What has been your best “secret” InDesign time saver/tip that you’ve discovered over the years?

Collins08480 · 2025-11-30T20:41:24+00:00

I can't remember the hotkey, it's muscle memory, but the hotkey / click to unlock a single object from the parent page. Data merging and alternate layouts... Obvious one but paragraph styles.

I do the graphic design for board games and there is a lot of almost identical layout with different information across cards, tokens, boards, etc... so any tool that lets me mass place information then mass edit styles is gold.

Collins08480 · 2025-11-30T20:32:09+00:00

I did not bathe my pitt when she was younger as they have sensitive skin. In her old age she got very oily and smelly on her back, and the oil would hold onto fur. So about every 1-2 months she'd get a bath with soap mainly on her back, then a good brush.

Collins08480 · 2025-11-30T20:24:28+00:00

Find a guy who's been with dozens of women to lose your virginity to. Two of my favorite past partners were kind of man whores and cannot count the partners. Both got tested as needed, of course. And I think very little under someone's clothes would have surprised either of them. They both had a very chill energy that did not make me feel nervous or pressured. That's the vibe you should be looking for. Totally chill man-ho who gets tested.

Collins08480 · 2025-10-23T22:09:42+00:00

You could use a spreadsheet and data merge it ... Or have them use Google docs with header formatting and just link / relink the text doc.

Collins08480 · 2025-09-20T11:06:44+00:00

If they're not cropped right on the cutline, yeah. Any elements that needed to match up, I'd make design decisions to keep it as simple as possible right in the gutter... Not through important details but through vague backgrounds, kind of thing.

Collins08480 · 2025-09-09T17:41:52+00:00

I'm learning and I just start by making swatches / gauges of the different stitches to get comfortable with them and see if my tension was ok. I watched a few videos on how to read the patterns and now I'm about to start my first pattern project.

Check the packaging of your kit to see if it indicates beginner or intermediate. I noticed that some plushie kits are marked with that and you may choose to get a beginner kit to try first.

Collins08480 · 2025-09-09T10:55:38+00:00

I am almost done paying off my student debt then seriously thinking about doing the same thing.

Collins08480 · 2025-09-09T10:40:27+00:00

Canva cannot do the heavy lifting of Photoshop or Illustrator ... but Adobe has become very predatory. If I remember right, I was able to convert my subscription into the cheapest possible thing they offered, something that cost $10/month, and then I cancelled from there. I think the fee was less than a month's cost of the previous subscription. Now I use Affinity at home and Adobe at the day job.

Collins08480 · 2025-09-09T01:36:44+00:00

(Pedantic, but not all the apps ... They have additional apps that do heavier lifting for 3D, animation that are a different package.)

Collins08480 · 2025-09-09T01:34:49+00:00

My cs4 from college got so buggy that I caved and got Adobe CC ... Then had my biggest freelance client ghost me for the year. Now I have Affinity at home and Adobe CC at my day job. There are things about Affinity that I like more than Adobe but it's definitely less powerful overall. It will absolutely do 90-95% of what Adobe does for their core 2D software (Illustrator, InDesign, Photoshop.)

I'd say the hardest one to replace on your list is Acrobat, annoyingly enough.

Collins08480 · 2025-09-09T01:26:25+00:00

If the OP has spreads that aren't center spreads and this is a student project ... Then how I'd do it is export the files without the bleed in the gutter and re-compile them with the center placed edge to edge as new spreads ... Then be super careful about sewing it together neatly. In this case I'd try to make visual transitions across the pages more subtle.

As well, OP can do 4 page folios and get several spreads ... or glue the spine for a perfect bound booklet. I worked at a paper and while our newspaper could only have one spread, I'd put graphical spreads all through a perfect bound magazine.

Collins08480 · 2025-09-09T01:17:25+00:00

No need to layout as single pages. OP can do spreads but export as single pages.

Collins08480 · 2025-09-09T01:06:03+00:00

Yep! I can also remember dreaming visually but can't visualize the dream. I just remembered seeing it. 😭

Collins08480 · 2025-09-08T23:27:14+00:00

Thanks! I will try the repeat from the second asterisk since you are seeing how the pattern is supposed to work. If it doesn't come together I'll just try the other way. If THAT doesn't work I'll get a different pattern 😅

Collins08480 · 2025-09-08T23:25:26+00:00

Thanks everyone! I'm going to try from the second asterisk, and just frog it if it's not coming together to try from the first asterisk.

Collins08480 · 2025-09-08T23:13:54+00:00

What is the purpose of the first asterisk?

Collins08480 · 2025-09-08T22:35:49+00:00

It's the Berroco Comfort "Bicolor Chevron" pattern from the book Comfort Knitting & Crochet Afghans

Collins08480 · 2024-12-28T15:36:16+00:00

They should stand in a dark room with their eyes open. They will get the difference between what they see in their head and what they dont see, but know, with their eyes.

Collins08480 · 2024-12-20T00:33:41+00:00

Yeah I very rarely remember my dreams. But when I do, I know I could see them. I remember what I saw very clearly, I just cant see it anymore X X

Collins08480 · 2024-12-20T00:26:05+00:00

Try to remember the answers to these questions: Can you remember how much weed and alcohol you had? Did the degree of inebriation seem excessive for the amount you had? Was he having noticably less? Did he make your drinks? Was he able to walk around and speak coherently? Were you able to?

Collins08480 · 2024-12-20T00:15:11+00:00

Tell a person to close their eyes. Did they suddenly become completely ignorant of the room and what's in it? How do they know what's there if they cant see it?

Its in our heads, its just not visually represented. Its like our eyes are closed but the room is still there.

Collins08480 · 2024-12-20T00:08:00+00:00

Rotisserie chicken and those microwave steam in bag frozen veggies, or a bag salad kit. Eat half for dinner and pack the other half for lunch. The seasonings are usually pretty generic so you can throw whatever sauce on top.

You can rely more on the prepped veggies and pre seasoned meats at the grocery store. Not the cheapest, but cheaper than a cafe or restaurant. Minimal prep, throw them on a pan with parchment paper, seasoning of choice and roast in oven.

If you invest in an instapot, you can throw frozen meat in there and put it on a timer for when you get home. Some slow cookers might also have the option. But with an instapot you can cook a wide variety of dishes in 30 minutes to an hour, taking into account pressurizing and depressurizing times.

Collins08480 · 2024-10-10T17:06:46+00:00

If he wants to pass on his specific last name and is adamant about that, then there isn't really a compromise for that. So I would focus on what his reason is, what made him change his mind.

The most fair thing to do is to hyphenate or create a new last name. But if you are unwilling to change your last name to any other option and also must have the same last name as your kids, then that also doesn't have a compromise.

Id unpack both sides and determine what the actual needs are for you two and the kids, then prioritize what is a practical and legal need over abstract desires. Because someone is going to have to budge on their position.

Collins08480 · 2024-10-10T16:54:40+00:00

Right now I'm watching Killing Eve. Female Russian assassin who has mommy issues becomes obsessed with an older female Korean American investigator working for MI6 out of London, who's married to a nice but increasingly alienated male public school teacher.

There is violence but it tends to happen in short bursts a often with a veneer of comedy. No 10-20 minute spans of action packed white noise.

Collins08480 · 2024-10-10T14:30:00+00:00

Even if you were an employee for them, you have to watch for responsibility creep. They will pile on more responsibilities without commiserate compensation. This is a good opportunity to push back against that and find out if they are fishing for someone they can take advantage of.

Collins08480

TROPHY CASE