Alternative Choices for Font Management

Last week I told you my choice for font management software was FontExpert 2009. Several loyal readers have commented that they liked other products. I have not tested any of the other products suggested, but I thought I'd pass along links to these products so that you can check them out if you don't feel FontExpert is the right tool for you.

• MainType
• X-Fonter
• Font Pilot
• Printer's Apprentice

Each of these products has its pros and cons. Personally, none of them measure up to FontExpert 2009 and that's why I featured it last week. If there are other products not listed here, pass along information on your favorite as a comment.

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FontExpert 2009 for Font Management

CorelDRAW X5 has now been on the market for a week and a half. For the most part, the new features have been popular with users. Yet there is one area where a weakness has been discovered and I'm going to explore the best solution to this problem in today's post.

One of the utilities supplied with CorelDRAW for many versions now is Bitstream Font Navigator. When it was first added to CorelDRAW, it was the best font management tool available. Unfortunately it is of limited value to users on Windows 7 since the program has gotten minimal updates in the paste ten years. Let's explore the reason it has gotten stale. It is Bitstream's software, not Corel's. Corel simply licenses it from Bitstream. Many years ago Bitstream decided to stop all development of Font Navigator. A few minor changes have been made at Corel's bequest, but even these changes have left Font Navigator severely lacking in functionality. The biggest problem is that it cannot install any PostScript Type 1 fonts on Windows 7. I also had similar problems running Font Navigator on Windows Vista. That means the time has come for me to say: RIP Font Navigator.

Once users discover the flaws with Bitstream Font Navigator, they immediately ask if there is a good replacement. I've done some searching over the past few months and the best replacement I've found is FontExpert 2009. Rather than repeating information, I'm simply going to include a list of the key features supplied by the vendor.

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• View and Preview Fonts
  FontExpert 2009 displays the list of all installed typefaces and lets you explore folders and preview uninstalled fonts located on your compact disks or DVDs, local disks, removable disks or network drives. You can preview the font as a paragraph of text or as a detailed character map. It is easy to choose the desired font size, font style or color.
• Assign Keywords, Ratings and Categories to Fonts
  Assign keywords, categories, ratings and captions in new Tags view.
• Search in Database
  Search for fonts in the database by keywords, ratings and categories in new DB Search view.
• Search for Fonts on Local Discs and Network Drives
  The program can search your local disks, CDs or DVDs, network drives for fonts, and put all fonts to a special list for your further work.
• Search for Duplicates and Corrupted Fonts
  FontExpert automatically detects corrupted and incomplete fonts, and allows you to search for and manage duplicate fonts.
• Manage Fonts
  It is easy to manage any typefaces that are shown in any view of the program. You can sort, filter, preview fonts, copy, move, delete font files, activate or deactivate fonts, add or link fonts to font groups (sets). The program can control fonts located in the Windows Fonts and Psfonts folder (used by Adobe Type Manager), so you do not need to remove fonts from standard folders as some font managers require.
• Create Font Library
  FontExpert imports fonts and creates font library. You can keep your fonts organized in groups (sets), and activate or deactivate font sets. A group may include either the font file, or a link to a file located in any folder on your computer or network drive. It is easy to add fonts or links by drag-and-dropping from the Windows Explorer to the Groups view.
• Print Fonts
  FontExpert 2009 can print selected fonts. It is easy to print character map, "water flow" or face name reports for selected fonts, either installed or uninstalled. You can customize and format page headers and footers as desired, for example, by adding the name of your company.
• View Advanced Font Properties
  The program displays detailed information about the selected font, including type foundry or copyright, TrueType tables, number of kerning pairs in a font, Panose attributes, Windows font metrics and more.
• Examine your System for Font Errors
  With the help of Detect Font Problems feature, it is easy to find errors in installed fonts and to optimize Windows by resolving typeface conflicts and by removing records about missing fonts.
• Export Fonts to HTML Web Album
  FontExpert can create HTML Web Album from selected fonts. You can create GIF, JPG, PNG, TIFF, and BMP images of selected font faces. See the sample of HTML page created by FontExpert.
• Automatic Activation of Missing Fonts
  FontExpert includes Missing Fonts Loader plug-in for Adobe InDesign CS2, CS3, and CS4.
• Windows Shell Extensions
  The program adds Open, Print and Install Font custom menu commands to Windows Explorer context menu, and adds custom property page that displays detailed attributes of selected .ttf or .otf file. FontExpert adds font management capabilities to the shell so it is easy to activate or print any font in a folder you browse in Windows Explorer.

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Look carefully at that list and you'll see that FontExpert 2009 is a pretty impressive program. In my opinion it does everything that Bitstream Font Navigator can do and much more. Well, except for one feature and it has been the reason that I've always used Font Navigator. If you open a CorelDRAW file that is missing fonts, Font Navigator will install those fonts if they exist on your system. By my definition, that is a killer feature and it is one that is currently missing front FontExpert 2009.

You'll notice that such a feature does exist for Adobe InDesign. So I asked the developers of FontExpert if something similar could be created for CorelDRAW. They are certainly interested in adding such a feature and I made sure they had contact information for the appropriate people at Corel. Don't read more into my statement beyond what I said. There is no promise that they will be able to do this, it is simply something they would like to add.

Due to Bitstream Font Navigator not being able to fully function on Windows 7, I've moved to FontExpert 2009 even though it can't automatically load missing fonts. My fingers are crossed that a solution can be developed for that all important feature. Even with the one missing feature, I think you'll find FontExpert 2009 to be a great utility for keeping your fonts in order.

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Utilities Bundled with CorelDRAW Graphics Suite X5

We all know about the main components of CorelDRAW Graphics Suite X5. So this post isn't about CorelDRAW, Corel PHOTO-PAINT, Corel PowerTRACE or Corel CONNECT. I'm going to talk about some of the "bundled" add-ons that come with CorelDRAW Graphics Suite X5.

We'll start with BenVista PhotoZoom Pro 2. It is an export plug-in for enlarging bitmaps with minimal loss of quality. If you have a lousy photo as a starting point, the result will be a larger lousy photo. The old rule of garbage in, garbage out still applies. Start out with a good quality photo and you can easily upsample it to a much larger size and it will still look pretty darned good. If you have already purchased CorelDRAW Graphics Suite X5 or downloaded the trial, you can give it a try for yourself. Now if you've looked for this plug-in, you may have been perplexed because it doesn't show up in the Effects menu. Remember, it is an export plug-in. Go to File | File Format Plug-ins | Export and you should see PhotoZoom Pro 2 listed. The photo currently active in Corel PHOTO-PAINT will be transferred to PhotoZoom Pro where you can enlarge it using all types of different settings. After finishing in PhotoZoom, the enlarged photo will be returned to Corel PHOTO-PAINT.

Some of you may have noticed that Corel is supplying PhotoZoom Pro 2 and that PhotoZoom Pro 3 was released a few months ago. Let's talk about how bundling deals like this work. Corel agrees to pay the company, BenVista, for bundling their product in the suite for "free". Typically the payment is a very small percentage of what you or I would pay for the product by itself. Corel gets to add value to the suite and BenVista gets a nice payment. Just so you know, the full price if it wasn't bundled is $219! Sometimes it is a flat fee, sometimes it varies based on the number of copies sold. I'm certainly not privy to the details of this deal. One thing I know for sure is that BenVista is hoping that once you are exposed to their product, you'll like it and consider getting the newer version. Maybe they will make a special offer available to CorelDRAW X5 owners, maybe they won't. If I had to guess, I think they will. Just remember, that is only a guess. For those who want to know more about the newer version, I wrote about PhotoZoom Pro 3 in the blog last summer.

For those who have purchased the boxed version of CorelDRAW Graphics Suite X5, you'll find Swish miniMax2 included on the disc as a separate install. Please read that carefully, it is not part of the download version. It is a tool for easily creating cool stuff in Flash format. I'd love to give you more details, but I haven't had a chance to play with it yet. And just like PhotoZoom Pro, it is the previous version of the software. I'll also guess that the Swish folks will have some sort of upgrade offer available for CorelDRAW X5 owners. If you were to buy Swish miniMax separately, it would cost you over $100. Once again, a great deal to get it bundled.

There is actually one more goodie that will be supplied when you register. I don't know if this will only be available for a limited time or not. So if you are reading this long after I've written it, the offer could have been changed. Corel has not opened up registration yet. Soon the download versions will suggest that you register your copy. If you already have a Corel.com account, it takes all of about one minute. If you don't have a Corel.com account, you'll have to create one and it might take a couple extra minutes. The reward is that you'll be given a download link for the KPT Collection of plug-in filters. In total there are 23 filters included.

When you are making your decision on upgrading, don't forget to consider the value of these three included products.

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CPU-Z Processor Information Utility

I'm sure none of you really think you need to know that much about the processor in your computer. You might even brush off this post because you don't feel you need to know much. If that's the way you feel, I'm going to ask you a very simple question. Does the processor in your computer support the SSE2 instruction set? I bet very few of you even know what that means and even fewer know if their processor supports it or not. Once again, I bet many of you are saying "who cares".

So what if there was important software you wanted and it required this instruction set? In fact, that desired software flat out won't install on your computer without these instructions. Now I bet you really want to know the answer and you can find out in a couple of minutes without spending any money.

I guarantee you that you will want to know this information in the near future. So take a couple of minutes and find out now. The first step is to download the free CPU-Z utility. Once downloaded, install it and run it. You'll see a screen similar to the one below.

 

You'll note that I've added a couple of red marks to my screen shot. The red arrow points to the list of instruction sets supported by your processor. I've underlined the portion listing the SSE instruction sets (or at least the first few). You want to make sure that your list includes SSE including number up to at least 2.

Those of you who are real system geeks will probably appreciate a lot of the other information included. If you are simply going through this exercise because I told you to do it, you don't have to worry about anything else. If your system supports the SSE2 instruction set, just make a mental note of this. Those of you who have a system that doesn't support SSE2 may want to consider shopping for a new computer soon. I described my dream computer in a post last September.

I'm sure you are still wondering why this information is so important. I'll give you more details on this in a future post. Don't worry, it won't be that long. Just believe me that you'll want to know if your processor supports SSE2 and CPU-Z allows you to find the answer very quickly.

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Ultimate Windows Tweaker

Last month I told you about Tweak 7, which provides a plethora of options for tweaking Windows 7. If you want as many tweaks as possible, it is a great tool. Today we're going to talk about Ultimate Windows Tweaker which has several advantages and disadvantages compared to Tweak 7.

One of the biggest advantages is that it is freeware. And where Tweak 7 only works with Windows 7, Ultimate Windows Tweaker will work with both Vista and Windows 7. If a particular tweak isn't supported by your operating system, it will be grayed out in the dialog box. The disadvantage is that it doesn't have nearly as many tweaks as you'll find in Tweak 7. Yet I think it has the most important ones and possibly the only ones you'll need.

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ColoRotate Plug-In

Today I'm going to talk about a Photoshop plug-in. Note that while it only works in Photoshop CS4, I'd still like you all to at least take a brief look at it as I have some questions that I'll pose later in this post.

The idea behind this plug-in is that it allows users to pick colors in three dimensions. The chosen colors can be fine-tuned using joysticks and sliders. Once colors are added to a palette, those palettes can be saved and shared with others. If you want to see how it works, check out the tour of Colorotate. There is also a page on their site that gives you a lot of background about color (this isn't specific to Photoshop at all).

The Photoshop plug-in costs $39 and like I said, it will only work in Photoshop CS4. So I'm curious to know if any of you would find it useful to have something similar for use in CorelDRAW and Corel PHOTO-PAINT. And for those who would find it useful, would you spend $39 for it? If there is enough interest, I'll pass along your feedback to the developer and see if they would consider creating a version for CorelDRAW users. Of course if you aren't interested, no need to say anything. So post a comment and let everyone know how you feel. For those who haven't posted a comment, there is a link at the bottom of the post for doing so. Please don't reply via e-mail as I'm the only one who can see it.

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Serif PagePlus X4

Not a day goes by where a CorelDRAW user doesn't beg for more desktop publishing features in CorelDRAW. I really wouldn't hold your breath for these features. Instead, it is in your best interests to find a publishing tool that works the best for you for usage in conjunction with CorelDRAW.

Today I want to introduce you to Serif PagePlus X4 as it packs a lot of bang for the buck. Is it the most powerful tool available? No. But it is also priced under $100 and will meet the needs of many users.

According to the product page, here are the highlighted features:

• Open and edit documents from anywhere with impressive PDF editing
• Get great results fast using templates, ready-made artwork, and learning zone videos
• Create virtually any document type with a massive range of publishing possibilities
• Be compatible with images, graphics, text files and your chosen print shop
• Edit and enhance photos with an impressive built-in PhotoLab
• Design logos and other artwork without leaving PagePlus X4
• Print at high quality on desktop printers, at any size, even double-sided

Some of the included features will duplicate tasks you can complete in CorelDRAW or Corel PHOTO-PAINT. Yet you might find the Photo Lab included with PagePlus to be quicker for fixing some photos. You'll also find wizards for some of the most common tasks that will speed the production of your document. One feature I always find important when laying out pages is the ability to anchor a graphic to the related text so that it will flow automatically as text is added or deleted. If nothing else, you'll want to download the free trial and give it a look. While I can't guarantee it will work, you can also try coupon code "PPX4E183" as it may save you a significant amount if you want to purchase.

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PDF Viewing Software

I don't know about all of you, but I view numerous PDF files each and every day. First, let's take a brief look at the PDF (Portable Document Format) file format. It was created by Adobe in 1993 and was released as an open standard on July 1, 2008. So while it was Adobe's proprietary creation, it is now a format that can be created, modified and read by any software that follows the format standards.

As most of you are aware, CorelDRAW can create PDF files from your artwork and gives you great control over what is created. If you aren't aware of all the settings, check out my CorelDRAW X4 Unleashed book. OK, enough of the mandatory book plugs. :) Other popular software, like Microsoft Office 2007, can also create PDF files from within the software. The strange thing is that Microsoft made the Save as PDF feature an add-in you have to download rather than including it in the box.

There are other tools to create PDF files, including some free ones. I'll save that list for another post. Since I'm already using the Adobe CS4 suite for other products, I use Adobe Acrobat Professional 9 to create and edit PDF files.

Back to the topic at hand and that is viewing PDF files. Adobe Reader is certainly one of the most used pieces of software for viewing PDF files. It is a 37.9 MB download and is free. While it works well, it can be slow due to bloat. It also frequently comes under attack if a security hole is found. I've been a big fan of FoxIt Reader for a few years now. It is also a free download that is only 5.1 MB in size. Is is perfect? No, there are a very small number of things that display incorrectly. But it is fast and the flaws will rarely affect most users. A loyal reader recently pointed me to PDF-XChange Viewer. Is is also free and the download is 19.6 MB. I've not yet hand time to do any comparisons about speed, though I find it to be very quick on the few files I tested. I also don't know if there are any flaws in regards to displaying all files, but I found it worked as well if not better than FoxIt Reader on the files I tested. The most important thing to know is that there are good alternatives to Adobe Reader. As graphics professionals, it is good for us to have numerous readers with which to test our files and make sure they work correctly. We just don't know what software will be used to view our files after they are created.

Give the various PDF readers a try and post a comment letting me know what you think of them.

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Page Layout Software

Not a day goes by without a message from someone wanting to use CorelDRAW to lay out a longer document. For 4-8 pages, CorelDRAW can be a good solution. But I find it totally lacking on anything longer. Of course users ask Corel to add features to CorelDRAW to make it better. I wouldn't hold your breath on seeing those features anytime soon.

People also try to use a word processor as a layout package and that is equally disastrous. I know there is a cost and learning curve involved with getting another piece of software to do page layout. It is worth the investment! I've put together a list of some of the best choices for page layout software. The best choice for one user isn't always the best choice for another user. Take a look at the list and find the package that suits you best. If you don't find your favorite choice on the list, leave me a comment and I'll gladly update the list.

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Best Free High Dynamic Range (HDR) Software

One of the latest trends in photography is high dynamic range photos. Typically you'll take multiple exposures of the same scene and then use special software to use the best bright areas and best dark areas from different photos to end up with one great picture. Some photographers hate the trend, while others embrace it. I guess the best answer I can give is one I saw in the last week. Non-photographers love the images that result. If you want to make money from your photos then you'll goal should be to deliver what customers want. Today, that is HDR.

The folks at Gizmo's Freeware have put together a list of the Best Free High Dynamic Range (HDR) Software that you might want to peruse. Of course you do often get what you pay for. So while there may be some good choices on this list, the best solution could be a commercial tool such as Photomatix Pro. Of course you can download a free trial version before deciding to purchase a copy. Whatever software you choose, I hope that you use it to create some really cool photos.

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Tweak 7

I've been running Windows 7 for about three months now and I'm still trying to get it working exactly the way that I want. Trying to figure out how to change the thousands of settings is next to impossible without some help. That's where Tweak 7 comes into the picture. Not only does it help with modifying settings, it can also clean and defragment the registry.

Not only will it allow you to tweak Windows 7, it also includes tweaks for Outlook, Windows Mail, Internet Explorer and other utilities. There is a free download that will allow you to check it out with the full version available for purchase. Check it out!

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7 Free Tools to Identify a Font

Many times when you have to re-create an existing graphic, the job would be easier if you knew the font that was used. Today I'm going to link you to another blogger who has listed seven different free tools for font identification. While most of you probably know about one or two of these, I'm sure you'll each learn about a few new tools that can help you with this task. If you know of others that are not listed, please post a comment and share that tool with all of us.

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PhotoZoom Classic 3

Last week I told you about SmillaEnlarger, a free tool for upsampling images. I also mentioned PhotoZoom Pro 3 as an alternative for those wanting a full-featured commercial tool. Today I'll tell you about a tool that sits in between those two. BenVista has just released PhotoZoom Classic 3. It includes the same technology found in PhotoZoom Pro 3 and packages into an easier to use standalone product. Note that I said standalone, meaning that it can not be used as a plug-in like its big brother. A feature that might be overlooked is the one that reduces compression artifacts and noise found in JPEG images. You'll definitely want to download the trial version and give PhotoZoom Classic 3 a try if you need to upsample images.

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SmillaEnlarger

We all receive photos from clients that contain too small a number of pixels to look good when output. No matter how much we explain to the client, they don't always understand. They simply want us to fix it. You can open the file in Corel PHOTO-PAINT (or Adobe Photoshop) and use the Resample command to enlarge the photo, but that will rarely produce good results if you are enlarging more than 50%.

Back in July I told you about PhotoZoom Pro 3, an excellent commercial solution for this problem. Today I'm going to tell you about another solution, SmillaEnlarger, an open source solution. It can only be run as a standalone solution, but it does a pretty good job of enlarging low-resolution photos. Don't expect miracles, just an improvement. Of course the price is right, it is free. For those who want a more full-featured solution, then PhotoZoom Pro 3 is a better choice.

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PerfectDisk Disk Defragger

Over time, the data on your hard drives get scattered or fragmented. This can lead to a slowdown of your system. Built-in to Windows is a Disk Defragment that does a decent job of rearranging the data to improve speeds. There are also several third party tools that do an even better job. The tool that I've relied on for several years is called PerfectDisk.

When visiting the PerfectDisk Web site, I even saw the graphic saying "See Why Foster's Chose PerfectDisk". No, they weren't talking about me. It references the Australian beer company that shares my name. In addition to all the ways that it arranges my data optimally, I really like that I can schedule it to run in the middle of the night once a week. That way it speeds up my computer when I'm sleeping. You can download a free trial and give it a try yourself. If you like it, you'll find it is reasonably priced.

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All CPU Meter Desktop Gadget

If you are using Windows Vista or Windows 7, you'll be in luck. Sorry XP users, you'll have to upgrade to take advantage of today's widget...or make that gadget. You see we're going to look at a Desktop Gadget that runs as part of the Windows Sidebar.

All CPU Meter is especially useful if you have a number of cores in your machine. The newer quad core processors are also hyperthreaded so that each of them works as if it were two. At right is the CPU Usage as I was typing this blog. You'll see that I still have a lot of power to spare. When I am doing more intensive tasks, there is a lot more usage. Quite a handy little gadget so you can keep track of when your computer is hard at work and when it is taking it easy.

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Remember Your Passwords Automatically!

Do you use the same password on all the Web sites you visit? If not, do your forget many of them? Or do you completely forget the login information? I'm guess all of the above applies to many of us. Unfortunately that is one way that the bad guys get into our accounts. When you forget your information, you have to ask for help and that is frustrating for both you and for the Web site you are wanting to visit.

All of these are reasons to give Roboform a serious look. You create a single master password for Roboform and it protects all of the other passwords. Anytime you visit a site and log in, Roboform will ask if you want to save the information. You can choose to keep it or not. When you visit that page in the future, one click on the Roboform toolbar will fill and submit the login. Of course, this is only available if you have successfully entered the master password at the beginning of your browsing session.

This is really helpful when you need to create a new password for a site. Typically you enter something really basic. Roboform will generate a crazy complex password for you. It is a password so complex that no human would ever remember (or guess) it. Since Roboform saves it for you, you don't have to remember it. And the bad guys will never crack it!

This only touches on how Roboform can both makes your browsing safer and make it easier for you. I would go crazy without it. Download the free trial and give it a spin. I know that you'll love it if you give it a try. Then you'll need to purchase a license. For me, it was money well spent for the time it has saved and the security it provides.

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Wilcom DecoStudio e1.5

Not all users are aware of the amazing fashion designs that can be created in CorelDRAW. A really cool product for creating multidecorations is Wilcom DecoStudio e1.5 and now is a great time to give it a look if you haven't already. Why is it a great time? Because Corel is throwing in the DecoStudio PowerPack if you purchase before December 31, 2009!

First, let's go over what you get with Wilcom DecoStudio. I see it as two major components with the first one being CorelDRAW X4. CorelDRAW can be used to design artwork that will be digitized and/or artwork that will be printed on a garment. If you already know how to use CorelDRAW, you won't find that it works any different inside of the DecoStudio package. The other part is Wilcom's contribution and that is the embroidery digitizing software. You can design directly in DecoStudio or you can have your CorelDRAW artwork digitized automatically. Of course you can edit the digitized version after the conversion. When the design is all ready, it can be saved as a stitch file compatible with popular embroidery machines. If you want to see what it can do, visit the DecoStudio page for a video tutorial and more.

For a limited time, Corel is including the DecoStudio Power Pack (a $995 value) for free. So what exactly do you get? I've pasted the information below.

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As a helpful addition to Wilcom DecoStudio e1.5, the DecoStudio PowerPack is for those who want to add a bit more power and control. It is packed full of great tools! DecoStudio PowerPack includes:

• Power Lettering Tools
  
  • Team Names
  • Letter Spacing
  • Stitch Method control
  • Vertical Baseline
  
  
• New! Knife tool - cut whole shapes into separate objects, automatically re-sequencing the objects to avoid trims and cuts
• Bonus! 6 month subscription to Wilcom ConceptShare™ 

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So if you have been thinking about digitizing artwork with CorelDRAW or switching from another flavor of embroidery software to DecoStudio, there couldn't be a better time to do it. You might even find that you can get a discount if you are trading in other embroidery software. Get all the details of Corel's special sale!

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BlueScreenView Helps Diagnose the Blue Screen of Death (BSOD)

I've been fairly lucky with most of my computers over the past five years. Rarely have I seen the Blue Screen of Death (BSOD). For those not familiar with this name, it shows when Windows had a very serious problem. The name comes because the screen is blue with a lot of unintelligible white text. At least normal humans don't understand it.

Unfortunately I've seen 10-15 blue screens of death with my new computer. Some would say it has something to do with running Windows 7. I don't think the fault is truly with Windows 7. Typically the BSOD is caused by a bad driver or something else really low level such an anti-virus utilities. The problem is that it is extremely difficult to pinpoint the problem based solely on the information on the blue screen.

That leads me to NirSoft BlueScreenView (free download at very bottom of the page). It can read the "dump" files created when you get a BSOD error. Admittedly you still have some pretty technical information to decipher, but it is a lot more helpful than the blue screen itself. Since installing BlueScreenView over a week ago, I've only had one BSOD and I think I've solved the problem. My best guess is that it was a combination of a bad driver that has since been updated and a bad desktop gadget that I no longer use.

While the process was a bit frustrating, BlueScreenView definitely gave me enough details that I could hunt down the problem. I think some of the issue was that drivers for Windows 7 were really new and that will resolve itself quickly now that large number of users are moving to Windows 7. If you are getting the dreaded BSOD, get a copy of BlueScreenView and start diagnosing.

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Bart's Stuff Test

I can pretty much guarantee that the name of this utility gives you very little information about what it does. Even the page where you download it doesn't say much about it, not even the name of what you are downloading. Bart's Stuff Test allows you to test the read and write speed of your hard disks. It is a free utility.

When I built new new computer, I used two different types of hard drives. One was an SSD drive and the other was a traditional mechanical drive. The SSD drive is supposed to be much faster then the mechanical drive and the only way to find out was to run some speed tests. That's where Bart's Stuff Test came into play. Below are my results.

SSD Drive (Patriot Torqx 2.5-Inch 128 GB Sata II)
Average Sequential Write for 66.5 GB: 116.9 MB/s
Maximum Speed: 147.4 MB/s
Average Sequential Read for 66.5 GB: 200.1 MB/s
Maximum Speed: 205.6 MB/s

Mechanical Drive (Seagate Barracuda 7200.11 1.5 TB Sata 32 MB Cache)
Average Sequential Write for 53.4 GB: 112.8 MB/s
Maximum Speed: 116.5 MB/s
Average Sequential Read for 53.4 GB: 113.1 MB/s
Maximum Speed: 115.8 MB/s

Clearly the SSD was faster in all tests. When writing data, the difference was fairly small. But reading data it was significantly faster. Go ahead and test your drives and see how they compare and then post your results as a comment.

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Xinorbis

How cluttered is the hard drive on your computer? Even on a new machine it doesn't take very long for the gunk to build up. Yet often you have no idea what exactly is taking up all the space. That's where Xinorbis can help out. Allow it to scan your hard drive and you will get a wealth of data about what it found. Find out the size of the folders, what types of files take up the most space, the age of those files and much more. The program is completely free, but a small donation to the developer is encouraged. Give it a try and maybe you'll be able to do a little bit of hard disk cleanup.

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Windows 7 Less Than a Week Away

Every few years a new version of Windows appears and we have to decide if there is a good reason to make the jump from the current version we are using. As I need to document software, I need to at least have one computer on the current version of Windows just in case things work a little differently.

I told you a little while back that I was building a new computer. The computer is now built and most all of my software and data has been transferred to the new machine. In fact, this is the first blog post I've created from this machine. Since I've installed Windows 7 Ultimate on this machine, I wanted to give you my thoughts on the Windows 7 experience so far and give you links to purchase the full/upgrade version of your choice if you were ready to make the jump.

There are numerous flavors of Windows 7, but only three of them will apply to most users. Home Premium is for users who may connect to a network, but don't have the need to connect to a corporate network or domain. It has all of the fancy multimedia stuff. Professional is for users who are in a corporate setting and it adds the networking components needed in that environment. Of course it also includes everything from Home Premium. Ultimate includes everything in the other versions and adds even more features, though I can't really name any feature that is particularly useful. At least not for me.

So why did I go with Ultimate if I can't tell you any good features in it? Quite simply because we at Unleashed Productions, Inc. are in a Microsoft Partner Program that provided us with one license of Ultimate. There is also a decision whether you want to install a 32-bit or 64-bit version of Windows 7. In short, a 32-bit version can use no more than 3 GB of RAM but it provides the most compatibility with your existing hardware and software. The 64-bit version can use a lot more RAM (the limit far exceeds the amount you could install in a PC today), but you may not find drivers for all of your devices. I installed 12 GB of RAM on this machine so I went the 64-bit route. Before doing that, I researched online to make sure there were drivers for all of my devices.

The first question anyone asks is whether it is fast. Any operating system seems fast when newly installed, especially on a machine loaded with the latest hardware and lots of it. The one thing that has really impressed me so far is the boot time. I can do a complete reboot in less than a minute. On my old Windows XP computer, anything less than 10 minutes was pretty impressive. For that reason alone, the speed seems pretty good so far.

What about my software? So far I've had no problem installing any software. Even crusty old programs like Corel Ventura 10 have installed without a problem. Of course I did have to follow some specific steps to get Ventura installed. At this point I don't foresee any problems at all with software compatibility.

The hardware has been a little bit tougher. All of the components in the new computer worked flawlessly. I did get an error from Windows Update that it was unable to update the driver for the nVidia video card. This was quickly solved by downloading the latest driver from the nVidia Web site. I also had a glitch with the Sound Blaster sound card, but it turned out to be a hardware problem and is in the process of being replaced. Other than the wait, the replacement process was quite easy. The biggest problem was getting my Xerox Phaser 8550DP printer to print correctly. The driver supplied with Windows would always print pages 2-up on a printed page. After a lengthy discussion with a Xerox support rep, it was suggested that I install the Windows Vista driver instead. I did that and everything works great now.

Once you get past the main software and hardware issues, then you have to adjust to any changes in the operating system itself. It is easy for me to list the things I don't like and I'm guessing it will take longer to put together the list of things that I do like. When you jump in with both feet, the problems always get solved first and then you find the cool new stuff. Therefore I will mostly tell you about stuff I didn't like. There is a feature called "Snap" where the Windows on your desktop will automatically snap to the edges of your screen. I liked that. Unfortunately if you tried to move a window, it always wanted to maximize it. I hated that. You can't have it both ways so I turned it off. Being able to drag windows where I like was much more important.

In both Windows XP and Windows Vista, I set the Start menu to the "Classic" look. Old habits just die hard with me. With Windows 7, there is no classic look available so I'll find have to change. I've already customized the Start menu to be much larger than the default of 10 items. I've changed it to 20 and will probably make it larger. Why? Because I install a lot of software and I don't want to constantly scroll to find the program I want. A thumbs down for limiting the Start menu so much, but a big thumbs up that it is so customizable. This means I can get it to where I like it, though it will take a little time to get it just right.

Anyone who used Vista got sick of the pop-ups constantly asking for permission. They still exist, but there are not nearly as many as in Vista. Given that I have been installing a lot of software, I've seen quite a few. But they only seem to appear when I am installing things. Once the computer is set up, I really don't think I'll see them that often. For this, a huge thumbs up.

One of my favorite utilities is Yahoo Widgets. Since Windows Vista and Windows 7 have their own Windows Gadgets, I decided to see if I could find the gadgets I wanted so that I could migrate from Yahoo Widgets. So far, so good. The weather widget looks different, but I like all of the information it provides. The stock ticker orders stock by performance rather than alphabetically. It is an adjustment, but I kind of like it. The standard clock is boring, but I'm sure I can find a good replacement soon. I've even found a few gadgets for things that no longer were available with Yahoo Widgets. Overall, I'm pretty happy with the gadgets I've loaded so far and I don't think I'll need Yahoo Widgets in the future. Big thumbs up.

The part of the upgrade that isn't readily seen are some of the performance and security tweaks. Given that Windows XP was released in 2002, it is about time that users at least think of moving to a newer operating system. The more times that passes, the more likely that XP support will slowly fade away. For those that really need it, the Professional and Ultimate flavors of Windows 7 include a Windows XP virtual machine. That way if you just gotta have it to run some software, you can easily do it.

Overall I'm pretty happy with Windows 7. Sure there are adjustments I'll need to make to the way I work. In the short term it may take me a little bit longer to get things done. Yet there is no doubt in my mind that eventually I'll be working faster once I adjust to the changes. If you are happily using XP on a computer now, I wouldn't suggest updating that computer. Wait until you buy a new computer. While you can legally upgrade from XP to Windows 7, it requires you reinstall Windows and all of your software from scratch. Not a bad idea, but it is more complicated than a simple upgrade. Maybe it is time for you to start shopping for a new computer now. Users with Vista may want to seriously consider an upgrade. The things you probably dislike the most in Vista will undoubtedly be improved. Of course you probably want to know about how CorelDRAW works on Windows 7. I've installed both CorelDRAW X3 and X4 and both of them work quite well. I've yet to find any CorelDRAW problem that is caused by Windows 7.

Below are links to both the full and upgrade versions of Windows 7 at Amazon.com. If you are going to purchase a copy, I sure would appreciate if you use the links provided as we'll receive a small commission from each purchase. Don't worry, you'll still get the lowest price Amazon offers. Remember the official release date is October 22, 2009 so your order won't ship until then.

• Windows 7 Home Premium Full / Windows 7 Home Premium Upgrade
• Windows 7 Professional Full / Windows 7 Professional Upgrade
• Windows 7 Ultimate Full / Windows 7 Ultimate Upgrade
  

If you are already using Windows 7, post a comment and tell everyone what you think about it so far!

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PDF Converter 6

Unless your workflow is different than most users of graphics software, you are constantly working with PDF files. I'm definitely someone who creates them, edits them and much more.

If you create a file in CorelDRAW, you have the ability to publish that file directly to PDF without any other software. Many graphics applications have that capability. It is also possible to import most PDF files, but not all, into CorelDRAW. Even with those capabilities, there are many things you can't do with only the PDF functionality provided by CorelDRAW.

That's where a product like PDF Converter 6 can come into play. It can do most of the things you want to do, but can't using just your graphics software. First is the ability to print from any application directly to a PDF file. That may help you create a PDF file that you can later import into CorelDRAW. Even cooler is the ability to convert a PDF file into a fully formatted Word, Excel or PowerPoint file. You can also scan directly to a PDF file if you need to digitize some documentation.

I often see users of CorelDRAW who create a form and export it to PDF. What they can't figure out is how to make that an on-screen fillable form. CorelDRAW can create the form, it can't make it fillable. That's where a product like PDF Converter 6 comes into play. It will take the PDF file and give you the tools to turn it into an electronic form.

Now you might guess that many of these are features that are part of Adobe Acrobat Pro and you'd be right. Here's the difference, PDF Converter 6 has a list price of $99 whereas Adobe Acrobat Pro lists for $450. To make it an even better deal, Nuance has provided a $5 off coupon on PDF Converter 6. The coupon lasts until December 31, 2009. If you are needing to do more with your PDF files, you'll definitely want to explore PDF Converter 6.

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WhiteSmoke Writer 2010

Not a day goes by when I'm not doing some writing. Tutorials, blogs, e-mails and much more. Along the way I make my fair share of mistakes. Sure, most software has some sort of spell checker. Most tools for writing also have a grammar checker. Yet numerous mistakes still slip through.


That's what has me interested in WhiteSmoke Writer 2010. I've watched the online demo and it offers much more powerful tools that you get in a word processor. I haven't yet ordered a copy, but I find it a very intriguing product and one that would surely help me improve my writing. When my schedule clears up and I get into heavy writing mode later this month, I'm sure it will be on my list of products to get.

Give it a look and let me know what you think. If you are already using it, I'd really love to hear what you have to say about it.

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Adobe Photoshop Elements 8

In the consumer image editing market, Adobe has built a large presence with Adobe Photoshop Elements partially because the name is shared with its bigger brother. They have also gotten it bundled with a number of hardware products so that users will already be familiar with it.

This week the newest version was launched with some important new features. One of the most impressive features is the ability to resize images without distortion to key subjects. Even more focus was put on the management of photos. I don't know about you, but it can be difficult to try and keep track of thousands of images. These are certainly not the only features, so I encourage you to look over the full list to determine if the upgrade is right for you. If you are also working with video, a bundle of Photoshop Elements and Premiere Elements is available.

Admittedly I think you can get just as much bang for your buck in the Corel family of products. Corel Paint Shop Pro Photo X2 Ultimate is a darned good consumer image editor. For those wanting to work with images and video, give Corel Digital Studio a try for free. If you already have the CorelDRAW Graphics Suite X4, you already have a darned good image editor in Corel PHOTO-PAINT.

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Online Lighting Diagram Creator

In studying photographs that I like, some of the most fascinating shots come from dramatic usage of lighting. Of course I can only guess how the photographer lit the shot unless they provide a description of the shot.

A few days ago I read an article about how a shot of my favorite sports team came about. Now you may not care about the Jayhawks or even sports. But if you like photography, you'll probably enjoy the commentary explaining the shot.

That leads me to a cool online application that will create a lighting diagram. It is called the Online Lighting Diagram Creator. It allows you to easily create a diagram of how a shot was lit. For those who would prefer to create the diagram in your favorite graphics software, you can also download a file with a number of different objects as Photoshop layers.

Whichever method you use, it is now easy to create a diagram of your best shots.

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TopStyle 4

I've covered a number of different tools for helping you build a Web page. Today I'll cover yet another in TopStyle 4. It is a code-based editor with a number of features that assist you in writing good clean code. To me, the power of TopStyle is not for working with Web pages, but in creating and modifying Cascading Style Sheets (CSS).

CSS files can control all formatting on a Web site. To me the best case scenario is to link the pages of a site to a separate CSS file. If you change the CSS file, the look of all pages linked to that CSS style sheet will change. This becomes even more important if a site has a large number of pages. There is a free trial you can download and the full version can be purchased for a reasonable price.

This is a product that I have used for years mostly for editing CSS files, though I will occasionally edit a Web page with it. The only reason I don't use it as often for editing Web pages is that I prefer other products. With the new TopStyle 4, I might give it another look for editing Web pages.

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Corel Digital Studio 2010

Corel has just released a new product, Corel Digital Studio 2010, and I thought I'd provide you some information about it. I'll start with a feature list from the press release.

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Corel Digital Studio 2010: Create Amazing Photo and Video Projects in Just Minutes

Now, you don't have to master overly complex software programs or spend hours working on your projects. Corel Digital Studio is designed specifically for users who value simplicity and want results fast.

• Finally, movie making is something everyone can enjoy. With its simple interface and intuitive controls, Corel Digital Studio offers a groundbreaking, visual approach to video projects that makes it easy for anyone to enhance and share favorite video memories -- even in HD!
• Creative Photo Projects that Amaze: Thrill friends and family with beautiful photo books and calendars that you can create in just minutes from within Corel Digital Studio. There's no lengthy online uploading process to slow you down when you want to get creative. Instead, you can focus on your memories, create your project and when you're done, print at home or have your creation professionally printed using Corel's online service.*
• All Your Media in One Place: The Media Organizer brings all your photos and videos together so you can more easily search, find and organize your favorite memories. You can also access your music library to add your own personal soundtrack to slideshows and home movies. The Media Organizer is the starting point for all your projects, making it easy to move from one task to another.
• Online Sharing Has Never Been Easier: Share your files and projects any way you choose. Use email, FlickrTM, FacebookTM and YouTubeTM, or send to your mobile device. With Corel Digital Studio, connecting with friends and family is just a few clicks away.
• Simple Backup and Burn: Backup and protect your photo and video memories, burn a professional-looking DVD complete with Hollywood-style menus, or create audio CDs and MP3 discs by simply dragging and dropping. It's never been this easy.

Corel Digital Studio 2010 is designed to take advantage of the latest Microsoft(R) Windows(R) 7 advances including the natural, hands-on experience offered by Windows Touch. The product also offers a great creative environment for customers using Windows(R) XP or Windows Vista(R). Corel Digital Studio 2010 is just one example of the design innovation that resulted in Microsoft naming Corel its Global ISV Consumer Partner of the Year in June 2009.

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That should give you a general idea of what the product does. If you'd like, you can read the full press release. Probably the best way to get an overview of Corel Digital Studio 2010 is to watch the video tour that Corel has put together.

You can also download a free trial version so that you can put it to the test yourself. The price is $99.99 and you can purchase it directly from Corel. If you are in Canada, use this link instead.

Corel also has some special offers on CorelDRAW Graphics Suite X4 going on in September. If you purchase before September 15th, the price is $399 for the full version and $179 for the upgrade. If you purchase before midnight (Eastern time) on September 7, 2009, it is $369 for the full version and $169 for the upgrade.

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Easy Button and Menu Maker

Buttons and menus on a Web site are an extremely important form of navigation for visitors. As a designer, you want to create attractive buttons with flawless functionality. It is also important that the navigation elements can be seen by search engines to give the pages on the site a good ranking. This is also important to follow accessibility requirements.

Easy Button and Menu Maker from Blumentals Software is a great tool for creating buttons and menus that meet all of the requirements outlined above. You edit the buttons/menus in a WYSIWYG editor and the software will create all the necessary code and graphics.

Two versions of the software are available. The Personal Edition has all of the main features, but doesn't include as many button and menu templates. It is also limited to non-commercial use. The Professional Edition can be used for commercial purposes and includes more templates and a free copy of Easy GIF Animator Lite. Trial versions of either edition are also available. If you are creating Web sites, you'll want to check out this great utility!

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Xara Xtreme Pro 5

Today's blog post will be fairly short. I just finished a review of Xara Xtreme Pro 5 and any of you who have a need to create graphics should give it a look. It is a great product, even if you use it to complement other graphics tools. You can also download a trial version if you want to give it a try. As you'll see in the review, I was really impressed with the content aware photo scaling! Check out the full review for all of the details.

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Nero 9

I regularly burn hundreds of CDs and DVDs. For me it is important to have the latest version of Nero 9, my favorite app for burning discs.

About a month ago I ordered the upgrade to version 9 and got it installed last week. As I was installing, I was amazed at the number of utilities were included and admittedly didn't understand how they would be useful to me. I didn't have any urgent projects on the agenda so it seemed like the right time to make the switch.

Funny how things come along that you don't expect. I was working with an old disc the next day that had a few scratches on it. One of the many included utilities was Nero RescueAgent. I ran it and was able to recover all of the data from the scratched disc. Windows gave me nothing but errors when attempting to read the disc. That one utility alone made it worth the upgrade and that was before I had burned any discs.

Of course Nero allows you to make CDs, DVDs and even Blu-Ray discs (if you have a drive that supports them). It allows give you a number of tools for working with images, audio and video. It really is an amazing set of tools for the price. If you haven't upgraded in a while or don't have a full-featured toolkit, you might just find Nero 9 is something you need.

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Network Magic

How many of you consider yourself good at managing a network? I'm guessing that it is more of a necessary evil for most of you. In addition, it is probably a bit of a struggle.

Over the years, the networking tools in Windows have improved. Yet they are still more complicated than they need to be for many common tasks. I think it was about three years ago that I discovered Network Magic and I've been a happy user ever since. Since there are multiple flavors of the product, I linked to a comparison chart so you can decide which version is best for you. There are trial downloads so you can give it a whirl before spending money. Keep in mind that you the license allows you to use it on multiple machines in your office.

It is nice to use the network map to see exactly what devices are connected to your network. Maybe you'll discover a device that shouldn't be connected. Need to connect to wireless networks? You'll find a very streamlined process. Want to share files or printers? Not a problem! Give it a look, I think you'll find it an essential tool for your network.

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Irfanview

Yet another graphics product with an interesting name. In this case, it is named after its creator "Irfan Skiljan". This is a tool I use on a daily basis and highly recommend to anyone who attends CorelDRAW Unleashed Boot Camp.

The first thing you can do with Irfanview is to quickly view your images. Associate it with all of your bitmap formats and then you can easily flip through them as you like. Sure, you could use Corel PHOTO-PAINT, but it is pretty slow to just view an image. Irfanview is lightning fast. Want something a little more automated for flipping through images and Irfanview will cycle through the images in a slideshow. Convert images from one format to another. Resample and resize them. And I've only scratched the surface of what it can do.

So how much is this supertool? It is a free download. If you like it, please consider donating to the author to provide incentive for future versions. Also make sure to download the plug-ins to get even more features. When I load a new computer, this is one of the first things I load. I definitely can't live without out!

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The Rasterbator

I'm not sure of the story behind the product name, but I think you'll receive great pleasure working with the program. One of the techniques that is popular these days is the halftone effect. The Rasterbator takes a supplied bitmap and creates a massive halftone of the file and spits it out in PDF format. You can either do this directly on the Web site or you can download a standalone version to do all processing on your own machine.

The way it is designed is to create a multi-page PDF with tiled images of the whole photo. Samples shown on the Web site have images that fill an entire wall. If you want, you can also type in a custom page size. This would be ideal for output on wide-format printer or simply to get the resulting image all on a single page. Part of the process also allows you to choose the maximum size of the halftone dot.

OK, it sounds pretty cool so far. Now to tell you about the last feature that will blow you away. The PDF file created by The Rasterbator is made up of a very large number of vector ellipses of varying sizes and possibly various colors. I imported a page I created back into CorelDRAW and there were over 251,000 curves! I've got to admit that CorelDRAW was pretty slow with that many objects on the page.

So, here is the process to create some cool designs using halftones. Design whatever you want in CorelDRAW or Corel PHOTO-PAINT. Export the resulting design to a fairly large bitmap. Run that bitmap through The Rasterbator. Import the resulting PDF back in to get a vector-based halftoned graphic. Did I mention that The Rasterbator is free? If you create something cool, please post a comment and let us all know about it.

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Serif WebPlus X2

This post will be fairly short. I just finished a full review of Serif WebPlus X2. If you are looking for a low-cost WYSIWYG Web editor, give it a look. Check out the review for all the details.

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TweetDeck

Today I'm going to step away from the graphics world briefly to talk about some cool software. It seems like everywhere you turn someone is talking about or talking on Facebook or Twitter. Trying to keep track of all those messages can be troublesome if you have to constantly visit Web sites. Some of you are probably happy to not follow all those messages and I completely understand.

Those who want an easier way to follow messages and to post your own should check out TweetDeck. It allows you to follow a number of different accounts in different panels. You can also post messages directly to Facebook and Twitter at the same time. Don't forget to add Graphics Unleashed on Facebook and follow me on Twitter.

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PhotoZoom Pro 3

How many times have you gotten a photo that just doesn't have enough resolution/pixels for the project at hand? Sometimes this problem can be resolved by finding an original copy of the image that has more pixels. Even then, it still might not be enough.

Yes, popular image editors have the ability to upsample images. To increase the size just a little bit, that might work just fine. But if you really need to enlarge the image, you might want to look into a product like the just-released PhotoZoom Pro 3. It was designed for upsampling images with their patented S-Spline technology that provides a much-higher quality than what you find in image editors. The latest version of S-Spline is the S-Spline Max found in this new version.

In addition, there is now support for multi-processors so that images can be processed much quicker than in previous versions. You can run PhotoZoom Pro 3 as a standalone or you can use it as a plug-in with image editors that support Photoshop automation and export plug-ins. While I have not yet tried the new version, previous versions worked great with Corel PHOTO-PAINT X4.

A product like this is especially useful for those outputting large prints or signs. But it can also come in handy if you have a fairly low-resolution original that simply isn't good enough. I've had great results with the previous versions and I'm anxious to get a copy of this new release.

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Windows 7 Upgrades

It might be considered a stretch to call an operating system upgrade a widget. While Windows does include widgets, it is the base upon which all of your other software will run. Well, except for those of you using Linux, Mac or another operating system. Just a few days ago I was discussing the earliest versions of Windows with someone. Things were much different back then as you only ran Windows to run a Windows-specific program. For the most part the tide began turning with Windows 3.1.

The general perception of Windows Vista hasn't been a positive one. Admittedly I'm still happily running Windows XP on all but one machine. While I have the licenses to install Vista on these machines, I can't find any good reason to install Vista on them.

By contrast, I've yet to hear much negative information about Windows 7. The media has had a very favorable view of it and advanced users who have tried the beta versions have reported great success. As I don't have a spare machine to use for testing, I have not yet installed it here in the office. I fully expect to switch my Vista machine over to Windows 7 and I'll be due to get a new computer in the next six months and it will definitely get Windows 7.

Microsoft has said that Windows 7 will become available on October 22, 2009. To make sure that the new operating system gets off to a great start they are making pre-orders of upgrades available at very enticing prices. From what I understand, these prices are only in place until July 11 or until some unspecified number of copies are sold. So if you are going to upgrade, get a pre-order now and save some serious money.

The Windows 7 Home Premium Upgrade has a list price of $119.99 and can be purchased in this early window for only $49.99. In Canada, the list price is $129.95 and the early purchase can be made for $64.99. Due to legal hurdles Microsoft is facing in Europe, there isn't a pre-sale available there right now.

Users wanting more features can go for the Windows 7 Professional Upgrade. The list price is $199.99 and the pre-order price is only $99.99. It can also be purchased in Canada where the list price is $249.95 and the pre-order price is $124.99.

Since many of you are CorelDRAW users, you are probably asking how well CorelDRAW will run on Windows 7. Top CorelDRAW users who have been running the beta releases of Windows 7 have had no problems with CorelDRAW X3 and X4. And you can bet that Corel's developers have been running Windows 7 through its paces and that future versions of CorelDRAW will be developed with Windows 7 in mind.

Are you ready to upgrade right away or will you happily stay with what you have? Post a comment and tell me your opinion.

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Bibble 5 Preview Version

In the last few months I have spent quite a bit of time trying to improve my photography skills. Good equipment definitely helps. Learning to have an eye that sees a good image is just as important. Heck, a good camera won't help you if you still shoot boring stuff. Part of my educational journey is learning what all of the settings on the camera mean so that I can use the correct settings for each and every picture. Some of those issues can be adjusted by shooting images in RAW format and then later processing them on the computer. That will be the focus of today's post.

Those of you who shoot photos in RAW format know that Corel has added support for working with many RAW formats in CorelDRAW Graphics Suite X4. Typically you will also receive software with your camera that will work with the specific RAW format used by your camera. It is a great choice but won't help you if you get a photo shot by another brand of camera. I like the RAW Lab that Corel supplies, but it is so painfully slow that I find myself unable to use it on a regular basis.

When I have a number of images to edit, I use Bibble Pro. The current version is long overdue for an upgrade. Not that it doesn't do a good job right now. Just that the developers have been talking about the next version for well over a year. Finally they have released a preview version of Bibble 5. One of the biggest complaints about the current version is the interface and it is greatly improved in the new version. It is also lightning fast! I saw a demo of it a few months ago and was amazed at what it could do. So if you are shooting in RAW, download the preview and give it a try. If you purchase the current version, you get upgraded for free to Bibble 5 when it is released.

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Weekend Widget: Address Fixer

How often do you have an incomplete or even an incorrect address? Dymo created the Address Fixer Utility to make sure you can solve the problem quickly and easily. Simply type in the questionable address, press a button and the address will automatically be fixed. There is one limitation: it only fixes US addresses. Of course, you can't beat the price since it is free.

The reason Dymo created this utility is for their LabelWriter printers. We've used the LabelWriter 400 Turbo in our office for years and have had previous versions of the printers before that. It is definitely a handy way to create shipping labels.

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Weekend Widget: UniConvertor

How often do you get vector graphics files in a format that you can't use? People who aren't CorelDRAW users find it particularly painful to deal with CorelDRAW files. And if you aren't using the latest version of CorelDRAW, how do you deal with newer versions of the files?

UniConvertor bills itself as the "universal vector graphics translator". I don't think I would call it universal, but it does support a nice list of formats for import and export. I have not yet tested it with some complex files, but I'm sure it is better than not being able to deal with a file at all. Go ahead and see if it works for your needs. You can download it for free!

While on the site, you might want to explore some of the other tools available. sK1 is a free vector graphics editor. Right now the only builds available are for various flavors of Unix/Linux. I wouldn't be surprised at all to see a Windows version created in the future. If you are a developer who wants to work with CDR files, you might want to check out CDR explorer. The source code is available for those who are interested. There is no downloadable "utility" so it isn't of interest if you aren't a developer.

If you give UniConvertor a try, please post a comment describing your experience.

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Weekend Widget: Adobe InDesign CS4

It is really hard to call this a "widget" since it is a huge piece of software. And it isn't a piece of software that is unknown to anyone. When I recommended a book about Adobe InDesign a few days ago, I got a question about why I was finally making the switch from Corel Ventura to Adobe InDesign. I'll try to explain the pros and cons that made up my decision.

First, a little bit on my background and that of Corel Corporation will help you understand the difficulty of my decision. In college, I worked as a typesetting laying out a magazine using Ventura Publisher. This was before I had even heard of Corel Corporation and before CorelDRAW even existed. When Corel Corporation was formed, they were a VAR making hardware (laser printers) and software (Corel HEADLINE, Corel NEWFONT, etc.) to add functionality to Ventura Publisher. So when Corel purchased Ventura, I was thrilled that my two favorite pieces of software were brought together.

Now comes one of the biggest cons to Ventura. Corel last released a new version in 2002. Since it was released, they have done absolutely nothing in the way of development. Not even a single service pack. When asked about the future at various events, the most common answer is none at all. Users have hoped that Corel's management would come to realize the powerful product they had and invest in new development. After years of getting no answer, I have lost hope that it will ever be developed. This is really sad since I still feel Ventura is more powerful than any other publishing product on the market.

There is no doubt in my mind that I could continue to use Corel Ventura to produce my future books and tutorials. It still works really well for me. The problem is that one day it could just stop working. Some users are already having difficulty installing on Vista and who knows what future operating systems will bring. Yes, there are workarounds that will get Ventura installed on Vista and even Windows 7 that work for 99% of users. Switching to InDesign is requiring a massive learning curve for me and it will take me longer to produce each book because InDesign does not automate many of the processes as does Ventura.

My finished goal with books is almost always a PDF file with everything composed it the RGB color space. If I use Ventura's built-in Publish to PDF function, I get great files. But there are limitations. I can't place EPS files in Ventura and output via Publish to PDF. InDesign can work with those EPS files just fine. Don't misunderstand, the EPS files in Ventura would print fine and can be sent to a PDF via Adobe Distiller. But that destroys my RGB workflow so it doesn't meet my needs. The upside to Ventura is that I could directly place a CorelDRAW file so EPS files weren't really necessary. Yet those files had to be saved in CorelDRAW 11 format since that was the current version when Corel Ventura was last updated.

Between my college typesetting job and becoming an author, I worked at a font foundry. So deep down I'm a font geek. I love the fact that InDesign can do all kinds of cool things with typography. The way the Paragraph Composer works magic is awesome. Automatic substitution of ligatures, swashes, old style numbers and other special characters really gives pages of some projects a nice finishing touch. Those things just aren't easily possible in Corel Ventura.

Ventura users have done a great job of building a support community over the years. There isn't a question that they can't answer. But the community is shrinking as more users switch to something else. InDesign has a very vibrant, and growing, community of users. I've not yet asked too many questions so it is hard to say if I can get answers. I do know that when making this decision to switch that I talked to valued experts who knew both packages and their answers were unanimous that it was time to switch.

There are still hurdles for me to overcome. Right now the biggest one is learning InDesign so that I can be as efficient as possible. Once that happens, I have massive amounts of text in Ventura that needs to be updated with new information and then converted to work in InDesign. It is a big project that I know has to be done at some point in the future and I've decided the future is now.

If you have favorite features of either InDesign or Ventura, I'd love to hear your thoughts. As I learn more about InDesign, I'm sure I'll have more to share with you.

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Weekend Widget: Zip Utilities

I'll often get e-mails or phone calls asking me how to deal with ZIP files. If you are working in the world of graphics and don't know how to deal with ZIP files, you are going to have a huge struggle in front of you. It is a computer skill you must understand!

A zip file is a compilation of one or more files stored inside of a single, highly-compressed file. There are basically two things you need to know how to do: zip files and unzip files. In order to accomplish these tasks, you need utility software.

Windows XP, Windows Vista and the forthcoming Windows 7 all have built-in support for zip files. They will refer to them as "compressed folders" and they allow you to navigate inside the zip file as if it were a folder. Note that they don't support every single zip file in existence. That is because some of the utilities have a proprietary flavor of zip compression that will probably only work in that company's product. Unless you have control over both the zipping and unzipping of files, it is best to avoid those proprietary flavors of compression.

While the tools you need are built in to Windows, I'm going to recommend a couple of other utilities that simplify the process and give you a lot more features. First up is 7zip. It is an open source product that is available for free and it supports a wide variety of compressed file formats in addition to zip. Since most of you are using CorelDRAW, you might want to use a Corel product to handle your zipping and unzipping needs. WinZip is a Corel product. You can download a free trial or purchase the full version. While it isn't free, it is a very feature-rich product that is worth purchasing. By purchasing, you are also supporting Corel Corporation. This indirectly keeps money in their coffers to add more and more to CorelDRAW.

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Weekend Widget: Inkscape

Before I talk about today's software, I want to make something really clear. CorelDRAW is my vector editing software of choice. It is what I will use to complete most of my projects. But that doesn't mean that I don't have other tools available to me for the times when they can do something better. Sometimes they only do one or two things better.

Today I'm going to tell you about Inkscape. It is a vector graphics editor that proclaims having capabilities similar to CorelDRAW. While its general purpose is similar to CorelDRAW (or Adobe Illustrator), it doesn't have nearly as many features. To me, Inkscape has one killer feature today and that is SVG support. SVG (Scalable Vector Graphics) is the native file format in Inkscape and a popular vector format for open source and other online vector graphics. CorelDRAW does support import and export of SVG, though I've found it can't work with all files and the files that do import can vary from the original.

The so-so SVG support in CorelDRAW is why I find it useful to have Inkscape installed on my system. I can use it to open SVG files and save them to EPS, PDF or EMF formats for import into CorelDRAW. I'm sure there are other features that would probably be useful, but import/export is the only one I have really used to date. Maybe the best thing about Inkscape is that it is free. That means you can all download a copy and try it yourself. If you find other features useful, post a comment and let us all know about it.

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Weekend Widget: IcoFX

I've suggested a number of icon editors in previous posts. Of course this is because most graphic tools give us the ability to create the artwork for the icon, but the export filters don't allow those files to be exported in the correct format.

Just a couple of days ago I had the need to create a "favicon" file for a Web site. I had the graphic already done in Corel PHOTO-PAINT and simply needed to make an icon file. So I saved it as a PNG file and opened it in the freeware IcoFX. Once open, I made a few minor changes and saved as the icon file I needed.

While you may not have a need to create icons on a regular basis, you'll probably need to do so at some point in time. One of the many icon editors I've suggested, may do exactly what you need.

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Weekend Widget: Greenfish Icon Editor Pro

I've mentioned a couple of other icon editors before. I've found another nice one and wanted to pass it along for consideration in your toolbox. Greenfish Icon Editor Pro is free and has some really nice functions not in the other editors. For example, it can add a drop shadow to your icon. Give it a try and let me know what you think.

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Weekend Widget: Pixtivity 2.0 Pro Edition

A few years back I tried out the first version of Pixtivity. My goal was to use it to create a slideshow of a trip I had recently taken. It didn't take long at all to take my collection of photos, set it to music, apply some really cool effects and output something ready to play on the Web.

Now the folks at Auto FX are back with a new version, Pixtivity 2.0 Pro Edition, and lots of new features. One of the best features is that over 500 professional designed presentations are included in the box. This is especially helpful when you are just starting out and want to create something really cool right away. Once you learn the software, you can create your own templates. Add in 38 transition styles to blend in cool ways between photos. Best of all, it is really easy to use even if you are just starting out. As with most software these days, I highly recommend you download the trial version and see how it works for you.

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Weekend Widget: Xara 3D 6

Often users want to create cool looking 3D text for a print or Web project. They might even want it to be animated if it is going on to the Web or a video project. One of the best tools for this type of project is Xara 3D 6. Once you have created the 3D graphic, you can easily bring it in to other programs to integrate into your project.

Even better, there was a price drop just a few days ago. The download version is now only $29 and the boxed version has been reduced to $49. Not sure if this is the product for you, download the trial version and give it a try.

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Weekend Widget: Font Frenzy

How many of you have too many fonts installed? Go ahead and admit it, we all do. The more you have installed, the more likely you are to have problems with Windows and with your software. You will also find your computer gets slower and slower.

In my Last Word in Font Management tutorial, I urge users to uninstall all those extra fonts and manage them properly with Bitstream Font Navigator. It is a process that I describe in even more detail in my CorelDRAW X4 Unleashed book. There has been one step that has troubled users for years and that is deleting all the excess fonts. Users didn't back up their fonts first and they weren't really sure which fonts were not used by Windows.

That leads us to today's widget, Font Frenzy. I've provided a link to the full documentation because it also describes how the program is used. Don't worry, you can read it all in less than five minutes. In short, Font Frenzy will remove all fonts that were not installed by Windows and safely put them where you can get to them later. Definitely a valuable tool and it is completely free! When used in conjunction with Bitstream Font Navigator, you have an easy way to keep your fonts under control.

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Weekend Widget: Stripfile

Did you know that files you post on the Web often have extra information in them? As an example, JPG files taken with a digital camera often carry EXIF data. This tells you more about the file, but only serves to add a little extra to the size of a file you place on the Web. Color profiles can also be embedded in the file. This could enlarge the file by quite a bit. That's where Stripfile comes into play.

Point Stripfile at a single file or even a whole folder of files and it will remove any information not needed. The "stripped" files are saved in a separate folder so that you still have the originals if needed. Best of all, it is completely free!

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Weekend Widget: WeBuilder 2008

Anyone who has been designing Web sites for any period of time has probably found the product that works best for them and is very resistant to change. That is definitely the situation with me. I've been using a product called HomeSite for well over ten years now. During that timeframe, I've flirted with other tools for a few days, but I always found something I didn't like and went back to HomeSite.

The Web is a very dynamic medium and the editor has to be upgraded on a regular basis with the new technology. Unfortunately that is what keeps me looking around for a tool to replace HomeSite. First Allaire (the creator) was purchased by MacroMedia and then MacroMedia was swallowed by Adobe. HomeSite got bundled with Dreamweaver and then it just disappeared and died.

I know that Dreamweaver has a very large following. If it is the best tool for you, I certainly am not going to try and change your mind. I'm not a fan of WYSIWYG editors, I want to work directly with the code. This makes for a much more efficient site. I have Dreamweaver CS4 and it is a nice project. Occasionally I will use it for a specific feature. Then I just take the code back to my code-based editor and massage the code until it is just right.

My search led me to WeBuilder 2008 and I've been really impressed with it so far. Impressed enough that I bought the product and have used it for all of my editing since the day I bought it. WeBuilder makes working with code a pure joy. Already I've found some features that make it much quicker for me to build and edit pages than what I had in HomeSite. I'm sure I'll find a shortcoming somewhere, but I haven't found it yet. Not sure if you'll like it, then go to the Blumentals Web site and download the trial version.

One thing I was curious about was that the current version is about a year old. Given how things change on the Web and that the software is named by a year, I thought that a new version may be coming soon. Just a guess on my part. Then I noticed that people who bought the 2007 version last Spring got a free upgrade to 2008. So I felt very comfortable buying the 2008 version now and maybe I'll get a free upgrade to the next version. This is just my guess, but I'm not complaining about the current version at all. I love it so far!

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Weekend Widget: Xara Web Designer

Many of you are probably familiar with Xara Xtreme, an excellent illustration package. Xara recently release another package entitled Xara Web Designer made specifically for designing Web graphics and even Web sites. Now I'm sure you've heard of an illustration package making claims before about the ability to create an entire Web page only to later learn that it was only adept at creating the graphics. Xara Web Designer is definitely different. You truly design a WYSIWYG page and it exports the code and the graphics so that it looks, and works, exactly the same when posted on the Web. Also included are numerous graphics and site templates so that you have the elements needed to get started quickly. Go to the Xara Web Designer page where you can find details, tutorial movies, a free trial version and the ability to get your own copy for as low as $29.

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Weekend Widget: Sib Icon Editor

There are a number of different file formats you can create with Corel PHOTO-PAINT, but it isn't really geared towards creating icon files. Sure, you can create the art in Corel PHOTO-PAINT or your favorite image editor. But you'll need some other software to help you save that artwork in the proper icon formats.

Sib Icon Editor is a free utility that will allow you to create and save icons in a wide variety of formats. If you read the reviews, you'll see a number of angry posts saying that the program isn't free. I can only guess those people somehow downloaded an older version of the software that only had a 30-day trial. From everything I've seen, the new v4 is completely free with no time limits. I think you'll find Sib Icon Editor to be a great complement to your favorite image editing software that will now allow you to create icons of all types.

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Weekend Widget: FotoFusion

A few months ago I was doing some training and one of the users told me about FotoFusion. That evening I looked at the Web site and was intrigued by the product. I told myself that once I got some of that elusive free time, I'd download the trial and give it a longer look. Before I had the chance to do that, I saw the product in action at a trade show and was truly amazed by some of the things that it did.

Some of you might ask if it is another image editor or a layout product or exactly where it fits in the design process. The best way I can describe it is that it incorporates some of the best features from a variety of product types and does something that I've not seen done by any other product.

Typically you'll work with a template that defines how you want images laid out on a page. This could be one of the many supplied templates or it could be one that you've created. On that template will be places where photos can be placed. FotoFusion can fill those spots automatically from a group of photos you choose or you can drop the photos into position yourself. All pictures incorporated into the layout will be kept at their full resolution while you are working. Now if you had a page with at least 100 photos, you might think it would be slow. If so, you'd be dead wrong. This program is blindingly fast! Once you have laid out your page, you can export the whole page to one large bitmap or print it.

To fully understand the program, I highly recommend you watch several of the tutorial movies on the Lumapix Web site. Then download the trial and give it a try. If you need to lay out pages with numerous photos, I think you'll really like FotoFusion.

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