How to Use Layer Styles in Photoshop
The use of Layer Styles (also known as Layer Effects) in Photoshop is fairly easy, but can add some pretty snazzy results. One of the most visually catchy is the Drop Shadow, which can make it look as if an object is in front of the...
Kerning and Tracking Adjustments in InDesign
A while back, I posted an item about text layout in InDesign. There’s another aspect of it I wanted to mention which might be of some further interest, namely kerning. This is usually the fitting-closer-together of pairs of letters whose shapes make it aesthetically possible to...
How to Use the Selection Tools in Illustrator
Occasionally, new users of Illustrator have trouble understanding the selection tools; there are three, and each does something different. So knowing which to use for what is important. It’s not that hard to get the hang, with a little practice. The main Selection tool, usually referred...
Data Types, Properties, and Relationships in Access
A fundamental aspect of Access databases is the setup of relationships between tables. It’s usually the nature of business databases to have them. So the actual creation of the relationship isn’t hard to do. But there are a couple of not-so-obvious things the user needs to...
Creating Alpha Channels in Photoshop
Making selections in Photoshop is fairly easy, but a large, complicated selection can take some time. And if it’s an area that needs repeated tweaks, such as for color balancing or lightness, it’s helpful if one doesn’t have to keep going back and reselecting thirty or...
Using Multiple Sections in Crystal Reports
When “laying out" data in Crystal Reports, we usually think of written information. Graphics such as charts do enter into reports, but we don’t always use photographs or other non-data images, especially in the Details section where the data will go. If, for example, we wanted...
Creating the Speedometer Gauge in QlikView
QlikView, one of the big BI (business intelligence) programs you can get today, has a number of graphical ways to display data, which it calls charts. Among these, one of the coolest (sorry, but it is) would have to be the Gauge chart. And of the...
The Resource Usage View in Project
When planning a project, one of the problems we run into fairly commonly is overallocation of resources. It's not impossible to fix, but it sometimes helps to know exactly where the overallocation is. The Resource Usage view is one place we can see it fairly easily....
How to Use Bitmap Mode in Photoshop
Of all the image modes in Photoshop, perhaps the least used today is Bitmap mode. It’s the “true” black-and-white mode, unlike Grayscale, which is what a “black-and-white” photograph really is. And Bitmap actually has a couple of advantages, though making proper use of the mode does...
The Anchor Point Tool in Illustrator
When working in Illustrator, drawing with the Pen tool (producing Bezier curves) is a mainstay of many documents. (And in a couple other graphics programs, too.) But sometimes the tools that go with the Pen take a little time to get comfortable with. And the one...
Feathering a Selection in Photoshop
One of the must-have skills in Photoshop is the ability to make precise selections, since we indicate which parts of the picture we want to work with this way, and there are a number of techniques to do it. But equally important is the ability to...
Clone Stamping in Photoshop
The use of the Clone Stamp tool, in itself, is not hard to understand. It allows the user to “borrow” or copy a piece of picture from one spot to “clone” or paste elsewhere. But some people use it like a paintbrush. They clone big swaths...
Slicers in Excel PivotTables
When Excel 2007 was introduced, the PivotTable Field List included a “Filter” area, where one could drop a field to use as a filter (for example, year, brand name, size, etc. from a block of sales data). If the user filtered for one year, or one...
Auto vs Manual Scheduling in Project
One small but important feature in MS Project is the Auto versus Manual Scheduling popup. It's in the Status Bar at bottom. Here's how it works: Manual Scheduling allows the user to control start date, finish date, and therefore, duration. And the program will not change...
Adobe InDesign Text Layout Tips
Having done desktop publishing since 1985, albeit as an amateur, I've learned a few tricks which seem to help with things like layout. And the ability to control layout has come a long way since I started. One is to understand that the appearance of the...
How to Normalize Data in Microsoft Access
The term “normalization” gets thrown about quite a bit in database circles, to try to explain part of data organization. But it's vague, to someone not acquainted with database-ese. The idea of making data “normal” is not too far from the meaning used by database designers....
Using Effort Driven in Project
Microsoft Project is fairly easy to use at the basic level--entering tasks and resources, assigning one to the other, scheduling. But there are a few parts of the program that can take a little practice to use comfortably. One of these is the checkmark in the...
How to Align Fields in Access Forms
Working with Microsoft Access can be kind of intimidating when you start, especially because there seem to be so many details to absorb and keep track of. And even fairly experienced database people have to watch out for the little things. One which really drives some...
How to Filter Data in Crystal Reports
When you run a report in Crystal Reports, you have a lot of latitude as to what goes in, how to format and organize, and so on. But one consideration that doesn't always come up is how to filter, or leave data out. Turns out, it...
Using Slide Master View in PowerPoint
One of the few parts of PowerPoint that isn't quite intuitive is the Slide Master view. Getting to it is easy--go to the View tab-->Master Views group, and click Slide Master. Then it gets a little more complicated. To some people it looks as if they...