Digital Workshop

Hi,

I just visited the Digital Workshop website and there is a service release for Opus 05:
http://www.digitalworkshop.com/downloads/index.shtml

Is this now officially available? Can this type of important update be posted on this forum in the Announcements sections please.

I'm looking forward to using the new service release.

By the way does this service release fix the New ID problem in the Security tab of Publication Properties, which affects Opus Pro 05?


Joe

The 05 Service 1 release has a PDF file with a list of fixes. The PDF says the release is 5.12. After installing SR1 in OPUS Pro and OPUS XE, both Help sections display the release as 5.13. Things are happening so fast, the documentation can't keep up...

The SR1 release installed without problems. Nice job DW!

The BIG fix that I really appreciated deals with Modified Text. You can have different text during a Mouse Over than in normal mode. This previously worked in Preview, but failed when Published. That has been fixed. It's a fabulous feature that required multiple Objects and coding before. It can be done in seconds now.

For those wondering about upgrading from 04 to 05 -- it is definitely worth the price! There are so many more features you will immediately appreciate.

For example, you can now create multiple Text defaults, and Button defaults. I like to always use a Hand Cursor and a 5 pixel drop Shadow when you Mouse Over a Button. That's now one of several Buttons I can select from my Tool Bar. I have created different Text defaults on the Tool Bar also. One is for titles. It uses larger, bold, font with a Shadow. Another Text selection has a Border with italics. These things really speed-up your production.

For those who haven't tried this feature, just create an initial Text or Button Object, then modifiy it the way you want: colors, font, font size, shadow, the works. Then drag your modified Object into any Gallery. Once it's there, do a RIGHT mouse click on it, and select the option to add it as another Button Default for example. Now when you go to the Tool Bar, you'll see a down arrow next to Buttons. When you click it, you'll see the original default you started with, and your first custom default creation. You can have several defaults.

We did a sort of "soft launch" - put it up and then do the announcement. We just haven't done the announcement yet!...


Yes, it does.

Hi Fred,

I'm very pleased too about the text properties in different states of objects. A great job DW!!
Right on time for a big project I'm finishing.

I already saw how you can create defaults for buttons, frames, multiframes, mouse overs, but I didn't find them for Text defaults.

Do I mis something?

Oscar -

Anything on the new Tool bar which has a "down" arrow has the ability to give you multiple defaults.

Layering -
This is another new feature in the Editor (not to be confused with, what is now called "Ordering"). The Order Objects appear in the Organizer determines "what's on top of what." It used to be called Layers.

In 5.13's Editor, in the lower left corner, you have the ability to create Layers. When you have complex Pages with lots of Objects, this is fabulous. By default, everything is in one Layer. If you create a Layer, you'll see "Layer 1" and "Layer 2" appear in the Organizer, plus similar names in the small Layer window. You can drag Objects in the Organizer to the Layer you want, then when doing editing, you can click the correct Layer, and you only can access THOSE Objects. Once you use it, you'll not want to work without it. Great job DW!

Annimated Text -
You already know Transitions for making Objects Show and Hide. With 5.13 there's a new Text Properties Tab called "Animation." You have a long list of ways to make text magically appear on Show. My current favorites are Teletype and Fountain. You can imagine letter-by-letter Teletype. Fountain is awesome. The text in your Text Object starts from the bottom center of the Page, and it "sprays" letters in random order into their correct positions (the way you originally positioned them). There's nothing in PowerPoint, or any previous version of Illuminatus/OPUS that comes close to these Animation effects. You'll LOVE them.

Fred,

Thanks for the explanation... very useful, as ever!

I'm working near-on full time with Opus at the moment on a number of projects, but never make enough time to learn the new stuff... Quickbuild was the last thing I took on board, and fixed all my text with that today... I think the "text defaults" method would be one or two mouse-clicks less!

Linda

Linda --

Good to hear from you!!! I'm really excited about the mountain of new features in 05.13. It's awesome what they've done. It was good before, but now, it's even better. I keep thinking of new features to mention. From your earlier post, I learned that you can have OPUS name Objects using QuickBuild. What a quick and easy way to have Objects make logical sense.

For those who missed how to do this: Select an Object, Text for example. Right click and from the menu which appears, select QuickBuild. At the bottom of that window, you will see the option to "Rename from Contents" the Object using it's own information. OPUS will take the first few characters/words and that will be the Object's new name (versus "Text 1018"). What a treat!

I just discovered something else "new." Go to Tools, Options, Defaults. Now YOU can set the Shadow Width Default! Thank you. Thank you. Thank you. I hardly EVER used a width of "10" pixels. I've changed mine to 5.

All these things really improve your speed and productivity with OPUS. I need to "play" with the DVD capability which is now part of OPUS. It sounds like a dream come true!

What "favorite" new features are others finding?

Hello Fred,

Thanks for the explanation.
I overlooked the animation tab in the text properties.
I built more then 10 cd-rom's always using Opus. I started with Illuminatus 3 a long time ago.
And DW still suprises me with great new features (as the one you described about the text animation).

Kind regards,

Oscar Nijst
ON Education & Consultancy
Deventer, The Netherlands
OPUS XE 5.13
Windows XP Pro SP2, 2.07 GHz Centrino Mobile, 1GB RAM, 80GB HD, 200GB HD Firewire, DVD-RW (+/-), DVD

Hi Fred,

You have already pointed out how much of a time-saver the flyout Custom Default Objects can be, but another one of the new features I like in Opus Pro 05 is the new Scale Selection tool.

Try this.. e.g. button or an image.

- Have the object the normal size on the page.
- Bring up the Object's Properties tab. (CTRL-R shortcut)
- Select the "Mouse Over" Appearance State, click [OK]
- Have the Scale Selection tool active. (depressed on the toolbar)
- Now resize the object (e.g. slightly larger) on the page.
- Unclick the Scale Selection tool, and PREVIEW the page.
- Move the mouse over the object....

This is a very quick way of animating an object, without any actions! Reading the above may seem like a step-by-step process, but when it comes to actually doing it, the method is very quick. Plus you can see visually dynamically the new size, rather than the old way of going into the Effects Tab and entering in the parameters, then checking to see if the new scale size looks right or not?

The Scale Selection tool is a neat feature, and can come in useful for mouse-over on buttons, plus once you have finished setting the object, it can be used as a Custom Default object on the toolbar flyout, ready for repeated use. Plus, the new Scale Selection can be done on multiple objects all at once!