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 | Create® V 14 - What’s New? 2007 was a banner year for Create development - and here’s the highlights of what’s new! |
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Application Features • Leopard Ready - Latest Leopard Look to document windows - QuickLook and CoverFlow viewing of documents in Finder - Take Snapshots and add effects: Tools -> Snapshot / Choose Image... - Photo Browser can load thousands of photos for instant retrieval: Tools -> Photo Browser - Share the current document with friends as a slideshow in iChat Theater • Launch time is much faster now - Optimized Library loading by loading objects lazily • Release Notes window now gives you instant access to recents, art, help, support, forum and other resources • With multiple objects selected, resizing any object will resize all of them by the same amount • Neighbor Alignment guides appear automatically when you create, move or resize objects • Option-Drag to copy an object: - with Shift key aligns to original object in largest delta axis - Shows a ghost of where shifted object will end up - shows the alignment lines with other objects • Dragging art and images from Library shows the full image/art during the drag • More Align/Distribution of Objects Features: - Align & Distribute panel has new option: "Gap" to distribute objects' interspacing evenly along either axis - Format -> Align and Size -> Distribute Evenly (Command-Option-i) distributes the objects with an even gap on the axis with the largest gap - New Align Widget in Toolbar with 9 functions! See its tool tips. - Make Same Width (Control-w) and Make Same Height (Control-h) have command keys Document Features • Create autosaves documents in Tiger and beyond - in the unlikely event that Create crashes, you won't lose your work - Change the interval or turn it off in Preferences -> Document -> Autosave Every: • Saving and opening files is much faster and file sizes greatly reduced - Compress Document for even better performance - Turn this on in Preferences -> Document -> Smallest & Fastest - By default, this feature is off for maximum backward compatibility - Choose File -> Export "Create pre Version 14.0" to make pre V 14.0 compatible file if feature is on • Pasted images are stored internally as files, not in the XML: - which makes saving much faster - and documents can be much smaller in file size - First save converts all inline images to embedded files • New Menu Item: File -> Save Other -> Save to Templates... - lets you save a document to the Templates folder for easy access from File -> New from Template - Your Pages library will also be updated - File -> New from Template submenus will get updated afterwards - Adding a file to your Page library also updates the Templates menu • Save as PDF menu item for easy export to high quality print ready PDF: File -> Save as PDF... • New Command Keys for working with Pages: Add Page: Command-Control-a Insert Page: Command-Control-Shift-a Duplicate Page: Command-Control-Option-a • File -> Master Layers... has new link well for ease of connecting pages to SliceAndDice sub images - First, save document and give each page a descriptive human readable name - Then select a page, and drag the link icon to any SliceAndDice sub image • Preferences -> Document pane: "Add Design Notes/Scratch Pad" option: - New documents will add an extra page layer for scratch graphics and notes - Great for making graphics for SliceAndDice that you do not want output to web • If you open an existing or recent document, and the Untitled document is totally empty, Create will close it automatically Web Features • 100% Pure CSS positioning instead of tables in HTML now possible! - Turn on in Web -> Web Options, "Misc", "CSS Only" switch - Available on a per page basis as well in Info -> Web, "More..", "Options" pane - You should probably also check XHTML for best compliance - Each page produces a pos_[html_name].css with exact layout for each element Benefits: - You can overlap any items you want now with this on! - Front to back ordering is the same as in the document (z-order) - HTML Source is very readable and easy to change by hand - Fixed Size Text (see below) will automatically get a scroller if there's more text than can fit into the size of the box Disadvantages: - may not work on older browsers - Center in Table doesn't work since positioning is absolute - Still working out the details - work in progress! • Web Resource enhancements: -Dragging from Web Resources icon well to Slice And Dice will link that slice to the resource - this is like dragging a page from Master Layers' well, but for resources - Dragging from Web Resources icon well to editing Text selection puts a link on that Text to the resource - Output resources into a "photos" and "gallery" folders as well as resources and images - PNG files dropped into Create are automatically added to the Web Resources as well as GIFs Hint - if you want all images to be automatically added (if you haven't scaled them), set this hidden default: defaults write com.stone.Create AddWebImagesToResourcesOnDragIn YES - Images dragged in from Safari to Web Resources are now correctly added - Double-click the file icon to reveal it in Finder • Add arbitrary code before any other html, for example for PHP code like WebYep: defaults write com.stone.Create BeforeHTML "Any valid string of html in quotes" Hint: Convert any embedded " to ' and use PreferenceCommander to do this from a GUI • If you want images placed into a folder other than "images", set this hidden default to the name of the folder. In this example, it's "CreateImages". Be sure to have "Images in sub folder" selected in Web Options, "Misc" defaults write com.stone.Create ImagesFolder "CreateImages" • Web -> Sample... is all new and shows off the new CSS features • CSS - add your own custom style sheets, use builtin-ones or add pre-made stylesheets Web -> Web Options -> CSS Validate your CSS and learn about CSS You can add CSS which overrides any of the automatically created CSS • CSS Style Sheet with zero margins, link colors and hover info automatically made • CSS Style sheet containing all used fonts is now automatically created - "font_<DOCUMENT_NAME>.css" However, you can override this with your own definitions in <HEAD> extra HTML or additional style sheets! You can change the name of this file with a hidden default: defaults write com.stone.Create CSSTextStylesFileName "MyCSS" css style sheets are stored in a folder named "css" in your output html folder - you can change it with hidden default: defaults write com.stone.Create cssFolder "" // Put files in top level defaults write com.stone.Create cssFolder "images" // put in folder named images • XHTML - Create can now make XHTML 1.0 pages on a per-document or per-page basis Web -> Web Options -> Misc, "XHTML" On by default, to take use of new CSS power! • HTML now handles: multiple line spacing paragraph indents, tails and first line indents before and after paragraph spacing • Text which flows around graphics can now be output to web as live text - the links in the text and graphics remain active - Caveat: graphics must be at right or left side of text block - To get old behavior of an image (more WYSIWYG), "Output to web as image" in Info ->Object - uses CSS style float and alignment for older browsers • You can override the default title automatically given a web page by adding a title tag to the Extra HTML -> Extra HEAD field: <title>My own special title for this page!</title> • Quicktime movies added directly to page will run in IE7 now - has backup OBJECT and EMBED tags for browsers without JavaScript • Embed HTML pages with the <OBJECT> tag (NOT XHTML compliant however!): Click EMBED tool, and drag out the desired size of the flash movie Info -> Object, click "Embed Multimedia Resource" Click "Source:" button to choose the HTML file in an open panel Click "Copy" from "Embed Source" dialog that appears This can give you the effect of frames and sub-pages! • Embed Flash easily with IE7 compliant javascript, pluginspage and <OBJECT> tag: (note if XHTML is selected, only the conformant Javascript is output!) Click EMBED tool, and drag out the desired size of the flash movie Info -> Object, click "Embed Multimedia Resource" Click "Source:" button to choose the SWF file in an open panel Click "Copy" from "Embed Source" dialog that appears • Output graphic names use base 36 for uniquing which results in more info in name • Ordered lists preserve the font on the ordering elements • Lists no longer have huge spaces on either side of them Text Features • Text now has three sizing modes set in Info -> Object "Text Resizing" popup: (or Control-Click to get context menu with these options!) - Size to Fit: text grows and shrinks as needed in vertical direction when you edit it When you resize text width with middle right knob, it grows or shrinks vertically to fit This is the default mode, as it is closest to the old Create behavior - One Line: good for headlines - text box is sized to just fit the text on one line Centered Text stays centered as it grows and shrinks Right Adjusted text stays right aligned as it grows and shrinks Making Bold/Font changes keeps the text box the exact size - Fixed Size: text is clipped to its box - but you see it all when editing This is great for page layout design when you want the text block a certain size Web page will show scrollers if there's text overflows Also great for web page design for the same reason - If a text block is chained, you cannot set its sizing mode, it's Fixed Size Text Styles (Format -> Styles -> Styles..., "Edit") can support the different modes if you set this hidden default: defaults write com.stone.Create TextStyleHasResizeMode YES - you can alter a style's Text Resizing mode via Style Editing - If you apply a Style to an entire text block, its text resizing updates - Also if you update a style that has been applied to an entire block. - this is off by default because it can lead to multiple identical styles except for ResizeMode • Text Wrapped Graphics now supports differing top, bottom, left and right margins Choose "Custom..." from the Standoff field combo box Or set them by entering TOP; BOTTOM; LEFT; RIGHT in the field (separate by semi-colons) Works best for square wrapped items! • Editing text supports multiple non-contiguous selections and operations on those selections • You can drag out a new text block in any direction • Support for replicating chains blocks of text depending on desired outcome: To get: Perform: new set of chained blocks copy blocks of original text, paste not connected to previous (hint: table group the blocks to copy!) another page with chained blocks Files -> Pages -> Duplicate Page connected to this page another page with chained blocks Set Image well to "Page", drag independent of any other page Page icon into document • Dragging text clippings into editing text block with no selection works now - if you have a selection, Create assumes you are adding a web link • Besides being able to easily create styles using the Image Well and dragging a style while a text is selected to the Styles window, you can now update a style by: 1. select a Style in the Styles... window, and click the Edit button to expose the drawer 2. make your changes on some text in the document 3. drag the Styles icon onto the text in the Edit drawer - this will update the editing style instead of creating a new one - you'll see a link icon if its going to update the currently selected style - you'll see a plus icon if no style is selected in the tableview This can be useful when you want to use the Exact Attributes panel to set various character/paragraph settings • Edit -> Insert -> Line Break (command-RETURN) This is useful when you want a single paragraph style around items separated by a newline This results in a <br /> in the output HTML • Edit -> Insert -> Paragraph Break This is the same as typing a RETURN into the text Graphic Features • Line arrows now have: - an optional dimension mark - a new style "Tick" • Color Panel Enhancements; If Color panel is visible, it updates to the color of the current graphic: if a graphic has a fill, to the fill color, if it has a stroke to the stroke color, if it's text, to the first text color If you change the color in the color well and there is a selection: if 1 graphic is selected: if it's a text block, the text color is changed else the active effects inspector determines what's changed: if it's the stroke inspector (and it's not neon), the stroke changes if it's the fill inspector (and it is a simple fill), the fill color changes if it's the multi inspector (and it has a shadow), the shadow color changes if multiple graphics are selected: if more of the graphics have simple fills or are text, that color changes if more of the graphics have strokes, the stroke colors changes If you want to turn off this new feature and only set colors explicitly in the Info panel: defaults write com.stone.Create NoFastColorSetting YES • Date Features - Command-Option-Control-d activates menu item to insert date quickly - If you are editing text, you can insert a date directly at selection - Info-> Object of a Date now remembers your last date format and whether it updates - new dates take their format from the Date Info - dates inserted into text directly also take their format from Date Info • Format -> Move All -> [ Left, Right, Up, Down ] now moves by current Grid amount • Arrow Keys + CONTROL key nudges graphics by current Grid amount • Edit -> Select -> Next (^n) selects the next object further back or none, if bottom object. Loops. • Edit -> Select -> Previous (^p) selects the previous object layered above, or none, if top object. Loops. Save As PDF w/Links in PStill • Internal and external links will “click through” in the output PDF • Save As PDF w/Links in PStill with text inside of groups works now • Provide a Server path for relative links in Save As PDF w/Links in PStill: defaults write com.stone.Create serverPrefixForPDFLinks "http://www.stone.com" Other Fixes and Enhancements • When drag selecting objects, the first one selected is the one used for further alignment operations • COMMAND-click on a line with one arrow end swaps the end • COMMAND key overrides all constraints: Grid, Guides and Snapping Points • Size inspector recognizes "," decimal separator for locales that use that separator instead of "." • Make Natural Size on right-aligned text blocks anchors text on the right side • Make Natural Size on center-aligned text blocks anchors text at their center • Both of the above are done automatically for "One Line" text • Double-click editing of text and tables deselects all but the editing object • Pasting Styles onto objects doesn't change their size • Option-drag to copy an item, then repeat "Duplicate" will preserve offset of drag • Undeleting objects restores their selection • Styles can now contain underlines • Line width slider field now localized and working in German etc • Latin 1 encoding works correctly now (charset=ISO-8859-1) • Resizing highly scaled objects works correctly now • Internal links in chained text update correctly when pages are added • Table Groups clip when printed (so can also be used for masking elements) • Stackable Info window's scroller scrolls with mighty mouse scroll button now • Scripts -> Guides -> Add Any Guides lets you specify exactly the location of any number of guides to add all at once | ||||||
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