Macro Monday: Table Preset Docker

CorelDRAW X4 introduced tables to CorelDRAW. If you have a larger table that you want to format in a specific graphic style, it can take a while to select each row or column and apply the desired formatting. One of Corel's programmers developed a custom Docker that makes it very easy to format a table in one shot. Along the way, he always describes how any developer can create a custom Docker. The Table Preset Docker can be downloaded for free. A sample screenshot is found at the top of the page while the link for downloading is at the very bottom of the page.

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Hump Day Hardware: Mice

I've talked about two of the major tools for interacting with your computer, graphics tablets and keyboards. Today we're going to talk about mice.

Those of you who read the post on tablets will know that I rarely use a mouse. If you have joined us to CorelDRAW Unleashed Boot Camp, you've never seen me pick up a mouse. While I rarely use one, it is something that is a requirement on a computer. If there is a driver problem with your tablet, you need a way to point long enough to get things working again. Some of you may even prefer to work with a mouse, though I find it hard to understand. I guess you just haven't spent much time with a tablet.

One problem I've always had with mice is that they tend to wear out too quickly. Part of the problem was the old mice with the ball in them would get dirty or would mechanically break down. Most of the newer mice have a laser in them for tracking movement so there is nothing to mechanically wear out or get gunked up.

A pet name that I've given to mice over the years is "soap on a rope" or "brick on a string". I can't even use those names any more since many of the mice are cordless. I do recommend you keep a corded mouse handy in case the cordless mouse stops working! It can stay in a closet, but make sure you have one somewhere as you'll never know when it might come in handy.

Since I'm not a big mouse user, I did some research to try and figure out the best mouse available. This research led to the Logitech MX Revolution Cordless Laser Mouse. It lists for $99.99 and sells for $84 on Amazon. If you want to save even more, Amazon sells a refurbished version for under $60. You'll find that it fits your hand nicely and has a ton of buttons, wheels and other useful features. If you need one for a laptop, look to the Logitech VX Revolution Cordless Laser Mouse for Notebooks.

I still believe you should be using a Wacom tablet the majority of the time when you are creating graphics. But for those times when you must have a mouse, the Logitech listed here is a darned good one.

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Hump Day Hardware: Graphics Tablets

When you were learning to draw as a kid, did your parents hand you a crayon or a bar of soap? I think most of you learned with a crayon and yet there are a large number of people who attempt to draw on their computer with a bar of soap otherwise known as a mouse.

Today we're goint to talk about graphics tablets. With a tablet, you use a pen (or a mouse) on the tablet's surface as a replacement for your traditional pointing device. You can still use a mouse or trackball or pointing stick or whatever else if you like. All pointing devices will be active. It isn't just for graphics software either, it will work in all software though it may provide more features in your graphics software. For those who have experience some wrist pain from extended mousing sessions, you might even find that the tablet will take the pain away. If you've never used a tablet before, you might find it takes you a day or two to adjust to the absolutely positioning it offers simply because it is different than the relative positioning used with a mouse. It is just like learning to drive a stick shift. The first day you wonder how anyone can drive the thing. After a few days you don't even notice pushing the clutch and shifting gears.

Now that you know a bit about tablets, let's get one thing very clear. As far as I'm concerned there is only one brand you should consider buying, Wacom. Now as you shop for tablets, you might see other brands that look good and sound good and have lower prices. Please, resist the temptation, they cost less for a reason. In the last day there has been a discussion in one of the coreldraw.com forums about another brand of tablet not working right. Others who had owned non-Wacom tablets chimed in about problems they had with their tablets. When they switched to a Wacom, everything worked fine. If you end up having to buy two tablets, was the other brand really a bargain?

Now that I've told you why you should only consider Wacom, let's talk about the three different product lines available. For those who want the least expensive tablet, the Bamboo line is what you want. The least expensive has a list price of $69.99 and you can definitely find it discounted a little bit from there. Personally I'd recommend you at least look at the Bamboo Fun. It lists for $99.99 so it is $30 more. But where the Bamboo only gives you a pen, the Fun adds a mouse and some great graphics software (Adobe Photoshop Elements 5, Corel Painter Essentials 3 and Nik Color Efex Pro 2). Both of these tablets have a drawing area of around 4" x 5" so they are fairly compact. There is also a larger version of the Bamboo Fun where the active area is 8.5" x 5.3". It also lists for $100 more.

The next line of tablets is the Intuos line. It comes in four sizes that I'll mention here: 4" x 6", 6" x 8", 6" x 11" and 9" x 12". Those of you outside North America will get the same basic tablets with metric sizes. There are some other sizes, but these are the sizes that are most popular. If you want the best, go for the Intuos line as both the tablets and pens offer more features. There are separate areas for scrolling, programmable buttons, the pens have more pressure sensitivity levels and the pens support extra features like tilt.

For those of you who want to draw directly on your screen, look at the Cintiq line of tablets. In this line, the tablet is integrated into an LCD monitor. Yes, you'll pay a lot more for this. I've always had my tablet just to the right of my keyboard and it works just fine. This allows me to get the best monitor possible.

We keep a page on the Graphics Unleashed site that lists the whole line of Wacom tablets with links to purchase them from Amazon. Even if you just want to check prices, you might want to give this page a look.

One thing I know for sure. If you haven't yet tried a tablet, you'll find it to be a much better tool for working in all graphics software. I use my tablet 99% of the time and don't even think of using a mouse no matter what I'm doing. The only time I use the mouse is on those rare occasions when I play a game since it is hard to shoot aliens by tapping the pen on the tablet.

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CES News--Wacom Cintiq Tablets

I'm sure many of you have seen news items about CES (Consumer Electronics Show). Maybe it was the 150 inch plasma TV or the 3mm thick OLED display from Sony. Or even the car that could drive itself. Sure, I saw those things at the show. I'm going to focus on the stuff I saw that directly affects those of us in the graphics world. Plus, I don't think any designers can afford the other stuff! :)

In my first post, I'm going to talk about the Wacom Cintiq tablets. They aren't really new, but they are becoming more popular. The folks from Genius were showing similar tablets. I shocked the girl demoing the Genius tablet when I sat down and starting playing with Corel Painter and knew more than she did about it. Funny thing is I haven't played with Painter in years.

The difference between a regular Wacom tablet and the Cintiq line is that you draw directly on the screen. When they demo the product, they typically have the screen sitting on a desk. If I had one, I think I'd prefer to put it in my lap. Because these tablets combine an LCD monitor with a tablet, they do cost a lot more than a regular tablet.

For the time being, I'm still a fan of the regular tablet with a huge monitor. I use a Wacom Intuos tablet along with a 30 inch Samsung monitor. These two combined cost a lot less than a 21 inch Cintiq. For those wanting to draw directly on the screen, there is a 12 inch Cintiq that weighs in under $1000.

Since the Cintiq line first appeared a few years ago, the price and display quality have both gotten better. As with many products you see at CES, they really hit their stride a few years after CES. So for now, I think you may want to wait a year or two to buy a Cintiq. For those who really want to draw directly on the screen, they work wonderful.

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Wacom Introduces New Affordable Tablets

The Wacom Graphire has been an inexpensive way to get a graphics tablet to use as a more natural input device for your computer. Wacom has come out with new tablets and a new name. Graphire is out and Bamboo is in.

If you simply want a tablet at the lowest price possible without any extra software, then there is a model for you. The biz-oriented Bamboo only comes in black and only in the small (4" x 5") size. List price is only $79.99 and it will be discounted from there.

If you want bundled software, a choice in colors or a choice in size then you want the Bamboo Fun. The software included is Adobe Photoshop Elements (5 for PC/4 for Mac), Nik Color Efex Pro 2 filters and Corel Painter Essentials 2. The colors available are black, white, silver and electric blue. Sizes are small (4" x 5") and medium (6" x 8"). It is priced at $99.99 for the small and $199.99 for the medium.

The Bamboo tablets are a nice upgrade from the Graphire series. Added are programmable buttons and a touch ring for zooming and scaling. The pen has 512 distinct levels of pressure. If you are stuck with a mouse, a tablet is a huge upgrade. For those who already have an older tablet, it might be time to look for a new one.

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