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In which slr2moons raeges about a certain program...
I am almost done lettering my first book in InDesign, and the jury is still out on whether I like the program or not. Sure, it's nice to be able to change all font instances in an ENTIRE BOOK with a click, but...the program is so very not intuitive. Ugh.
Today, for example, I had to learn how to do three things:
1. Use a file with the extension of .idms. That is an "InDesign Snippet". Curiously, InDesign wouldn't let me open it. I google for possible reasons, and get no relevant info. All the results were along the lines of "here's what the file is/here's how to make one". I google for how to open it in the first place, and the same useless results. Finally I notice the fine print on the info pages sent to me by Clay Editor 3, and THAT tells me how to use the snippet. You don't open it in the program, you PLACE it on an ALREADY OPEN InDesign file. I mean, duh. HOW OBVIOUS. /sarcasm It sure would have been nice if someone *koff*ADOBE*koff* had bothered to actually say that!
2. Create a mask. In Photoshop, you make a shape on a layer, select it, select the layer you want it to effect, click the "mask" button on the layers palette, and JAN! :D But that's not how it works in InDesign, oh no!!! First you have to select the layer of what you're going to mask. Then you have to make the shape of what you want to cut OUT. Not what you want to show, like in Photoshop, but what you want to NOT show. Make the shape 0% opacity, which means it's invisible. Then you select the now invisible shape and the to-be-masked object, "group" them, and in the FX palette click "knockout group". OMG SO SIMPLE. /sarcasm again. This procedure was impossible for me to figure out on my own, and damn it, I TRIED. T.T This page saved my ass. Thank you, kind web author. I send you much in the way of good karma. m(_)m
3. Make the background of a text box transparent without affecting the type within it. I found another unofficial site to help with this, though it really didn't do much but give me a vague idea. The trick is to use the direct selection tool (white arrow) instead of the selection tool (black arrow). Then you fiddle with the fx box again.
The point of this post is that all three of my InDesign problems were NOT answered or resolved by Adobe's official site. Their site didn't do ANYTHING to help me tonight. Once again, the official answers are proven to be completely useless. Ugh! Bless you, google and all the helpful digital artists in the world. Though I could do without the four trojans that tried to hijack Shetan on one of the sites. :/ My anti-virus program really came through and saved the day.
Hi, BTW. ^^ I am still alive. Feeling pretty good, now the frustration I ranted about above is done. Whew!
Today, for example, I had to learn how to do three things:
1. Use a file with the extension of .idms. That is an "InDesign Snippet". Curiously, InDesign wouldn't let me open it. I google for possible reasons, and get no relevant info. All the results were along the lines of "here's what the file is/here's how to make one". I google for how to open it in the first place, and the same useless results. Finally I notice the fine print on the info pages sent to me by Clay Editor 3, and THAT tells me how to use the snippet. You don't open it in the program, you PLACE it on an ALREADY OPEN InDesign file. I mean, duh. HOW OBVIOUS. /sarcasm It sure would have been nice if someone *koff*ADOBE*koff* had bothered to actually say that!
2. Create a mask. In Photoshop, you make a shape on a layer, select it, select the layer you want it to effect, click the "mask" button on the layers palette, and JAN! :D But that's not how it works in InDesign, oh no!!! First you have to select the layer of what you're going to mask. Then you have to make the shape of what you want to cut OUT. Not what you want to show, like in Photoshop, but what you want to NOT show. Make the shape 0% opacity, which means it's invisible. Then you select the now invisible shape and the to-be-masked object, "group" them, and in the FX palette click "knockout group". OMG SO SIMPLE. /sarcasm again. This procedure was impossible for me to figure out on my own, and damn it, I TRIED. T.T This page saved my ass. Thank you, kind web author. I send you much in the way of good karma. m(_)m
3. Make the background of a text box transparent without affecting the type within it. I found another unofficial site to help with this, though it really didn't do much but give me a vague idea. The trick is to use the direct selection tool (white arrow) instead of the selection tool (black arrow). Then you fiddle with the fx box again.
The point of this post is that all three of my InDesign problems were NOT answered or resolved by Adobe's official site. Their site didn't do ANYTHING to help me tonight. Once again, the official answers are proven to be completely useless. Ugh! Bless you, google and all the helpful digital artists in the world. Though I could do without the four trojans that tried to hijack Shetan on one of the sites. :/ My anti-virus program really came through and saved the day.
Hi, BTW. ^^ I am still alive. Feeling pretty good, now the frustration I ranted about above is done. Whew!