In this Issue...
 INTRO |
CHANGE?....No Fear!
I looked through the newsletters we have written
this year, and there seems to be a common
theme... CHANGE. That's right, the dreaded word that
we all seem to fear. If you're reading this
newsletter, you're very likely working in the
Internet space and/or just starting your adventure.
Well, prepare yourself now for a ride that never
ends and never seems to stay the same.
'Prepare', that's the word I've been looking for.
The best way to deal with change is to Plan,
Prepare, Execute, and just agree to get a little
bruised by it all.
Over the coming months you'll see a number of ways
that we will be helping you to embrace the unrelenting
change that we're all facing. From new web site
editors, such as Microsoft's Expression Web and SharePoint Designer that are heavily promoting web
standards and accessibility, to image companies
tightening their image licensing agreements and
enforcing those licenses, to new tools and solutions
designed to make dynamic web site functionality
affordable and easy enough for the newest web site
builder, we're here to help you find your way
through the jungle.
One of the ways we're going to bridge the divide is
to continue to build and adapt our
successful line of products that feature many of the
new standards already built in. The standards-based
templates are ready for Adobe Dreamweaver, Microsoft
Expression Web, and SharePoint Designer 2007. We're
also going to be expanding our written support
materials and starting a series of online seminars
and webinars that will provide the visual and audio
training needed for many of the more complex, nuts-and-bolts type of challenges you may
face. Plus,
we'll be introducing you to new products and
technologies that will enhance your site or give you
another feature to improve your customer's site. This
newsletter features a few of these new technologies
and some tips and
tricks you may have never considered before.
 Finally, I would like to send a special
congratulations to one of the most talented
individuals I know. Corrie Haffly, our lead graphic
designer, just finished her first book. Working
closely with our friends at SitePoint, Corrie has
authored SitePoint's first full color book, The
Photoshop Anthology. I'll discuss more about the
book, below, but I want to tell you that you are
missing out if you don't grab a copy of this book.
If you have Photoshop or have been thinking about
getting it, this is the book designed specifically
for web site builders. Excellent work, Corrie! Your
professionalism and unwavering desire to help
educate are valuable and rare traits.
by Jason Reckers, President
& CEO - PixelMill Inc.
 FEATURE |
The Photoshop Anthology
Corrie Haffly, PixelMill's Lead Designer, has
finally seen the culmination of years of hard work
and self-taught determination come together with the
publishing of her book, The Photoshop Anthology:
101 Web Design Tips, Trick, and Techniques.
Working with the talented team at
SitePoint,
Corrie put every ounce of effort into this book that
focuses primarily on the challenges that face web
designers. Most of the Photoshop books and
tutorials currently in the market either focus
heavily on Photoshop features in a overview format
or on needs specific to the print or photography
industries. The Photoshop Anthology is the first
Photoshop book I have seen that clearly focuses on
the web industry's needs. This makes sense
when you know that Corrie
has spent her career in web development and
learning to use Photoshop effectively within that
environment.
In the book, Corrie covers how to:
-
Learn
the
basics:
image
sizing,
layers,
vector
shapes,
transparency,
and
more.
-
Create
attractive
buttons:
aqua-style,
metallic,
glassy,
etc.
- Work
with
text:
style
it,
create
special
effects,
and wrap
it
around
3D
objects.
-
Touch up
photographs,
match
colors,
and
combine
different
images.
- Make
graphics
for CSS
rollover
buttons.
-
Optimize
graphics
for web
use.
-
Create
animated
GIFs.
- And
lots
more…
From beginner to Photoshop expert, The
Photoshop Anthology
puts clear focus on one niche of the Photoshop customer base and
does an excellent job of diving down into the key
step-by-step information we all need to get the most
out of such a powerful tool.
To learn more and purchase this valuable addition
to your web building library, please use the
following links to the SitePoint site:
The Photoshop Anthology:
101 Web Design Tips, Trick, and Techniques
by Jason Reckers, President
& CEO - PixelMill Inc.
 TUTORIAL |
Cropping to a Specific Size
Many of the templates on PixelMill have a main
image that you can easily replace with your own by
cropping your image to a specific size in order to
replace the image. This short tutorial explains how
to use Photoshop CS2 to crop your image to a
specific size.
First, if you're not sure what size the
template's original image is, take a quick look in
the Image Properties or in the HTML code.
- In FrontPage, double-click on the image to
bring up the Image Properties dialog box.
- In Dreamweaver, click once on the image and
look in the Image Properties panel.
- In the HTML code, look for the <img
width="xxx" height="xxx" ...> code.
- In a browser, right-click on the image and
choose Properties.
Once you have the width and height, go to Photoshop
and select the Crop tool from the toolbox. In the
options bar, you can type in the specific width and
height. In the figure below, I've typed 750 px for the
width and 168 px for the height.
Now click and drag in your replacement photograph
or image using the crop tool. You'll notice that the
crop area proportions are "fixed" -- you can't
change the shape of the crop area like you usually
can with the crop tool. You can move the selection
around to grab the perfect area of your picture.
Double-click in the crop area to perform the crop
action. Photoshop will automatically size the
selection to be the right size!
Note that if you make the selection too small,
your final picture will be blurry, so make sure that
you select an area that is AT LEAST as big as what
you need it to be.
There are 100 more useful Photoshop tips and
tricks in my new book that are specifically for web
design! I hope you enjoyed this one -- and if you're
looking for more, visit
sitepoint.com to order the
book.
by Corrie Haffly, PixelMill
Staff Writer
 FEATURE | Easier
and Easier E-commerce
A few weeks back, I was invited to participate in
an interview on Paypal Radio. PayPal has a radio segment on Tuesdays
from 2-3pm Pacific Time. The host, Jason Miner, provides
an excellent show that features a variety of topics
from PayPal features and tools to general help for
e-commerce businesses and the challenges they face.
My section of the program focused on PixelMill
and what we are doing with PayPal through
products designed to work with the PayPal
transaction platform. Take a moment to listen to the archived podcast,
PixelMill.com - The PayPal Radio Developer of the
Month. You'll learn a little more about PixelMill
and the PayPal products we offer. I hope you enjoy it.
During the podcast, you will hear about three
different products we offer that include PayPal
integration.
PayPal Standard Templates
Nearly all of PixelMill's web site templates are
compatible with PayPal's
Standard solution. We have a number of templates
that include specific PayPal Standard instructions,
button graphics, and/or page layouts designed to
work with a site using PayPal Standard buttons. The
product developers will mark these templates as
including PayPal elements. The quickest way to find
these templates and more information about our
PayPal solutions is to visit our
PayPal Landing Page.
ProStores-enabled Templates
Our
ProStores-enabled templates are built to fully integrate with the dynamic features of the ProStores' solution. With just a few quick steps any ProStores customer can get a head start on launching their new store or upgrade to a fresh design for their existing store.
ProStores,
an eBay company, enables small- and medium-sized
businesses to sell products and services online
through a completely customizable virtual storefront
at their own internet domain.
Integration with PayPal - Beyond the
ability to use
PayPal Standard, the integration of PayPal's new
Website Payments Pro
is an excellent feature in ProStores. ProStores
7.1 now provides an automated integration with
PayPal Website Payments Pro in one click.
Combining ProStores easy to launch storefront,
PixelMill's design templates, and PayPal's low-cost
'merchant' solution we make it easy for
businesses and individuals to start their online
store.
osCommerce Ready
Our
osCommerce-ready templates, built for the
osCommerce eCommerce platform, are designed to
easily integrate PayPal transaction modules. This project that started at the
request of PayPal grew into a cooperative effort
between PixelMill and Lucky Marble Solutions to
build templates for this open-source eCommerce
solution. The resulting package, tailored for
intermediate to advanced web builders, leverages excellent
graphic design with osCommerce and the PayPal
transaction module to deliver a powerful turn-key
eCommerce solution. By utilizing the power of DWT technology, used in Dreamweaver and FrontPage
2003 (including Expression Web and SharePoint
Designer 2007), we make it easy to apply great looking
designs.
Integration with PayPal - The
osCommerce open source community has developed
modules designed to work with PayPal Standard
and PayPal Website Payments Pro. Our template
packages include the Website Payments Pro module
with written and video-based tutorials that will
show you how to integrate PayPal as your
transaction engine.
For more information about our PayPal solutions,
visit our
PayPal Landing Page today!
by Jason Reckers, President
& CEO - PixelMill Inc.
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