TechNote (Archived)

Quick Tips for FreeHand

Here are some fast and friendly tips for FreeHand users, courtesy of Macromedia Technical Support. To get these daily, check out our Quick Access Bar.

In FreeHand 8 and 9, the clip art on the CD can be viewed with the Clip Art viewer located in the FreeHand folder.
To create parallel lines for an irregular open path, use the Path Operation Xtra "Expand Stroke" and cut the ends of the line.
To make quick web animations, use FreeHand 8+s "Release to Layers" and export as a Flash (.swf) file.
Printer resolution (aka "Target printer Resolution") affects the number of steps used in the Postscript code printing graduated and radial fills.
Blends do not work on groups, composite paths, bitmap images or paths with Tiled fills.
Blend paths must have the same stroke type and fill type.
Use a clipping path, also known as a paste inside, to crop or hide part of another object.
Use the Graphic Hose Xtra in FreeHand 8+ to spray, or scatter, stored objects in your document.
Use the Freeform tool in FreeHand 8+ to quickly reshape paths without manipulating the individual points of an object.
To quickly edit an existing text or object style, hold the Option key (Mac)or Alt key (Win) and single click the style.
To quickly open text in the Text Editor, hold the Option key (Mac) or the Alt key (Win) and double click the text with the arrow tool.
When using the Trapping tool in FreeHand turn on "Display overprinting objects" in preferences to see the traps on screen.
In FreeHand 8+ it is possible to save views by going to View>Custom>New.
Turn on "Remember location of zipped panels" in preferences before zipping the panels.
Black text in FreeHand is set to overprint by default.
FreeHand 7+ supports drag and drop between FreeHand files.
Use the shadow tool in FreeHand 8+ to apply shadows to vector objects.
Styles can be made and applied to objects as well as text.
Use the mirror tool in FreeHand 8+ to create a variety of symmetrical patterns from just a few objects.
To fully utilize the Color Management system in FreeHand 7+ always use the correct monitor and printer profiles.
When customizing your toolbars in FreeHand 8+, make a copy of the new toolbars file for easy replacement.
Use the "Find and Replace Graphic " feature in FreeHand 7+ to find and replace or delete hidden colors.
Use the Emboss Xtra in FreeHand 8+ to simulate objects that are raised or impressed, creating a three-dimensional effect.
Fireworks can open existing FreeHand 7+ files and list options for a simple conversion.
When importing a duotone into FreeHand, make sure the duotone contains the transfer functions.
Nested objects are objects in groups within larger groups.
Use styles to maintain visual consistency and to simplify formatting of text.
GIFs and JPEGs are better suited for onscreen presentations, while TIFFs and EPSs are preferable for printing.
If you import a graphic into FreeHand and it appears bitmaped on screen, go to File > Preferences > Redraw and check "High-resolution image display".
To work more efficiently and avoid design inconsistencies, create templates for documents that share common design elements and production settings.
To make an object into a guide, select the object and click on the word Guide in the layers panel.
To constrain a shape and draw it from the center using the Rectangle, Ellipse, Polygon or Line tool, hold down Shift-Option (Mac) or Shift-Alt (Win) while drawing with the tool.