with Marlene Boney  
  [ HOME ]
 
 
100+ ACTIVstudio MAC Tips
  1. ACTIVstudo can display the following type of image:  BMP, DIP, GIF< JPE, JPG, PCX, PNG, RLE, TGA, TIFG and WMF.  Image files of this type can be added to the Resource Library using Finder.
  2. ACTIVstudio v2 automatically updates any ACTIVstudio v1 flipcharts when they are opened.  The updated flipchart will normally load and save far quicker.
  3. You can change the available colors on your palette by Control+clicking on the color you wish to change.
  4. Control+clicking on some tools brings up their help information and preferences.
  5. You can add a date-time stamp to your flipchart pages by using the tool or turning it on permanently in ACTIVstudio Preferences.
  6. A customizable toolbox will appear on a Control+click if you turn on the Quick Select toolbox in ACTIVstudio Preferences.
  7. Look out for the guidelines when using the Reveal Tool.  These mean that the page is fully covered.
  8. When saving your resources use keywords to be able to search for related items in future flipcharts.
  9. Change the color of your line or shape by choosing a color on the toolbox palette while the object is selected.
  10. The Handwriting Tool can recognize different languages; change the default in the ACTIVstudio Preferences.
  11. If you want to disable the actions on your flipchart do a Control+click and deselect ‘Enable Actions’ from the menu.  It’s easy to turn actions on and off by dong this.
  12. If you wan to print off everything on your screen use the Quick Print tool.
  13. Some thumbnails in the Resource Library contain icons in the bottom right hand corner to help you identify which type of resource it is.
  14. Create a Quick Link to external files, programs or websites by creating a Link Object.  Control+click on the page and select ‘Insert Link Object’ from the menu.
  15. Click on the question mark on a window title bar to get help about that window.
  16. Control+click on the Pen Tool to display a toolbox containing a selection of pre-defined annotations.
  17. Double click on an object’s thumbnail in the Resource Library to open it in a separate window, called the ‘Link Viewer.’
  18. Change your page transition animation effect from Page Turn Effects section of the ACTIVstudio Preferences.
  19. Your Clean Tool will be joyfully vacuum cleaning objects or page content into the Trash with Genie effect if you select Clean with Effect option in Flipchart section of ACTIVstudio Preferences.
  20. ACTIVstudio has a new Shadow demonstration effect allowing you to turn on all objects casting a shadow with a length depending on their layer in the stack.  You can turn It on or off from Flipchart Objects section of ACTIVstudio Preferences.
  21. The Paste menu is intuitive and only allows you to select the object types that have been cut or copied.
  22. Visit the Tool Store to add and remove tool buttons in your Toolboxes, Shortcut Bar and Flipchart Tool strip.
  23. Save the Toolbox Layout when you have added or removed tool buttons.  Click on Menu>Toolbox>Customize>Toolbox Layout>Save As:  Enter a filename and click Save.
  24. Control+click in the corners of your flipchart to move the Flipchart Tool strip further down or to the opposite side of the page.
  25. Use the Flipchart Recorder to capture your actions on the flipchart page and play them back to your audience.
  26. Want to annotate in exactly the same color as your background?  Use the Color Picker to ‘pick’ the color from the background and add it to your color palette.
  27. Control how your object moves on the page by changing the restrictor’s settings in the object’s Properties.
  28. Don’t forget that the buttons on your toolboxes are different when you are in Design or Preset mode-even more flexibility.
  29. Added an action object and can’t see it?  Don’t worry, it is there.  Just Control+click and enable ‘Show Action Objects’.
  30. If you like to use the same tools every tine you open ACTIVstudio then why not enable ‘Display Windows from previous session’ in your ACTIVstudio Preferences.  Then if the tool is open when you close down it will open up again for you next time.
  31. You may Lock large images on the Bottom Layer to prevent then being moved
  32. The Flipchart Trash is on each flipchart by default.  However, you can turn it off in the ACTIVstudio Preferences.
  33. In ACTIVstudio Preferences, select ‘Objects stay on page’.  Then if you drag two or more objects totally off the edge of the flipchart page, they will automatically snap back and be aligned vertically.
  34. Control+click on an object thumbnail in the Library allows you to delete it from the Library.
  35. The speed at which the Dice roll can be altered in the ACTIVstudio Preferences.
  36. If you draw a single freehand scribble where the start and end points intersect, you can fill the resulting enclosed shape with the Fill Tool.
  37. You can copy objects from one page to another by dragging them onto the appropriate page thumbnail in the Page Selector.
  38. You can drag and drop images from the Finder onto the flipchart.
  39. ACTIVstudio has 3 layers:  Top, Middle and Bottom.  Background and grids go on the Bottom layer.  Pens, highlighters and erasers go on the Top layer.  Most other objects are added to the Middle layer.
  40. Create very effective ‘ghosts’ by altering an object’s translucency value.
  41. You can drag groups of shapes into the Shape Library to form re-usable shape combinations.
  42. Locking an object allows you to select and move objects beneath it.  So now it’[s easy to pull a rabbit from a hat.
  43. Adding the same image object many times will not significantly increase the size of your flipchart.
  44. You can create new backgrounds by dragging single images into the Background folder of the Resource Library.
  45. If you need the same object at the same position on all pages, first position it on page 1, then drag it onto all other page thumbnails in the Page Selector.
  46. You can hide text objects by making the words the same color as the flipchart page.  Then use the Fill Tool to magically make them re-appear.
  47. You can hide text objects by making the words the same color as the flipchart page. Then use the Fill Tool to magically make them re-appear.
  48. To create a simple clock, add a black border circle shape, set it to be a container, add 12 text objects on top, group the whole lot together, then add two arrow lines for the hands.
  49. You can drag groups of lines into the Line Library to form re-usable line combinations.
  50. Create shadows or silhouettes of image objects by filling all colors in the image with black.
  51. The floating keyboard can be switched to a child keyboard by Control+clicking on it.
  52. Many images in the Resource Library have been pre-defined to appear on the bottom layer of the flipchart (e.g. chess board)
  53. All objects you drag into the Resource Library are saved as a proprietary ACTIVstudio file with the extension .AS2
  54. The drawing Erasers add ‘hidden, see through’ objects that can be moved sized and duplicated.
  55. Silhouetted image objects can be filled with the Fill Tool to re-display the image.
  56. Text objects snap the bottom of the letters to the grid allowing for easy horizontal alignment of words.
  57. The Protractor can be made bigger or smaller by double clicking on it and using the Increase and Decrease buttons.
  58. When drawing with the Point-to-Point Tool, each point will snap to any grid on the page (If Grid Snap is enabled).
  59. The Spotlight Tool remains on when turning flipchart pages.
  60. You can drag a mixture of shape and text objects into the Shape Library to form descriptive shape resources.
  61. Place an image of a body directly over an image of a skeleton, then use the translucency slider on the body to gradually ‘fade-in’ the skeleton.
  62. Find out about Jack Pearce, aged 11 and his contribution in the flipchart Jack.Flp.
  63. The + and – buttons on the Object Edit Toolbox alter an objects size without distorting its aspect ratio.
  64. You can duplicate a page using Copy/Paste on the Object Edit Toolbox or use the Page Organizer.
  65. Use the ‘Objects to Front’ setting to allow objects to be placed in front of other objects when you move them.
  66. The Calculator can be switched to a child Calculator by Control+clicking on it.
  67. If you mirror an object about the SY Origin Point, you can make ‘mirror image’ activities.
  68. If you set the Page Zoom to 50%you can drag objects to the border area, Useful when you are preparing a flipchart.
  69. The Reveal Tool can be used in 4 directions.
  70. The number of undo stages in the Undo Tool is effectively unlimited during a single session.
  71. You can access the Pen Modifier Toolbox by Control+clicking on the Pen or Highlighter tools.
  72. You can draw enclosed line shapes with the Point-to Point tool (on the Pen Modifier Toolbox)
  73. Each object in the Resource Library is a single file, which can be copied or emailed to other users.
  74. The Fill Tool can fill shape borders.
  75. ACTIVstudio can load flipcharts created in ACTIVprimary (and vice versa).
  76. Annotations, Lines, Shapes, Text and Images can all be dragged into the Resource Library to create new resources and Resource Themes.
  77. You can switch the Flipchart Toolstrip to the other side of the flipchart by Control+clicking anywhere near either edge of the flipchart.
  78. If the program crashes, ACTIVstudio will recover your work the next time you run it.
  79. Every action you perform may be undone.
  80. Setting the Page Scale to ‘Best Fit’ allows flipcharts of any size to be scaled so that the whole page is visible without scroll bars.
  81. You can use the Page Organizer to copy pages from one flip chart to another.
  82. There is no limit to the number of pages allowed in a flipchart.
  83. Objects that are placed on the Top layer can be erased with the Eraser Tool.
  84. If you use the Reveal Tool to partially reveal a page, most ACTIVstudio tools can be used on the revealed area.
  85. The number arrows in the Resource Library have special snap points to allow for intuitive alignment.
  86. Most objects will rotate about their center point.
  87. Use the Page Reset feature to put all the objects on a page back to their initial starting places.  This only works on flipcharts that have been saved.
  88. Use the Fill Tool with images from the Coloring in Folder (in the Resource Library) to do intelligent fill activities.
  89. If you set a grid to Snap, then turn on the Grid Mask, the grid will not be visible, but objects will still snap to it,
  90. When an image object is set to be a container, any transparent areas of the image can still contain other objects.
  91. The Ruler can be made longer or shorter by double clicking on it and using the Increase and Decrease buttons.
  92. Where a text object contains a single style of text, the Fill Tool will fill the text on a line-by-line basis.
  93. If you use the Fill Tool to fill an enclosed freehand or Point-to-Point line, it will be converted to a Shape object having no outline.
  94. Pie segment shapes drawn with the protractor automatically have their rotate and snap points set to be at circle center point.
  95. You can use the arrow keys to move objects left/right/up/down by one pixel.  Holding the Ctrl key and pressing the arrow increases the movement to 10 pixels.
  96. ACTIVstudio V2 can process ACTIVstudio V1 flipchart hyperlinks.
  97. If you load a flipchart that is much taller than it is wide, set the Page Scale to ‘Width Fit’ so you only need to scroll the flipchart vertically.
  98. Control+click on the adult Calculator and set ‘Add calculation to flipchart page’ to send the Calculator button presses to the application immediately behind it.
  99. To prevent scribble from being erased, place them on the Middle or Bottom layers.
  100. 100.To prevent hiding objects, Background Images are added to the Bottom layer
  101. 101.When you drag objects into the Resource Library, they remember their Properties.
  102. More objects can be added to an object group, by first selecting the group and theobjects, then re-grouping then by clicking the ‘Group’ button on the Propertie form.
  103. An image object never forgets its original colors, no matter how much you change it with the Fill Tool.
  104. You can create new Resource Folders in the Resource Folder window.
  105. The + and – buttons on the Object Edit Toolbox alter an object’s size by plus orminus 10% each time.
  106. The default page settings for new pages can be changed in the ACTIVstudio Preferences.
  107. An object can be made totally invisible by setting its translucency value to 255. While invisible any properties and actions on the object will continue as normal.
  108. The Sound Controller allows two sounds to play together such as someone talking over a music track.
  109. To select more than one object and drag them into the Resource Library, they remain separate objects when you drag them back onto the page from the Library.