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another resource
Anne-Marie,
Great article. Another resource I actually use a lot is the free clip art on microsoft.com. Choose your vector file, open in Illustrator and alter to your heart's content.
Cool Stuff
Anne-Marie, Thanks for a wonderful tour through so much stuff that I know but forgot to remember. As I was looking through the files in Illustrator I kept saying..."yeah, that would work for that job, that would work for that job". Thank goodness they keep me in my own little room! This is just great stuff!
Thanks and additional features.
Anne-Marie,
Thanks - that explanation really helped. One thing I note (and might be part of your original intention) is that after making the new frame you can immediately hit the delete key and remove the color on the placed object. Now reselecting allows you to refill and stroke any way you like. Very cool approach.
Re path, clipping paths and InDesign
Sure Gary. I just checked the steps in CS3 on Windows, and it works the same. Tell me if there's anything different you're doing than this:
1. Open a PSD image in Photoshop, make a selection
2. Open the Paths panel and click the icon at the bottom that looks like a little girl with pigtails ... "Make work path from selection"
3. Double-click the Work path and name it (in the Save Path dialog that opens). Optionally, you can specify it's a Clipping Path from the Paths fly-out menu. (In my example I didn't do that ... I never bother with that anymore).
4. Save the PSD file, or a copy of it, as PSD. No options in particular need to be checked on or off here.
5. Close the file, choosing yes at the "Maximize Compatiblity?" alert. Don't know if this makes a diff. but the alert is my Photoshop default and I always choose yes.
6. Switch to InDesign and place the PSD. If you didn't specifically save the path as a clipping path (which we didn't), you won't be able to choose that path in Import Options, it's grayed out. No worries, place the file.
7. Select the image with the Selection tool and choose Object > Clipping Path
8. In the Clipping Path dialog box, from the Type dropdown menu, choose Photoshop Path. As soon as you choose that, your named work path is selected in the dropdown menu directly below that ("Path:"). Click OK.
9. Your image in InDesign should now be silhouetted, using the clipping path as a mask.
From here, to convert the clipping path to a frame, choose that command ("Convert clipping path to frame") from either the contextual menu (right-click on the image) or from the Objects > Clipping Path fly-out menu.
I believe in CS2, the command is *only* found in the contextual menu. Not sure about that but I seem to remember it being a hidden feature.
Does that work/help you out at all?
AM
Paths, Clipping paths and InDesign
Anne-Marie,
A very nice essay here - I have learned so much from this - Thanking you. Just one problem though. No matter what I do to get a clipped image into InDesign from Photoshop (CS3 on Windows platform) all my options are greyed out (I cannot select any option on placing - alpha channel, clipping path etc). So looks like the issue is at the InDesign end of things. Perhaps you could walk more carefully through the complete process from PS to InDesign and indicate if any preferences need to be set?
Thanks again.
Gary.
Re free stuff in CS2
Yep, Isaiah's right. You can read about some of that free CS2 stuff in http://www.creativepro.com/article/get-your-mitts-illustrators-free-high...
Editor in Chief, CreativePro.com
Set them Free
I'm not sure about CS3, but there were a couple of hundred free photos and illustrations in either CS or CS2.