GREP: The Secret Productivity Weapon

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Erica Gamet

Erica Gamet

ARCHIVE: This session was presented at CreativePro Week 2020.

GREP: The Secret Productivity Weapon

Wednesday, 9:00 am – 11:30 am

GREP is one of the most important features in InDesign, and sadly it’s one of the least used! In this half-day session, we’ll get you up to speed (from zero to 60!) with this amazing tool for finding, changing, and formatting text patterns.

Erica will share some in-depth GREP expressions to put into your SuperDesigner’s toolkit. When it comes to automating text in your InDesign documents, using GREP can give you that boost you need to improve your accuracy, consistency, and productivity. We’ll look at some design samples and learn—among other things—how to:

  • Find a range of characters
  • Find all of specific category, such as currency
  • Learn how to master the lookaround
  • Automatically style fractions, figures, and recurring product names

Plus, learn why Erica calls this feature “unicorns and rainbows”!

InDesign: Three Minutes Max

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David Blatner

ARCHIVE: This session was presented at CreativePro Week 2020.

InDesign: Three Minutes Max

Wednesday, 3:45 pm – 4:30 pm Central

Eight world-famous experts… Three minutes each… Only one winner! Watch as our presenters vie for the best 3-minute InDesign tip. One lucky audience member will win our grand prize!

This is one of the top-rated sessions at CreativePro Week. Don’t miss it!


Bonus: Three Minutes Max Tip from Our 2019 Event


Tables

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Keith Gilbert

Keith Gilbert

ARCHIVE: This session was presented at CreativePro Week 2020.

Tables

Wednesday, 2:15 pm – 3:15 pm Central

Tables in InDesign make for a great layout tool when formatting large amounts of information and data. Setting up a Table and using the tools efficiently shouldn’t be a daunting task.

In this class, you will learn:

  • How changing a few preferences makes working with tables much easier
  • The fastest, easiest ways to rearrange and add rows and columns to a table
  • Some “must have” scripts to make complex, repetitive table tasks easier
  • How to update formatted tables with new data without losing the formatting

Mastering the RGB to CMYK Workflow

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Theresa Jackson

ARCHIVE: This session was presented at CreativePro Week 2020.

Mastering the RGB to CMYK Workflow

Tuesday, 10:30 am – 11:30 am Central

Today, we prepare documents for a variety of media, and, no, despite the rumors, print is not dead. In a world of both RGB and CMYK, when and how should you convert from one to the other? And what should be converted and what shouldn’t? And when some content shouldn’t appear in some media but is necessary in another, how do we “author once, publish for many?”

If you care about managing your time, minimizing the juggling of files, and maximizing quality, this is a session you need.

Best Practices for Exporting Great PDFs

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Russell Viers

ARCHIVE: This session was presented at CreativePro Week 2020.

Best Practices for Exporting Great PDFs

Wednesday, 1:00 pm – 2:00 pm Central

Exporting a solid PDF is as easy as choosing File > Export, right? Well, hold on to your mouse… what do all those buttons and menus mean inside the Export PDF dialog box? Why might you want to choose “High Quality” vs. “PDF/X-4”?

InDesign can make awesome PDF files, but only if you know how to make the right choices. Let’s explore!

New Opportunities with New Font Technologies

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David Jonathan Ross

ARCHIVE: This session was presented at CreativePro Week 2020.

New Opportunities with New Font Technologies

Wednesday, 1:00 pm – 2:00 pm Central

Everyone uses fonts, but do you use them well? Are you getting the most from your fonts? And now there are many more font options than ever, including SVG fonts, variable fonts, color fonts, and brush stroke fonts.

Learn about the new opportunities with fonts (and some older ones which you’ve probably overlooked!) with this internationally-renowned type designer.

Styles: Next Level Tips

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Laurie Ruhlin

ARCHIVE: This session was presented at CreativePro Week 2020.

Styles: Next Level Tips

Wednesday, 10:15 am – 11:30 am Central

Everyone knows that using styles in InDesign is key for efficient formatting of text and objects in a document. Not only do they save time and allow us to format content quickly and efficiently, but they also facilitate easily making changes in a document as well. Let’s not forget that they’re also a requirement if you want to take advantage of some powerful features in InDesign that help you to automate tasks. With styles however, there’s a lot more beneath the surface that can help you take your text formatting to the next level by automating specific formatting within a paragraph.

In this session, you’ll learn how to:

  • Specifically format every instance of a word or phrase in a document
  • Leverage Nested Styles to apply text formatting
  • Isolate and format text using GREP Styles
  • Understand the order of operation when using automated and manually applied styles
  • Think creatively with styles

The Best of InDesign Secrets

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David Blatner



Anne-Marie Concepción

ARCHIVE: This session was presented at CreativePro Week 2020.

The Best of InDesign Secrets

Wednesday, 9:00 am – 10:00 am Central

Anne-Marie and David have spent over a decade publishing tips and tutorials about our favorite page-layout app: 2,000+ blog posts, 280+ podcasts, hundreds of magazine articles… Watch as they battle to find the best of InDesign Secrets.

Topics include:

  • Little-used InDesign features that you really should be using
  • Obscure tricks that could literally change your life (or at least your workflow)
  • Keyboard and other shortcuts for improving your productivity
  • Using common features together in uncommon ways for maximum benefit

After Effects for Designers

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Chris Converse

ARCHIVE: This session was presented at CreativePro Week 2020.

After Effects for Designers

Wednesday, 1:00 pm – 4:30 pm Central

Get to know the “other” design application in the Creative Cloud. Chances are you know Photoshop, Illustrator and InDesign. But did you know After Effects supports just as many file formats, provides amazing design and compositing features, and can be used in any print, web, animation, video or photo compositing project?

What you’ll learn:

  • The After Effects interface
  • Starting a new project from scratch
  • How After Effects is similar to Photoshop, Illustrator and InDesign
  • How to import photos, videos, and artwork into your project
  • Applying effects (it’s all about effects!)
  • Introduction to animation in the timeline panel
  • Getting started with Animations in After Effects
  • Exporting animations for social media, web, and email animations

Photorealistic Photoshop and Illustrator

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Bert Monroy

ARCHIVE: This session was presented at CreativePro Week 2020.

Photorealistic Photoshop and Illustrator

Wednesday, 9:00 am – 11:30 am Central

The saying “a picture is worth a thousand words” has never been truer than it is today with the need to tell a story on a global scale. Whether it is a product illustration, book cover, political view, or whatever type of image you need, Illustrator and Photoshop are the tools to get the job done. In this session, you will learn how to create photorealistic imagery from scratch. You will also see how photographic elements can be altered using the tools in Photoshop to create images that can’t be photographed.

Topics include:

  • Creative uses of Layer Styles
  • How to establish perspective grids
  • Creating and modifying Brushes
  • Creating type effects
  • Using Filters for special effects

You seriously don’t want to miss this in-depth and inspirational session as internationally renowned Photoshop superstar Bert Monroy explores setting a strong foundation for whatever you’re dreaming to create.