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*** DesignGeek ***
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Tips and techniques for the digital designer
In this issue:
-- Dragging Drop Shadows in Photoshop
-- A Fix for Finicky HTML Tables
-- Photoshop 7 Batch Renaming Tip
-- Table Cell Navigation in Quark and InDesign
-- Just for Fun: Really Great Links
Issue 12, 12/17/03
Written by Anne-Marie "HerGeekness" Concepcion
... for her clients, colleagues, random contacts and interested subscribers
© 2003 Seneca Design & Training, Inc.
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Dragging Drop Shadows in Photoshop
When you add a drop shadow to a Photoshop layer via Layer Styles, the Layer Style dialog opens. You may think that all you can do here is fiddle with the settings in the dialog's fields and drop-downs, keeping the Preview button checked to see the effects of your settings on your artwork.
But you're wrong! While the dialog is open (and only when it's open), you can directly manipulate the shadow itself by dragging on it with your mouse. Just move the dialog out of the way and hover over the shadow with your cursor. You're limited to modifying just the shadow's Angle and Distance by dragging it around, but sometimes that makes all the difference.
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A Fix for Finicky HTML Tables
A recent tech support call from a previous GoLive student (yes, she actually remembered that all students receive 3 years of 24/7 support from me) involved diagnosing a mysterious problem she was having getting text to align properly in a web page table.
The table was for a survey form. Most of the rows contained survey questions and radio buttons for responses. The top row, though, contained header text for the survey itself.
The problem was that although the header row copy was formatted to be centered (horizontally) within the cell, and previewed correctly in GoLive/Windows and in IE for the Macintosh; it wasn't aligning properly in IE for Windows -- the browser that would be used by 99% of the site's prospective visitors.
In that browser, it looked like there was twice the amount of space to the right of the text than to the left of the text. And since this row looked distinctly different than the other rows, the misalignment really stood out.
She sent me the file and I verified that there were no extra spaces in the cell, that the column widths added up properly to the table width, and that the centering was applied correctly.
Then it occurred to me that this first row had a couple instances of merged cells ("colspan" in HTML-speak). Some browsers, IE/Windows among them, may have trouble drawing tables correctly when either the first row or the first column in a table contain merged cells. I added another row to the table, above the header row, that contained only individual (non-merged) cells.
When I opened up the modified .html file in IE/Windows, the text in the header row was now centering properly. And since the "control row" I added to the top of table contained no data in its cells and its height was set to "0", it didn't affect the appearance or position of the table when viewed in a browser. I sent my client the fixed .html file.
Moral: If your table starts out with merged cells in its first row or first column, add a control row above or to the left of it as explained above. And if you're slicing an image in Photoshop, ImageReady or Fireworks, and having that application generate the HTML for the table as well as the sliced .gifs and .jpegs, look for the option "Add Control Row/Column," and make sure it's enabled.
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Photoshop 7 Batch Renaming Tip
Fans of Photoshop's Browse window know that one of its most useful features is the ability to automatically rename a selection of image files based on a naming pattern you specify. Being able to rename a pile of digital camera images from "DCS083.jpg, DCS084.jpg," etc. to "2003_Thanksgiving_01.jpg, "2003_Thanksgiving_02.jpg," etc. in a matter of seconds is a joy.
(In Photoshop 7, the Batch Rename... command is in the Browse palette's fly-out menu; in Photoshop CS it's in the File Browser's own menu bar, under Automate.)
A minor frustration with Batch Rename in Photoshop 7 centers on the numbering sequence option. You can choose to have Photoshop add a "Digit Serial Number" (from one to four places) to the filenames, but it always starts at number 1.
What if you've already renamed some images from an event, starting with 001, and now you want to rename some more images, this time starting from 014 or 567 or something? At first glance, it's impossible. So instead, you might modify the document name field, something like "2003_Thanksgiving2_01.jpg, 2003_Thanksgiving2_02.jpg" and so on.
One solution would be to upgrade to Photoshop CS, which has addressed this problem by adding a "Starting Serial Number" field to the Batch Rename dialog. Kind of expensive just for that feature, though. :-)
Here's some help. You can specify a starting serial number for Batch Renamed images in Photoshop 7 via a little workaround:
In the Batch Rename... dialog area where you set up your naming pattern, enter #014# in one of the fields if you want to include a 3-digit serial number starting with 014, in this example. Your chosen files will get renamed to 014, 015, 016, and so on (in addition to any other fields you set). Using this workaround, you can set from one to four digit placeholders (e.g., #0067#), as long as the number is surrounded by the hash symbol (#) and the last placeholder(s) represent your starting serial number.
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Table Cell Navigation in Quark/InDesign
Quark 5 and 6, and all versions of InDesign, let you create tables in your document. Entering and formatting text inside each table cell is essentially the same for both programs. But moving that text insertion bar from one cell to the next using the Tab key is handled differently. If you bounce back and forth between Quark and InDy, as I do, it can be hard to keep straight.
Here's a brief rundown:
It helps me when I'm working on a table in InDesign to remember that it works like Microsoft Word table. Press the Tab key to move from one cell to the next. If you're in the last cell, pressing Tab creates another row and puts your cursor in the first cell in that row. To create a tab stop *within* a cell, press Option/Alt-Tab.
In Quark 5 or 6, pressing Tab simply adds a tab stop to the cell you're in. I think that's more intuitive, providing you're not accustomed to tables in Word. To move from one cell to the next, press Control-Tab (yes, the Control key on both Mac and Windows). If you're in the last cell of a table and press Control-Tab, the cursor cycles back and ends up in the first cell. The only way to add a row is via a menu or dialog.
While working on a Quark table on the Mac, if you get confused and press Option-Tab, thinking it will either insert a tab stop or jump you to the next cell, it won't. You'll end up with a right-indent Tab in the cell you're in, same as if you pressed Option-Tab in a text box. (In Windows, you can get a right-indent tab in the cell or text box by pressing Shift-Tab.)
If you're in Quark and Control-Tab isn't moving your cursor to the next cell, the cell you're in is probably linked to another cell, a feature found only in Quark and only in version 6. Cells are automatically linked if you turned on the Linked Cells option when you created the table, or if you manually linked the cells with the Linking Tool. Either way, you can unlink the cell with the Unlinking Tool, same as unlinking two linked Text Boxes.
In either program, the Arrow keys on your keyboard will almost always move your cursor from one cell to the next. (The exception being when you're in a Linked Cell in Quark 6, see above. Arrow keys don't work there either.) But the Arrow keys are just not as convenient as the Tab key and its combinations are when you're editing text in a table.
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Just for Fun: Really Great Links
Did everyone catch the Dilbert comic strip this past Sunday? It speaks to the soul of graphic designers everywhere. Mine's on the fridge. If you missed it, here it is:
<http://www.unitedmedia.com/comics/dilbert/archive/dilbert-20031214.html>
(You know, of course, that Dilbert creator Scott Adams and I are old and dear friends? Okay, I'm probably reading more into our relationship than exists, but he DID write me an e-mail once:
<http://www.senecadesign.com/geekness/fanmail/fanmail-celebs.html>)
I'm not Flash's biggest fan (well I think Flash is fantastic of course, but it's mainly all-Flash web sites that seem like a cop-out to me ... suffer with HTML like the rest of us!), but these two sites I recently came across were phenomenal enough for me to bookmark in my "Cool Sites" category, which gets about one addition every six months ... after 8 years of surfing, I'm picky.
Flash Pen: <http://ge.liveserver.com/Imagine>
Not only can you create artwork with the on-screen magical pen, but you can play your creation back as a recording, and e-mail the recording to people right from the page.
Dominey Design: <http://domineydesign.com/>
Todd Dominey is a new media designer in Atlanta, Georgia. Here's one example of how an all-Flash web site actually makes sense, and in fact will knock your socks off. Be sure to click on the "Map" sign on the opening artwork to delve into the site and see how well he presents his portfolio.
By the way, Todd is the man behind one of my favorite blogs:
"What Do I Know": <http://www.whatdoIknow.org>
And finally, Forbes magazine had nice stuff to say about Apple recently; if you're a long-time Mac user, you'll feel somewhat vindicated:
"Happy Birthday, Mac!" (12/15/03)
<http://www.forbes.com/2003/12/15/cz_qh_1215macat20.html>
and
"An App The Mac Can Brag About" (12/15/03) (no, it's not iTunes)
<http://www.forbes.com/2003/12/15/cx_ah_1215tentech.html>
That's all, folks ... Have a wonderful holiday, and I'll see you next year!
-- Anne-Marie
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IS 2004 YOUR YEAR TO MASTER YOUR DOMAIN?
You can fully master the latest versions of OS X, Photoshop, InDesign, QuarkXPress, Illustrator, Acrobat, GoLive, and the rest of the designer's toolbox in far less time than you think! Just call in HerGeekness for an enjoyable session or two of targeted training (Mac or Windows) for you or your staff in the program of your choice -- starting at the level you're at, going to the level you want to attain, using the files you actually work with.
All clients receive three years of 24/7 follow-up support by phone or e-mail, too -- it's like having your own personal consultant at your beck and call, and can save you hundreds of dollars in per-incident support calls direct to the software companies.
Anne-Marie provides authorized Quark and Adobe training at your workplace for groups of one to ten or more, in the Chicago area and throughout the country. Out-of-the-office training in Seneca's bi-platform studio or Mac classroom is also available. Recent clients include the Chicago Tribune, World Book Publishing, and McGraw-Hill.
Detailed information including pricing, student pix and unsolicited feedback are here:
http://www.senecadesign.com/training/
... or contact her directly to talk about your training needs and get a friendly, no-obligation quote:
mailto:amarie@senecadesign.com
Phone: 312-946-1100
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DesignGeek is a free bimonthly publication written by Anne-Marie "HerGeekness" Concepcion, a cross-media designer and authorized Adobe and Quark training provider. She owns Seneca Design & Training, Inc. in Chicago, Illinois (http://www.senecadesign.com/).
To subscribe to DesignGeek or read archived issues, go to its home on Seneca's site: http://www.senecadesign.com/designgeek/subscribe.html.
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Contact Seneca by phone at 312-946-1100 or email at info@senecadesign.com
Copyright 2003 by Seneca Design & Training, Inc.
Please forward without cutting. Please contact Seneca for reprint permissions. We don't guarantee accuracy of articles. Company or product names mentioned in DesignGeek may be registered trademarks, we use the names in an editorial fashion with no intention of infringement.
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