So I just got a new boss and she rocks and I should be jealous of her because she is only 2 years older than me and is my boss but she rocks! She is so quick and smart and sassy. Anyways, she gave me a super tip about using Indesign. Since Indesign can create a package of all the links involved in the document then you never have to place the image you work with in one folder. You can grab from all over your computer while creating the document and then when the document gets approved…. Then you package the Indesign document and Indesign MAKES THE LINKS FOLDER FOR YOU!!! Great idea and much better than Illustrator. Who knew my work woes was because I was using Illustrator and not Indesign…

So I’m working on this short throw it out in the vaccum we call the Internet article more like list for my friend’s new idea of the month… ill-list.com

I have to say it’s a pretty damn good url name. Right now it’s a blog and she is asking people to add lists of things they thing are ill or sick or really great.

So I volunteered to do a list of the illist keyboard shortcuts. I’ll post it up here too and link it to her site.

The thing of it all is that people can create their own keyboard shortcuts but most people don’t which can be a good thing especially if a computer is used by more than one person… I find this interesting but I’m not sure why… has something to do with language and programmability and customization and how people take shortcuts….

This sounds silly but I’m pretty excited about this new email shortcut and it probably works for all doc apps. If you type Command B before you type then what you type next will be in BOLD and if you Command B again what you type after won’t be in BOLD!!! Before this revelation I thought I had to select text after I wrote it to make it BOLD. Using Command B before I type is so much more efficient. I hope I remember this one for years to come!!!

more to come…

Apparently for some reason I thought there was no difference between a JPEG and PSD that it was logical that when you had a PSD you just always saved it off as a JPEG unless you wanted to preserve transparency.

But PSDs print better than JPEGs. JPEGs print ok and are half the size of PSD files.

So much of being a “Production Artist” requires waying the pros and the cons constantly never saying never.

more to come…

BBedit is a great, sexy looking HTML editor. I’m trying to get back into web design and so I find myself making silly mistakes at 1am in the morning. And I just got a call from a pro bono client asking me to fix a link ASAP or his ass will be kicked. Gosh, so I kinda freaked cause I’m at my full-time job and we don’t have Dreamweaver here.

Then I thought oh if I had just a simple HTML editor I could just edit the code and change the link. Thank goodness I remembered BBedit. So I quickly went and downloaded the trial version of BBedit, downloaded the HTML file from the site, dragged the HTML file over the BBedit icon and the code popped up, I went in changed the link and made a few other changes and then re-uploaded the updated HTML file to replace the old file and Voila! done. Link fixed.

It’s first time I’ve just went in and worked with just the code. BBedit makes it easy to see the code and just work with the code alone. And working with code/meta data is so much easier and faster than working with the objects and images the code creates/references.

I’m excited to do more code! I have a phat javascript book I just bought so I can get down some very Basic yet Essential javascript code.

I also like TRANSMIT as an FTP program. The less info in my face the better when under the GUN. And this program ECTO is great for sending posts to blogs like this one.

At first I thought it didn’t matter if I had CS3 or not. I’ve realized that I’m not one for change even if it’s for the better. I’m still getting used to updating to new programs when they come out. I still think that photoshop is photoshop like a kleenex is kleenex. But computers and programs are not just appliances. They evolve and change kinda like humans.

At work I use Illustrator CS3, Photoshop CS3 and now using Indesign CS3. Here are a few things that are new in these programs that are like juicy date morsels.

Indesign CS3
1. You can change text color on the Toolbar palette!! Just like you would change the foreground/background colors of an object. It’s teeny tiny but works. You can select multiple text boxes at once and then change the text color on the Toolbar or in the Color palette. See screenshot.

You have to click on the teeny tiny (T).

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more later…

Like HTML and CSS, PHP manuals and code is freely available online.

http://www.buildwebsite4u.com/advanced/php.shtml

http://www.php.net/manual/en/index.php

So I’m finding PHP is something good for me to learn for creating more useful websites. HTML and CSS is ok for creating a simple web page, but to make a website more dynamic I’ll need to write some PHP scripts that can tell a website what to do. Apparently this is what PHP or “server-side” language does. And I guess this might help me get those “interactive” designer jobs that I keep seeing.

So the book is called PHP visual quick start published by Peach Pit Press who also publishes Before & After books who also I interviewed with and didn’t get the job with with. And here is the PHP resource website for the book that is super useful: http://dmcinsights.com/phpvqs2/