Master page display on top in InDesign?

I read this question regarding Fireworks layers, where it said that master pages have to be applied underneath other layers.

Is this true for InDesign as well? If not, how does one put the Master Page content on top?

I was playing out a scenario that another user presented where you'd have one piece of text and different backgrounds.

Answer

Master pages in Indesign are always seen as on the bottom of the object stack. However, you can use layers in Indesign as well. This somewhat breaks the object stack logic. Layers in Indesign allow you to stack any object, master page or otherwise.

For example....

• new document


• add a new layer via the Layers Panel


• Move edit the Master Page


• highlight Layer 1 in the Layers panel and draw a filled rectangle.



• Highlight Layer 2 in the Layers Panel and draw another filled rectangle.


• Switch to the document page


• highlight Layer 1 in the Layers Panel and draw yet another filled rectangle

You'll end up with stacking similar to this....

The magenta rectangle is on Layer 2 on my Master Page. The yellow rectangle is on layer 1 on the master page. The cyan rectangle is on layer 1 on my document page.

So, while master pages are always seen as the bottom of the object stack, layers take precedence and will allow you to stack things above a document page if you place objects on higher layers.

In your scenario, you could place the text on the master page on Layer 2, and then place backgrounds on Layer 1 in the document pages.

An important note is that you can apply master pages to other master pages. It's possible to have Master Page B which has Master Page A applied to it. This can assist in keeping any design fluent while maintaining common items.

creative writing - Not projecting myself onto my characters

I have struggled with mental illness for my entire life. Writing has been an extremely helpful and important mode of self-expression for me, since I was little. But recently, I feel like my writing has reached a point where my stories are all iterations of each other, with similar characters, similar plot lines, and similar endings.

I think this is because the majority of my characters are mentally ill. MC will be full of anger and sadness, with low self-esteem and distorted self-image, just as I feel about myself. When I write storylines about these characters overcoming exaggerated struggles like defeating a supernatural force or surviving an apocalypse, it's analogous to the struggle against my illnesses that I face. And I think that's okay, except I do it for every single story. It's making me bored with my writing and discouraged with myself, because I feel like I can no longer write a character that is unique or layered.

How can I stop forcing my characters into my mold, and create differentiated storylines that don't focus around a mentally ill MC?

Answer

It's okay to have a Blue Period. Picasso's lasted 4 years and was fueled by depression. He produced amazing paintings during this time and it was something he felt compelled to do.

It's making me bored with my writing and discouraged with myself, because I feel like I can no longer write a character that is unique or layered.

So now it's time to transition to other things. Having the insight to recognize that is a good thing (and more difficult than you might think).

Take a class. A creative writing class where you're forced to write in different styles, about people and places you normally would never choose, might be just the thing to gain practice writing in new ways.

Co-write a project with someone different from you. Collaboration means compromise. Even if you wanted to make all the characters the same way you have been doing it, you can't. A collaboration can be between two writers, an idea person and a writer, a writer and an artist, or any other combination of talents.

Write some non-fiction for or about people without mental illness. Everybody has emotional challenges and your extensive knowledge of mental illness will help you gain insights into people dealing with everyday life without disability. If you write some stuff geared to a broader audience, it will be good practice in shaping your concepts away from one narrow focus.

Meet people. I give this advice to everyone who asks how they can write a character that's done stuff they've never done, or that fits into a category they'll never be part of. That includes non-disabled people who want to write about mental illness. You can get a lot out of books but it's not enough. You need to encounter a wide variety of people.

In your case, the people you might need to get to know better are in the mainstream. I don't know what your life experiences are or who you hang out with, but my guess is that part of your trouble writing characters not like you is because you don't know (really know) people who aren't like you. This is normal and standard: we all tend to group with people like us.

To be a writer though, we must go out of our comfort zone and hear other people's stories. Not (just) read them. Not (just) view them on a screen. But meet the people and talk with them. Even if your social circle includes amazing diversity in other ways, it may be lacking in the way you need to breakout of your own personal Blue Period.

navigation - Should we use the 3x3 9-dots icon as an apps menu?

As the web continues to evolve and more complex applications emerge, there is a need to let the user quickly navigate between applications. This action is different from the navigation menu we see inside apps, the controversial hamburger menu icon that has become a convention for global navigation on smaller screens. Here we are looking at the navigation between applications.

Google uses this one to let users navigate between the applications Google Maps, Google Play, Google Drive and many other Google Applications.

Microsoft also uses this one to let their users navigate between applications OneDrive, Word Online, Sway and other Microsoft Apps.

But there are other ways of conveying the same message. Some uses 4x4 16-dots icon, and others 4-dots which looks like an extension of the 3-dots more menu. Question is if the 3x3 9-dots apps menu icon is the one to use, as it looks like the bigger players uses this icon as their metaphor for switching between applications.

Note: This question is not about the hamburger menu. It's about the use of an apps menu.

Answer

BURGER VS GRID - same or different context?

I think the burger and the grid generally have different meanings, though they're not formalized anywhere yet (at least, it's not widely known like ISO or W3 standards).

The burger menu usually is more about navigating content within a context. You're on a website and navigate to different subsections of the page. Same site, different text/images. Or you're in an app and you want to load/save a file; it's still the same app you're working with.

But the grid menu is about changing your context. You're not just changing the content, you're opening a completely new app, interface and kind of interaction. In the images you've provided it's linking to other apps in the same suite, and in the android menu it's going from OS to app.

The split of lists vs grids isn't anywhere near universal yet (e.g. android share), but I've noticed a certain imbalance in which layout is used where, and I think the icons should support that. Of course in android share the < icon is more representative of the action tan either = or #, but you get the idea.

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3X3 vs 4X4 icons

Both the 3x3 and 4x4 icons are interpreted about the same by users, but the blue icon is considerably different and reads like 'home screen' based on ios.

A 3x3 grid has some benefits over 4x4; it's simpler, it can be made smaller and it falls in line with graphics/icon sizes better (8x8px vs at least 18x18): and it keeps the 'three-ness' of the hamburger, so it's a bit more consistent with all of the worlds' interfaces. So by default, I'd say use 3x3.

However if your menu uses 4 item columns or rows (4x5, 6x4, etc) like the default android app drawer, then you've got a pretty good reason to use a 4x4 grid as it more closely resembles the actual menu.

But personally, that's as far as I'd go (so no 5x5,6x6 etc.)

programming - Is there any thing out there as a substitute for KDB?

thanks a lot for your discussions on the original post.

following your suggestions, let me re-phrase a bit :

kdb is known for its efficiency, and such efficiency comes at a terrible price. However, with computational power so cheap this days, there must be a sweet spot where we can achieve a comparable efficiency of data manipulation, at a more reasonable cost.

For instance, if a KDB license cost a small shop $200K per year (I dont know how much it actually cost, do you know?), maybe there is a substitute solution: e.g., we pay 50K to build a decent cluster, storing all data onto a network file system, and parallelize all the data queries. This solution might not be as fast or as elegant as KDB, but it would be much more affordable and most important -- you take full control of it.

what do you think? is there anything like this?

usability - Amount of Time To Determine a User Has Stopped Typing

I have a filter form for a list. One of the fields is a text search field. When a user types in the field, I wait until the user has stopped typing for a half second (500 milliseconds), and then perform the search. I arbitrarily chose this value because it felt natural when I used it. I was watching my boss use the search the other day and noticed that the search was being triggered while he was still typing. A delay of one full second (1000 milliseconds) seems too long to me, but rather than pick an arbitrary value, I was wondering if there was some sort of consensus for the length of the delay.

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Other Details

• It's a web form/list


• select fields on the form call the search instantly


• I use jQuery in conjuction with the bindWithDelay plugin and listen for the keyup event



• The search is with a jQuery ajax() call, using json

Answer

That really depends on the users and on what they are typing. Typing on a physical keyboard is significantly faster than on a touch device.

So the question then is what the average WPM typing speed of the average user on your system is, and then work backwards from there.

Let's say that it is 25 WPM. Typically a word is considered 5 characters long, so their rate is 120 characters per minute, or about 0.5 seconds (60 / 120). If assume that the time between keystrokes isn't even (which it isn't) and account for about a 2x variation in that (which is fairly accurate), you get to a figure of 1.0 second.

For users who type faster, say at 75 WPM, the gap that would indicate the end of typing would be only 0.3 seconds.

print design - What should you ask the printer?

We get a lot of questions in regards to what should my file spec be, what should I do with X and Y, how should I do my black etc. etc. and a large majority of the time we suggest to ask the printer which is an accurate assumption. Even though I think this is an accurate answer I think we should have a question that would help educate designers on what questions they should ask the printer. Knowing the right questions can help determine if the printer is professional and if you can meet the requirements. So my question is when print designing what questions should I ask to make sure my designs are compatible and high quality for print?

Answer

Ask them if they have a template?

At our print shop we offer a full template selection that allows designers to enter in their desired output and it will email them a template file. We did this because many questions and files we received proved to be an issue in regards to accurate bleed, trim, and non-print elements.

What black do you guys print?

Registration black is 100% CMYK which is an inaccurate black and should never be used as other than registration marks and our prints vary by the printer we use.

What are the desired file type?

Some shops hate .psd files because they are horrible for storage, editing, and are raster based. Even though they are the worst file types to use for print some people can only afford or have Photoshop.

What are your bleed settings?

Most shops typically have the same bleed but some shops try to cut costs and can reduce the amount of bleed to save on material waste.

What is the stock being used?

Knowing the stock that will be printed on (such as gloss or matte) can render different color outputs. If this is the case you can address this with the client and make the proper adjustments for accurate color.

Are there certain stocks for BW printing apposed to full color printing

Some print shops will limit the stock used in either black and white printing or full color printing due to costs.

Ask if a few color interior pages in a BW job would classify the job as full color

Some shops would rather run a BW job in CMYK if a few interior files are in color or insert based on the quantity.

If I send in a PDF what should the settings be?

We recommend a certain .pdf format, PDF/X-1a, to be exported from InDesign at our shop but this may not be the case for every shop.

For PDF delivery, spreads or single pages?

Single page PDFs are customarily preferred, however some shops require printer imposed spreads in order to reproduce a multi-page publication accurately.

Do you offer black and white printing and what should the specs be?

Good question for shops that will be printing black as CMYK or just K.

How should my images be for black and white printing?

We require images for black and white printing to be converted to grey-scale but this may change based on how their black and white printing is done.

What is the lightest opacity I can use if CMYK printing?

Some people would like blockquotes to be as light as possible but still visible and some use a light color with a very low opacity. We require nothing less than 20% opacity but it may change on machine.

Can I get a proof and is it free or do I have to pay?

Before a large run its better to get a sample proof then risk dropping a lot of money..

Do you accept or convert Pantone colors?

At our shop we deny any prints with Pantones but some shops can print Pantones or charge to convert to CMYK. Depending on the printer some presses are set-up to have X color runs. Knowing if they can print CMYK plus a Pantone helps if a client has a targeted color for their brand but some newer machines only offer CMYK.

Do you offer CMYK,Lc,Lm for my photographic publication?

Some machines offer LC and LM printing options when it comes to printing photography because it extends the customary four color CMYK process, by adding light cyan (lower case c) and light magenta (lower case m). The light cyan and light magenta inks are essentially a washed out version of the cyan and magenta inks. Reference to Wiki.

I have a multi-page publication, what are the requirements for gutter, creep, and spine?

For publications with multiple pages the print provider may have a minimum gutter requirement in addition to any live area requirement. Creep can be a factor if a publication has many pages. Creep measurements and the width of the spine in perfect bound publications can only be determined by using the width of the stock to be printed on. Customarily the printer provider will be able to factor these measurements quickly and provide numbers.

Will my prints be consistent or will you notify me of a printer change?

This is a good question I currently ran into. After you send a print to a printer, they send you a proof, and you approve the print but the print quality and color accuracy changes if a new printer is introduced into the equation or they outsource regularly to different vendors based on availability. However, you already approved the print but they wont tell you they are changing the printer when you place a re-order.

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In regards to screen printing:

• Do you print on black and what is your print process (print-flash-print or print-print-flash)?


• If you print on black do you print white as a base first?


• What are your offered screen specs?


• Do you use wooden screens or aluminum screens?


• Are you printing manually or automatic?



• If you offer automatic printing was the minimum quantity?


• Are you printing in-house or outsourcing?


• Do you print doubled sided on card stock?


• How many colors can you print?


• Do you offer gradient to halftone conversions?

Which SVG features are supported by Illustrator?

I've noticed that certain SVG features such as @font-face w/ base-64 content and path fill styles do not seem to work with Illustrator. (SVG image not displaying CSS base-64 data URL encoded fonts in Illustrator)

Is there any documentation -- official or unofficial -- that explains which SVG features are supported by Adobe Illustrator? (both for exporting and importing)

In particular I'm working with SVG 1.1 and Illustrator CS5, but I'd be happy to see some info on any version. I've seen some "SVG enhancements" notes on Adobe's site, but nothing substantial.

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NOTE: Moved to https://superuser.com/q/865236/282897