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Making Digital Photos With Freehand
About Freehand
Macromedia Freehand is an all-purpose
graphics tool that can be used to create high-quality EPS files which
will make beautiful photographs when processed through the Media Services'
Pictrography
3000 digital photo printer. The cost per 8.5 x 11-inch print is currently
$10.00 for the original, and $5.00 for duplicates of the same image.Smaller,
8.5 x 5.5-inch prints are $6.00 and $4.00, respectively. Payment is by
personal check or by authorized charge to a valid NYUMC account.
Although the design and electronic
construction of each photograph is performed entirely by the end-user,
the actual output and processing is done by Media Services staff. After creating
an image file and placing it in the appropriate network directory, the
user submits an order via the Media Services Online
Order System.
Several times each weekday
the accumulated files are processed and are available for pick-up at
Media Services.
Freehand can be used to create
drawings, diagrams and illustrations and also to make compositions of
image and text. Note that any bitmap (e.g. photographic) images which
are to be included in a Freehand figure should be saved in TIFF
format. This page will introduce the basic functions of Freehand needed
to create an EPS file for imaging at Media Services. IT IS NOT A COMPRHENSIVE
TUTORIAL, which is included with the program itself.
Freehand's Parts
The key to using Freehand is understanding
it's two most important parts. First is the toolbox, containing tools similar
to those found in other graphics programs.
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The
most frequently used tool is the pointer, which is used both to select
objects for subsequent operations, and to move objects on the page. |
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The Inspector is the
other principal tool in the program.
In Freehand everything
is an object and every object has properties. As different objects
are selected, the tabs on the inspector can be used to view and
change these properties.
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Using Freehand
Many biomedical illustrations
consist of a single or multiple annotated photographic images. Bitmap
(e.g. photographic) images which are to be included in a Freehand file
should originally be saved in TIFF format. The most reliable method for
placing TIFF images in your Freehand document is the IMPORT function under
the FILE menu:
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Once
the TIFF file is selected through the import dialogue box the cursor
will change to an angle. Click and drag the angle to the size you
want your image to appear in the document. Release the mouse to place
the image on the page. Now the placed image can be selected and modified
like any other object. TIP: To select an object from behind another
hold the control key and click. |
All Photoshop and JPEG files
must be converted to TIFF format and all Canvas, Illustrator, Cricket
Graph, Delta Graph, Microsoft Word tables, Quark and PICT files converted
to EPS format before being imported into Freehand, where they can be scaled,
rotated and cropped.
Using Freehand
STEP 1.
Compose the figure: Using any
tools create a new image or edit an existing one. The white area in the
main window representing a printed page will determine the borders of
the final EPS image file. If your image fills only a portion of this white
area, it will occupy only a portion of the ultimate EPS figure. If it
extends beyond this area, it will be clipped at the border. The size and
shape of this virtual page may be altered in PAGE SETUP under the FILE
menu to suite the elements in the figure. The size of the elements may
be changed in TRANSFORM under the MODIFY menu to suite the virtual page.
STEP 2.
Save the finished image in the default Freehand format in the usual
way. This will be your permanent copy of the file.
STEP 3.
Under the Freehand File menu select EXPORT. Navigate to the appropriate
network folder in the dialogue box that opens. Select Macintosh EPS as
the file FORMAT. Check the box to INCLUDE FREEHAND DOCUMENT IN EPS. And
finally, CONVERT COLORS TO should be set to RGB. Enter a file name of
the form "lastname.image.eps" where "lastname" is your last name; "image"
is a short term enabling you to distinguish one file from another and
"eps" is "eps". The file names must be less than 27 characters long and
contain no spaces or non-alphanumeric characters such as slashes, colons,
parentheses, etc.
If you are a member of the
Skirball Institute using a Macintosh computer, log on to Saturn,
the institute file server, and mount the volume "DMC";
it contains a folder named "makefujix". Upload your eps files
to this directory. It is normal for them to disappear.
If you are not an institute
member, send your files using Media Services File
Upload.
In some locations you can logon to "Titan",
our public file server, using AppleTalk on the NYUMC LAN and mount the
volume "makefujix".
Your files may DISAPPEAR
from makefujix almost as soon as they arrive there! This is normal, and
indicates that processing has begun.
YOU WILL
NOT BE ABLE TO MAKE CHANGES TO YOUR FILES OR RENAME THEM ONCE THEY HAVE
BEEN UPLOADED, SO NAME THEM PROPERLY FROM THE START.
STEP 5.
Submit your order via the Online
Order System.
Freehand Quirks
Like most software, Freehand
has a few peculiarities. Because of the expense involved in creating prints,
the following precautions should be observed:
- Save the EPS file first
to your local hard drive and then copy it from there to the makefujix
directory.
- The most reliable way to
get bitmap (e.g. TIFF) files into Freehand is through the Import dialogue
under the File menu. PASTING a TIFF from within an existing Freehand
Document will produce erratic results.
- Use only standard fonts
such as Helvetica, Times, and Symbol; avoid exotic font styles such
as Underline, Outline and Shadow.
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