InDesign CS3 backspace bug fix

If you are using InDesign CS3, you should be aware of this: InDesign CS3 will crash if you: a) have the Info panel displayed, b) are editing text in a story of more than 500 characters, and c) backspace quickly to delete a bunch of text characters.

Adobe has promised to fix this in a future patch, but in the meantime, the workaround is simple: close the Info panel when you don't need it.

The story behind this bug is kind of interesting:

Yesterday InDesign CS3 crashed repeatedly every time that I backspaced quickly to delete text in a lengthy file I spent all day editing. Each time that it crashed, I obediently submitted a description of the problem using the Adobe Crash Reporter.

Much to my delight, I received an email today from Adobe thanking me for submitting the reports, and informing me that after looking into it, they discovered the cause of the crash. They advised me to close the Info panel, and promised to fix the bug in a future dot release.

This is quite a nasty bug, but closing the Info palette DOES work around the problem. I was absolutely floored and amazed by the quick, personal reply to my crash reports. This prompt, customer-facing attitude is one reason why Adobe is successful.

Explore the world of Kuler

Visit kuler.adobe.com to view thousands of color themes created by a huge community of users. Create and contribute your own color themes, and download themes that you like as Adobe Swatch Exchange files for easy use in InDesign, Illustrator or Photoshop.

The interface used in Kuler to create new color themes is similar to the new Live Color feature in Illustrator CS3, which lets you create a color and then quickly find complementary colors, split complements, analogous colors, etc.

Illustrator CS3 communicates directly with Kuler via the new Kuler palette (found in Window > Adobe Labs > Kuler) in Illustrator.

Mac users can download the Kuler Dashboard Widget from the Kuler web site for another easy way to quickly access Kuler.

Adobe Swatch Exchange (ASE) files

InDesign, Illustrator and Photoshop CS2 and CS3 all support the exchange of colors via ASE files. In other words, you can easily use colors you've created in Illustrator in an InDesign project, or colors you've created in Photoshop in an Illustrator project, or vice versa. Here's how:

1. In any of these three applications, select the colors in the Swatches palette that you want to exchange.

2. In the Swatches palette or Swatches panel menu of InDesign, Illustrator or Photoshop, choose the following:

• InDesign CS2: Save Swatches for Exchange
• InDesign CS3: Save Swatches
• Illustrator CS2: Save Swatches for Exchange
• Illustrator CS3: Save Swatch Library as ASE
• Photoshop CS2/CS3: Save Swatches for Exchange

This will create a small .ASE file that you can store wherever is convenient. Then, to use these colors in another InDesign, Illustrator or Photoshop project:

1. Choose one of the following from the Swatches palette or Swatches panel menu in InDesign, Illustrator or Photoshop:

• InDesign CS2/CS3: Load Swatches
• Illustrator CS2/CS3: Open Swatch Library: Other Library
• Photoshop CS2/CS3: Load Swatches

2. Navigate to where you previously saved the ASE file, and select it. The colors you saved in the ASE file will be loaded into your swatches palette, ready for you to use.

Swatches in any color model (CMYK, RGB, PANTONE, etc.) can be saved and exchanged between projects in this manner. Tints of colors and gradient or pattern swatches cannot be saved as ASE files.

Adding color to grayscale images in InDesign

InDesign allows you to easily add color to a placed image, with certain restrictions:

• The image must be saved as a grayscale or bitmap image. (Choose Image > Mode > Bitmap or Image > Mode > Grayscale in Photoshop).

• The image must be saved in PSD, TIF, BMP or JPG format.

• If the image is in PSD format, it may contain multiple layers, but the bottom layer must be opaque. In other words, you cannot apply color to a PSD image with a transparent background in InDesign.

To add color to an image, select the image with the Direct Selection (white arrow) tool, and then select a color from the Swatches palette or the Color palette.

Missing buttons in Acrobat 8

When you first run Adobe Acrobat 8 Standard or Professional, you will notice the new, streamlined interface. However, on closer examination, you may be frustrated because some of the buttons in the toolbar that you have become accustomed to in Acrobat 6 or 7 are missing in version 8. For example, Acrobat 8 no longer displays the buttons for switching to single page or two-up view, or to go forward or back.

The good news is that in Acrobat 8, you can choose Tools > Customize Toolbars to select exactly which buttons you want to display in each toolbar.