Loaded for Bear — the entire Creative Suite :-)

Fujifilm XF 18-55mm f/2.8-4 OIS

12/02/2007 06:44:51 AM · #1

My neighbors got me involved in another big book project, and bought the entire Adobe Creative Suite 3 for me to install.

So now I have PS CS3, InDesign, Illustrator, etc. Everything's working fine EXCEPT:

It is refusing to install Acrobat 8 Professional: it just says "installation failed". Anyone have any idea why this is happening?

On a more general note, now that I have CS3, where I used to use CS2, what new toys should I be looking at and playing with? I already have seen that the Camera Raw interface is now much more complex and sophisticated, and it works faster. I have seen that Bridge loads faster and works better. I am also actually seeing thumbnails in real time (they took forever to generate in CS2). I have copied my actions and filters over from CS2 to CS3, so that's good to go.

What next?

R.

docpjv

Fujifilm X-E1

12/02/2007 07:32:51 AM · #2

Bear, the CS3 is so new it is wonderful to explore it to the full.

I recommend you get Photoshop CS3 for Nature Photographers from Amazon, authored by Anon and Grey. The book, however that worked best for me is Stepen Romaniello's Photoshop CS3 Channels and Masks.... whatta book!

Toy for now... grab the Quick Selection Tool and feel the magic. Just remember to also check out the new new feathering tool!

I was surprised by Camera Raw's ability to create excellent B&W images....

Man_Called_Horse

Canon EOS-300D Rebel

12/02/2007 08:26:26 AM · #3

You have some nice friends.

I think you should start thinking in terms of "Bear Publications LLC" my friend.

I can not answer your A8 Pro question.

Olympus 12-40mm f/2.8 Pro

12/02/2007 08:35:06 AM · #4

Originally posted by Man_Called_Horse:

You have some nice friends.

I think you should start thinking in terms of "Bear Publications LLC" my friend.

I can not answer your A8 Pro question.

Well, I'm glad they did it and it is "nice", yes, but it's a business proposition. We have Clock & Rose Press, and I design the books for it. I used to run the in-house design shop for a local printer in San Diego, so I have some experience with these tools, though I have always used CorelDraw, not Illustrator.

Book layout I have been doing in Pagemaker 7, so now I have to migrate to InDesign for that, so there will be a learning curve. I still have the CorelDraw, so I still have access to their extensive clipart library, and I can keep using it until I am up to speed with Illustrator.

But I need InDesign because Pagemaker 7 is not handling style sheets from the latest Word very well, and someone else is editing this book in Word, using style sheets I provided.

R.

Ann

Olympus OM-D E-M1

12/02/2007 05:32:24 PM · #5

Wow! I wouldn't know what to do with it all...

On CS3, the only things I've found that I actually use are the quick selection tool, refine edge, and smart objects. Smart objects aren't exactly new in CS3, but they're more functional than they were. There's also a pretty slick black and white adjustment layer.

12/02/2007 05:44:30 PM · #6

Originally posted by annpatt:

I just played with the "quick selection" wand, it's amazing. The B/W adjustment layer was the one thing I knew I wanted for sure, it's terrific :-) Perfect for basic editing, 'cuz you can fade it in and out.

I don't know ANYTHING about "smart objects"... What are those? How do you use 'em? And do they love you back? Or am i thinking of smart-alecks? Jejejeâ�¢

R.

12/02/2007 05:49:37 PM · #7

Think of Smart objects as turning something from destructive to non-destructive. For example, if you run a blur on a layer and turn it into a smart layer you can adjust the blur at any point in the workflow much like how you can adjust a drop shadow at any point in the workflow in CS2 or lower. Basically, it makes the effect vector rather than raster (similar to what you can do in illustrator).

Message edited by author 2007-12-02 17:51:35.

Nikon AF-S DX Zoom Nikkor 18-55mm f/3.5-5.6 ED

12/02/2007 05:55:11 PM · #8

As for your install problem, I had something similar happen to me but it was Dreamweaver not Acrobat. I believe I uninstalled my old Dreamweaver and then reinstalled and that fixed the problem.

Apple iPhone 5

12/02/2007 05:57:55 PM · #9

Originally posted by Bear_Music:

I don't know ANYTHING about "smart objects"... What are those? How do you use 'em? And do they love you back? Or am i thinking of smart-alecks? Jejejeâ�¢

Right-click 'Smart Objects' and select 'Insert Skiff' :)

12/02/2007 06:09:26 PM · #10

Originally posted by yanko:

As for your install problem, I had something similar happen to me but it was Dreamweaver not Acrobat. I believe I uninstalled my old Dreamweaver and then reinstalled and that fixed the problem.

So you're suggesting I uninstall Acrobat 6.0 even though Acrobat 8 says it will upgrade existing versions in the install process? The problem is, it scares me because I don't have the serial numbers for that stuff to hand, it was all upgrade-to-upgrade and I ran into a world of trouble even getting 6 to install and run.

And I absolutely NEED a working Acrobat available full-time, I use it many times a week.

Reassure me....

R.

geoffb

12/02/2007 06:20:23 PM · #11

Originally posted by yanko:

Just make sure you turn it into a smart object first (i.e. not after running the blur filter).

12/02/2007 06:27:58 PM · #12

Originally posted by Bear_Music:

Originally posted by yanko:
As for your install problem, I had something similar happen to me but it was Dreamweaver not Acrobat. I believe I uninstalled my old Dreamweaver and then reinstalled and that fixed the problem.

So you're suggesting I uninstall Acrobat 6.0 even though Acrobat 8 says it will upgrade existing versions in the install process? The problem is, it scares me because I don't have the serial numbers for that stuff to hand, it was all upgrade-to-upgrade and I ran into a world of trouble even getting 6 to install and run.

And I absolutely NEED a working Acrobat available full-time, I use it many times a week.

Reassure me....

R.

You did a clean install of the other programs the suite comes with right? I think you said you didn't have Illustrator before. If so did that install fine? I think you should be fine but maybe I should add the disclaimer that you should contact Adobe first. I hate for a bear to come after me afterwards. :)

Message edited by author 2007-12-02 18:29:42.

12/02/2007 06:30:29 PM · #13

Originally posted by geoffb:

Originally posted by yanko:
Think of Smart objects as turning something from destructive to non-destructive. For example, if you run a blur on a layer and turn it into a smart layer you can adjust the blur at any point in the workflow much like how you can adjust a drop shadow at any point in the workflow in CS2 or lower.

Just make sure you turn it into a smart object first (i.e. not after running the blur filter).

Correct. I wasn't too clear.

Canon EF 24-70mm f/2.8L USM

12/02/2007 06:34:10 PM · #14

Is this the same problem you are having?

Prob with CS3 install of Acrobat 8

Ken

Canon EOS-7D

12/02/2007 06:44:58 PM · #15

Check for updates for CS3 also. I don't know if it was coincidental or not, but when I installed the demo of Lightroom my Canon raw in CS3 got updated with even more goodies. I may have updated CS3 around the same time but I just don't remember.

Ann

Olympus OM-D E-M1

Olympus 12-40mm f/2.8 Pro

12/02/2007 07:02:19 PM · #16

This is the video that made me like smart objects.

Olympus 14-45mm f/3.5-5.6 Zuiko Digital ED

12/02/2007 07:03:05 PM · #17

Originally posted by yanko:

Is this the same problem you are having?

Prob with CS3 install of Acrobat 8

Yeah they are singing my song there :-( Doesn't look very good, that's all WAY over my head...

R.

Jimbo_for_life

Olympus E-500 EVOLT

12/02/2007 07:40:12 PM · #18

isnt acrobat 8 free that you could download it and install it from a different location?

Rooster

Canon EOS-400D Rebel XTi

Sigma 28-105mm f/2.8-4.0 Aspherical for Canon

12/02/2007 08:43:25 PM · #19

Bear,

there are some install fi;es you have to delete in order to dload 8. I really hate the way they did this and I should expect problems with it in the future.

I forget exactly which files but if you google it you should get a hit for an adobe.com page with the details.

good luck!