the Touchup Text Tool, select any word in the PDF and replace it with another word
  4. Select the Hand Tool Acrobat Hand Tool on the Basic toolbar and click in the document

    The word you selected has been replaced.

Set Adobe Acrobat File Security

  1. Choose File > Document properties
  2. Select the Security tab

    Acrobat Security

  3. Choose Password Security from the Security Method drop-down list
  4. Select Restrict printing and editing of the document and its security settings from the Permissions area
  5. Type a password into the Permissions Password field
  6. Select High Resolution from the Printing Allowed list
  7. For Changes Allowed, select Commenting, filling in form fields, and signing existing signature fields
  8. Click OK
  9. Click OK to the message about third-party software
  10. Retype the password when prompted and click OK
  11. Click OK to the message about when the changes will go into effect
  12. Click OK to close the Document Properties Security dialog box

    The PDF with the new security settings is open in Acrobat. The new settings will not take effect until the PDF is saved and closed.

  13. Save and close the PDF
  14. Reopen the PDF (you can select the file from the recently used list in the File menu)
  15. Test file security of the PDF for review by choosing Tools > Advanced Editing. Try to select the TouchUp Text Tool

    While you can select the tool, you will be unable to use it to make any changes to the PDF.

Want to learn more about editing with MS Word 2003 and Adobe Acrobat 7? Click here.

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Reusing PowerPoint Animations and Audio In a Captivate Project

The following comes from fellow subscriber Bill Koegler:

If you have a PowerPoint presentation with embedded animated gifs and sound files, but do not have the original source material, you can retrieve them by publishing the PowerPoint files as an HTML file. Check the supporting files created for the HTML output and you’ll find your animations and audio files! They may require some renaming and editing, but it beats having to re-create the assets.

As far as the animated GIF files go, they will become static if you import them into Captivate along with the PPT presentation. So, I just popped the animated gifs out of the PPT before importing it into Captivate and then re-introduced them from the HTML file into the Captivate program… worked like a charm.

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Questions of the Week:

Question:

Is there a way to convert existing SWF files into a Captivate production file?

Answer: 

You can import SWF files into a Captivate project as animations, but I’m sorry to say there is no way to convert SWF to a CP file (CP is the extension used by Adobe Captivate files).

Question:

Any way to create a simple line or arrow in Captivate?  Or does it have to be an image that’s imported?
Answer: 

Captivate does not have any drawing tools. You can insert an arrow animation (they come standard with Captivate) by choosing Insert > Animation. However, if you want a standard line/arrow, it has to be created in another program and imported. If it were me, I’d create the line in PowerPoint (where you will find a ton of drawing tools and line types) and copy/paste the line into Captivate. Once the image is inside Captivate, use the Library to rename the image to any name you like. Then you can drag it into any slide(s) as needed.

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QuarkXPress 7: Use Composition Zones to Share Your Layout With Team Members

Composition zones allow you to define any part of a QuarkXPress layout, or the entire layout, that can be shared with other QuarkXPress users over a network. Once you create and share the Composition zone, the shared part of the layout can be opened by anyone with both access to the shared portion of the layout and QuarkXPress. When a team member opens the shared file with QuarkXPress, the shared file appears in its own window. The content can then be edited and/or modified like any QuarkXPress project. Back in the original document, you would use Usage feature to determine if the zone has been modified since you shared it. If the zone has been modified, you can elect to update the zone with the team member’s updates.
Create a Composition Zone
  1. Open an existing layout or create a new one and save it as you normally would (this file will be referred to as the parent file as you move through the following steps).
  2. Using either the Item or Content tool, select a text or picture box
  3. Choose Item > Composition Zone > Create

    The words Layout 2 will appear on the item you selected. You have essentially split the layout into two: the main layout and the Composition Zone.

    Since the item is now a Composition Zone, you can’t edit the contents of the item directly on the page as you normally would. Instead, you will edit the Composition Zone in its own window.

    Next you will learn to edit the contents of a Composition Zone.

Internally Edit a Composition Zone

  1. Select the item you used to create the Composition Zone and choose Item > Composition Zones > Edit

    The Composition Zone appears in its own window.

  2. Make a change to the content.
  3. Save your work and close the file.

Share a Composition Zone

  1. Using either the Content or Item tool, click one time within the Composition Zone
  2. Choose Item > Share

    The Shared Item Properties dialog box appears.

  3. Change the Name as you see fit
  4. Change the Availability to All Projects
  5. Click Make External
  6. Change the File name as you see fit (this file will be known as the child file)
  7. Click Save and then click OK

Externally Edit a Composition Zone

  1. Choose File > Open > Open
    and open the file from Step 6 above (the child file).

    The Composition Zone opens in its own layout, just like it did when you internally edited the zone. The difference now? The zone is open completely independent of the parent layout. If you had saved the zone to a network drive, anyone with access to the drive and QuarkXPress 7 could open and edit the zone.

  2. Make changes to the Composition Zone
  3. Save your work
  4. Close the layout (File > Close)

    Next you will manually update the parent layout.

Update a Composition Zone

  1. Open the parent file you created at the beginning of this lesson.

    Notice that the changes you made to the child file have not yet been updated in the parent file.

  2. Choose Utilities > Usage

    The Usage dialog box appears.

  3. Select Composition Zones from the list at the left

    Notice that the Status column indicates that the Composition Zone has been modified.

  4. Click one time on the words Layout 2 to select the Composition Zone
  5. Click Update

    Now the Composition Zone Status reads OK.

  6. Click Done

    Notice that the Composition Zone in the parent layout has been updated.

You have just learned how to set up and share a Collaboration Zone so that team members can work on specific areas of your layout over a network. Then you learned to manually Update the shared portion of the layout so you received the updated region. Got it? Or are Composition Zones as clear as mud? Click here for an interactive demonstration that should clear things up for you.

Want to learn more about QuarkXPress 7? Click here.
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Captivate and Vista: In Defense of Technology Companies Everywhere…

We’ve spent the past few weeks riding the roller-coaster ride that is the world of Captivate and Vista. You’ve read some good and bad reports. Captivate runs on Vista. Captivate doesn’t run on Vista. What’s a Captivate developer to do? Who do you believe? Who do you blame?

If you are considering upgrading to Vista, the comments you’ve read in this newsletter have likely caused you to think long and hard about that.

I’ve spent a fair amount of time listening to comments from fellow Captivaters, and have read a significant number of BLOG and Forum postings. The general tone out there is anger with Adobe for not having a Vista-compliant version of Captivate ready to go when Vista was released by Microsoft.

The following comes from fellow subscriber Susan Hawkins. If your first instinct is to bash Adobe because Captivate is not working on Vista, her comments may give you a fresh perspective.

If you’re using Vista, please email me your findings and I will publish your comments here.

In defense of technology companies everywhere, I thought I should share a little about software development since most computer users are unaware.  Maybe you will include it in the next Skills & Drills.

In response to comments from the previous Skills & Drills e-newsletter, I never upgrade to a new version of Windows until every other computer user cries to Microsoft about all the ‘bugs’ and Microsoft actually addresses the bugs.  I might upgrade to the next release of the new version of Windows.  Therefore, I am not currently using Vista.

Technology companies do not generally support a new version of Windows until 6+ months after the release of the new Windows version.  In all fairness to Adobe, developers outside of Microsoft do not have access to any new version of Windows until the new version of Windows is released.

As to what the Adobe developers are doing, they are testing compatibility between Vista and Captivate in a variety of environments.  Compatibility tests take time to discover any ‘bugs’.  And by the way, some items discovered are not actually ‘bugs’ because the software doesn’t work correctly; they are ‘bugs’ in the sense that the function no longer works due to a Windows enhancement or change.  Once they believe all ‘bugs’ are discovered, it then takes more time to determine the method, and an alternate method in case the first method is no longer a valid option, for correcting / addressing every single ‘bug’.  Once they know what the ‘bugs’ are and how they ‘think’ they can address them, then it takes more time to actually correct / address the ‘bugs’.  During this entire process, most developers work long hours to provide updates to their client base ASAP.

Thanks for including my response, if you do. 

Susan Hawkins