Adobe PhotoShop CS4 Content Aware Scaling

New to CS4, the content aware scale tool is for those tricky situations when you have a photo that is smaller than the space in which it has to fit on your web or printed page. It works by allowing you to stretch areas of the image which do not constitute the main subject.

The great thing is, it's so easy to use. Make sure the photo is not a background layer first. Add some canvas to the desired size.

Then go to Edit>Content-Aware scale

You can the drag the handles of the bounding box to size the image to fit. Of course there are limitations to the success of the final result. It wont work on all images. The best candidates are images with a fairly uniform background and well defined subject matter. But in the right situation it can save you a lot cloning and manual editing.

Designing with Kuler

Kuler could revolutionise the way you approach a design project with regard to colour. In situations where you are faced with a blank canvas and low inspiration, Kuler offers you thousands of ready made colour themes that work straight out of your colour panel in PhotoShop and Illustrator.
With a live internet connection you can access the Kuler community from within PhotoShop, Illustrator, Flash, Fireworks and Indesign by going to the Window menu>Extensions>Kuler.

The Kuler panel now connects you to the full range of colour themes available from within your application. You can browse through the thousands of colour themes available, assuming you have time on your hands. A more practical approach is to use the search box to search either by a colour name or a conceptual word. For instance you might try, ocean or forest. Alternatively you could try an emotion such as happy. The search options are extensive, so if a word comes into your mind, give it a try. I have found colour themes under the most obscure of phrases.

The icons at the bottom of the panel allow you load your chosen theme into your own swatch panel as well as alowing you to edit the theme in the Create panel. Here you can tweak the colours to your hearts content and acces the RGB and hexadecimal values. If you feel particulalry creative you can also upload your own colour themes to the Kuler community and share your creation with the world.

Does PhotoShop CS4 run better on Windows Vista 32 bit or 64 bit?

As the availability of 64 bit operating systems becomes more widespread, I am frequently asked by PhotoShop CS4 users if they should opt for a 64 bit operating system when specifying their new computer. The short answer is yes. However that needs a little qualification.

32-bit and 64-bit operating system differences
The key factor here is about how each system utilises RAM (memory). 32 bit systems have a narrower address system and data path, limiting the size of data pieces that can be manipulated. The maximum amount of RAM that can be utilised is 4GB (gigabytes).
64 bit systems are able to utilise an unlimited amount of RAM, thereby rendering them capable of being able to work with much larger data chunks.

Do you need to do anything else besides getting a 64 bit operating system?
Because we are essentially talking about the ability of the system to utilise RAM, obviously investing in more RAM will ensure you get the best from the system. Installing 4GB or more means the system can actually use the RAM, unlike it’s 32 bit counterpart.

What differences can you expect to see?
When using a Windows Vista 64 bit operating system, Photoshop CS4 Extended is native 64 bit. Adobe have quoted performance improvements of up to 12%. In practice, this means less waiting for processes to be completed, particularly when working with high resolution, multi-layered files.

Other considerations
On Windows Vista 64 bit, make sure you are using hardware drivers for the 64 bit version.

How to make your text on the Web scannable

If you talk to anyone who knows how to encourage your web users to read your copy, they will tell you to make your text scannable.

But what does that actually mean?
The culture of the Web has developed into a model where many people see it as a place where they do research and capture information from as many sources as possible in the shortest possible time.
The Web is like a huge box of chocolates with every conceivable flavour in the box. To avoid missing out on something good, we have to have a bite out of each one.
So there is an urgency to the Web reader. Quite distinct from the same reader when they sit in their favourite chair and lose themselves in a novel.

1. Havle the word count.
• Get rid of the superlatives
• Bin the sales hype
• Drop the jargon – it only alienates
• I know we love them, but save the corporate buzz words for the annual meeting
2. Highlight key words.
• Use hypertext links, variations of typeface and colours to make them leap out
3. Write meaningful headings and sub headings
• This means leave the puns to the tabloids. Your headings must be unambiguous. Don’t leave readers to try to analyse and work out what the article is about
4. Use bullet lists
• Simple, but timeless and practical
5. Use short paragraphs, featuring One topic
6. Use the inverted pyramid style
• Journalists have used this method since time began. It means you start with the conclusion and fill in the surrounding detail later

For everything you need to know about writing for a Web audience, have a look at the One day course on writing for the Web on the training page.