ImageReady


When you open ImageReady, your first observation might very well be that it looks a lot like Photoshop, and indeed it performs in much the same way. It contains many of the same tools, filters, commands, and palettes as its bigger, older sibling. ImageReady s strength is its capability to prepare files for the Web, a capability it shares, in part, with Photoshop s Save For Web option. However, it also provides the additional capability of creating rollovers, image maps, and animations.

The primary difference is that in place of the extensive printing features of Photoshop, ImageReady has numerous powerful operations for Web file preparation. Instead of print-specific adjustments, color settings, and gamut tools, there are (among others) the Image Map tool, default browser preview, and the Slice, Rollover, Image Map, Animation, and Optimize palettes. Another major difference is Photoshop s capability to save a document to many different formats, including those that support printing and desktop publishing, video, and the Web. ImageReady, on the other hand, is designed to save optimized files exclusively to Web formats ”GIF, JPEG, PNG, WBMP ”and the Photoshop format, PSD.

Note  

If you use the Export Original command, you can save in BMP, PCX, TGA, TIF, PICT, and PXR formats, and you can save an animation as a QuickTime movie.

ImageReady s Object-Based User Interface

ImageReady CS has made some significant changes to the user interface that aren t immediately apparent when you first fire up the program. The program is friendlier ; it now works a lot more like simple print programs you might have used to create birthday cards and calendars. Multiple elements can be easily grouped together and aligned. Elements will snap into alignment with each other.

Let s see how it works by creating a simple button graphic:

  1. In ImageReady, create a new document. Set the width to 250 pixels, set the height to 125 pixels, and name the document Button .

  2. Select the Rectangle tool. From the Options bar, select Create A New Shape Layer. From the Style drop-down list, choose Green Gel.

  3. Carefully drag from the upper-left corner to the lower-right corner. The cursor snaps to the edges of the canvas, making it easier for you to fill it exactly. Press F to enter Full Screen mode if the window borders are getting in your way.

  4. Select the Text tool and choose a simple font. I ve chosen Arial Black at a size of 48 px. Set the type color to white. Click the image with the Text tool and type the word PUSH . Don t worry about the positioning. Press /Ctrl+Enter to finish entering text.

  5. With the Text tool still active, change the font size to 24 px, or half of your original font size. Click the image, away from the existing text, to create a new text element, and type the words TO ENTER . Don t worry about aligning the text just yet.

  6. If the Layers palette is not open, open it now by choosing Window Layers. You have four layers: the original Background, the green button shape, and the two text layers. In the Layers palette, -click (Mac) or Ctrl-click (Win) on both of the Type layers. ImageReady CS enables you to select multiple layers this way. You can also select multiple items by Shift-clicking on them in the canvas. You can drag these layers onto the Create A New Layer or Delete Layer buttons at the bottom of the Layers palette to duplicate or delete multiple layers, respectively.

  7. With the text layers both selected, press /Ctrl+G. This groups the two layers, placing them together in a new layer group, called Group 1. To ungroup elements, select the group and press Shift+ /Ctrl+G. Groups can be nested ”that is, you can have groups of groups of groups ”up to five layers deep.

  8. Double-click the name of Group 1 and rename it Type (see Figure 25.1).

    click to expand
    Figure 25.1: The text layers are grouped together.

  9. With the Type group still selected in the Layers palette, choose the Move tool. When the Move tool is active, a number of alignment tools become available on the Options bar, enabling you to align and distribute layer elements at the push of a button (see Figure 25.2).

    click to expand
    Figure 25.2: These alignment options are available with the Move tool.

  10. On the Options bar, press the Align Layers Vertical Centers button and then press the Align Layers Horizontal Centers button. This centers the Type group within the button, but you ll notice it doesn t center the type within that group (see Figure 25.3). To align the text elements with each other, you must work within the group.

    click to expand
    Figure 25.3: Centering a group does not center individual layers within that group.

  11. On the Layers palette, select the layer containing the text TO ENTER . With the Move tool active, click and drag the text TO ENTER within the image. (ImageReady ghosts the text as you move it.) Notice that, as it lines up with the left or right edge of the PRESS text, or when two layers centers are aligned, ImageReady displays a thin blue line (a Smart Guide) to show you that the elements are in alignment (see Figure 25.4). A line also appears between the two text elements if they butt up against each other as you move them. Move the TO ENTER text so that its center lines up with the center of the PRESS text above. Leave some vertical space between the words.

    click to expand
    Figure 25.4: Smart Guides appear when elements are aligned with each other.

  12. Select the Type group in the Layers palette, and press the Align Layers Vertical Centers button and then the Align Layers Horizontal Centers button on the Move Options bar. Now everything is properly centered within the button.




Photoshop CS Savvy
Photoshop CS Savvy
ISBN: 078214280X
EAN: 2147483647
Year: 2004
Pages: 355

flylib.com © 2008-2017.
If you may any questions please contact us: flylib@qtcs.net