iPad Checkout Tips and Reminders

Posted on by adamsky

For students checking out iPads here are a few tips and reminders to help you better access resources, transfer materials between devices, and ensure your personal data is secure when using the CommLab iPads.

  1. Make sure you connect to Simmons Secure prior to using your Simmons login information.
  2. You are allowed log into your personal Apple ID when borrowing an iPad.
  3. You can request specific software that its not normally accessible on the iPad, however request must be made in advance.
  4. The easiest way to share files is through the use of the Google Drive app or to Airdrop files with other Apple Devices.
    • You CANNOT Airdrop to CommLab computers.
  5. Inform a CommLab Agent upon returning the iPad if you have logged into applications with personal information (Apple ID, Simmons Secure network, etc.). This way we can ensure we erase any personal data prior to lending it to another student.

Luster Photo Paper Resources

Posted on by adamsky

For students in digital photography, below is a list of links for luster photo paper options are various price points

Luster Paper (8.5 x 11, A4, or 13 x 19)

Good: Premier Imaging Luster 8.5 x 11 (50 sheets $12-16 +shipping)

Places to order from:

  • Adorama (offers a student account which can have discounts) 
  • B&H

*Only available via online order

Better: Canon Pro Luster 8.5 x 11 (50 Sheets ~$19-25)

Places to order from:

*Recommended – Best: Epson Ultra Premium Luster (50 sheets 8.5 x 11 $30-50)

Places to order from:

Alternative: Inkpress Luster 8.5 x 11 ($30-35)

Places to order from:

Blick (Can pick up in-person)

Equipment Quick Start Guides

Posted on by adamsky

For students looking for a quick reminder on how to set up and use a piece of equipment, the quick start guides are a great resource to utilize.

You can view all the available quick start guides here.

There are tutorials for:

  • Canon’s HF G10 and G20 cameras
  • JVC 4K video cameras
  • Blue Snowball microphones
  • Blue Yeti microphones
  • Meteor microphones
  • Nikon D3400 cameras
  • Tascams

Turning Off Double-Sided Printing and Printing from the Bypass Tray

Posted on by adamsky

Print settings have changed slightly since the installation of the new computers. The instructions below will walk you through how to turn off double-sided printing and how to change setting to print from the bypass tray.

Turning Off Double-Sided Printing

To turn off double-sided printing go to the Copies box, located at the top of the print screen.

On the right side of the Double-sided option click on the symbol with two arrowheads.

A drop down menu will appear. Select Off.

Printing from the Bypass Tray

To print from the bypass tray expand the Printer Options menu item. Go to Paper Feed and click the information icon on the right hand side. A pop up box should appear.

Click on the drop down menu and select Bypass Tray and select OK. Now when you go to print the document the printer will pull paper from the bypass tray.

How to Use Font Explorer X Pro

Posted on by Emily Zieg

FontExplorer X Pro is a software for finding and managing fonts, available on all lab computers. It works similarly to Adobe Fonts in that you can find and activate new fonts from a server.

Activating fonts from the server

To add a font from the FontExplorer server, click on the SERVERS dropdown menu, select VMFONTEXPL, then Fonts. This will show a list of all the fonts available on the server.

If you want to activate a specific font, start typing its name into the search bar. When you see the font you want, click on the checkbox next to its name to activate it. You can activate select styles from the font (e.g. italic, bold) by clicking the dropdown arrow next to the font’s name. Click on a style to preview it.

Adding downloaded fonts

You can also add fonts that you downloaded from other sources. Unzip the file that you downloaded and open the folder. There should be a list of font files inside.

Select all of the ones you want to add to FontExplorer, then drag them onto the FontExplorer window until a green plus sign appears. This will add the fonts to Font Explorer so you can access them from InDesign or other software.

Troubleshooting

FontExplorer must be open and running in order for you to access your fonts. Don’t quit FontExplorer until you are ready to log off.

If you accidentally open another font management software, such as FontBook, it will conflict with FontExplorer and you will get this message. Click Proceed to quit FontBook and continue using your FontExplorer fonts.

How to Sign In to Creative Cloud Express (Adobe Spark)

Posted on by Emily Zieg

Creative Cloud Express (formerly known as Adobe Spark) is Adobe’s web-based platform for content creation. You can use it to create websites, presentations, and more. Here’s how to log in with your Simmons account to use this service.

  1. Go to https://www.adobe.com/express/ and click the sign in button on the top right.

2. In the box that for your email address, type simmons.edu only (NOT your Simmons email address) and hit Continue. This will redirect you to the Simmons SSO page.

3. Enter your Simmons account info. Once you log in, you will be redirected back to Adobe.

If you are already logged into adobe.com, you can access Express and other web-based services from the apps menu.

Multitrack Recording on Rødecaster

Posted on by Emily Zieg

Before you can make a multitrack recording in the podcast rooms, you will need to set up tracks for each of the Rødecaster’s inputs. You can do this easily by downloading our template with preset tracks:

Rodecaster-Multitrack-Template.sesx_Download

Unzip the file and open it in Audition. Then go to File > Save As to save your new project. Make sure to save it in the same place as any .wav recordings to make sure you do not lose them!

Note

If you are recording by yourself using only the PodMic, you do not need to use multitrack recording. Instead, simply set your input and output to Rodecaster Pro Stereo under Adobe Audition > Preferences > Audio Hardware and record your audio to a .wav file.

How to Print From InDesign

Posted on by Emily Zieg

InDesign gives you many options to control how your document prints, so you will need to pay attention to settings such as printer selection, paper size and feed, color profile, and page selection to make sure you get the results you want.

The Print Dialog

Open the print dialog box by going to File > Print. This is the main dialog for printing in InDesign and contains the following options:

  • Printer: Determines what printer the document will go to.
  • Page Range: Selects which pages will be printed. You can enter a range (e.g. 1-3), a list (e.g. 1, 2, 3), or a combination of the two (e.g. 1-3, 5).
  • Sequence: Determines whether pages will be printed individually (Pages) or as part of a spread (Spreads)
  • Printer…: Opens the printer settings dialog, which lets you select paper feed.

Printer Settings

The printer settings dialog lets you choose which paper tray the document will print from. If you are using the Epson printer in the lab, select Bypass Tray to load your own paper.

Setup

The Setup tab in the main print dialog lets you choose the paper size, position of the document on the page, and any tiling options you want.

  • Paper Size: Selects a paper size from a list of presets.
  • Page Position: Positions the document on the sheet with left/right align and centering.
  • Tile: Allows a large document to be printed over multiple smaller sheets of paper.

Marks and Bleed

This tab in the main print dialog allows you to print extra information or guide marks on your document.

  • Crop Marks: Prints lines on the outside of your document to show where to trim it. You can change the distance using the Offset.
  • Bleed Marks: Shows where the edge of the document bleed is.