When you add an arrowhead to an open path, the arrowhead appears at either the start of the path or the end. However, you might want to change the placement of the arrowhead from one end of the path to the other. The quickest way to do so is to choose Object > Paths > Reverse Path. That will change the start of the path to the end and the end to the start. You can also click the Reverse Path icon in the Pathfinder panel.

Indesign Magazine offers a 1-year subscription to the PDF Indesign Magazine for the price of $39.00. This is a $20 savings off the regular price of $59.00.

Go to http://www.indesignmag.com/purchase.php , type “tips” into the Promotional field to get your $39.00 price.

You can have also a 2-year subscription to the Indesign Magazine for $69.00.

I bought it and it’s exactly $39.00, and it’s worth it.

Photoshop Express, the long-awaited free online image editor from Photoshop maker Adobe, was released.

If i was to present it, i would say it is like Ennio Morricone says: it has good points, bad points, and… ugly points.

the good: the attractive interface of photoshop express; useful retouching tools and well-done interface for using them; most operations relatively fast.
the bad: Photoshop Express doesn’t support photos from 12-megapixel or higher cameras; some unnattractive Terms of Service; no filtering or keywording; no printing options.
the ugly: weeeeeellll the ugly….is on vacation

so here’s webee’s conclusion: “me like” Photoshop Express and for some people who’s computer do not support Adobe Photoshop, it can be very usefull on fast photos editing shared online with friends and family.

and now, let’s hear from the one and only Ennio Morricone:
[video]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZKlxyoPNaFI&feature=related[/video]

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comment “Photoshop express”

Photoshop Express, the long-awaited free online image editor from Photoshop maker Adobe, it was released. It’s an editing tool not for the professional photographer, but for the usual snaphot maker who wants to share them online with friends and family.

Photoshop Express is competing with other free image editors like Picnik and FotoFlexer.

Photoshop Express offers two gigabytes of online storage space and requires Flash Player 9. The interface should be familiar to anyone who�??s used Photoshop or Photoshop Elements and offers tools like cropping, red eye correction, sharpening, touchup and more, including a set of advanced effects for changing colors, distorting images and converting photos to black and white.

All editing is non-destructive, allowing you to easily turn edits and effects on and off.

For an easier use Photoshop express tools are called: the Auto Correct tool in Express instead of Healing Brush in Photoshop.

The interface is well done and intuitive with a list of editing tools on the left and your currently selected image in the main windows to the right. The site does take a minut to load.

In my testing Photoshop Express proved itself a very impressive online editor and offers nearly all the options a casual user is likely to want. The ability to move photos between sharing sites is the easiest way I�??ve found to quickly add images to services all over the web.

However, Photoshop Express is not without some drawbacks. Imported images are limited to dimensions under 4000 pixels, which means that if you have a newer point and shoot camera, many of which are at or well past the 12 megapixel mark, you�??re out of luck.

The 2 gigabyte storage limit is also something of a drawback especially given that sites like Flickr offer unlimited storage with a subscription account. Adobe says that a subscription service will eventually be available for Photoshop Express and will offer additional options.

The most obvious competitors for Photoshop Express are Picnik and FotoFlexer, both online editing services which offer most of the same editing features found in Express.

The Photoshop Express interface is somewhat nicer, but Picnik, for example, has already partnered with many photo sharing sites and the editor is directly integrated into those services. That means, at Flickr for instance, you can have unlimited storage (with a pro account) and the Picnik editor, all without leaving the site.

Adobe says that the company is �??considering adding APIs for outside developers and also is evaluating how the developers would be able to access the APIs,�?� but at the moment there�??s no API, which gives Picnik a definite edge when it comes to seamless editing from your favorite sharing sites.

To some extent the success of Photoshop Express will depend on a key question �?? are you more loyal to a photo sharing site, or a photo editing site?

To make matters even more interesting Google recently announced a new APIs for its free Picasa desktop image editing software. The new tools will allow developers to add multiple one-click publishing options for a wide range of sites like Flickr or Facebook, rather than just Picasa. That means not only are there already online alternative to Express, but there�??s desktop competitors as well (including one that can match Express�??s impressive sharing options).

And of course the rise of much better cameras in mobile devices and wifi enabled memory cards capable of posting photos straight from the camera mean that for many in Photoshop Express�?? target demographic, editing really isn�??t a concern.

Adobe may have the market cornered when it comes to Professional editing tools, but more casual users posting images to their Facebook page are new territory for the company. Whether or not Photoshop Express will appeal to that

The good: Slick, attractive interface; useful retouching tools and well-done interface for using them; most operations relatively fast.
The bad: Doesn’t support photos from 12-megapixel or higher cameras; some unnattractive Terms of Service; no filtering or keywording; no printing options.
The bottom line: Though there’s a lot to like about Adobe’s first stab at online photo editing and sharing, you probably want to wait until the company fixes a few problems with the beta–and de-fangs its terms of service–before uploading scads of photos to Adobe Photoshop Express.

hi friends, please excuse my slower posting these days… i’m travelling the computer hell here…

(i’ve reinstalled windows the second time… but’s still going blue… i think it’s something else… i think i need a new one…)

do you have any advice for me? should i look for a macbook? of for a laptop pc? can you recommend me a suitable graphic design computer configuration? and a brand?

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comment “graphic design computer to avoid computer hell”

a woderfull thing has happened to me just the other day:

i have been tagged by paul enderson on the productivity meme. thanks paul! i really appreciate it!!

this is a long going meme all over the meme so i will try share things that work for me and haven’t already seen it around:
1. wake up! don’t just lay for 5 more minutes… it’s deadly for your mood during the day. eat well and drink a lot of coffe. morning exercises don’t work for me… but if you like it… do it

2. early creativity: do the most creative design tasks earlier in the morning. when you’re not yet stressed up with yesterday’s deadlines and new tasks comming from everywhere.

3. don’t email: don’t read emails as they get into your inbox (except those from clients regarding the current design tasks). interruptions are productivity killers! try also to keep that im as low as possible as that is also a focus killer. i try to take hourly emails and communciation breaks so that when i do something i focus only on that. (hei! i know this is hard!!)

4. the law of the list: make the task list at the end of each day for the next day. this way you know what to think of when brushing your teeth in the evening .
complete the list during the current day as new design tasks arrive. after each break, give priority to short new tasks. BUT be sure that they are short. if they take more than 3 minutes then leave them be. schedule for later. don’t even start them.

5. google homepage: i’ve set up my google homepage in order to see the analytics panel, google reader, gmail, and… a “to do list ” plugin. so i have everything regarding to webee on that tab. keeping everything together helps me get all the information in a glance. so i don’t need to open more firefox tabs …

6. be happy… when you’ve completed a long going design tasks congratulate yourself! have a beer, or jus go out and relax!! you deserve it!

off course this is not all… but i hope it’s usefull and new. if you need more information on this, try to read:
- aaron’s 5 tips
- chris’s flow state
- tara’s productivity secrets

BUT until that, please share your experience: what was your worst productive day?
why was it so unproductive? how could you improve it? what are the greatest productivity tools?

and… to keep this going, i’m tagging robcubbon, adnan from blogtrepreneur, connor wilson and ahsan.

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comment “webee’s 5 productivity boosters for design tasks”

not so long ago, at my old job, i quite frequently had to cut out the background of some photoshop images. nothing special so far…

but guess what: all of those images presented close-ups of people (women and children)… can you imagine how fun it is to cut off their hair? especially with curlly hair!!

i’ve tried everything! neither the pentool nor the magic wand did any magic!! not even after making an alpha channel and recreating the hair.

if i only knew then the vertus fluid mask filter…
here’s what you can do with it:

great details isn’t it?

and here’s how you do it:

1. after you install, select and apply the filter, push the delete local button

2. now click on the background you want to cut off (click on both sides of the object)

3. go to image > select autofill image

4. make sure you deactivate “show edges” in order to have a clearer image

5. select complex brush

6. and cover all the parts that are not selected

7. click on the cut out button

8. and… this is how it looks on transparent background, after everything’s done!

really simple and fast isn’t it?

btw: you maybe interested also in some previous posts, where i’ve told how to cut background using pen tool.

need more answers? post a comment

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comment “fine cut for object background in photoshop”

mr garry lee wants to “beat google”. he posted this article where he explains why the interneters should brainstorm an innovative strategy to beat google.

i won’t get into any interpretation or judgement of this here, but there’s a really annoing question running in my mind: why does he want that???

and that’s how i think this might be similar to microsoft’s experience. ok, google’s started in the universities‘ laboratories, not in an american garage but:
1. microsoft’s windows solved a real consumer problem didn’t require any special PC configuration and was widelly distributed
so did google when launching gmail. (that’s when i got in contact with it).

2. in time, microsoft has developed and integrated facilities and thus has “forced us” to use microsoft office, internet explorer, windows media player, etc.
so does google when launching google sitemaps, google reader, google spreadsheets, etc

3. soon enough microsoft itself was an entry barrier for any software company thinking to launch a product.
i might say so does google with any website. if it isn’t searchengine friendly than… trash it!!

4. and so the revolution begins: active it people, start deny microsoft’s good intentions and software quality (not that they’re too good but this isn’t the point now).

and here’s we are now: is this what’s going to happen to google? are we to expect a search engine revolution? should we see more and articles denying google’s supremacy and use?

thanks for the previous commenters of mine:
davidairey, graphicdesignblog, robcubbon, kucau, miLienzo.com, jez, opradu, pete dunn, wordpressguy.

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comment “will google be the next microsoft”

i’m commited make friends with designers allover:
- i’m happy to have met robcubbon, david, aaron, tara, connor and ahsan. hopefully others will follow.

i will help other bloggers and designers:
- i will share my know-how in design, blogging and maybe some seo.
- i will answer to all comments. i will give feedback and will try to gain it.
- i have installed the dofollow plugin, so if you’ll be one of my commenters with more than 10 comments, the no-follow argument will be automatically removed from your links.
- i have installed a top commenter section, so you have a reserved place on my homepage.
- i will mention other bloggers that commented in related posts.

i do this to learn:
- so i won’t include any advertising on webee
- i am willing to get involved in any kind of graphic design project for free or in exchange for help with webee. i won’t do that for money though!

once again, many thanks to all of my readers and commenters:
davidairey, graphicdesignblog, robcubbon, Rudd-O, kucau, miLienzo.com, jez, paul, opradu, dailyblogspots.com, mikey, seo, jp, pete dunn.

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comment “webee’s blogging policy”

working as a designer within a quite small advertising company has pros an cons.

and although we manage some great accounts, like emporiki bank and nike, we also have smaller customers with smaller marketing departments (if any ).

in my experience these smaller companies always have “special requests” and provide us with fewer materials.

today i’ve had to do a print layout for a company that has provided me with only some paper sheets stuffed with a loooot of information. and couldn’t give any electronic support for this information.

now i had 2 options:
- i should either rewrite all the information
- use some OCR (Optical Character Recognition) software to scan and import all the data.

within this post, i’ll show you what’s my favorite OCR software and how to use it.
i’m talking about abbyy finereader 7.0, and what i liko the most about it is that you can import really complicated schemes, chartes and tables.

1. after you open your scanned file, you should set the language the information is.

2. now, you have to push the read button and wait…

3. this is the final step: save and send doc

if you want to use it in indesign, here’s how you can import excel tables to indesign, import excel charts in indesign, and how to import word elements in indesign.

if you need more help with this, please post a comment

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comment “working with ocr sotfware to save time”