Posts by Mike Rankin

I guess it all started in 1987, when I traded in my Sears word processor for a Mac 512k. Twenty-one years and many thousands of pages later, MacWrite and MacPaint on the 512k have evolved into the Creative Suite 3 on a MacBookPro, but it's never stopped being fun. I’ve worked in publishing since 1995, mostly making grade 6-12 educational products for history, science, mathematics, and world languages disciplines. I've also worked as an illustrator, drawing for anatomy books, spent a few years as Prepress Specialist using Kodak Prinergy, and as a Software Trainer, training folks in InDesign, InCopy, Illustrator, and Photoshop. I also underwent Six Sigma Black Belt training in business process improvement. Currently I work for a large educational publisher, doing application development (translation: more XML than you can shake a stick at). I am DTP pack rat, treasuring a lot of stuff that most sane people would consider trash. I proudly display a complete Illustrator 88 package on my desk, along with my set of Photoshop 2.5 floppies, and my InDesign 1.0 CD. I've written about InDesign for InDesign Magazine and extensively (some would say obsessively) on my blog, Publicious.net

Building Better Bevels

September 2 2010 • 6:24 AM

Get way more “Awesome” out of InDesign’s Bevel effect with these tips and tricks.

Navigate Panels from the Keyboard

August 28 2010 • 11:57 AM

You don’t need a mouse to navigate through many of your InDesign panels. You just have to know when they’re “listening” to your keyboard.

InDesign Makes The World Go Round (Sort of)

July 23 2010 • 3:38 PM

Sure you’ve created a lot of stuff in InDesign, but have you ever created an entire PLANET? With CS5, you can.

Built to List

June 11 2010 • 10:07 AM

Ever have trouble figuring out how to set up a decimal-aligned numbered list? You’re not alone! But it’s easy once you get the hang(ing) of it.

A CS5 Treat: The Animation Sandwich

May 24 2010 • 9:56 AM

By combining CS5’s new animation features with regular InDesign drawing techniques, you can get some truly tasty results.

Drag and Drop AppleScripts for EPUB, IDML, etc.

May 18 2010 • 7:55 PM

These four AppleScripts (and a simple flick of the wrist) can help Mac users explore and edit IDML, EPUB, FLA, and DOCX files.

CS5 Font Info

May 12 2010 • 9:56 AM

Want to know which fonts are installed with the various applications and flavors of the Creative Suite 5?

Transforming Pages in CS5

May 7 2010 • 9:29 AM

With CS5 you can transform pages with Scale, Shear, Rotate, and Free Transform.

Sleuthing With Snippets

March 31 2010 • 8:53 PM

Mike encounters a strange Story Editor symbol from the Far East, uncovers its identity in a snippet of IDML, and emerges slightly jealous of Illustrator users. And craving sushi.

Tools of Change Round-up Day 3

February 26 2010 • 11:32 PM

Highlights and links from Day 3 of the O’Reilly Tools of Change 2010 conference.