Scratch Disk

February 19, 2008

Paper to PDF with Acrobat 8 and a Fujitsu ScanSnap

I recently got my hands on a Fujitsu ScanSnap S510M (the "M" at the end indicates Mac compatibility) and I've fallen in love with scanning again! I haven't enjoyed scanning this much since the day I bought my first flatbed color scanner, but that was back in the day when you spent thousands of dollars for 300 DPI color.

Anyway, what I'm loving about this scanner is that it's fast and the paper handling rocks. This little guy scans color/duplex just as fast as my black and white laser printer prints! It's rated at 18ppm duplex (so 36 page images) in color and really chews through stacks of paper with its 50-sheet ADF. I was impressed by a few test scans, but I'm pretty picky and I thought it would be a good idea to put this scanner through a real test.

I recently moved my office and decided it was time to do some housekeeping/purging, and I couldn't think of a better (and geekier) way to tidy things up than a paper-to-PDF conversion. Amidst conference calls, emails, and various other projects, I managed to scan 35 pounds of paper today. It's in a big box ready for the recycler in the morning!

35 POUNDS! Gone!

The only thing I'm bummed about is that I cannot directly control the printer within Acrobat 8 Professional. According to Rick Borstein, this is because the scanner doesn't support a TWAIN driver. Not ideal, but I can live with it because the driver software that comes with the scanner can be configured so that by pushing just one button I can convert up to 50 pages at a time into a single PDF and have it opened directly inside Acrobat. At that point I can just save the PDF or post-process it with some cleanup, compression, or OCR using the features in Acrobat 8 Professional.

Excuse me while I grab another box of paper from the basement....

[Update: Somehow I forgot to mention that this great little scanner includes a license of Acrobat 8 Professional. The scanner is selling for $425US on Amazon. Acrobat 8 Professional retails for about $450US. You do the math!]

February 05, 2008

Acrobat 8 Update for Leopard Support

I just got word that the Leopard compatibility update (v8.1.2, ~5MB) for Acrobat 8 Professional has been released. In my book, this is the last big patch I've been waiting for to achieve a streamlined Leopard system. I upgraded to Leopard last weekend (backup, format, and reinstall, of course) and this was the only hiccup in the process for me. I just downloaded the patch and things are running great here. I haven't seen comprehensive release notes yet, but the big fix I notice is that the "Adobe PDF 8.0" virtual printer works properly under Leopard (I'm running 10.5.1).

I'm sure the updater will be posted on the web soon, but in the meantime just choose Help>Check for Updates inside Acrobat to get the goods. Please post your experience and feedback here!

December 05, 2007

FrameMaker to InDesign Conversion Plug-In

The new FrameMaker-to-InDesign conversion filter from DTP Tools has been in beta for a while, and the shipping version is finally here! The product details page does a great job enumerating the conversion options, and it's worth a look to see just how comprehensive this plug-in is.

The filter is even capable of converting text variables, complex tables, and numbered lists. If you also use their Cross-References plug-in for InDesign then cross-references from FrameMaker are also converted.

Just last week I met with a customer who is interested in converting some existing documents from FrameMaker to InDesign and this new plug-in should help a lot if that's the direction you're headed. Possibly the most interesting this about this plug-in is the pricing model. Instead of paying a specific license fee, yo only pay for how much you use and only when you're satisfied with the conversion results. That's right, you can download and use the plug-in for free and test the conversion results for yourself. When you're happy with the results you can purchase usage credits and save the new InDesign files!

October 30, 2007

New Layer Comps Plug-in for InDesign

I've had a behind-the-scenes sneak peek on the development of this new plug-in and DTP Tools has done a great job with their Layer Comps plug-in for InDesign. If you've ever used the Layer Comps feature introduced back in Photoshop CS then you'll know exactly how this plug-in works in InDesign.

Lots of folks will get good mileage out of layer comps for InDesign, and I suspect folks doing lots of design variations for ads, circulars and magazines with regional variations will love it the most. A few tidbits from their press release that sum it up better than I can:

• Layer Comps allows to save different settings of layer visibility, lock state, order, printability, guide visibility and lock state.
• Comps can be also exported into all formats supported by InDesign. You can export a single comp into .inx as a snapshot or multiple comps into PDF to show your clients layout alternatives.
• All documents created with the Layer Comps can still be opened and edited without this plug-in. The layer settings will remain the same.

June 22, 2007

Snapz Pro X is Intel Native!

Just a quick shout out to Andrew and the gang over at Ambrosia Software for releasing an Intel Native version of their wonderful Snapz Pro X screen capture utility. It's not only Universal Binary, but video encoding speed is significantly improved.

I use Snapz Pro every day for a variety of purposes. A few examples include projects I've done with Total Training, Lynda.com, and all of my writing projects. I'm sure all of the trainers and authors out there will be thrilled about this release. Enjoy!

June 21, 2007

Ultramarathon Man via Flash Media Server

I'm no Flash Media Server expert, but I love it when Adobe technology solves problems and creates unique experiences. It's like my dishwasher: I don't know EXACTLY how it works, but it gets the job done.

In this case, it's Flash Media Encoder and Flash Media Server allowing my to watch multiple live video feeds of Dean Karnazes attempting to break the world record for miles run on a treadmill in 24 hours! How fitting that he's making this world record attempt on the summer solstice. Did I mention that he's doing this two stories above Times Square in New York City?

I've met Dean, and last fall I had the chance to run four marathons with him in his quest to run 50 marathons in all 50 US states in 50 consecutive days. What a great guy and what a fantastic experience. If anybody can break the record it's Dean. I wish I could be there to run with Dean in NYC today, but at least I can enjoy a bit of the event remotely. Go, Dean! (and thanks to FMS for the video streams)

June 17, 2007

InDesign CS3 - From Tab Text to Formatted Table in Less Than 30 Seconds!

Everybody who enjoys the copious amount of tweaking necessary to make tabular data look beautiful in a page layout application, please raise your hand. If your hand is up, skip to John Nack’s blog.

Everybody else, read on, because I’m about to show you how to make short work of formatting tables in InDesign CS3. In fact, we’ll do it in less than 30 seconds.

More…

May 14, 2007

Customized InDesign CS3 Contact Sheets

The other week a customer who builds their Sunday newspaper advertising insert with InDesign asked me if they could use use the Contact Sheet Script to make an InDesign contact sheet out of individual INDD files. I thought it was a great idea, and didn't see why it shouldn't be possible, considering that IDCS3 can now place INDD files.

I tried the script on it's own, but it doesn't recognize INDD files without a bit of tweaking. Here's the solution:

1. Locate the file called "WasScriptLibrary.jsx" on your hard drive and open it with the ExtendScript Toolkit application or your favorite script editor.
2. Locate this string in line 755:

   WasLib.fileFilters.putValue( "Contact Sheet","PNG,JPG,JPEG,TIF,TIFF,GIF,AI,PSD,PDF,EPS,EPSF" );

3. Change the string to:

   WasLib.fileFilters.putValue( "Contact Sheet","PNG,JPG,JPEG,TIF,TIFF,GIF,AI,PSD,PDF,EPS,EPSF,INDD" );

This allows INDD files to be included in InDesign contact sheets. Note that it places different file sizes at the same dimensions and always places the first page of the INDD file. Hope that helps!

May 10, 2007

Migrating Acrobat 8 Tracked Reviews

I don't know how common this is, but a customer recently asked me how to migrate a tracked PDF review in Acrobat from one computer to another. Scenarios include upgrading from Acrobat 7 to Acrobat 8, upgrading to a new computer, or tracking reviews from a laptop if you travel. If this sounds interesting, here's the solution:

1. Copy the file "Workflows" from this location on the old Mac HD/users/username/Library/Preferences/Acrobat/(version number)/Collab/Workflows to the same location on the new machine. The file path on Windows should be similar under the "Documents and Settings" folder.
2. Relaunch Acrobat.
3. Now copy the tracked PDFs from the old machine to the new machine. If the PDFs have the exact same file path on the new machine as they did on the old machine, then you're done. If they don't have the same file path, then just click their filename in the Tracker window and Acrobat will prompt you to tell it the new file path.

That should take care of it!

May 04, 2007

Tip for GoLive>Dreamweaver Migrations

As a follow-up to my recent post about new tools to help you migrated from GoLive to Dreamweaver (if you want to) I wanted to offer an extra tip that will hopefully help some of you. I recently learned that the GL2DW extension assumes (for better or worse) that your GoLive site is in good working order and using the new site folder organization scheme that's been in use for the last few versions.

If that's not the case, the GL2DW extension can hiccup in the conversion process. To tidy things up before running the extension, open your site in GoLive and choose Site>Convert Site to New Structure. If the menu command is grayed out you're in the clear. If it's available, you should let 'er rip.

May 01, 2007

Migrating from GoLive to Dreamweaver?

GoLive is not dead (you'll be seeing a new version layer this year) and you don't have to switch if you don't want to, but if you're thinking about migrating from GoLive to Dreamweaver, then there are some good resources you need to know about. Click on over to http://www.adobe.com/products/golive/gl2dw.html and check out the goods, including a 17-page migration guide written by me (Adam) and my long-time writing partner and GoLive expert, Lynn Grillo. The migration guide supports a new extension that is included with Dreamweaver CS3 that helps convert your GoLive sites to be Dreamweaver-ready. Please let us know if these resources are helpful.

If you're using GoLive and don't plan to switch to Dreamweaver, we also want to hear from you! Is it emotional? A specific couple of features? A certain workflow? Let us know!

April 13, 2007

Indianapolis InDesign User Group Inaugural Meeting

They're popping up everywhere, and the newest one's in Indianapolis, Indiana. Noha Edell (presenter extraordinaire) from Adobe will be there on April 24, 2007 to shows off CS3, and it's a great way to network with other designers in the area. The meeting starts at 6:30PM, runs until 9PM and the location is:

Indiana Farm Bureau Insurance
225 South East Street
Indianapolis, In 46202
United States

Get more details and sign up online. Enjoy!

CS3: Creative License Conferences Across North America

Now that CS3 has been publicly announced, we're getting our engines revved up to hit the road and sweep North America with several one- and two-day conferences. Whether you work in print, web, video, motion graphics, or mobile, there will be something for you. Come see all the components of the new Suites, including Design, Web, and Video Production. Dates range from May 16 to June 26, so check out the details and register.

Two-day Conference Cities
One-day Conference Cities

April 12, 2007

Placing InDesign files in InDesign Files

No, that title is NOT a typo. One of the coolest new features of InDesign CS3 is the ability to place InDesign documents (INDD) inside other InDesign documents. I think it will take folks a while to get their heads wrapped around that one, but I can't wait to see how folks end up using it. Lots of collaboration possibilities come to mind, but let us know what comes to mind for you.

In the meantime, I've been doing some testing and conferring with the InDesign team and I've dug up a few nuggets that should help you get acclimated to the possibilities:

1. InDesign CS3 can be used to place any version of InDesign document, all the way back to version 1.0.

2. Some folks are freaked out by this possibility and they want to know how to turn it off. Well, for better or worse, the same import filter that enables the placement of InDesign documents also enables the placement of EPS files. I really don't think you want to be turnin' that one off.

3. If you want to edit the original InDesign layout, just Option/Alt-double-click to edit the original layout in InDesign. The placed INDD looks great in the layout, but you cannot edit the individual pieces. If you need that functionality then I recommend an old standard: Copy and Paste.

There's more where this came from, but in the meantime, how do you imagine using this new capability?

February 13, 2007

TypeFitter Plug-in for InCopy Now Free

If you're not familiar with Teacup Software, they put out some great plug-ins for InDesign and they also do custom plug-in development. Among their various plug-ins is a sweet little gem called TypeFitter which makes it easy to tweak word spacing, letter spacing, and glyph spacing to stretch or shrink a story to fit. I'm sure there are purists who will say we shouldn't be doing this, but why not accept the reality AND make it easier?

The plug-in isn't new, but what is new is that the fine folks at Teacup are now giving away the InCopy version for free! It supports the Mac and Windows versions of CS1 and CS2. If you want the plug-in for InDesign it'll cost you $59US, and I'd say it's worth the price if only for it's ability to instantly find all widows and overset text!

January 16, 2007

New PDF-to-InDesign Plug-In Announced

I'm getting caught up from the flood of Macworld, and I wanted to highlight a few gems I found at the show. My first discovery of the week was a new PDF to InDesign conversion plug-in from Recosoft. They were demoing the plug-in live on the show floor and I was impressed with the results. The plug-in runs inside InDesign and converts a PDF into an editable InDesign layout. The conversion results will of course be constrained by how the original document was designed and how the PDf was created, but even their beta build showed off quite well.

In a perfect world, you would always have access to all original source files. In lieu of perfection, this new plug-in might save your butt. Recosoft says they'll ship this plug-in in Q2 2007 for Mac and Windows users.

So I'm curious, have any of you needed a solution like this? Anxious to get your hands on this plug-in?