Community MX Blog

Adobe Education Exchange

Sat, 01 Oct 2011 16:54:41 GMT

If you're an educator, you need to check out the Adobe Education exchange at http://edexchange.adobe.com/pages/home. There are over 32,000 members and almost 2,500 free resources, with more being added all the time. Whether your subject is chemistry or art, there is a lesson plan or tutorial to help you bring the best to your students. You can access the Exchange for free by using your Adobe ID.

Right now the Adobe Education Exchange is running The 2011 Educators' Choice Awards. You can submit your projects, lesson plans, curricula, or tutorials to put you in the running for big prizes. Hurry, though, because the deadline is Oct. 14.

And if you join, be sure to check out my resources on the Exchange. Just do a search on Sheri German, and you'll find quite a few.

New! JumpStart Catalog

Sat, 01 Oct 2011 15:10:34 GMT

You've been asking, and now it's here - a section of the site dedicated to JumpStarts. You can find the link in the main menu at the top of any CMX page, or click it here now: http://www.communitymx.com/jumpstart_8.cfm

You'll find a list of every CMX JumpStart, along with an image of its home page, a description of its features, and links to its package as well as introductory article. We hope this makes it much easier to find the perfect Dw/Fw template for your next project.

Keep tuned to this blog as we roll out more new features on the CMX site!

CMX Launches New Site!

Mon, 12 Sep 2011 15:39:11 GMT

If you haven't already, head over to Community MX and look at our gorgeous new face! Of course, our look is more than skin deep. Here are just a few of the exciting changes that go along with the new design.

New Pricing: If you ever hesitated to join CMX because of the price, you'll be delighted to see that you can now get the student discount of $9.99 a month all year, every year. Why? Because we're all students in this ever changing business.

Graded Tutorials: If you ever had trouble finding tutorials that were appropriate for your level of expertise, you'll love the menus of graded tutorials.

Better search: With almost 4000 tutorials, it can be hard to locate what you're looking for. Photo collections? JumpStarts? CSS or PHP tutorials? Find them more easily with the CMX search box.

We're running an open house for a week so that you'll have a chance to look around and see if what we have to offer is for you. You can also download the stunning new CMX stock photo collection of 12 images from New York City, look at scores of JumpStarts, and access thousands of extensions, tutorials, and articles that will give you a valuable technology lifeline.

Big Changes Coming Soon!

Mon, 18 Jul 2011 15:45:57 GMT

It may seem a little quiet at CMX these days, but that's because we have been working hard on big changes behind the scenes.

What would you think about a brand new look? How about graded tutorials and a lessons section? Would you go for easier navigation and better search? And if none of that impresses you, surely you would be interested in new subscription prices - that we promise you're going to love! Keep your eyes on this site in the coming weeks. You won't want to miss the new and improved Community MX.

D2W Conference is looking good!

Tue, 08 Mar 2011 18:07:20 GMT

W00t! Happy to say I've been accepted as a speaker at the upcoming D2W Conference in Kansas City. I'll be talking about using Adobe Fireworks to wireframe and prototype mobile applications and web sites. It will be my first conference of the year, and I'm very excited to hook up with friends and make new ones. D2W is a designer/developer mobile workflow conference, it's goal being to improve communication and share workflow ideas between designers and application developers.

Now in it’s second year, it’s definitely gaining in popularity and has attracted a great range of presenters, including yours truly.

Early Bird Pricing in Effect

If you book the conference before April 1, 2011, you’ll receive a $95 Early Bird discount on conference registration.That’s right, until April 1, the conference fee is only $200! After April 1, the registration fee increases to $295 (still a great deal), so you’re saving practically 30% by confirming by the end of March.

And if you’re looking for more in-depth sessions, D2W has them as well:

Introduction to Adobe Fireworks CS5 with Dave Hogue
InDesign to iPad Workshop with Pariah Burke
Creating a Portfolio With WordPress with Justin Seeley
COOP Hands On with John Farrar

These hands-on sessions will run on Thursday July 14 as a pre-cursor to the conference, which begins on Friday. What a great way to whet the digital appetite!

So if you’re a digital professional and you’re hankering for a fantastic way to network and learn at the same time, reserve yourself a spot at D2W this July.

Using Fireworks Efficiently

Thu, 17 Feb 2011 13:02:17 GMT

I attended an excellent web cast last night, held by Dave Hogue. Dave is a user experience and interaction designer and uses Fireworks for building wireframes and prototypes every day in his position as Director of Information Design at Fluid Inc. in San Francisco.

In the web cast, Dave demonstrated several of the techniques he uses to keep his Fireworks files trim and organized, and shared many tips with us on how to streamline our own workflow process. This 30 minute web cast was recorded and is time well spent if you are learning about or working in the interactive design field. Be sure to check it out.

Merry Christmas and Happy Holidays!

Sat, 25 Dec 2010 00:07:07 GMT

What a great time of year it is! Some time off from work, a chance to enjoy the company of family and friends and - hey - FREE access to the entire CMX database of articles for the rest of 2010! Wow!

Before my head hits the pillow this Christmas Eve, I wanted to give you all another gift.

I do a bit of writing, other than tutorials, from time to time. This story came to me a few years ago. I couldn't get it out of my head. I could actually see it all in my head as I was writing. It's my version of the Christmas Angel.

I'm very fond of it and I hope you will be, too.

A Midnight Clear (pdf file)

Happy Holidays!

Repoussé video on Facebook/YouTube

Wed, 14 Jul 2010 19:35:26 GMT

The folks who run the Photoshop Facebook page have posted another of my Repoussé videos. This one covers compositing 3D text into a photograph.

So far, this and my previous video are getting good responses, which gives me hope for acceptance of 3D in Photoshop going forward. With any luck, folks will find new uses for this great tool, and maybe even push onward with dedicated 3D tools for their everyday work.

I really do think knowing 3D at least in a basic way will become vital not only for graphic designers and animators, but for photographers as well. Virtual sets, previsualization, and advanced compositing, not to mention shooting textures for other modelers to use, are becoming more common, and to keep up in the commercial fields, you gotta keep on top of the trends.

Stick around CMX and watch for more 3D tutorials in the near future - put 'em in your toolbox :)

Fireworks CS5 Classroom in a Book is now in bookstores!

Sun, 04 Jul 2010 15:13:39 GMT

I'm very happy to announce that my latest book, Fireworks CS5 Classroom in a Book is now available!

This revised edition builds on my first Classroom in a Book (CiaB), and covers new topics such as wireframing, working with Device Central, and exporting to Flash Catalyst.

Based on user feedback, I've also included more information on the relationship between Fireworks and Photoshop. The CiaB's are not intended to dig deep into other software. The focus needs to remain on the main product, but I did find more information about integration between the two programs. There are even a few improvements to integration since CS4.

I had an excellent Tech Editor; our very own Sheri German made sure this was the best book it could be and was an invaluable resource and friendly ear for me.

And as in the last book, I wrote too much, so there are two bonus chapters included on the disc that comes with the book, along with all the exercise files, so you can work right along with me in each lesson.

If you're new to Fireworks, I don't think you can go wrong by picking up a copy. And what do you know? Here's a handy link: Amazon.com

If you do pick it up, please let me know what you think of the book. I'm always looking for suggestions on how to improve it.

Adobe Dreamweaver CS5 HTML5 Pack

Thu, 20 May 2010 12:31:27 GMT

Wicked cool! On its Labs, Adobe has just released the Adobe Dreamweaver CS5 HTML5 Pack extension. Free, but of course.

Here is Adobe's description of this cutting edge new extension:

Adobe® Dreamweaver® CS5 HTML5 Pack is an extension for Adobe Dreamweaver CS5. This extension provides features to help users generate HTML5 and CSS3 code. Features include Multiscreen Preview, Media Query support, code hinting, starter layouts, and WebKit updates for rendering enhancements.

Want it? Download it at http://labs.adobe.com/downloads/html5pack.html

Not sure you want it? Watch a video of it in action, and you will: http://tv.adobe.com/watch/adc-presents/introducing-the-dreamweaver-cs5-html5

Fireworks is alive and well in CS5

Mon, 12 Apr 2010 16:22:51 GMT

If you were able to watch the CS5 Launch event today, you might have wondered what happened to Fireworks.

You weren't alone.

I'm very happy to say though, that Fireworks CS5 is alive and well - and AWESOME! Fast, stable and easier to use than ever, the Fireworks team did an amazing job fixing bugs (900+) and addressing legacy issues.

Over the next couple weeks, I'll be releasing a series of videos showing you some of the new features and enhancements, starting with a summary of my top features, which will be out early this week.

I'm also relieved I can finally say, I've been writing the new Fireworks CS5 Classroom in a Book. It's been fun - and challenging - and I think this version is even better than my first go-round for the CS4 Classroom in a Book.

So even though Adobe didn't say anything in the launch, I can safely say that you will be very happy with the CS5 version of Fireworks.

For a quick heads up, check out Bruce Bowman's article on the Fireworks Developers Center.

Capital Flash Camp Discount Code

Wed, 07 Apr 2010 21:03:54 GMT

Capital Flash Camp

Full-day event focusing on the Adobe Flash Platform. Join us on April 16th at the The Heritage Center at the U.S. Navy Memorial and enhance your skills in ActionScript and Flex while learning from local and national industry experts. Flash Camp will provide an introduction to the Flash Platform as well as covering advanced topics for existing Flex and ActionScript developers. In addition to great training, this is also a fabulous venue for networking with other developers in the community. Reserve your seat now!

Register now and become eligible for our exciting giveaways, including a copy of Flash Builder and a license for FDT Pure!

Terrence Ryan, Platform Evangelist at Adobe, will be our opening keynote.

$20 discount code for all interested in attending: Click Here...

Adobe Creative Suite 5 announced

Wed, 24 Mar 2010 13:19:39 GMT

Well, it may not be fresh news anymore, but in case you've been living off the grid for the last day, Adobe has announced the launch of Creative Suite 5 for Monday, April 12 at 9:00 am PST.

You can register to be part of the launch by going to this url. You can watch some sneak peek videos there, too. They'll even mark your calendar for you!

Personally, I'm pretty excited to learn what Adobe has in store for us. I use Adobe products daily for business and personal use and it will be cool to see what new goodies they have - and frankly - what they've fixed.

I think Adobe heard loud and clear the dissatisfaction of their customers with the CS4 release and I think they will have worked hard to address those issues in CS5.

So browse on over to http://cs5launch.adobe.com/ and sign up for the big launch event on April 12. See ya there!

Stability patch to be issued for Fireworks CS4!

Sun, 14 Mar 2010 16:15:26 GMT

Well, it' been a long time coming, but I'm very happy to hear that the Adobe Fireworks team is working on a Fireworks CS4 patch to fix the Snow Leopard crash on quit bug, as well as other high priority crash and data loss bugs that they're aware of.

Adobe is expecting to release the update in the second quarter of 2010.

In the meantime, on the Fireworks Team blog, Bruce Bowman is asking all Fireworks users to submit bugs they want addressed, via the Feature Request and Bug Form. The FW team is paying close attention to the bugs filed here. It's very important though, to be as detailed as possible when reporting a bug, so the team can track it down. If you think you've hit on a bug, try to reproduce it and record the steps you took in order to do so. It's also helpful to know what other software was running at the time, and what your hardware configuration is.

I hope this comes as good news for many.

Open Source Hazards: This is Why You Always Change Default Values in CMS Content Management Systems

Fri, 27 Nov 2009 21:12:05 GMT

I receive the following email notice several times per week indicating some hacker's robotic effort to brute force attempt to crack the admin password for the site's Moodle installation.

Here is a list of failed login attempts at http://www.site.com/moodle since you were last notified(Sunday, 22 November 2009, 10:15 PM)

Friday, 27 November 2009, 12:38 PM, IP: 91.213.121.24, User: admin

Friday, 27 November 2009, 12:38 PM, IP: 91.213.121.24, User: admin

Friday, 27 November 2009, 12:37 PM, IP: 91.213.121.24, User: admin

Friday, 27 November 2009, 12:37 PM, IP: 91.213.121.24, User: admin

Friday, 27 November 2009, 12:37 PM, IP: 91.213.121.24, User: admin

Friday, 27 November 2009, 12:37 PM, IP: 91.213.121.24, User: admin

Friday, 27 November 2009, 12:36 PM, IP: 91.213.121.24, User: admin

Friday, 27 November 2009, 12:36 PM, IP: 91.213.121.24, User: admin

Friday, 27 November 2009, 12:36 PM, IP: 91.213.121.24, User: admin

Friday, 27 November 2009, 12:36 PM, IP: 91.213.121.24, User: admin

Friday, 27 November 2009, 12:36 PM, IP: 91.213.121.24, User: admin

Friday, 27 November 2009, 12:36 PM, IP: 91.213.121.24, User: admin

Friday, 27 November 2009, 12:35 PM, IP: 91.213.121.24, User: admin

Friday, 27 November 2009, 12:35 PM, IP: 91.213.121.24, User: admin

Friday, 27 November 2009, 12:35 PM, IP: 91.213.121.24, User: admin

Friday, 27 November 2009, 12:35 PM, IP: 91.213.121.24, User: admin

Friday, 27 November 2009, 12:34 PM, IP: 91.213.121.24, User: admin

Friday, 27 November 2009, 12:34 PM, IP: 91.213.121.24, User: admin

Friday, 27 November 2009, 12:34 PM, IP: 91.213.121.24, User: admin

Friday, 27 November 2009, 12:34 PM, IP: 91.213.121.24, User: admin

Friday, 27 November 2009, 12:34 PM, IP: 91.213.121.24, User: admin

Friday, 27 November 2009, 12:34 PM, IP: 91.213.121.24, User: admin

Friday, 27 November 2009, 12:33 PM, IP: 91.213.121.24, User: admin

Friday, 27 November 2009, 12:33 PM, IP: 91.213.121.24, User: admin

Friday, 27 November 2009, 12:33 PM, IP: 91.213.121.24, User: admin

Friday, 27 November 2009, 12:33 PM, IP: 91.213.121.24, User: admin

Friday, 27 November 2009, 12:32 PM, IP: 91.213.121.24, User: admin

Friday, 27 November 2009, 12:32 PM, IP: 91.213.121.24, User: admin

Friday, 27 November 2009, 12:32 PM, IP: 91.213.121.24, User: admin

Friday, 27 November 2009, 12:32 PM, IP: 91.213.121.24, User: admin

Whenever I install a CMS package, I always change the default values from those shown in the documentation:

database name
database tables prefix
database username
admin user name
admin directory name
data directory name
user directory name

Looking at the installation now, I am wondering why I didn't change the name of the moodle directory, but if I recall correctly from many years ago when it was configured we kept it because that was the name our users were to type in their browsers. We weren't installing a LMS site as much as a Moodle site.

Basically, a simple way to increase security for the software installation is to not use any of the example variables shown in the documentation. This hacker can try all they wish to hack the admin password, but it will be fruitless because there is no admin user!

Lightroom 3 Public Beta Announced

Tue, 27 Oct 2009 16:54:27 GMT

Yes that's right. Adobe Photoshop Lightroom 3 is now available for public beta testing at Adobe Labs.

And it's very cool.

For those of you who don't know, Lightroom is literally a digital photo darkroom. Where Photoshop has many workflows - digital imaging, creative design and pre-press - Lightroom has a truly singular workflow: digital photography.

It combines many features of Bridge, Camera RAW, and digital image correction/enhancement in a very slick package. It also offers multiple output workflows: slideshow (with music, even), print (single images and packages) and web (photo galleries and direct to flickr upload).

If any of this has piqued your interest, be sure to drop by Adobe Labs for the beta, and to watch some excellent Lightroom 3 videos by Julieanne Kost

Community Presentation on using 3D in Photoshop

Fri, 04 Sep 2009 22:33:51 GMT

I will be presenting 'Using 3D Tools in Photoshop CS4 Extended' to the User Group and Experts community on September 16th via Adobe Connect. I'll cover the basics of how the tools work using a graphic design example, as well as a model from Google's free Warehouse 3D collection.

Here's the info you need:
Wednesday, September 16, 2009 10:00 AM - 11:00 AM (GMT-08:00) Pacific Time (US & Canada)

If you are a member of Adobe Groups, you can check out the details here:
http://groups.adobe.com/posts/aebfa20efe
Or just join the meeting on the 16th:
http://experts.na3.acrobat.com/techweds2009/

This is a free community event, one of the last of the summer, so stop in and soak up some 3D goodness!

Suitcase Fusion 2 Now Available for Windows

Tue, 25 Aug 2009 16:44:16 GMT

When I reviewed Extensis Suitcase Fusion 2 released last November, it was only available for Mac OS X. At the time, they promised a Windows version with feature parity. Now, Extensis has released Suitcase Fusion 2 for Windows.

A review of the product site reveals that the new Windows version does seem to have parity with the most critical features:

font previewing featuring the floating preview
plug-in based auto-activation for the latest creative professional applications
robust database featuring SQL Lite
portable built-in font vault
font searching, tagging and classification options
system font management

They promise the same graphic performance as on Mac OS X in Windows XP, Vista. Their blog mentions that they have been performing tests in the upcoming release of Windows 7.

If you do a significant amount of graphic design or wish to more easily manage a lot of fonts, I suggest you give Suitcase Fusion 2 for Windows a look. They have a free 30 day trial. If you are not familiar with the product, have a look at the videos.

Camtasia for Mac now available!

Tue, 25 Aug 2009 13:58:36 GMT

Finally, the video training product many of us here at CMX have used on the Windows platform is now available on the Mac!

Camtasia lets you easily create engaging presentations, demos, software tutorials and even marketing videos. If it's on your screen, you can recrod it in action!

I've used Camtasia for Windows for many years and love it. Now that I've recently switched to the Mac platform, I can't wait to add this software. And even better, Techsmith is offering a special promotional price of $99 US. If you're an educator who teaches software to your students, you have to try out Camtasia.

To learn more, check out Techsmith's press release.

Just released - Rapid Prototyping with Fireworks CS4!

Sat, 22 Aug 2009 13:17:36 GMT

I'm very excited to announce that my latest video training title is now available on lynda.com!

Recorded earlier this summer, the 4.5 hour course discusses and walks you through wireframing, storyboarding, interactive HTML prototyping, in a far more in-depth manner than my Essential Training title is able to. I also introduce you to creating Flex skins, exporting MXML and exporting FXG.

I had a lot of fun putting this course together and I think it will be a great resource for anyone wanting to learn more about using Fireworks for prototyping web and other interactive projects such as AIR applications.

Here's a quick run down of the main lesson topics:

Rapid Prototyping Options in Fireworks
Wireframing
Storyboarding
Multi-page Mockups
Adding Interactivity
Creating AIR Prototypes
Creating Flex Mockups
Going Further with HTML Prototyping

If you're interested in how to maximize Fireworks' potential as your mockup tool of choice, I hope you check out this course.

Near North photos now online

Tue, 18 Aug 2009 02:32:56 GMT

My photos are now online from the camping trip with Tom Green and sons.

I shot approximately 600 images, and have edited them down to about 240, using Adobe Bridge as my primary tool.

I experimented with slow shutter speeds on many water shots this year and also made a conscious effort to find scenes which I thought would translate well into black and white. In fact, you'll get a first-hand look at how I created the black and white images on flickr in my latest tutorial, which is running on Tuesday of this week.

I've also included a few panoramics from the trip as well, including the one of the campsite.

I hope you get a chance to check out the photos. Feel free to comment on them; I love to know what people think.

The Near North Adventure continues (part three in a yearly series)

Tue, 28 Jul 2009 15:59:34 GMT

Yes it is almost that time again. This coming Saturday, August 1, my good friend Tom Green, I and our sons will be making the 12 hour trek to Obatanga Provincial Park for a week of very low tech relaxation.

Now we don't raise our noses at all technology, you understand; we'll still have our digital cameras so we can capture shots like those seen at mine and Tom's flickr sites. But overall it's a time to chill, read a book, go hiking or canoeing and watch the sun set over a wonderfully peaceful lake. There will be no laptops and our cell phones don't work up there (Tom keeps trying for a signal.)

I have no idea how Mr. Green will survive, as he will be unable to Twitter various profundities at any given time of day. Perhaps he will write them down and later do a massive post-adventure Twitter rampage . . .

This is, of course, assuming:

We don't strand him on some tiny outcropping of Canadian shield poking out of a lake . . .
And that we can keep all the sharp and pointy objects from his eager grasp . . .
And that he doesn't get adopted by a black bear as her long lost albino cub . . .
Or that he doesn't become the ringleader of the local Red Squirrel brigade, stealing careless campers' cookies by the bagful when they least expect it . . .

I am so dead when he reads this.

It's a time to recharge the spiritual and psychological batteries. That stored up energy is important. Soon after we return, both Tom and I will return to teaching at college - a job as rewarding as it can be exhausting.

In general it will be a time to refresh and renew ourselves before normal daily life washes over us again.

I can't wait. I even have new Christmas songs on my iPod - just for Tom (bwa ha ha . . .)

What would you like to learn about Fireworks?

Fri, 17 Jul 2009 20:09:04 GMT

Hey Everybody!

I'm picking through my idea file for new tutorial concepts for Fireworks and I thought I'd put the request out to you, our faithful CMX subscribers. Is there something you've been dying to know about Fireworks? (or Photoshop or Dreamweaver or ~insert favorite app here~ . . .)

And what about the types of articles? Creative? Technical? Workflow? Business oriented?

Drop by the Community Clubhouse forum and share your thoughts and ideas.

Fireworks CS4 Updater now available!

Wed, 06 May 2009 21:18:11 GMT

Yes that's right!

Adobe has released the very long awaited patch for Fireworks CS4 for both Mac and Windows. The updater addresses some of the big issues related to text and stability.

You can download the update from http://www.adobe.com/support/fireworks/downloads_updaters.html.

After applying the update, please ensure that the version screen now shows as shown below.

http://blogs.adobe.com/sarthak/FwCS4_update_about.jpg

You can also read more details about what was fixed in the patch by reading the release notes.

Conferences - In this economy?

Wed, 22 Apr 2009 02:08:09 GMT

Hey, the economy sucks and everybody's scared. What better time to work on your education, up your web skills and earn a little extra job security? There are several upcoming conference opportunities I want to bring to your attention -- as well as reasons you might want to do it at all. If you're smart about it, you can streamline costs and make it an affordable trip.

Are conferences really worth it?

For my business, conferences have been invaluable -- and I'm referring to the time before I spoke at them. Not only do you have the ability to learn about many different subjects all in one place, but the networking can also be a key reason to attend. I can trace most of the original opportunities I've had in this industry back to the very first conference I attended -- TODCon (which sadly isn't happening this year). I recently ran into some old pictures from that conference and it occurred to me just how much of my web beginnings started there. At TODCon, I met Matt Brown who was then the Community Manager at Macromedia. Matt bugged, errr, I mean encouraged me until I agreed to write an article for the DevNet Center (yes, my first, and I was petrified). I also met Angela Buraligia, Dan Short and Massimo Foti -- and those relationships led to my first paper publishing experience (Chapter One of Dreamweaver MX 2004 Magic by New Riders). Most importantly, I met Ray West who encouraged me to join the team who was starting Community MX, prodded me into my first speaking gig (a later TODCon) and has been one of my best friends and supporters. In fact, those are just the high notes of that conference. I also met people there that have remained close friends and business contacts. People who have introduced me in turn to other people who became sub-contractors and go-to folks for various solutions in my business. In my opinion, unless you know it all (haha), you can't afford not to go. You can't afford not to give yourself the opportunity for growth and connection "in this economy."

I see the value, but I can't afford it right now.

Economize by finding a conference close enough to drive to or one where the flight costs are lower.
Save money by finding a roommate to share hotel costs.
Take advantage of early bird and discount pricing.
If your boss won't pay for the whole excursion this year, perhaps she'll split the cost with you. Negotiate. Show her the value you can bring back to your job.

(And remember, everything associated with the conference you choose is likely tax-deductible.)

OK, I'm convinced. What's coming up?

Glad you asked! There are several conferences coming up in the next couple months that are not to be missed (and yes, I'll be at all of them ;)). In chronological order, here they are:

Voices that Matter - San Franciso, CA

Voices that Matter (VTM) is a conference put on by Pearson (parent company of Peachpit and New Riders among other imprints) in San Fransisco. It's next week - April 27-29, so you need to act on this one quickly! The two tracks in this conference pull together many of your favorite authors. The sessions allow for question time, but one of the beauties of this intimate conference is it's very easy to have lunch with one of the speaker/authors or to catch them in the hall to talk. Take advantage of these speakers -- in a good way -- they don't just write your books. Many are designers, developers and Web consultants just like you. Tap their brains while they're available to you in person!
WebDU - Sydney, Australia

No, I won't be at this one. My son has finals this week and I couldn't chance being on the road while he didn't get out of bed. LOL But Greg and many others will be there. I was at WebDU last year and it's a really well-run conference with great speakers. If you're on that Southern continent, make a dash for it. May 21-22 in Sydney. Lovely, not too cold, good speakers. :)
Spring <br /> Conference - Athens, OH

The Spring <br /> Conference (SBC) is held on the beautiful campus of Ohio University in Athens, Ohio. It's a very inexpensive one day conference on June 9th. This conference includes Eric Meyer talking about (hold your breath) javascript! After watching Eric's mad CSS skills many times, I can't wait to see this!
InControl Conference - Cincinnati, OH

InControl is put on by AIGA Cincinnati in, you guessed it, Cincinnati, OH on June 11 & 12. There's one track each day and I have to say, they've really gone all out to pull together a great speaker line up. If you register before April 23, you'll be entered into a drawing for Adobe CS4 Master Collection. That alone could make your trip worthwhile. :) Early bird pricing is available until May 11th, saving you $100, with even more savings for AIGA members.
Web Design World - Seattle, WA

Web Design World brings a great group of speakers together for three days in what we hope will be a sunny time in Seattle. ;) Sign up by June 3 for a $200 discount. If you use my code - S9W12 - you'll save $395 off the standard price of the three-day Web Design World Passport - and I'll donate $100 to Habitat for Humanity. Everyone wins there. :)

So there you are. Four chances for you to bring some mad web skillz back to your business or our boss. And "in this economy" how can you afford not to?

New Fireworks CS4 book is printed

Tue, 21 Apr 2009 13:01:06 GMT

W00t!

A very exciting day, yesterday; I received my shipment of books and I must say, I'm very happy with the overall production quality of the book. It's pretty cool to see all the illustrations in full color!

Sporting a bright banana-yellow cover (you almost need sunglasses!) the book definitely stands out. Kinda like some of my shirts . . .

In the next few weeks, I hope to release a few excerpts of the book here on CMX, so stay tuned.

It should be in bookstores soon, so if you're interested in learning FW from the ground up, make sure to check it out.

Cutting Edge Rapid Prototyping with Fireworks CS4

Tue, 07 Apr 2009 16:00:13 GMT

Have you ever wondered if (or how) you can add an iframe to a Fireworks prototype? What about inserting a SWF? Or adding some jQuery functionality?

Well, I just finished reading a truly excellent article at the Adobe Developer Center, written by David Hogue and Mariano Ferrario that takes protyping with Fireworks to the next level.

The article shows you how to leverage CSS, JavaScript and HTML using Fireworks and Dreamweaver to create a highly interactive HTML prototype. There's a great synergistic result when you combine the design capabilities of Fireworks with the coding strength of Dreamweaver.

If you're interested in prototyping, head on over to the Adobe Developer Center and check out this article.

A new member of the Mac Generation

Fri, 03 Apr 2009 02:42:14 GMT

Well, it's finally happened.

I just pressed the checkout button at the Apple store and in a few days I will be the proud owner of my very first Macintosh.

I ordered the 15" Macbook Pro with the faster, bigger hard drive.

My old Toshiba doesn't owe me any favors; it's had a hard three year life span - and will probably end up in the hands of my nephew for at least a year, but with the writing I've been doing, having the ability to work with both Mac and PC apps is becoming pretty important. I'll just install a trusty copy of XP on the system so I can still work on both sides of the Force. ;-)

Can't wait till it gets here.

Fireworks CS4 Classroom in a Book is off to the printers!

Wed, 25 Mar 2009 22:37:12 GMT

Ahhhhhh! A huge sigh of relief and great sense of accomplishment are the two things I am feeling most at the moment. As the headline states, the very first Classroom in a Book for Fireworks is off to the presses.

I'm so freakin' excited!

The book has a total of 11 lessons, plus two supplemental lessons on the CD which accompanies the book. Just like other CiaB's, the artwork is included so people can work along with the same assets I used in the book. Some of the assets are supplied by - or inspired by - Adobe, and some are my own, including several photos.

I think this will be it for me on the book scene for a while, but I have some other projects in the works, including some new video titles with Lynda.com . . . and of course, I'll keep writing here at my home away from home, Community MX.

I'll keep you posted on the release date.

Font Sizing: em, pixel, point, percent and keywords

Thu, 12 Feb 2009 23:38:40 GMT

When I write and speak, I often talk about using em units to size layouts giving the user the ability to resize the entire layout if they change their font size. In fact, chapter 5 of the book I co-authored with Greg Rewis is an entire project based on em units. Until all browsers zoom, this is my personal preferred method. My personal site is built using this method.

Last year, I wrote a blog post about Scaling fonts using em units and how I saw that affecting different types of users. A comment was made recently, and I wanted to address it in a new post while sharing a couple charts I made for myself. The comment said:

"A simple calculation as 1pt equals 1px at 72dpi (MAC) so:
1pt equals 1.33px at 96dpi (PC}
12px (pt) font in MAC is therefore 16px in a 96dpi PC.
If you have a parent element with a 11 pt font then to convert px dimensions to em you divide them by 14.63 (11pt x1.33) Dont interchange pt and px on a PC."

First I'd like to address using points for the screen on either a Mac or a PC. Simply don't do it. Ever. Points are for print. I regularly use points (as well as inches and serif fonts) when I create a print style sheet. I updated an article recently called From screen to print: Creating a print CSS in Dreamweaver published both at Community MX and Adobe's Devnet Center. One thing it addresses is how to use pts for print style sheets.

Until 2000, Macs used a 12px browser default and PCs used a 16px default. We got used to seeing different things (and due to the 72dpi vs 96dpi difference, it was further compounded if points were defined). I'm under the impression (but can't find anything quickly to back it up) that the 72/96dpi issue is no longer a problem. If anyone can point me to a recent reference confirming or denying that, I'd love it. Either way, all current browsers on both platforms now use 16px as their font-size default.

A while back, I was messing around for my own entertainment (you know, partying on a Saturday night or something) and created a couple of charts that might be helpful. The first is font size equivalencies. This chart shows that setting the font to 100%, 1em, 16px, 12pt and medium are equivalent in the same font. It also shows how font sizes can vary greatly from font to font.

The second chart was an exercise showing divs sized using em-units with a variety of font sizing. The red line down the right side is a graphic at 800px. The body's font size is set to 100% (16px). The first three divs show the default font sizing with the divs set to three different widths. The second section shows all divs set to 50em with the font-sizing (placed on the div) set to different units. It's an interesting exercise if you'd like to more clearly understand the effect of font sizes on the size of an em unit.

The interesting thing to me in the second chart, based on the gentleman's comment in my blog, was that viewing this chart on both a mac and a pc the lengths of the divs are the same. Yes, there's a very slight difference in actual font size on the PC - two of the lines of text slightly wrap to the next line - but the 50em width of the div is still exact on both platforms. Are we really that different anymore?