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annc
02-08-2005, 02:51 AM
Today I was caught out badly with a Freehand 10 job on the Mac. It's been quite some time and a couple of versions since I needed to do this (a step and repeat) in FreeHand, and I can't find where to do it in the current version. The job required reproduction of a business card with a stylised umbrella logo and waves. The umbrella wasn't too hard to reproduce, but the waves definitely needed step and repeat. Where did it go? I can do it in InDesign, but used to do it a lot in FreeHand.

Here's what I needed to reproduce. I did a standard copy and paste and move, but what a waste of time lining everything up afterwards! Oh, and yes, the blotches are staple holes, and yes, there was one through a critical part of the umbrella logo. <g>
terrie
02-08-2005, 12:43 PM
If you look at it one way, it's just a series of circles...

I probably would have created one circle in Photoshop and then dup'd it and moved as necessary until I had the "line".

Then I would have added a new layer and done a merge visible.

Then I would have probably done a selection getting the bottom half of the circles with the area that will become the "waves" and put it either in a new file or a new layer.

Then probably using magic wand with contiguous checkmarked, I would have clicked on the area below the circles and used the paint bucket tool to fill the selection with blue...

Terrie
annc
02-08-2005, 02:44 PM
If you look at it one way, it's just a series of circles...

I probably would have created one circle in Photoshop and then dup'd it and moved as necessary until I had the "line".

Then I would have added a new layer and done a merge visible.

Then I would have probably done a selection getting the bottom half of the circles with the area that will become the "waves" and put it either in a new file or a new layer.

Then probably using magic wand with contiguous checkmarked, I would have clicked on the area below the circles and used the paint bucket tool to fill the selection with blue...

TerrieThanks. That's a good technique. I drew the circles in FreeHand, lined them up manually (gettng the horizontal offset was the hard part), then sliced through them, resulting in the same effect. I was able to join the paths as well and do the fill. That part was easy.

But FreeHand used to have a neat step-and-repeat, like the one in InDesign, to get all the circles lined up with exactly the same horizontal offsett. I had to do it manually, as you no doubt would have to do in Photoshop. I spent about an hour trying to find out in the online help how to do it, without success. Perhaps I should have pulled out my FreeHand 7 manual to see if the technique still works in 10 (MX)
Jonathan
02-08-2005, 05:52 PM
It's been quite some time and a couple of versions since I needed to do this (a step and repeat) in FreeHand, and I can't find where to do it in the current version.I'm not certain about v.10, but in v.8 and earlier you can step-and-repeat by cloning an object (Cmd-=), moving the clone, and then pressing Cmd-D (duplicate?) as many times as you need to.
annc
02-08-2005, 06:02 PM
I'm not certain about v.10, but in v.8 and earlier you can step-and-repeat by cloning an object (Cmd-=), moving the clone, and then pressing Cmd-D (duplicate?) as many times as you need to.Thanks, Jonathan. I did experiment with cloning yesterday, but didn't take it any further. I'm sure that when I first started using FreeHad, back in version 3, it had a function very similar to the one now in InDesign, where you tell it the number of iterations, as well as the vertical and horizontl offsets.

This current job is showing me just how rusty my FreeHand skills are.
Jonathan
02-08-2005, 07:55 PM
I'm sure that when I first started using FreeHad, back in version 3, it had a function very similar to the one now in InDesign, where you tell it the number of iterations, as well as the vertical and horizontl offsets.I don't recall such a feature in FreeHand, and around that time I could claim to know the whole feature set of the program. Of course, that doesn't mean it didn't exist, only that I don't remember it...

Another way to do this is to copy or clone the object, move the copy to the end position, select both, and then Blend (command-shift-B). You can choose the number of steps in the "blend" to control the spacing of the objects.
annc
02-08-2005, 08:04 PM
I don't recall such a feature in FreeHand, and around that time I could claim to know the whole feature set of the program. Of course, that doesn't mean it didn't exist, only that I don't remember it...

Another way to do this is to copy or clone the object, move the copy to the end position, select both, and then Blend (command-shift-B). You can choose the number of steps in the "blend" to control the spacing of the objects.Maybe it was another program, but I was positive it was FreeHand. Could have been QuarkXPress, I suppose.
ElyseC
02-09-2005, 08:01 AM
Maybe it was another program, but I was positive it was FreeHand. Could have been QuarkXPress, I suppose.
Yes, XPress has had that for ages.
annc
02-09-2005, 11:22 AM
Yes, XPress has had that for ages.So I've been misremembering it all this time?

Well, all I can say is that it's something FreeHand should have. This is not the first time I've needed it.
terrie
02-09-2005, 12:51 PM
>>But FreeHand used to have a neat step-and-repeat, like the one in InDesign, to get all the circles lined up with exactly the same horizontal offsett.

Interesting..I'd never heard of it until you mentioned it...in Photoshop, if you hold down the shift key when moving, it helps when you move stuff...

Terrie
annc
02-09-2005, 01:07 PM
>>But FreeHand used to have a neat step-and-repeat, like the one in InDesign, to get all the circles lined up with exactly the same horizontal offsett.

Interesting..I'd never heard of it until you mentioned it...in Photoshop, if you hold down the shift key when moving, it helps when you move stuff...

TerrieI've been convinced by Jonathan that I couldn't have seen or used it in FreeHand, and by Elyse that I most likely used it in QuarkXPress. But I still think FreeHand needs it.

The job did require the crispness of vector output, and I'm happy with the result. I just think it would have been so much easier if I'd been able to do the step and repeat.

InDesign has a good Step and Repeat. Do play with it when you get a chance.
terrie
02-09-2005, 01:27 PM
>> InDesign has a good Step and Repeat. Do play with it when you get a chance.

I'll look for it...

Terrie
ElyseC
02-09-2005, 02:40 PM
So I've been misremembering it all this time?

Well, all I can say is that it's something FreeHand should have. This is not the first time I've needed it.
I agree -- illustration software is where it's most useful. Baffling that it's only in page layout apps.
Glars
02-15-2005, 06:14 PM
Well, all I can say is that it's something FreeHand should have.

Don't have FH10 on this machine but in FHMX you select an object and in the Transform palette enter X and Y co-ordinates for the move distance then number of copies required.
annc
02-15-2005, 06:25 PM
Don't have FH10 on this machine but in FHMX you select an object and in the Transform palette enter X and Y co-ordinates for the move distance then number of copies required.Well, would you know it, I just opened FreeHand to check the exact version (it is 10) and noticed that the Transform palette was on the screen, with the x and y co-ordinates and number of copies clearly showing.

Must have been all the stress while I was doing the job.

Thanks for pointing it out.
Jonathan
02-23-2005, 07:49 AM
Well, would you know it, I just opened FreeHand to check the exact version (it is 10) and noticed that the Transform palette was on the screen, with the x and y co-ordinates and number of copies clearly showing.Version 8 doesn't have that feature in its Transform palette.

One of these days, I'll have to upgrade this thing. I would really like to have the auto-dimension feature, in particular.

OTOH, my friend and mentor John Odam is still using FreeHand 3.1 for all of his illustration work, and he's rather prolific.
johnjoslin
03-15-2005, 06:35 AM
What is the "autodimension feature"? I can't find it in the Help.
Jonathan
03-15-2005, 08:53 AM
What is the "autodimension feature"? I can't find it in the Help.Maybe I'm misremembering, but I thought Elyse mentioned a feature in FreeHand that allowed dimensions to be added to a drawing automatically, much like a drafting program would.

I just downloaded the current trial version of FreeHand to look for this, and looked through the "Using FreeHand MX" PDF that came with it. So far I haven't found any such feature.

Elyse? Have I got it wrong?
ElyseC
03-15-2005, 09:45 AM
Maybe I'm misremembering, but I thought Elyse mentioned a feature in FreeHand that allowed dimensions to be added to a drawing automatically, much like a drafting program would.

I just downloaded the current trial version of FreeHand to look for this, and looked through the "Using FreeHand MX" PDF that came with it. So far I haven't found any such feature.

Elyse? Have I got it wrong?I think you must, because I don't follow what you're saying. The only thing I may have said (and it would've been years ago) about Freehand and CAD files was that FH opens at least one common CAD file format. I had to do a bunch of that for a particular client once.
Jonathan
03-15-2005, 09:51 AM
I think you must, because I don't follow what you're saying. The only thing I may have said (and it would've been years ago) about Freehand and CAD files was that FH opens at least one common CAD file format. I had to do a bunch of that for a particular client once.Drat. Foiled again!
Mike
03-16-2005, 01:34 AM
I'm not certain about v.10, but in v.8 and earlier you can step-and-repeat by cloning an object (Cmd-=), moving the clone, and then pressing Cmd-D (duplicate?) as many times as you need to.

That's right. Or you can just duplicate (cmd-d) and move the copy to the required position and keep duplicating when all duplicates will use the same offset.

An alterntive method I often use is to duplicate as many shapes as I need; arrange the outer pair into the right positions; put all the rest inbetween those two; then use the alignment palette to distribute then evenly between the two extremes. Doing it is easier than explaining it. <g>
annc
03-16-2005, 10:27 AM
That's right. Or you can just duplicate (cmd-d) and move the copy to the required position and keep duplicating when all duplicates will use the same offset.

An alterntive method I often use is to duplicate as many shapes as I need; arrange the outer pair into the right positions; put all the rest inbetween those two; then use the alignment palette to distribute then evenly between the two extremes. Doing it is easier than explaining it. <g>That's an excellent suggestion, Mike. It must save quite a lot of guessing.