DropBox—Easy Entry Into The Cloud

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If you need access to files from multiple devices and locations one of the best solutions is to store those files in the “cloud”—the latest buzzword that you should be saying about 24.3 times a day so that everyone knows that you are “in-the-know”.

Google offers a great way to do this using Google Docs. It allows you to create, store, and share share a variety of document types that live online—or in the cloud.

Sometimes, however, you need to do this with file types that Google won’t handle—like Photoshop files. You also need an Internet connection to access these files. For me, there is also the OCD issue of wanting to have my files on my hardware.

Enter DropBox—the best of both worlds. Sign up for a free DropBox account and you get a place to store your files in the cloud, synchronization with your devices, and the ability to share files with others.

NOTE: While DropBox may be a great solution for sharing files, please be aware that what you put in the shared folder takes up space in the DropBox account of each person that you are sharing with. It is also not the best solution for interoffice sharing while on the same network since shared file must first be uploaded, then download via your Internet connection. In those situations, putting the files on a local server may be more efficient.

Access Other Domain Extensions In iOS

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iPhone KeyboardWhen entering Web and email addresses, the iPhone soft keyboard saves a few taps with its .com key. If you are in Safari on the iPhone you can even skip this key altogether if the domain name ends in .com. Safari assumes .com if nothing else is entered. For example, to go to http://www.blakematthews.com just type in blakematthews and tap go.

What if the the domain name doesn’t end in .com?

If you press and hold the .com key .net, .edu, .org, and .us will appear. Then, slide to the one you want and simply let go.

But wait—there’s more! If you’re creating an email, press and hold the dot/period key and you’ll access the same feature. (This may not work in all apps and Web forms as this is dependent on the developer.)

Happy Thanksgiving

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Through Him then, let us continually offer up a sacrifice of praise to God, that is, the fruit of lips that give thanks to His name.
~Hebrews 13:15

For each new morning with its light,
For rest and shelter of the night,
For health and food, for love and friends,
For everything Thy goodness sends.
~Ralph Waldo Emerson

“It is the duty of all Nations to acknowledge the providence of Almighty God, to obey his will, to be grateful for his benefits, and humbly to implore his protection and favor.”
~George Washington

“Blessed are those that can give without remembering and receive without forgetting.”
~Author Unknown

InDesign CS5 to CS4

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One thing Adobe has not always done well is maintaining backwards compatibility in their applications. This may not be such a big deal if you work in an isolated environment or only associate with those who meticulously upgrade their software to the latest available versions. However, many real-world projects get passed around between designers, clients, and various vendors—all of whom may not have the same version.

Export to InDesign Markup (IDML)Adobe Illustrator was notorious for this, but also offered the graceful solution of simply saving “down” to a lower version. InDesign, however, is not quite so well behaved.

There is hope. InDesign has the ability to export to what is appropriately called InDesign Markup Language or IDML. This IDML can then in turn be opened in CS4.

If you are doing this to send to someone else, make sure you provide a PDF so they can have something to check against as there is always the chance that something could be off just a bit.

Unix Command to Login From Apple Remote Dekstop

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If you manage multiple Macs using Apple Remote Desktop and each computer has an administrator account with a consistent password, you can send this script to log into them all at once. Great for Mac computer labs.

osascript <<EOF
tell application "System Events"
keystroke "username"
keystroke tab
delay 0.5
keystroke "password"
delay 0.5
keystroke return
keystroke return
end tell
EOF

To use this, select the computers in Apple Remote Desktop then go to Manage > Send UNIX Command… and paste in the above commands. This must be run as root. Enjoy!