Design, Media & Graphics

Sometimes when creating an advertisement or marketing piece, you’ll need to convey a certain image. But does your model really want to dye her hair purple just for your photo shoot? Whether you’d like to complement your model’s skin tone, go with a funky ‘do, or simply darken those locks, there’s a simple approach to colorizing hair in Photoshop — and it doesn’t require a trip to the hairdresser.

Make a selection

We’ll start by selecting the hair on our model shown in Figure A. You can do this any way that works best for you, but we’ll make a Quick Mask selection.

To make a Quick Mask selection:

1. Double-click on the Edit In Quick Mask Mode button located at the base of the Tools palette to display the Quick Mask Options dialog box.
2. Select the Selected Areas option button and set the opacity to your liking. We set ours to 50 %, as shown in Figure B.
3. Click OK.
4. Select the Brush tool from the Tools palette, choose a soft round brush, and set the diameter to whatever size you’re comfortable painting over the hair with.
5. Paint over the hair.
6. Press Q to exit Quick Mask Mode and preview your selection, as shown in Figure C.

Tip: Save this selection as a channel in case you accidentally deselect it. Simply click the Save Selection As Channel button located at the base of the Channels palette.

Choose your dye

Now that you have an active selection, you can easily add a fill color and, with a quick blending mode switch, colorize the model’s hair any way you like.

To colorize the hair:

1. Click on the Create New Fill Or Adjustment Layer button located at the base of the Layers palette.
2. Select Color Fill from the pop-up menu to display the Color Fill dialog box. The color fill layer automatically masks around your selection so only the hair shape is colorized.
3. Set the color to R:149, G:51, B:4 for a reddish brown dye, as shown in Figure D, and click OK.
4. Set the layer opacity to Soft Light for results shown in Figure E.

Notice two things as you select colors. You can watch your model’s hair change colors as you choose different colors. You can also sample a color from your model by moving the mouse over your image and clicking on an area where the cursor displays as an eyedropper.


Clean up the edges

When we zoomed in to our model’s shoulders and face, we noticed the imperfections from the selection we made. We spotted hair color on the face and shoulder! That’s easy to fix.

To remove unwanted color:

1. Select the Color Fill layer’s mask thumbnail in the Layers palette.
2. Select a soft round brush and set the diameter small enough to paint on these areas.
3. Set the foreground color to black.
4. Paint over the areas that display fill color but shouldn’t.

Change the color

Don’t like the color you selected? It’s easy to change. Simply double-click the Color Fill layer thumbnail to open the Color Picker and select a different color. Figure F shows different RGB values and how they affect the model’s hair. So whether you’re going for punk or subdued, you can really spruce up your subject’s mane with this technique!


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Graphic & Design eTips to Enhance Your Work

If you are an expert at what you do, then you want to sign up for FREE New Horizons Graphics & Digital Designer eTips. Each week you will receive expert advice from our experienced editors that will improve your productivity and enhance your work. Learn more about the applications you use everyday, including: Adobe Illustrator, Adobe InDesign, Adobe Pagemaker, Adobe Photoshop, Digital Photography and QuarkXPress. Imagine the possibilities with the skills you’ll gain!

Adapt for Word 2007

To create two columns in your Word 2007 document, go to the Page Layout ribbon and, in the Page Setup area, click on the Columns button and choose Two from the resulting dropdown palette. You may also select One from the dropdown palette if the technique calls for a one-column document.

When you’re ready to insert a column break, click the Show/Hide button on the Home ribbon in the Paragraph area (if necessary). Then, go to the Page Layout ribbon and click the Breaks button in the Page Setup area. Choose Column from the dropdown palette. You may also choose Continuous from this dropdown palette if the technique calls for a continuous column break.

To insert a table in Word 2007, go to the Insert ribbon and click the Tables button. Click and drag over the number of rows and columns you want to include. Format your Word table using the Table Tools contextual ribbons. On the Layout ribbon, click the Select button and choose Select Table to select your entire table. Adjust your table’s borders by going to the Design ribbon and clicking the Borders button. Finally, add space between your rows by returning to the Layout ribbon and adjusting the value in the Height spin box.


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Although columns can take your document from a text-heavy mess to an attractive and streamlined missive, many users avoid them because they aren’t always easy to format.

But if you master the basics, you can use columns to provide greater document flexibility and additional layout options. To get you started on the right foot with columns, we’ve focused on three readers’ questions with techniques that address the most common column problems.


1. Column basics

Q: I need a quick tutorial on columns. I’ve never been successful using them since I switched to Word from another word processing program. How can I set up a 2-column document that allows me to type in either of the columns at any given time?

A: Columns are a snap once you learn the right tricks for creating them. We’ll set up the two-column document you requested, and then we’ll ensure that Word allows you to type in each column separately, rather than simply flowing text from one column to another.

To create a two-column document:

1. Open a new Word document.
2. Click the Columns button on the Standard toolbar, and then select 2 Columns from the Columns dropdown list, as shown in Figure A.

Once you’ve created the 2-column document, the ruler’s appearance changes to display your two columns and the margin between them, as shown in Figure B.

Type in any column

Now that we’ve created our columns, notice that you can only type in the left column.
Let’s set up the document so that you can type in the right or left column at any time. We’ll also show the invisible formatting marks so you can observe the change easily.

To allow typing in either column:

1. Click the Show/Hide ¶ button on the Standard toolbar to display invisible formatting, if necessary.
2. Select Insert Break from the menu bar.
3. In the resulting Break dialog box, select the Column Break option button, as shown in Figure C, and click OK.

Now you can click in the right or left column and add text and graphics to each one.


2. Limit columns to part of the document

Q: I want columns in my document, but not the entire document. Can I insert columns for the information at the beginning of the document, and then make regular text follow those columns?

A: Your procedure for creating columns in only part of the document depends on whether you’ve already started the document and typed its text or you’re starting from scratch. We’ll show you both methods.

To set up partial columns if you’ve already created the document:

1. Open your document or follow along with our sample document.
2. Click the Show/Hide ¶ button on the Standard toolbar to show invisible formatting, if necessary.
3. Select the text you want to format as columns. We selected the first paragraph in our sample.
4. Click the Columns button on the Standard toolbar and select 2 Columns from the resulting dropdown list.

When you insert the columns for your selected text, a section break automatically appears in your document.

To set up partial columns in a new document:

1. Open a new Word document and click the Show/Hide ¶ button on the Standard toolbar to show invisible formatting, if necessary.
2. Click the Columns button on the Standard toolbar and select 2 Columns from the resulting dropdown list.
3. Type your column data.
4. Select Insert Break from the menu bar to open the Break dialog box.
5. Select the Continuous option button in the Section Break Types area, and click OK.
6. Click the Columns button and select 1 Column
7. Begin typing your non-column text.

Note that when you inserted the break, your column text was automatically distributed among both columns, and when you clicked 1 Column the ruler changed from two columns to one.

Balanced columns on command!

You can insert a Continuous section break at the end of columns whenever you want them to appear balanced, and then continue adding text before the section break. Word keeps the columns balanced as you add text.

3. Vertically aligned columns

Q: I’m creating an itinerary for our company retreat. I want it in two columns—the first column contains the time of day, and the second column contains a description of the activity for each hour. Of course, each time needs to match its corresponding description. Can Word do this?

A: Word definitely can do this, but you’ll want to use a disguised table rather than columns. When you periodically start a new table row, Word aligns the information for you.

To create vertically aligned “columns” in a table:

1. Open a new Word document.
2. Click the Insert Table button on the Standard toolbar and select the 1 x 2 Table option from the resulting dropdown list.
3. Adjust the table and column size as you prefer.
4. Type the first time in the first cell in the first row, and then press [Tab] to move to the second cell in the first row.
5. Type the corresponding activity information in this second cell. Allow Word to automatically wrap the activity information as you type.
6. Press [Tab] to create a new row, and repeat steps 4-5 until you’ve added all of the information for your itinerary.

To disguise and format your table:

1. Select the entire table by selecting Table Select Table from the menu bar.
2. Click the Border button’s dropdown arrow on the Formatting toolbar, and select No Border from the resulting dropdown menu. (In Word 2004, you can find this on the Formatting Palette.)
3. To provide more distinction between items on the itinerary, select Table Table Properties from the menu bar.
4. To add space between rows, select the Table tab, click Options, and change the Top and Bottom spin boxes to .08”.
5. Click OK twice to accept your changes.
   

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Microsoft Office Productivity
Three ways to perfect your columns in every document
If you create publications with Microsof t Word, you know how important it is to get your columns right — and how frustrating it gets when your columns misbehave. We’ll solve three common column issues for you.

Information Systems Protection
Overcome Vista user control hassles and prove the critics wrong
Windows Vista gets a bad rap for its sometimes overbearing security features. We’ll give you the scoop about Vista’s User Account Control (UAC) and how you can put it to use without letting its constant security prompts overwhelm your users.

Media, Design & Graphics
Color your model’s hair many different shades — without the chemicals
Your photo shoots don’t always offer the look you imagine. But Photoshop can step in when you need to match your vision in spite of restrictive resources. Here’s how to change your model’s hair color without any time-consuming chemicals.

Download the Elevate in PDF format here: http://www.newhorizons.com/uploadedFiles/ElevateNewsletter/Elevate_Feb2009.pdf

It can be a chore to change the size and font type of your text every time you create a text box. Presenters who prefer a more stylized font than the default Times New Roman, Times, or Arial may grow tired of repeatedly changing it. If you’re one of these presenters, you might consider modifying PowerPoint’s default text values so they reflect the combination you use most frequently.

A quick change made to the default settings can save you time, and help you maintain consistency among your presentations.


Change your defaults
First, let’s change the default font and font size for one text box. The rest of our techniques will build off of this foundation.

To modify your default font and size:

1. Click the Text Box button on the Drawing toolbar.
2. Click anywhere on your slide and type in some text.
3. Select all of the text in the text box, and then choose the font you wish to set as your default from the Font dropdown list on the Formatting toolbar, as shown in Figure A.
4. With your text still selected, select the size you want as your default from the Font Size dropdown list, also shown in Figure A.
5. Use the Font Color button on the Formatting or Drawing toolbars to select a new color for your default text. If the color you want to use isn’t immediately visible, click More Font Colors to launch the Colors dialog box.

Set default text only for the current presentation
If you’re creating a presentation that requires specific fonts you won’t be using again, setting up a default font for that presentation can still save you time.

To set a default font for new text boxes in the current presentation only:

1. Select the text you’ve just formatted.
2. Choose Format Font to launch the Font dialog box. Here you can further alter the text in the text box and preview the new changes by clicking the Preview button.
3. When you’re satisfied with the formatting, select the Default For New Objects check box in the bottom-right corner of the dialog box, as shown in Figure B.
4. Click OK to apply the defaults for all future text boxes in this presentation.
   

Note: If you don’t have any text selected on your slide, the Default For New
Objects check box isn’t available in the Font dialog box.

From here on, all new text boxes you create are automatically formatted to match the settings you selected for the initial text box. Once you save your presentation, PowerPoint uses these customized default text settings each time you return to the file. However, if you start a new presentation from scratch, PowerPoint relies on the default settings of the Blank Presentation template.


Set default text for all future presentations

To change the default text settings for all future presentations, you need to adjust the settings in the Blank Presentation template.

To change your default text in all future presentations:

1. Launch PowerPoint and select Blank Presentation if prompted. If you don’t receive a prompt, the Blank Presentation template should automatically open (if it doesn’t, simply click the New button on the Standard toolbar).
2. Create and format a text box with the settings you want saved as the default for all future presentations.
3. Select the Default For New Objects check box in the Font dialog box, as we explained earlier in this article.
4. Select the text box you just formatted and press [Delete] so you have an entirely blank slide.
5. Choose File Save As to launch the Save As dialog box, and choose Design Template (*.pot) from the Save As Type dropdown list.
6. Navigate to your PowerPoint templates folder and select Blank Presentation in the Save As dialog box.
7. Click Save, and then click Yes when prompted if you want to replace the existing file.

Now, the next time you start a new presentation from scratch, every text box you create initially has the new default settings you created.

Adapt for PowerPoint 2007
You can insert a text box in PowerPoint 2007 by going to the Insert tab and clicking the Text Box button. From there, you can use the formatting tools on the Home tab to change your selected text. However, remember that there’s a more comprehensive way to change your default text for a presentation in PowerPoint 2007.

Your PowerPoint presentation’s theme stores default text. You can create a custom theme that includes your text defaults. Then, when you apply the theme to any presentation, your text boxes automatically use the theme’s designated text.

Find your blank presentation template
It may be more difficult than you initially think to find your blank presentation template, since the file’s exact name and location depends on which version of PowerPoint you’re using, which operating system (OS) you have, and how you’ve installed and configured both PowerPoint and the OS.

For starters, the file is usually called either Blank Presentation.pot or Blank.pot, as shown in Figure C. If you’re a Windows user, look for the template at C:\Program Files\Microsoft Office\Templates or C:\Windows\Application Data\Microsoft\Templates. On the Mac, look in Applications\Microsoft Office X\Templates. If all else fails, simply do a search on your computer for Blank or Blank Presentation and refine it by file type to POT files. If you can’t locate a file by either of these names, the file may have been deleted at some point in the past. If this is the case, simply create a new template in one of the locations we just listed and name it either Blank.pot or Blank Presentation.pot. To be sure you’ve located (or created) the correct file and path, change a feature on your slide, save it over the blank presentation template you think is the default, and then open a new presentation to see if your changes appear.


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New Horizons Webinars are a great opportunity for business decision-makers, training professionals, developers, engineers and project managers to see the real value these new technologies can bring to your organization. With new topics every month, there's something for everyone.

Introduction to Tips & Tricks for Microsoft Office 2007 (Level 100)
Get the most out of the Microsoft Office 2007 System. Enroll Today!
As someone beginning to use Microsoft Office 2007, you will learn about new features and timesavers to help you in your day-to-day work. This session is good for beginner, intermediate, or advanced users – everyone will learn something! The Microsoft Office System has evolved from a suite of personal productivity products to a more comprehensive and integrated system. This presentation will demonstrate useful tips and tricks for Outlook, Word, Excel and PowerPoint.

• Presenter: Andy Reed, Senior Training Specialist, Microsoft Corporation
• Date: Wednesday, January 21, 2009
• Time: 10 am Pacific; 12 pm Central; 1 pm Eastern

Intermediate Tips & Tricks for Microsoft Office 2007 (Level 200)
Get even more out of the Microsoft Office 2007 System. Enroll Today!
As someone who has worked with the Microsoft Office system for some time, you will discover efficient ways to configure, customize and utilize Microsoft Word, Excel and Outlook to get the most out of Microsoft Office. The presentation will demonstrate useful tips and tricks for Microsoft Outlook, Word and Excel. In addition, you will see useful ways to interact between these Microsoft applications.

• Presenter: Andy Reed, Senior Training Specialist, Microsoft Corporation
• Date: Wednesday, February 11, 2009
• Time: 10 am Pacific; 12 pm Central; 1 pm Eastern

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Enroll Today! Microsoft SharePoint provides a single, integrated location where employees can efficiently collaborate with team members, find organizational resources, search for experts and corporate information, manage content and workflow, and leverage business insight to make better-informed decisions. As a Microsoft Office 2007 worker you have more coming at you than ever before. Get the tools to take on these challenges and be more productive. Business productivity solutions from Microsoft can enable more efficient collaboration and help you find and share critical information faster. Learn Tips and Tricks on how to work together and exchange information with Microsoft Office SharePoint 2007.

• Presenter: Andy Reed, Senior Training Specialist, Microsoft Corporation
• Date: Wednesday, March 11, 2009
• Time: 10 am Pacific; 12 pm Central; 1 pm Eastern

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With any OS upgrade, one of your primary concerns is making sure your users can get down to business with their new OS/computer. To migrate hundreds or thousands of users, you’ll use the User State Migration Tool to do the job. However, at this point your Vista plan may be limited to piecemeal upgrades as your company buys new computers to replace existing ones. Since the new computer users will have enough trouble adjusting to the new OS, make sure you transfer their files and settings with Windows Easy Transfer. Bonus: With your guidance, savvy users can save you time by doing it themselves.

Windows Easy Transfer in a nutshell
Windows Easy Transfer is the Vista version of Windows XP’s Files And Settings Transfer Wizard. With this new wizard you can transfer files from Windows 2000 and XP systems. If transferring files from an XP computer, you can also transfer a user’s system and program settings.

What’s an Easy Transfer cable?
Many users and IT pros alike have tried to use a USB Bridge cable to migrate settings from one XP computer to another, without success. Windows just didn’t have the capability built-in. To answer customer demand for the feature, Microsoft added USB functionality to Windows Easy Transfer, so long as you buy the specially designed cable. The Easy Transfer Cable for Windows Vista made by Belkin costs around $40.

Start at the new computer
Begin on the new Vista (target) computer by launching the Windows Easy Transfer wizard from the Welcome Center (click the Transfer Files And Settings button and click the Start Windows Easy Transfer link) or select Start All Programs Accessories System Tools Windows Easy Transfer. The Windows Easy Transfer window appears. Let’s take a look at how to transfer files from a Windows XP computer to a Vista computer using a USB flash drive.

Note: The transfer file can be large depending on the number of users you plan to migrate. For a single user who saves his personal files on the network, a 512 MB USB card will do.

To start a new transfer:

1. Click Next on the Windows Easy Transfer welcome page.
2. If you left any programs running that can’t run during the transfer, the Close Programs page appears. Click Close.
3. Click the Start A New Transfer link.
4. On the Which Computer Are You Using Now page, click on the My New Computer link.
5. On the Do You Have An Easy Transfer Cable page, click on the Yes link if you do, or click on the No link to designate a different transfer method. We clicked on the No link.
6. On the following page, designate whether you need to install Windows Easy Transfer on the old computer. Click on the No, I Need To Install It Now link.
7. As shown in Figure A, the following page asks you to designate the media you’ll use to install Windows Easy Transfer on the old computer. Click on the link for the method you want to use. We clicked on the USB Flash Drive link.
8. On the following page, specifically designate the path to the chosen media type. We selected the G: drive. Click Next.

Note: If you selected USB Flash Drive in step 7 but didn’t connect it to the computer, Windows Easy Transfer will prompt you to insert it before listing the drive letter in the dropdown list.

Windows Easy Transfer copies the wizard to the media. When complete, it instructs you to remove the media and insert it into the old computer.


Jump over to the old computer
Now remove your USB flash drive and insert it into the old (source) computer. The computer should automatically offer to run Windows Easy Transfer on the old computer. If it doesn’t, browse to the MigWiz folder on the USB drive using Windows Explorer and double-click on the file migwiz.exe. The Starting Windows Easy Transfer dialog box appears while it loads.

To collect data from the old computer:

1. Select the media type to which you want to transfer the data. We clicked on the USB Flash Drive link.
2. On the next page, select the drive letter for the USB device you want to use.
3. To password protect the data enter a password in the Create Password (Recommended) and Confirm Password text boxes. Click Next.
4. On the following page, choose which files you want to transfer: All User Accounts, My User Account, or Advanced Options. We clicked on the Advanced link.
5. In the Advanced Options, select the check boxes for each folder you want to transfer.
6. Note the Transfer Size, which we’ve highlighted in Figure B, and make adjustments according to your media’s capability. Click Next.
   Windows Easy Transfer creates a Migration Store (.MIG) file and copies it and other files and folders to your media.

Bring it full circle — transfer to the target PC
When Windows Easy Transfer indicates the transfer is complete, return to the target Vista computer and insert the media. To complete the transfer process:

1. Launch Windows Easy Transfer and click Next.
2. Click on the Continue A Transfer In Progress link.
3. On the following page, select a username for the new user from the User Account On The New Computer dropdown list or type a new username in the text box.
4. On the Review Select Files And Settings page, review the files and click Next to proceed with the transfer.

When complete, Windows Easy Transfer lists the number and type of files it transferred. For a complete list, click on the Show Me Everything That Was Transferred link. Figure C shows a sample of the resulting report which you can print or save as an HTML file.

Support tip: If you ask your user to complete these steps, instruct him to save the report for you to review. Use it to ensure that he transferred all the necessary files before you take his old computer out of production.

Log in for final results
Once the transfer is complete, have your user log in to his user account on the new Vista computer and use the computer for several days. When he initially logs in, Windows prompts him to change the password from the one he used on his Windows 2000 or XP machine to a new one for Vista. Remind him to choose a strong password, and to report any problems he encounters with his new machine.

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