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Is the Adobe Certified Expert Exam worth it?

I’m an “Adobe Certified Expert” in Illustrator and InDesign. I achieved this status after taking a difficult multiple choice test, in a local testing center. Completing this test every few years ensures that I know the programs and features. If I pass, I’m able to put an ACE badge on my web site, profile and resume. Most importantly, I am authorized to teach in an AATC, Adobe Authorized Training Center. So every other year or so, I have paid $180 to take each test. 

If you’re thinking about taking one of these exams, I’ll walk you thru what to expect, then I’ll tell you how you can study (caution - it’s not easy). 

First, you register online. As of this writing, in Feb 2018, Adobe is moving away from the PearsonVUE testing centers, where I took my latest tests, but I’m sure much will remain the same. You show up at your appointment, sign in to the testing center - show 2 forms of photo ID, all in front of a camera every 5 feet (I heard the guy tell someone that yes, really, there is a camera every 5 feet in the testing center). They take your photo, make you sign something when you go in, and sign the same paper when you come out to make sure it’s really you going into and out of the testing room. You leave all your belongings, yes, ALL - purse, phone, watch, coat, water bottle, coffee etc. in a locker to which you keep a token with your locker number on it while the desk guy actually keeps the key. He told me to turn OFF my phone because even if it’s locked in the locker and it rings or buzzes, they are supposed to come get you and disqualify/fail you immediately.  

I then stood in front of the door to the testing room, facing a camera to turn out my empty pockets. Technically they are supposed to pat me down... but well, that’s just creepy so they make me open up all my pockets. (oh, and there is a bathroom, with a code lock - I had to have the guy let me in and out, just to make sure I don’t transform into someone else with super test taking powers while I’m in there). He also told me not to take off my cardigan while I’m taking the test because that is also grounds for disqualification. Interesting.

Ok- on to the test. First, you answer some general survey questions, job info, relationship with Adobe, primary way of studying for the test... they give you about 15 minutes for that part. Then you click START TEST. 

There are 60 multiple choice questions, and you have 75 minutes to complete it. You are presented with a scenario or shown an “exhibit”, then given 4 or 5 answers that could be correct. Since I don’t want to give anything away, I’ll use very general examples that probably wouldn’t be on the test, but hopefully it will give you an idea of what to expect. This might help you study... or it might not, because so many of the questions were pretty random, that even after using and teaching these programs for almost 20 years, I thought to myself for many of the questions..... really?  

An example:

Q. You want to get an image onto the InDesign Page.

A - Choose Edit > Place

B - Choose File > Place

C - Choose Edit > Import

D Choose File > Import

The answer is B - but you see how it can trip you up? You might know it’s “Place” but do you remember which menu it’s in? And if you didn’t know it was place, import sounds feasible, but you still have the same menu choices. 

There was one Illustrator question that showed a little tiny square on a graphic, after it had been made into one of the Illustrator features (that isn’t used very much), and it asked what happens when you move the square horizontally.  I came home and tried to find the little button. I finally clicked on a small icon in the given panel and it finally showed up. I don’t think I had ever seen it before. I moved the little square around and still, I’m not exactly sure what it’s for. I will never know if I got the question correct. I’m left to ponder if knowing the function of that little square is really an indication if I know Illustrator? 

Another part of the process that doesn’t seem quite up to par is the “Exam Guide” from Adobe. They give you some information about the test, topics to study and sample test question. On the Illustrator Exam Prep Guide for CC2015 (that is the latest test, and it’s now 2018) there are 10 sample test questions with the answer under the 4 multiple choice options. On Illustrator Prep guide, one of the questions was simply an incorrect answer, and other question had the answer mushed in with the next question. It should have been proof read better.

This is the actual question, copied from the Exam Guide, which indicates the incorrect answer.

2. Which key can a user hold to temporarily enable the Convert Anchor Point tool when using the Pen tool? 

A. Shift B. Shift+C C. Alt key (Windows) or Option key (Mac) D. Ctrl key (Windows) or Command key (Mac) Answer: B 

Shift+C DOES switch you PERMANENTLY from the Pen tool to the Convert Anchor Point tool, but the question explicitly says TEMPORARILY. That would be Answer C - hold the Option or Alt key to temporarily enable the Convert Anchor Point tool.

Back to the test... If you are unsure of a question, you are given a chance to “Mark” it if you would like to come back and revisit it later. You can also right click on an answer that you know isn’t correct to strike it thru (I figured this out about half way thru, no one had ever told me that!) After you finish the questions and go thru the Marked ones - you click the button Finish Test and you get your results immediately, which is nice. You are given your Overall Percentage correct, then it is broken down in the general areas (Setting up a document, Printing, Object Creation etc...) 

I completed and passed both the InDesign ACE and the Illustrator ACE test that Saturday morning. You need a 72% to pass InDesign and a 63% for Illustrator. But I left very frustrated, wondering how a user who actually studies and uses the program, would be able to pass it. 

A few days later you’ll receive an email with a certificate that you can print out and frame if you’d like. There will also be a link where you can download and use the ACE logos for your web site, resume etc. 

I get many questions in my classes about how to study for the test. Actual hands on use of the programs is really a must, but if I had to recommend a book, it will be Classroom in a Book. I remember taking hours and hours preparing for my first Illustrator 10 test, I went thru each chapter and lesson, clicking on each button and reading what Classroom in a Book had to say about each feature. It showed me features I didn’t know and it allowed me to pass the test on the first try, so I hope it will for you as well. 

Happy studying and I hope this insight helps those of you looking to study and take the ACE test!

[laurieruhlinindesign]

Font Filtering in InDesign CC 2018

I create digital scrapbooks. So for some pages, I use lots of different fonts. I’m always looking for something fun, different and cool. In the new InDesign CC 2018, you can filter your fonts by Classification. So if I find a script font, I can see ALL of the script fonts I’ve got installed, instead of manually looking thru them, one at a time. 

Filter allows you to choose a “Class” of fonts. Serif, Script, Handwritten etc. 

TK icon will show you only the fonts you’ve downloaded from Typekit. 

STAR icon will show you the fonts that you’ve STARRED (click on the empty star to the left of a font name) This is great if I’m working on a project with only one or two fonts allowed. I can show ONLY those two fonts so I don’t get tempted or frustrated seeing a huge long list. 

~ icon will show you fonts that are similar to the font that you’ve already chosen in the list. 

And finally the Add Fonts from Typekit button will launch Typekit - which will go to your Creative Cloud account where you can search for and add those cool fonts for all of your projects!

Bonus tip: when you have some text selected, hit Command +6 (mac)  or CTRL + 6 (win) to highlight the font menu, then you can type the name of the font you’re looking for! 

You do have to make sure your font is at the top left of the control panel - not the alignment buttons. See the little A and P(paragraph marker icon)? way at the left of the screen shot? Make sure the “A” is active for this shortcut to work. 

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Delete to the Right. Delete to the Left.

There are two delete keys. One deletes to the left and one to the right. If you think of the vertical open area on the keyboard as a cursor, you’ll always remember which way it goes. So now you don’t have to use your arrow keys to move to the end of a word to delete. 

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There are 2 Enter/Return Keys on an extended keyboard. They are not the same.

I remember my first job out of college. I was a designer (desktop publisher) at a local printer, using QuarkXPress - probably 3.0 or 3.3. I was making a brochure, and my text kept disappearing after I hit Enter. I was getting frustrated and kept closing my document without saving to start over. I finally realized I was hitting the “Wrong” Enter key. 

The keys are not the same.The Enter (win) or Return (mac) key located next to the quote key and above the shift key, moves your cursor to the next line, and also makes a hard paragraph return. 

If you want to keep the text all in one paragraph, but move the text to the next line - a manual way to keep text together so that 123 Main St all stays on one line for example, you can hold Shift and hit Return. This will move the text to the next line, but NOT make another paragraph. 

Now look at your keyboard and find the numerical keypad. The Enter key way on the right side is a Column Break. If you have a text frame divided into columns, (Object > Text Frame Options) the cursor will go to the top of the next column. If you have threaded text frames, this will move your cursor and any text that was after your cursor out of the active text frame, and your cursor will appear in the next frame. If you don’t have another frame threaded, you’ll see a little red “+” icon at the bottom right side of your text frame, and your text “disappears”. 

To bring back the disappearing text, either go into Story Editor, (Edit > Edit in Story Editor) select and remove the “Enter” or use your Right Delete key when your cursor is at the end of the visible text. (See the next post for more info on delete keys).

On a laptop, or the short Mac keyboard which doesn’t have the numerical keypad, you’ll find a “fn” key on the left of your keyboard. Hold that and the Return key, and you’ll put in a Column Break just like the Numerical Enter key.

Move your text to the next line or next column or the next frame with confidence!

#InDesign, #framebreak, #columnbreak

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Select to Affect

If you’ve ever been in one of my classes, you may remember that “the phrase that pays” is SELECT to AFFECT. This means simply that if you want to bold a word, you must first SELECT that word. Then you can bold it. 

If you want to fill a square with red, you can’t just look at the square on your screen and think that InDesign will know exactly which square on your page you are thinking about filling with red...you’ve got to get your selection tool and CLICK on that square. Then fill with red. In that order.

I see so many problems when people forget to select an object, but still apply an effect, which then applies to nothing, because you haven’t selected anything, and in many cases what you tried to apply, now becomes the default font, color or effect. 

So just remember, before you apply bold, a fill, stroke or some other effect, you must SELECT the object first!

I’ve created a graphic to demonstrate this.... happy selecting!

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InDesign Preferences & Workspaces

InDesign Workspaces and Preferences - InDesign Lessons with Laurie

Set up your InDesign workspace, save your workspace and change your ruler units PERMANENTLY for all documents.

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Create & Apply Paragraph and Character Styles in InDesign

Create & Apply Paragraph and Character Styles in Adobe InDesign

Are you spending time manually formatting and later changing your text? Use a style in InDesign! I’ll walk you thru some typography tricks in InDesign, and we’ll save a Paragraph Style. We’ll also apply a Character Style, and learn how they are different, when to use them and when not to use them.

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Gridify in InDesign

Gridify in InDesign - Place Multiple photos or logos at the same time.

You can place many photos all at once in InDesign and turn them into a grid - keep the frames and photos the exact same size and spacing!

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Rotate around a center point in Illustrator

Ever wondered how a logo has an element rotating around a center point and makes everything look so perfect and symmetrical? This video is for you. Rotate an object, any object around a center point - pick the point and pick the object, pick the number of objects or the degrees to rotate. Easy as cake! or Pie, easy as pie.

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Hometown Alphabet

Nigel French recently wrote an article, published in InDesign Magazine about making a Hometown Alphabet. Each letter of the alphabet representing a business, location or monument in your town. I’m going to attempt this during an upcoming trip to France, then when I return home, I’ll do it for my hometown. 

You need to be a premiere member of InDesign Secrets to read the entire article, or read it in Issue 101 of InDesign Magazine. Both of which are totally worth it!

https://indesignsecrets.com/intype-hometown-alphabet.php/comment-page-1#comment-2199250

photo of Nigel French’s Mission District Alphabet.

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Pan Around your InDesign Page

If you have zoomed into your page, and would like to move that page around to see something to the side or top or bottom, many people will reach for the scroll bars, which in my experience, always go the wrong way. 

Another way is to use the Page Grabber Hand Tool. This tool looks like a little hand (or a muffin top). Simply click on the tool, then move to your page and grab a portion of the page, and move it around. If you hold too long, you’ll see a red box, and the page will zoom all the way out. Just move the red box, and relocate the focus. 

Shortcuts

If you are using the Selection Tool (arrow) or any other tool except the Type tool, you can hold down the SPACEBAR and you’ll get the Hand tool - pan around the page.. then release your Spacebar.

If you are using the Type tool and have a blinking cursor in your text, then you know that holding the spacebar will simply add in a bunch of spaces. So, you’ll need to hold down the Option (mac) or Alt (win) key to Pan around you page. 

That can be CONFUSING! If you don’t want to worry about which tool you have active - then just hold the OPTION and SPACEBAR (in that order) or ALT and SPACEBAR and regardless of what tool you are on, you’ll get the Hand tool.

Of, you can hit the “H” key on your keyboard to simply switch to the Hand tool.

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Zoom in InDesign

Switching between the tools in InDesign can make you lose valuable time and make your arm hurt! My left hand is always on my keyboard, so I use my modifier keys to switch between my tools. Hold Command and Spacebar (mac) | CTRL and Spacebar (win) while you're on any tool. The zoom tool will be temporarily active. Use the tool by either a single click or a click and drag around the area you want to see closer. Release your keys on the keyboard and you'll return to the tool you were previously on. Keyboard Shortcuts Command and the "+" key | CTRL and the "+" key - will zoom into the selected item in both InDesign and Illustrator (2017)

Command and the "-" key | CTRL and the "-" key  - will zoom out 

Command and the "0" key | CTRL and the "0" key - will fit the page into the window (don’t use the “0″ key on the numeric keypad.)

Command, Option and the "0" key | CTRL, Alt and the "0" key - will fit the spread (InDesign) or all the art boards (Illustrator) in the window. Happy Zooming!