Using Vector Tools September 24, 2007

Mistake… it says to use the same color red as the outline of the circle, but then the color they tell you to use in order to fill the triangles is a different color red.

I don’t like how all the keyboard commands are not the same, as other Adobe programs… of course, I am using the MX 2004 version. I will have to check on the CS3.

 

I chose to do a swirl in the middle of my mint because that’s what my real mint looks like!

Good exercise. Helpfull to know about the paste into feature as well as the filters. I really like the trim canvas feature! Good shortcut tips too (ie clone, transform, & replay)!

Editing in Fireworks/Imagemaps in Dreamweaver September 24, 2007

This is the link to my webpage using stock photography.

http://bcts-potomac.aacc.edu/128b/19/week4-files/mapexample.htm

 I really like the way it’s so easy to set up image maps in Dreamweaver. It definitely makes linking a lot easier then piecing images together and linking individually.  I did encounter a small snafu… all my files were in the week 4 folder, like the assignment indicated, and in order to get to the mapexample page, the week-4 files had to be included in the URL.  All is working and could be moved to make the URL shorter. I would just need to update the links as well.

Fireworks: Bitmap Editing September 17, 2007

Here are the images we worked with in Chapter 1.

 This one was used with the Oval Marquee too and feather option.

 This one  used the ruber stamp tool to “erase” nuts, and the smudge tool to smooth any lines/coloring that didn’t look right.

 This image started out as three different images, all with a grey background.  I used the lasso & polygon lasso tools to cut out the images, then pasted them into one document.  I also adjusted color levels, used the scaling tool.

 I’ve found that the Fireworks tools and short-cuts are very similar, if not exactly the same, to those in other Adobe programs (ie Photoshop & Illustrator)  Another way to zoom is “Ctrl +” (in) and “Ctrl -” (out).  The red eye tool makes the photos better, but still a little weird, in my opinion.  I guess my biggest question is why would you do all this in Fireworks when you can do the same thing in Photoshop and import it into Fireworks or Dreamweaver?

Designing for the Web September 17, 2007

It’s a good to keep in mind that you are designing a page for different web browsers as well as different size screens.  I like how the mapped everything out in the charts as far as resolution/screen size vs. browser.   The graphics compression section is a great reminder of which formats.  As far of the text section goes, I know about this from firsthand experience.  I’ve used fonts that I have on my computer and was very disappointed when I brought my page up on another computer, and boring Arial was used as the default.  The accessibility was mentioned in this article, as well as the Adobe video.  It’s great to know those with disabilities have a way to surf the web as well.  It’s also great to keep in mind your intended audience and making sure your design appeals to them.Overall a great article and just from browsing around, a great informational site!

http://www.digital-web.com/articles/designing_for_the_web/

The Browser-Safe Web Palette September 17, 2007

It’s interesting to know how the color picker works and why all colors aren’t available… because they are different depending on the platform.  I’m not quite sure exactly what dithering and CLUTs are.

http://www.lynda.com/hex.asp

Setting Up Links, Images & Using Dreamweaver September 16, 2007

Here is the link to my page.

http://bcts-potomac.aacc.edu/128b/19/index.html 

I found everything easy to use, especially with the Properties Inspector window.  Its good to know different ways to open and save a new page, as well as linking pages.

Assignment 2 September 10, 2007

http://bcts-potomac.aacc.edu/128b/19/page2.htm

http://bcts-potomac.aacc.edu/128b/19/kim.html

Here are my 2 pages.  At first I was having problems because one is .html and the other is .htm (I was typing .html for both). But now, I believe I did everything correctly.  

 I also learned you have to put the files after making changes and saving.

Intro. to Dreamweaver Adobe Seminar September 10, 2007

Like I’ve noticed in many Adobe tutorials, they speak very fast and it is difficult for the average person to keep up. Right in the very beginning he speaks of slicing things in Fireworks. For someone with no previous experience in this program, it would be very difficult to follow and know what he was talking about. I am really interested in learning the form fields and the accordion style. The seminar just goes way too fast in my opinion and is difficult to follow.  In order to do any of the demos, you would have to pause the seminar several times (which it takes a while to start back up again). I htink it would be helpfull for them to outline the demo so you could refer back to specific parts.

Dreamweaver 8 Ch. 1 September 3, 2007

I absolutely agree that it is important to learn the code behind the webpage. It just makes it easier when you do have an error you’re trying to figure out. I really like Dreamweaver in the way it does the split screen and allows you to view the coding and the design simultaneously.

I have taken one other course in web design where I had to create a website strictly using HTML, we had not even been taught Dreamweaver yet.  This was an excellent way to learn HTML and to appreciate Dreamweaver.  Of course, once Dreamweaver was introduced, all memorization of HTML was out the window.  So,  I’m not really sure I understand the difference between HTML and XHTML just by looking at the brief example given.  They look the same to me.  I think XHTML may just be an upgrade from HTML.

As far as file-naming, I knew not to use spaces and to keep everything in lower cases.  However, I did hear from an IT person along the way that this wasn’t true. I’m glad I didn’t listen to them. This is an excellent rule of thumb.

I really hope it goes into detail the differences not only in .html, but also coldfusion (.cfm) and other types of documents used to create a webpage.  Also the difference between loading a .jpeg images vs. a .gif.  All in all, I think everything looks very confusing on paper, with all the abbreviations. But, once you actually do it hands on, it starts to make a lot more sense… I hope J

FTP: For the People September 3, 2007

 http://www.webmonkey.com/02/36/index4a.html

Wow! One thing I’ve definitley learned is everything internet has a language all it’s own!

I’m still a little confused on what the ftp actually is. It seems to me, in this article he is saying the ftp is sometimes used instead of the http. Am I reading that correctly?  The only time I’ve ever seen ftp is when you are in Dreamweaver, connecting to the server to gain access to edit your webpage.  All this information is given by your web host. I hope we go into depth about what all the coding for that is.

Actually, I’ve also loaded files to an ftp site for my printing press. It sometimes takes forever to upload a file. I thought just major business like a printing press use them. I guess they’re more common than I thought!