Digital Slides - Using Freehand

Macromedia Freehand is a good all-purpose graphics tool that can be used to create high-quality EPS files which will make beautiful 35mm slides when processed through Media Services' Sapphire film recorder. The cost per slide is currently $4.00.

Although the design and electronic construction of each 35mm slide 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.

The key to using Freehand is understanding it's two most important parts. First is the toolbox . Here you will find icons similar to those found in other graphics programs. The most useful is the pointer.

You will use this tool to select objects you want to modify. This brings us to the Freehand's second central tool. The Inspector.

In Freehand everything is an object and every object has properties. As you select different objects you will use the tabs on the inspector to change the properties of the object.

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.

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.

Because of its more robust TIFF handling, and especially because a Freehand file actually contains a full copy of every TIFF file, Quark is better suited to compositions of multiple TIFF images.

Using Freehand

Compose the figure. Disregard the white area in the main window representing a piece of paper. It will have absolutely no effect on the final EPS image file.

STEP 2.

Create a background rectangle. Draw a rectangle that completely obscures the other image elements and fill it with a solid color or gradient. The lengths of the rectangle's sides must be in the ratio of 2:3 in order to match the shape of the 35mm slide frame. Remember that a white background must be explicitly specified, just like a background of any other color. Using the various commands available under the MODIFY menu SEND the rectangle TO BACK. If necessary , you may then adjust its size and aspect ratio (MODIFY, TRANSFORM) to provide a margin of 10% or 15% around the contents of the slide.

STEP 3.

Verify the image boundaries: The background rectangle you have drawn must contain all of the other objects in the image. To verify this, SELECT ALL under the EDIT menu. No objects should appear outside the perimeter of the rectangle you have moved to the back.

Save the finished image in the default Freehand format in the usual way. This will be your permanent copy of the file.

EXPORT an EPS file of the page and save it in the proper network directory.

If you are a member of the Skirball Institute, log on to Saturn, the institute file server, and mount the volume "DMC"; it contains a folder named "makeslides".

If you are not an institute member, use the Media Services File Upload to add your files to the makeslides directory. In some locations you can use the NYUMC AppleTalk network to log on to Titan, and mount the volume "makeslides". 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.color.eps" where "lastname" is your last name; "image" is a short term enabling you to distinguish one file from another; "color" indicates the background color of the slide (either "blk" for black, "wht" for white, or "col" for anything else) 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. Your files will DISAPPEAR from makeslides 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.

Submit your order via the Media Services Online Order System.

Freehand Quirks

Like most software, Freehand has a few peculiarities. Because of the relatively long turn-around time and expense involved in creating slides, the following precautions should be observed:

• General Considerations
• Submit Freehand files to makeslides as Level 1 Post Script EPS format files ONLY.
• Avoid exotic font styles such as Underline, Outline and Shadow.
• Do not create a preview when saving an EPS file
• The most reliable way to get bitmap (e.g. TIFF) files into Freehand is by importing the file through the import dialogue under the file menu. PASTING a TIFF from within an existing document can produce erratic results.
• DO NOT use Palatino, Times New Roman or New York typefaces.Use only standard fonts such as Helvetica, Times, and Symbol; avoid exotic font styles such as Underline, Outline and Shadow.
• For complex composite figures, use Quark instead.

>Slide Templates to Download

Blank templates for making slides may be downloaded by selecting the icons below. These templates feature a white background box, but may be modified to suit. To use the templates, simply add picture and text boxes on top of the background boxes, and fill them with content as outlined above.

Freehand Vertical Slide Template	Freehand Horizontal Slide Template