Gabriola Mac
Users Group
Agenda, November 12, '09
7:00 p.m. The Commons:
- Business
- Mac Issues Q&A
- What's Out There?
- Feature Presentation
Future Meetings
Although this is a seasonal theme, the skills learned can be applied to any card and newsletter endeavours.
Don Butt presented the topic "greeting cards", a timely seasonal subject. He outlined details of how to use iPhoto 09 to create your own card. First select a photo in iPhoto by clicking once on it, then in the menu bar at the bottom of the window click "Card" (it's together with "Calendar" and "Book"). You can select from many of the templates, and note that your photo selection is already in the thumbnail. Then you can select from Themes, Color, Design and others to customize the card. Messages can be written in to the back of the card, from short greetings to those long diaries of the year's events.
Once completed your are invited to Buy Card. For this you need a .me or .mac account, and follow the instructions on the screen to buy your cards, envelopes included. Cost is listed at 1.99 each, about what you'd pay in a store for a card, and apparently they come pretty swiftly. If you want to print your own, there are several options - under top menu File > Print (Command P) save it under the option of "PDF" then open in Preview. Choose "select" from the top menu in that window, and select then copy the first page, pasting it in whatever application (Word, Pages, InDesign, etc) you want, then size to half a page, duplicate it on the second half page, the repeat the same with the second page of the card back in Preview. Go ahead an print this either as one document duplexing, or first, then second pages on the opposite side.
He also outlined the Book and Calendar functions. Custom calendars make neat gifts for family and close friends.
Options for Apple's printing are found at http://www.apple.com/ilife/iphoto/print-products.html
Don also reviewed how to create a card in another application such as InDesign, then save it to JPG, and drag it into a layout in a database application like FileMaker Pro, thus being able to allow for a field for individual personal recipient names. He showed some cards he has made, including the 2009 Christmas card, a trifold, with many pictures and short messages, file merged for personal names, soon to be mailed out.
He then outlined several other ways to send "cards" - electronically in Mail. Select "New Message" then in the top window menu Show Stationery (or if not there make it go there by selecting View>Customize Toolbar, and drag that icon into the menu bar where it shall remain forever. There are some cool templates there, but you can't customize them other than to place a photo, and type a message.
Don then demonstrated his favourite website for sending really "nice" cards. Nice, because they are! It's Jacquie Lawson, http://www.jacquielawson.com/. You have to purchase a membership at nominal cost, and you can send unlimited number of cards from the large selection.