Tips

[grammy201]

Why don't we have a thread for hints and tips. Would be nice if people would post little tips they've heard or found while using their programs. Anyone have a tip to share or a shortcut they've just learned about?

I'll start with this tip which I read somewhere recently...I can't remember where but if you wrote it thank you it works very well.

Organizing Folders:
When you look at the cover of a folder it usually has little pictures of several items that are in the folder. If you want to see more you can change the picture on the folder for any that you like, the preview page works very well. To do this open the folder and right click then click customize this folder then click on choose picture and follow directions from there. It is helpful seeing the preview page of a kit or template etc. If there is a preview in the file called “folder” it will automatically be displayed on the folder.

[Sheri]

Awesome tip grammy,I have been doing this for some time,as I love to see what my folders are hiding,especially things I have saved and know I will be using often.

One of the biggest and best tips I have ever found is in regards to Fonts. You should make a folder somewhere on your hard drive to hold your fonts. Do not install them all as this alone will slow down your system,and if you install too many fonts it can in itself cause a pc crash. Something I know we all hate when it happens. I myself have a folder called my fonts,where I have then sorted alphabetically,by foundry and by design(such as script,dings,fat,etc.) You can use any font on your system in most programs by simply picking out the one you want to use...open it..and minimize it. This make it available for use in your programs and will be viewable from the font drop down menu. I myself use a font program called the font thing...it is free and can be found by googling. It allows me to view all my fonts along with a preview,which you can personalize and use the word/s or phrase you need to use in your desings to give you an idea of how it will look when applied. There are many font programs out there..few are free,most are retail. If you havent ever tried one,you might want to check them out. Find the one that is right for you.

[janalyn]

This is a great idea to have a place to post hints, grammy201! I also store my fonts in a separate folder and use 'the font thing'. It is a life saver for being able to preview all your fonts very quickly.

I also use the free abrViewer.Net to view brushes. What a timesaver when trying to look through all the free brushes you've collected on many sites which are listed in the forum here:

http://www.stoneaccentsstudio.com/fo...splay.php?f=12

[grammy201]

Here is another great tip that I read about recently.

How to open an item right onto your layout. Instead of file - open and then dragging and putting the item on your layout you can do it this way: File – Place and it will put the item right on your layout with the transform tool ready to use. Make a selection on your layout prior to using the place command and it will place the item in the center of your selection. Now for what I think is the best part of this: For each item that is placed it will name the layer with the name of the item used. What an easy way to keep track of your credits!!!

[patk]

the abr viewer is also super for PSP users, as you can use it to convert the abr files to png files for use in PSP Ü

[nighty]

thank you so much
i found it very boring to search all the fonts,
i got your hint for the font thing
and it´s great i can see much better how it looks

[olga9999]

Thanks so much for the tip about the font program, Sheri I have found the program in this website which is a fantastic place to look for programs
The Font Thing

It's the CNET Download website and it's in my opinion, one of the best places to look for programs and information about them, regardless of them being freeware, shareware, or for commercial use. They have plenty of tips and information about many programs, hardware (computers, cameras, all kind of appliances computer related), news and so on.

While there I made a search for more free font utilities and there are a couple of new free programs like that one, smaller in size. Just in case you want to take a look at them.

[Sheri]

NIghty you are so welcome!! I would be totally lost without it..lol..huggies..Sheri

[Sheri]

Thanks so much Olga..I will take a look. I have used the font thing for so long now it is like second nature..but something new might be fun too. Also appreciate the link...will help the others find it easier. Huggies...Sheri

[Sheri]

Oh yes ..I am a huge fan of this one too...makes it so much easier and being PSP girl...its a must have..lol...thanks yall for reminding me of this one..use it all the time....huggies..Sheri

[maryellen]

great tips everyone thanks. I also have used the font thing for some time now would be lost without it

[Kyda]

these are great!! I love learning new ways to do things easier!!

[Kyda]

I downloaded the abr viewer. Did anybody else have a problem with it being super slow to load the previews? maybe it's just my computer, but I'm wondering if it's the program.

[Sheri]

Hi Kyda...I use the abr viewer on my laptop...it isnt slow for me. I would think it might be slow on the first time you use it....as it has to pre-laod everything.but after that it should run fairly fast. It would also depend on how many items you are trying to view at a time. I have all my things sorted in different folders and only view one folder at a time..same with the Font thing...if I checked search subfolders too...I would still be waiting. If you have numerous items in one folder..all I can suggest is you try to minimize the items it tries to view at one time....if that doesnt help,then I would suggest visiting their site for any updates they may have to offer. I hope this helps some hun...let me know..you didnt say what the specs were for your machine..so that might be it as well.
Hugs
Sheri

[Kyda]

Sheri, that might have been part of the problem. I had alot of things running and I was trying to view alot at a time. I cleared that and then just looked at each folder individually and it worked better. thanks so much for responding!!

[chmir2]

I tend to us a lot of templates.
I have mine organized by size (12x12, 8x10, 4x6)
Then I have subfolders based on how many pictures are in the template (1 photo, 2 photo layout, 3 photo, etc).
Then when I decide what photos I want to use (single shot that I really want to focus on, or multiple photos for a particular theme) I can pull out a template quickly and get to work.

I have also found that templates are very useful just for getting the size of the photos correct so the page looks proportional. So often I change the template so much it is unrecognizable, but I know that my layout will look better and go together faster if I don't have to determine how big to make all my photos!

Nanc

[grammy201]

Nanc, that is a great way to organize your templates; I wish I had done mine that way when I started. I have so many templates that it would take forever to change them over to that system but I think I will do that with the new ones I download.
I never thought of using templates for sizing my pictures so that they are in proportion to the page; that is a great tip and I will definitely try that out.

Thanks for taking the time to share these tips with us and thank you to all the others that have posted tips.

Lynn

[Scrapdragon]

Great idea,, I can't think of a tip right now though as you have already mentioned all the ones I thought of,, lol

[grammy201]

I know this works in PSE4 but I'm not sure of the others. Here is a neat little tip I heard recently, unfortuantely I can't remember where but thanks to whoever it was because it has saved me time...let's say you are working on a layout that has many layers and you only want to see 1 particular layer on the layout: click on ALT and the little eye on the layer you want to see and presto all the other layers disappear. When you want the other layers back just do the same thing click on ALT and the eye of the layer and they will all be visible again. I use to click on the eye of all the other layers till just the one I wanted was left but this is much faster!

[sharpli]

Hey, that's one I didn't know. Thanks.