Monthly Archives: November 2006
Getting more font information in Windows
November 30th, 2006 by Jim Kidwell
There is a little known extesion provided by Microsoft that extends the amount of font information available to users. After installing this extension, you’ll be able to view significantly more information about your TrueType and OpenType fonts than with the standard Windows installation.
- Download and install the extension.
- Locate your original font file on disk. Typically, fonts are stored in your C:\WINDOWS\Fonts directory.
- Right click the font file and choose Properties.
20 questions with Mike Bacus
November 27th, 2006 by Jim Kidwell
- What’s your job title?
VP of Product Development - How long have you been with Extensis?
3.5 years - To how many Extensis products have you been a contributor?
Suitcase, FontReserve, Portfolio, Plug-ins, Toolbox - What is your favorite Extensis project?
They are all my favorites - If you were a font, which font would you be?
One that crashes the operating system - What are your top five desert island CDs?
Chess volumes 1 & 2
Muddy Waters
Thick as a Brick: Jethro Tull
Who’s Next; the Who
Houses of the Holy; Led Zepplin
greatest hits; Elvis Costello - When were you most happy?
When my children were born - What is your greatest accomplishment?
Finding a soul mate and having 2 wonderful children - What is your biggest regret?
That I haven’t won the lottery yet - What is your biggest passion?
Wine making - What do you like to read?
Science fiction, fiction, technical books - What is your most treasured possession?
My mind - What food can you not live without?
Barbecue grilled steak (on coals) medium rare - How are you a weekend warrior?
60th level alliance prot spec warrior Moonrunner - Coffee or tea?
Tea - Function or fashion?
Function - Which website do you visit daily?
Google - In another life you were…?
not alive - What’s your ultimate destination?
Tahiti - What do you want your dying words to be?
Thank god that’s over with
Create & share color themes with Kuler
November 21st, 2006 by Jim Kidwell
Kuler is a new online color theme generator that allows you to explore, create and share color themes. The tool is very intuitive and can be used for quick inspiration as well as for practical purposes. After you’ve found a color theme that you like, you can download the theme for use with Adobe Creative Suite applications. Be sure to check out and rate submissions from other Kuler users.
To start exploring color themes, visit the Kuler site.
Pet calendar fundraiser
November 15th, 2006 by Jim Kidwell
Every year, the employees of Extensis and LizardTech design and publish a calendar of employee pet photographs. The calendars are then sold as a fundraiser for the Oregon and Seattle Humane Societies.
People of the Pacific Northwest have a long tradition of being animal lovers, which is evidenced by The Oregon Humane Society having an extremely successful adoption rate. For example, in 2004, they placed 97% of all dogs and 74% of all cats brought into the shelter.
Calendars are $17, and if you would like to get a copy for 2007, please send an email to Jennifer or David. They’ll hook you up.
Using Portfolio as a workflow tracker
November 13th, 2006 by Jim Kidwell
You may already use Portfolio to keep track of your digital photographs, art and other creative assets, but did you know that you can also use Portfolio to help track assets from creation to publication? Using custom field metadata, you can track and route items from one person to another in the creative workflow.
We’ve created a video tutorial that will help you understand and set up workflow tracking with your Portfolio installation.
Newwebpick design e-zine from Hong Kong
November 13th, 2006 by Jim Kidwell
Newwebpick.com is a design-related website that has a lot to offer, including a downloadable e-zine that’s chock full of experimental design, typography, sculpture, odd-ball toys, photography, product design and even some graffiti.
You can grab their most current free 100-page e-zine. The full 400-page version will only set you back a buck and a half. Be sure to also check out the community-oriented aspects of their entire site too.
Attending Ad:Tech – New York
November 10th, 2006 by Jim Kidwell
We recently exhibited at the Ad:Tech event in New York City. This is one of a number of yearly, worldwide events that focus on how new technologies are influencing the world of marketing. Conference sessions offered case-studies and other helpful tips for marketing professionals.
Since creative professionals are a driving force in marketing, it was a good place for us to show off our newest products and product features on the exhibit floor. As usual, our prize filled gumball machine was a definite hit.
For information on future Ad:Tech events: www.ad-tech.com
Maybe it’s time for a trip to Shanghai?
Extensis releases auto-activation XTension for its font management products for QuarkXPress 7 on Intel-based Macs
November 9th, 2006 by Jim Kidwell
Today we announced a number of updated auto-activation XTensions for QuarkXPress. There will be new plug-ins for Suitcase Fusion, Font Reserve and Suitcase Server all being released within the next few weeks.
Please visit the Extensis site for the full press release.
Drag-and-drop XTension a hit
November 9th, 2006 by Jim Kidwell
Sometimes people discover items that we’ve developed to extend the functionality of our products, and use them for other purposes. This time, it’s the drag-and-drop XTension designed to allow you to drag items directly from Portfolio into QuarkXPress. Prepress operator and blogger Chris describes his elation with and uses for the XTension here.
Extensis presents font management best practices at InDesign conference
November 3rd, 2006 by Jim Kidwell
Extensis, a division of Celartem Inc., today announced that Halstead York, Extensis product manager will present a session titled “Font Management: Best Practices in OS X,” at the InDesign Headquarters in Seattle Washington. On Tuesday, November 7th at 8:30 a.m., York will discuss how to take control of your fonts. The session will examine the unique requirements required of a creative typography workflow. The use of thousands of fonts in a creative workgroup presents challenges to the creation of a flexible yet controlled computing environment. This session will explore these challenges, present proven workflow solutions and demonstrate them.
The InDesign Conference: Master Class is presented by Barrycon events. For more information on the conference go to http://www.barrycon.com/conference.php?sid=1&cid=16
