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Become A Magic Wand Magician With Adobe Photoshop

January 04, 2010 By: shoppingauthor Category: Computers No Comments →

Adobe Photoshop is a difficult program to master without some expert assistance. The Magic Wand is one of three tools in Photoshop which are dedicated to making selections. When I run courses on Photoshop, tools like the magic wand and the clone tools are usually the ones which everyone finds the easiest to start using because they give such immediate results. The Magic Wand works by selecting colours within the image adjacent and similar to any pixel that you click on. Pixels of dissimilar colour act as barriers to selection and so the selection ripples outwards from the point you click on.

As you can imagine, you will not normally completely select your intended subject with one click when you are using the magic wand to make selections. Typically, you will select part of the area that you want and you will then need to add and subtract from the selection, perhaps switching to the other selection tools from time to time. Photoshop offers you two ways of modifying a selection: you can either use modifier keys on you keyboard or activate the modifier icons on the options panel normally displayed below your menu bar.

To subtract from the selection, hold down the Alt key and click on the part of the selection which you wish to deselect. To add to a selection, hold down the Shift key while clicking with the Magic Wand on a part of the image which is not yet selected. The selection modifier icons are situated on the left of the options panel at the Photoshop interface. There are four of them: new selection, add to selection, subtract from selection and select intersection. These icons effectively allow you to change selection mode on a permanent basis. Thus, for example, you could click on the second of the four icons when using the Magic Wand and click continually on different parts of a subject until it was completely selected.

If you want to select a subject against a uniform background such as a wall or the sky, a simple trick is to use the magic wand to select the background and then invert the selection by choosing Select – Inverse. A slight variation on this technique is to make a rough selection which completely encloses the subject as well some of the background and then to use the Magic Wand in subtract mode to remove the background from the selection.

The number of pixels which the Magic Wand selects when you click on part of the image can be controlled by changing a setting called tolerance. Tolerance determines how far a pixel can vary from the pixel that you click on and still be included in the selection. The default tolerance is 32 and the maximum is 255.

Do you need to learn Adobe Photoshop CS4? We offer Adobe Photoshop tuition in London and all over the UK.

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Why You Should Be Using Layers In Adobe InDesign Courses

November 30, 2009 By: shoppingauthor Category: Computers 1 Comment →

Adobe’s InDesign CS4 is one of the best and most popular programs for graphic design and formatting. Layers are a feature in several programs within the Adobe Creative Suite: Photoshop, Flash, Illustrator and InDesign. Their function differs from program to program but, in general, the use of layers serves to offer flexibility of composition. Items of related content can be placed on their own individual layers. Layers can then be made visible or hidden or can be locked to prevent their content being changed. Equally, the stacking order of layers can be changed to determine which elements are displayed in front of which other elements. Layers are not always required when creating documents in InDesign but they can beneficial in several situations.

1. The most common scenario is where you need to produce several different versions of a publication. For example, there may be one version of a catalogue for in-house use and another for clients; or you may need to create different language versions of the same document.

2. Another situation in which layers is useful is where certain page elements take a long time to redraw. For example, if you’re creating a large poster with a high resolution background image, you may find it useful to place it on a separate layer and hide the layer when you are working on other elements.

2. Using layers can also help to speed up your screen redraw. For example, if you’re creating a large poster with a high resolution background image, you may find it useful to place it on a separate layer and hide the layer when you are working on other elements.

4. Complex page layouts often require the creation and intricate manipulation of many different InDesign elements. This process can sometimes be made much easier by placing elements on a series of layers.

5. One often hears PowerPoint users complaining that elements placed the slide master will always be behind elements placed on the slides. Whilst the same if true of InDesign master page elements, using layers allows to overcome this fact. Simply place all those items which need to be front-most on a separate layer and move that layer to the top of the heap.

6. PowerPoint users often complain that elements placed the slide master will always be behind elements placed on the slides. Whilst the same if true of InDesign master page elements, using layers allows to overcome this fact. Simply place all those items which need to be front-most on a separate layer and move that layer to the top of the heap.

Need to learn Adobe InDesign. We offer Adobe InDesign CS4 tuition in London and all over the UK.

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Learn New Tricks With Adobe Photoshop Training Classes

November 29, 2009 By: shoppingauthor Category: Computers No Comments →

Adobe Photoshop CS4 is so much a part of our culture that expressions like “They photoshoppped him into the picture” have become common. Learning is an ongoing thing that people do throughout their lives. Computer skills are in very high demand. This could explain why more people are looking into adobe photoshop training then ever before.

Numerous options are around for people to learn the skills that they require. Tutorials are abundant on the internet and can be a very good way for some people to learn what they need. A lot of the tutorials can be found at no charge for people that want to use them. It may take a bit of time to find the one that is right for you but will be worth it in the long run if this is the way you find you learn the best.

Other people find that using a book has been a big help for them when it comes to adobe photoshop training. There are a lot of books on this subject that can help you develop the skills that you need. Many of these books have tutorials that can be followed that allow you to use hands on techniques when applying the changes to a certain project

There are people that need to have someone sit with them and show them the proper way to do things with the adobe photoshop program. There are schools that offer courses that allow for you to get this kind of assistance. Numerous people find that this is the only way that they can absorb the information that they are taught.

If a classroom is not for you, consider the option of using a tutor to help you with your adobe photoshop training. You can find many tutors by searching online, or looking at resources that are in the area that you live. This can be a way for you to get one on one training.

Knowing exactly what you want to learn is the first thing you need to know bef9ore seeking adobe photoshop training. Everybody has different needs and this has been proven time and time again with the many different ways that people learn.

Do you need to learn Adobe Photoshop CS4? We offer Adobe Photoshop courses in London and all over the UK.

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Adobe Photoshop Training Courses: Which Type Is Best?

November 09, 2009 By: shoppingauthor Category: Computers No Comments →

Adobe Photoshop CS4 is one of the most powerful programs ever written for desktop computers and, inevitably, it takes some learning. Adobe There are basically four ways that an individual can get the type of Adobe Photoshop training that is needed to manipulate and work with the program effectively.

Two of these methods are through the Adobe company which can be expensive for a budget minded entrepreneur or person who is just testing the water to see if this is a field they are interested in entering.

Adobe provides online Adobe Photoshop training which can be completed at one’s own pace. This series of interactive exercises, manuals, etc., will teach a person the basics of the program and the most used functions of the program. It will give an individual a good solid base for using Adobe Photoshop. It can also be cost prohibitive because the series is a total of several hours of training broken down into stages.

Instructor led courses are available to individuals in almost every major city throughout the world. These classes are led by individuals who are certified and meet ongoing re-certification requirements. They teach individuals at authorized Adobe Training Centers or provide training to companies on-site.

These instructors often provide additional follow-up and training as part of the initial cost of taking the course. The cost of these courses range from expensive to very expensive and also are not the best choice for an individual on a budget who is trying to find out if they want to use the program.

Another way to get Adobe Photoshop Training is to buy books through an online bookstore and read them. Purchasing the program alone is fairly expensive but using the books that are available one can figure out most of the training techniques that are needed to begin using the program effectively. Also, after buying the program one can access many free tutorials through Adobe as well as forums and blogs which make learning the program much easier.

People who have used a program for several years can provide the best Adobe Photoshop Training available and it usually will not cost anything to pick their brain. These individuals have worked through the program and found ways to get around the parts of the program that have a tendency to present obstacles when one is trying to make an unauthorized adjustment.

They know what function to use to create an action that may not even be related to what an instructor would think of. Coupled with the books one purchases it is possible to get Adobe Photoshop training very inexpensively using only creativity and the time it takes to interact with other users.

Independent computer training company offering Adobe Photoshop training, as well as Adobe InDesign CS4 classes in London and all over the UK.

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Adobe Photoshop CS4 Alpha Channels Versus Paths

August 05, 2009 By: shoppingauthor Category: Computers No Comments →

The distinction between bitmaps and vectors is one that often confuses users new to computer graphics. Basically, bitmaps describe an image as a mosaic of tiny squares called pixels, each with its own colour value. Vector graphics, on the other hand consist of independent elements each with its own attributes. Photoshop, a key component of the Adobe Creative Suite CS4 is a bitmapped graphic environment, it does offer users a number of tools for creating and editing vector graphics. These tools are used to create vector paths which allow very precise selection of a given portion of an image.

Highlighting pixels in a bitmapped image can occasionally be a challenge. That’s why Adobe Photoshop CS4 offers so many ways of making selections. One can use either selection tools, modifier icons and keyboard shortcuts. Having selected the required pixels, you will want to ensure that you don’t have to repeat the laborious process of selection again. You have two methods of saving your selection: either as a vector path or a bitmapped alpha channel.

To save a selection as an alpha channel, use the Save Selection command, which is found in the Select menu. When you save a selection in this way, Photoshop creates an alpha channel, a special type of channel which can be viewed by going to the Channel window and clicking on its name. Alpha channels are essentially greyscale images which employ a kind of code to represent which parts of the image will be selected whenever the mask is used to make a selection. Basically, the darker the area, the weaker the selection will be; the lighter the area, the stronger the selection. White areas therefore indicate full selection and black areas, no selection at all.

The different levels of grey within an image represent different degrees of selection, making alpha channels ideal for saving selections with fade-outs and feathers. Paths on the other hand can only have crisp edges. Paths are vector objects which can be modified with the use of a series of tools which are essentially imports from Adobe Illustrator.

If you wish to save a selection as a path, choose Make Work Path from the Paths panel menu. Photoshop will prompt you to enter a number representing the tolerance setting that Photoshop should use in creating the vector path. The permitted range is from 0.5 to 10. Lower numbers lead to a very detailed trace resulting in shorter line segments and many points. Higher numbers will create a path with fewer anchor points. As a general rule, figures in the range 1 to 2 yield the best results.

Having created a workpath, you should always remember to save it, by choosing Save Path from the panel menu. Workpaths are temporary and will simply disappear when the file is closed.

Utilizing the borrowed Adobe Illustrator vector-based editing tools, paths can be modified to very precisely represent edges around elements within the image. This makes them ideal for creating cut-outs of products and other subjects within photographs.

Author conducts training courses for an independent computer training company offering Adobe Photoshop tuition in London and all over the United Kingdom.

How To Manipulate A Chart In MS Excel

July 19, 2009 By: shoppingauthor Category: Computers No Comments →

Excel is perhaps the most widely used element within MS Office 2007. Before you can manipulate a chart any way, you need to highlight or select the chart. To select an embedded MS Excel 2007 chart simply click once on its border. When a chart is highlighted, Excel does two things: it displays the data on which the chart is based and it displays the Chart Tools. Chart Tools consist of the Design, Layout and Format context sensitive tabs.

To select a stand-alone chart, simply click on the sheet tab. In a standalone chart, the chart occupies the entire sheet and normally the chart remains highlighted. However, it can be deselected if you click on the blank space outside the chart area. If the chart has become deselected, simply click on its border to reselect it; just as you would with an embedded chart.

The most basic type of manipulation one can do to an embedded chart is to reposition and resize the chart. To resize the chart, use one of the resize handles. These are positioned on the corners of the chart and in the middle of each side. Each resize handle consists of three dots. When using the middle handles, you can only change one dimension; either the width or the height. When you use the corner handles, you can change both dimensions. To resize proportionally, in other words to retain the aspect ratio, hold down the Shift key as you drag.

It is also possible to permanently lock the aspect ratio. Click on the Format tab and then click on the launch button. In the size section this displays the Size and Properties dialog box. Here you’ll find the option Lock Aspect Ratio. If this option is activated, whenever you use the corner handles to resize a chart, the aspect ratio is automatically preserved without having to use the Shift key.

To move a chart, position the cursor on the border of the chart but away from the resize handles. You will notice that when the cursor is over a resize handle it changes to an icon with two arrows. When you have the cursor over the border but away from the resize handles, the cursor changes to an icon with four arrows. At this point, simply click and hold and drag the chart to a new location.

Although Excel places a chart on a separate layer, it still associates it with the columns and rows over which it is place. This means that if you make adjustments to these rows and columns, the chart can move or be resized. For example, if we insert a column to the left of one of the columns over which the chart is placed, the chart becomes wider to accommodate the newly inserted column.

If this behaviour becomes a nuisance at any time, Excel allows you to deactivate it. Simply highlight the chart, click on the Format tab and then click on the launch button in the Size section. This time, click on the Properties tab and here you’ll find options for Object Positioning. If you choose the option Don’t Move or Size With Cells, this means that chart objects will become completely independent of the columns and rows on which they superimposed.
The author is a trainer and developer with Macresource Computer Training, a UK IT training company offering Microsoft Excel 2007 classes in London and on-site courses throughout the UK.

Organising The Adobe Creative Suite In-Company Training

July 16, 2009 By: shoppingauthor Category: Computers No Comments →

Adobe Dreamweaver, a key component of Adobe CS4 is an excellent environment for developing web content. If you have invested in this sophisticated piece of software, it makes sense to ensure that your staff knows how to use it effectively. Having allowed them a week or two to play with the package and go through the tutorials it contains, you will probably want to get them trained. Tutor-led software training has the benefit that delegates are able to ask questions as they learn and have complex concepts explained and demonstrated to them until they fully understand them.

Attending a scheduled, public Dreamweaver course is of course one possibility. However, increasingly organisations are demanding to have this training customised to meet their specific demands. Adobe Dreamweaver CS4 can be used for a variety of web-related tasks: not everyone uses it in the same way. Perhaps you will be using it to develop complete websites or intranets. Or, you may be using it to develop only one small section of a larger site. Maybe your staff will be using the program primarily to create newsletters or promotional material to be emailed to clients. Booking a customised course will ensure that you only pay for instruction which is relevant to your requirements and reflects the way in which you will be using Dreamweaver.

Before approaching training companies, it is a good idea to make sure you have a clear idea of what you want to achieve by using Dreamweaver and that your expectations are realistic. For example, Dreamweaver is not a tool which can be used to design websites: its role is mainly to build and maintain web pages and other web-related content. When you approach training companies, you should make it clear that you do not simply want them to deliver their standard Dreamweaver courses but that you require a customised programme of training. Between you, a schedule of topics to be covered should then be drawn up and the duration of the program decided.

Customisation may also involve identifying different requirements within your own organisation. Different people may need to do different tasks with the program and therefore need different skills. For example, you may have some people who will become web specialists and will need to learn the program thoroughly enough to build complete sites, create CSS style sheets and build Dreamweaver templates and library items. On the other hand, you may have people who will be web content editors and simple need to edit pages but not necessarily create them.

Any training company offering customised courses should be willing to accommodate the specific needs of your accommodation and the different profiles of the staff members who will be attending the course. Between you, you can then create a program of study which satisfies the needs of all users. Perhaps this may mean, having different courses for users with different profiles or perhaps the best approach will be a modular one whereby some modules are taken by everyone while others are only attended by certain user groups.

The author is a trainer and developer with Macresource Computer Training, a UK IT training company offering on-site Adobe Dreamweaver training courses in London, Bristol, Cantebury… and throughout the UK.