A Great Use For Your Bluetooth Mouse

If you already have a bluetooth mouse, why not use it as a presentation remote? It gives you a large range of motion without having to worry about line-of-sight for the signal.

To do this, simply pair it up with your laptop before the presentation and Keynote will advance the slide whenever you click the left mouse button. To go back, simply hit the right mouse button. If your BT mouse can scroll, you can use the scroll functionality to jump to a far away slide. Just make sure to put some dark tape over the bottom to cover up the sensor light!

(I don't know if this works in MS PowerPoint. Please inform me in the comments, thanks!)

Keynote Keyboard Shortcuts

While I was doing some research yesterday on how to change something in Keynote, I stumbled upon a great list of shortcuts provided by Apple. Here are some of my favorites from the list:

Note: Some of these may or may not work in versions of Keynote before Keynote '08. Some do, some don't. I've only tested in Keynote '08.

Rotating Objects:

I have always used the inspector to rotate objects. Well, not anymore! It turns out that you can hold the Cmd key to turn your cursor into a "rotate cursor". That is, it turns into a cursor that can rotate objects. From my experiments, you can rotate anything using this handy shortcut. Also, you can hold down Cmd-Option to change the axis of rotation to the opposite handle. Finally, you can also add the shift key to rotate it at 45° at a time. It doesn't rotate 45° from current position, but rather, it rotates to presets of 0°, 45°, 90°, 135°, 180°, etc.


Select the Next and Previous Object ON the Canvas

I should have figured this one out a looooong time ago. But, I didn't. Anyway, you can hit the Tab key to change the currently selected object to the next one. This is really handy if you're dealing with lots of layers! Shift-Tab will move to the previous.


Resize Object Proportionality

This one I already knew, but, it's so useful to know, I figured I would mention it. Holding down the shift key will resize an object proportionality. This means that if you have a square, it will stay a square, just grow bigger.


Lock Objects

This one is a nice feature to know about, but, I didn't. You can hit Cmd-L to prevent an object from being edited. This means that it is locked in it's current layer/position. So, I suggest that you consider sending it to the back layer (Cmd-Shift-B) before locking it. To unlock an object, hit Cmd-Shift-L.


White Screen/Black Screen and Freezing the Slide

This one is really handy if you have to pause your slideshow for a little while. Hitting W will change your screen to completely white. Hitting B will change your screen to completely black. Hitting F will pause your slideshow at where it is. To resume from any of these hit any key.


In this tip I've only highlighted my favorite items in the shortcut list. What's your favorite? Leave a comment!

Get An Organized Desktop

If keeping your desktop organized is a problem for you, then this might help you. While this tip is not exclusively for Mac, having an organized desktop will keep your computer speedy.

What I do, is I have a six circles that are different colors. I also have one circle in the center which I use for stuff like pictures or text. For an example, look at my current desktop:



As you can see, I have the center circle filled with this rather grotesque comic from See Mike Draw (I have edited the center circle more than I normally would to get it to look right.) Also, I have two pernament files on my desktop. An alias to my Hard Drive (Upper right) and an alias to this applescript (Lower Left). I'll tell you why they are aliases later.

I made the core background picture using Keynote. Then, if I want to add something, I simply go to my root keynote file and edit the center circle. So, if I need to remember something, I'll stick the text in my center circle. If I find a funny picture, I'll stick it there.

To get the picture onto my desktop, I do a slideshow in keynote, and, while still in the presentation, will take a picture of the current slide. This way, I have a full-screen version. After that, I stick it in my rotating background images folder and wait for it to show up.


Now I'll tell you how to edit it. First of all, you can download my keynote file here. Sorry, but, it's in 800x600 format. So, you might have to change that if you're on a widescreen computer. You also might want to rearrange/add some circles/squares/triangles/whatever shape you want. Once you have your shapes arranged, you want to add the center circle. Make it a color you want and then set the fill to either nothing or an image. If you do an image, it might turn out perfectly, it might not. YMMV. If you do nothing, then you can do text.

To do an image, select the circle and hit Cmd-Optio-I to open the inspector. Click on the 4th tab from the right and change "Fill" to "Image Fill".

To do text, make a new text box and type in the text you want. Then, place it in the center circle.



Why would you want this kind of background? Well, for two reasons:

1: You'll eventually have a more organized desktop.
2: You can put text in the center and have it memorized in a short period of time.


Finally, the aliases. I mentioned earlier that I have two aliases on my desktop. The reason that they are aliases is simple: because aliases do not display the "item info" under the icon. This is a strange behavior, but, it makes my desktop look a bit cleaner, so, I use it.


Well, that's all for this week. If you deployed my ideas listed above, or, are bored, email me a pic of your desktop!

Temporarily Turn Off the Object-Guidelines in iWork

I do a lot of work with Keynote. Mostly just putting images together for this blog. However, I often run into the problem of the "object guidelines" snapping my pictures where I didn't want them. Well, I recently read a solution to fix this minor problem.

It turns out that if you hold the Cmd key while dragging an object in iWork, the object-guidelines will be temporarily deactivated. Regrettably, you can't temporarily turn on the object-guidelines if they are off by default.

Concerning Keynote '08's Comments

Here's a couple of cool things that you can do with the "Comment" post-it type thing in iWork '08.

• You can change the color of the comment paper.

It's actually really easy to change the color of the comment "paper". Simply hit Cmd-Option-I to reveal the inspector, then, click on the "Graphic" tab. (The one with the blue square and green circle.) Then, change the fill to what you want.


• The font is customizable.

This one I didn't learn about until recently. Simple select the font in the comment, then, change it to the way you want it to look.


• The comment is resizable.

To resize it, simple drag the little line-triangle in the lower right hand corner.


• It's possible to get a comment to appear in a slideshow.

If you like the look of the comments, there's a way to get it to appear in a presentation. Here's how:

Step 1: Write what you want in the comment. Customize it to the way you want it to appear in the presentation.

Step 2: Deselect the comment. (Cmd-Shift-A). Then, click on it once to select it. Hit Cmd-C to copy it.

Step 3: Open up a new presentation and set the theme to Black.

Step 4: Paste the comment into the new presentation. (Cmd-V)

Step 5: Hit Cmd-Ctrl-Shift-4 to access the cross-hair screenshot taker in clipboard mode.

Step 6: Take a picture of the comment.

Step 7: Paste the picture you took into your presentation.

Step 8: Use instant-alpha to remove as much black as you want.

Step 9: Add in a shadow, set the size, or do whatever else you want to make it look how you want.



Well, that's all for now. I hope that you enjoyed this tip. If you don't want to miss any more, subscribe to the RSS Feed.

Dragging Colors Between Color Pickers

Recently, when I was designing an image in Keynote, I discovered a tip. If you have two color picker buttons, you can drag the color of one to the other. For example, if you have an object in Keynote that is red, you can give the shadow the exact same color as the fill color by dragging the fill color to the shadow color picker.

Get Final Cut Effects in Keynote '08

If you don't want to pay for Final Cut Express, there's a way that you can get the effect of having multiple movies playing on one screen at a time. (I'm also sure that there are other uses for this. But, it's more of a concept.)

For this, you will need some footage (duh) and Keynote '08. Here's what you do.

Step 1: Make a new keynote presentation and save it. (Save early, save often!)

Step 2: Drag in the two movie files that you want playing simultaneously.

Step 3: Select the two movie files and hit Cmd-Option-I to open the inspector.

Step 4: Go to the "Builds" tab. (The yellow diamond.)

Step 5: Under "Build In" select "Play Movie"

Step 6: Click on the "More Options" button at the bottom of the inspector.

Step 7: Set the movie in Build 2 to play automatically with Build 1. (Assuming you're doing 2 movies.)

Step 8: Record your slideshow and export it as a quicktime movie.

That's it! You can now play two clips at once!

Recording Presentations in Keynote

In yesterday's tip about exporting to youtube from Keynote '08
I mentioned that you can record your slideshow presentation. Here's how you do that.

Step 1: Set up your slides like you would for a normal keynote presentation.

Step 2: Go to File>Record Presentation

Step 3: After you press "Record Presentation", keynote will play your presentation. Now, you want to use your slides and speak your piece as if you were actually presenting. (You can also record a live presentation doing this also. Then, share it.)

When it's recording, your computer will take audio from your default input source.

Step 4: To finish the recording, merely exit the slideshow.


There's several things you can do after you've recorded your presentation. One of these things is the ability to watch what you just recorded. Go to View>Play Recorded Slideshow

Also, you can export to youtube, or, export as a quicktime movie.


 
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Hwo to Export Keynote Presentations to YouTube

Did you know that you can export your keynote presentations to YouTube direct? Well, you can! (Well, why else would I ask?) Today I was making an animation for my blog videos and came across the ability to export directly to youtube. It's really quite easy to do actually. And if you record your presentation (what I'll be writing on tomorrow) you can make it even easier. Here's how you do it.

Step 1: Make your keynote presentation. Get all the timing right, or, go with the options presented in the export dialog.

Step 2: Go to File>Send To>YouTube...

Step 3: If this is your first time, you'll want to add your user. Click, "Add..." and go through the steps.

Step 4: Fill out the info for the video just like you would on youtube.

Step 5: I would suggest you do a large publishing size, but, that's just me.

Step 6: Hit the next button.

Step 7: Now this is the tricky part. If you recorded your slideshow, just go with the recorded slideshow options. If not, you'll probably want to figure out what times you want.

Step 8: Click the "Next..." Button. Then, if you agree to the terms, click the "Publish" button.

That's it! After waiting for a little while, keynote will tell you that it's uploaded and ask you want to go to the movie.


 
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How To Create Themes In Keynote '08

One day, I decided that I was sick and tired of having to change the background and manually lay out all the elements in my keynote presentation. So, rather than not making any more, I decided that I would make my own theme. So, I went into keynote, designed a good looking theme, and went to File>Save Theme... After saving my beautiful theme I closed my document and opened up a new one. However, when I chose my theme from the theme chooser dialog box, nothing happened. It just showed me the "white" theme I had built off of. Well, I went onto the internet and found no help. None. Since I'm not one to pay for something I can probably figure out myself, I started looking. And here's how you do it.

How to create themes in keynote '08.

Creating themes in keynote really isn't that hard. There's just one secret step. Rather than building your theme from a slide, you have to build your theme from a master slide. To do this, merely drag the divider that's underneath the "Themes" button. This will reveal all the masters. Now, go about editing them as you please. Changing backgrounds. Adding in pictures. Setting fonts. You name it. Once you've done all this, go to File>Save Theme... and save your theme to the Themes folder. (Automatically selected.) That's it! It will now show up inside the theme dialog box.

Now that you know this information, go out and design some cool theme. Then, submit it to be posted on the blog!

Media Placeholders in Keynote '08

When I'm making slides of some sort or another in keynote, I often find myself using the same slide layout time after time after time. Well, wouldn't it be nice if I could set places that would be "Picture" spots. (Otherwise known as media placeholders.) Well, there is a way as it turns out. In the new keynote (Keynote '08) you merely drag the image to your presentation, apply the effects you want. (Reflection, location, angle, etc.) Once you've done this, go to Format>Advanced>Define as Media Placeholder (or Cmd-Option-Ctrl-i).

I find this extremely handy to have. What do you think? Post a comment!

The 12 Step Program To Making Blog Images

If you’ve ever wondered how I make my not-so-pro pictures, then, you should read this!

First of all, I decide what tip I’m going to do. For this example, we’ll use yesterday’s tip.

Step 1: Write the tip. This way, I know what I need in the picture. I can make the picture before the tip, but, it’s slightly harder.

Step 2: Take the pictures. For yesterday’s tip. I took two pictures. One of the viewer window open, and one of the viewer window closed.

Step 3: Open my secret application, (Drum Roll please) Keynote!!!! I really like to use keynote because it’s simple. You’ll see why I like it better. I use keynote for LOTS of things. (Tables, graphs, photo stuff, etc.)

Step 4: Import the pictures from the desktop. Because you took screen shots of them, you’ll have to take them off the desktop and drag them to your slide. I use the black theme because I think that black is a lot easier on the eyes.

Step 5: Resize the pictures. Usually, when I take screen shots, I don’t want such a large picture. Because of this, I’ll resize them. The best way to do this to all your pics at once is to group the pictures (Cmd-A Cmd-Option-G) then, resize the grouped pictures. (Drag the square in the upper-left-hand corner.) Then, ungroup the picture. (Cmd-Shift-Option-G)

Step 6: Arrange the pictures. Drag the pictures to the places you want them. Shrink them down more if you need to.

Step 7: Add circles. To add a circle, create a shape that you want. (I use circles) Then, hit Cmd-Shift-I to open the inspector. Click on the “Graphic” tab. (5th one over.) Select your circle and set fill to none. Then, Select “Stroke”. Select the color you want. In case you haven’t noticed, I usually match the text (Click on these bars...) with the circle.

Step 8: When your picture’s completed, hit Cmd-Option-P to play the slideshow. If your slideshow isn’t set up to scale the slides up. Set it to. To do this, go to Keynote>Preferences (Cmd-,) and click on the slideshow tab. Then, check the box with “Scale slides up to fit display”

Step 9: Hit Cmd-Shift-3 while in the slideshow. This will take a full screen picture of your image saved to your desktop.

Step 10: Rename your picture. Save it as a PNG if you want. You REALLY REALLY want to rename your picture. That way, you can find it later. To save it as a PNG, open it up in preview and save it as (Cmd-Shift-S) a PNG. (I don’t know what the difference is between Alpha, or non-Alpha. If someone could enlighten me on that, it would be great!) Also, I like PNG. I don’t know why, I just do. If you like something else better, fine with me!

Step 11: Upload it to blogger along with the tip. I do this at night usually. I then change the time/date to fit when I’ll post it. (Move the date ahead a day and change the time to 8AM-9AM.

Step 12: Give the post a title, some tags and save it as a Draft the the next morning. That’s it!

Well, that’s your insider look at how I make a post. How I do my movies will be secret a little while longer. But, that should help you along with your own blog! Good luck and Good Blogging!

Special Colors

If you often use this one special color, then, it’s possible to save that color and make it available in any application. All you have to do is drag the box in the top part of the color window, into a small white square at the bottom of the window. Watch the movie for greater detail.

Keynote Slides

This is a good tip if you are used to doing keynote presentations often. While in a keynote presentation, you can either press the numbers on your keyboard that correspond to the slide number you wish to go to. So, to get to slide 60 from slide 3, just type
60“ and press enter. Or, you can use the scroll wheel and scroll through the slides. Then. Click on the slide you want.


Sorry for not having a Fabulous Sunday Tip (FST), but, I wasn’t prepared, so, I’ll hopefully have the FST tomorrow.