class="align-right" src="http://main.makeuseoflimited.netdna-cdn.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/11/image45.png" alt="online photo editor" />Gone are the days when you needed something like Photoshop or href="http://www.makeuseof.com/tag/gimp-paint-studio-great-addition-gimp-digital-artists-playground/">GIMP to make basic photo edits. Today, there are several interesting free Web-based choices. These won’t rival Photoshop or GIMP for professional users, but if you’re just a regular Joe trying to make some subtle edits to a photo, they may actually be a better fit than Photoshop. Let’s look at two of the most popular ones and try to see which online photo editor is better.

Photoshop Express

The Photoshop brand needs no introduction, and Express is the Web-based version. It sits on the absolutely killer domain href="http://photoshop.com">Photoshop.com, but is it really that good?

To test it, I’ve uploaded an unedited base photo (I will be using the same one with Picnik as well). The editing interface looks like this:

class="aligncenter" src="http://main.makeuseoflimited.netdna-cdn.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/11/image46.png" alt="online photo editor" width="580" height="291" border="0" />

Kind of tiny in the screenshot, but you get the layout. Your photo sits at the center, and there’s a large vertical toolbar along the left side of the screen, with some extra buttons sprinkled around the frame. Let’s look at the toolbar first:

class="aligncenter" src="http://main.makeuseoflimited.netdna-cdn.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/11/image47.png" alt="free photo editor" width="226" height="502" border="0" />

So the toolbar has two tabs, “Edit” and “Decorate“. All of the functions are clearly labeled, and there are no cryptic icon-only buttons. So in terms of learning curve, it’s very easy to get started.

Now let’s try out some of the functions. For example, let’s play with the white balance:

class="aligncenter" src="http://main.makeuseoflimited.netdna-cdn.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/11/image48.png" alt="free photo editor" width="567" height="170" border="0" />

As you can see, once you pick a tool, you get several thumbnails showing previews of the tool’s different settings. The tooltips are also very helpful – just hover over one of the settings, and you can instantly see what it’s for. Since my photo was taken in sunlit settings, I went with this white balance option.

Not all tools have tooltips, though. The Auto Correct option, for example, merely shows thumbnails. As you hover over a thumbnail, the main image is instantly updated with the effect, so you don’t have to squint and imagine what it would look like.

Photoshop Express also lets you apply some basic filters to the entire image:

class="aligncenter" src="http://main.makeuseoflimited.netdna-cdn.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/11/image49.png" alt="free photo editor" width="175" height="281" border="0" />

So it seems to get all the basic editing tools right; now let’s have a look at some of the extras filed under the Decorate tab.

class="aligncenter" src="http://main.makeuseoflimited.netdna-cdn.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/11/image50.png" alt="photo editor" width="220" height="430" border="0" />

Specifically, let’s try picking a nice frame for my horse photo:

class="aligncenter" src="http://main.makeuseoflimited.netdna-cdn.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/11/image51.png" alt="image" width="376" height="439" border="0" />

This is what happens when you click the Frames button. My first disappointment with Photoshop Express; these frames seem to be aimed at kids, rather than people looking for a basic photo editor. And when you apply one of them, it looks pretty bad, too.

class="aligncenter" src="http://main.makeuseoflimited.netdna-cdn.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/11/image52.png" alt="photo editor" width="446" height="670" border="0" />

Poor horsey… Let’s undo that frame. The other decorations seem to be equally silly; these are basically just stamps you can slap on your photo. For example, here’s the Miscellaneous category:

class="aligncenter" src="http://main.makeuseoflimited.netdna-cdn.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/11/image53.png" alt="image" width="344" height="429" border="0" />

Had this been a photo of a unicorn, I might have gone with the rainbow and hearts. Since this is a horse, we’ll be moving on.

Bottom Line For Photoshop Express

Photoshop Express is a solid free offering. I would keep away from the Decorate tab, but the editing tools are solid, useful, and well-crafted. The instant previews are impressive and easy to use.

Picnik

Now let’s take our horse over to the competitor, href="http://www.picnik.com/">Picnik. Again, let’s start with an overview of the interface:

class="aligncenter" src="http://main.makeuseoflimited.netdna-cdn.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/11/image54.png" alt="photo editor" width="580" height="318" border="0" />

Once more, we see a vertical toolbar with labeled buttons, but Picnik has a bit more going on at the top of the screen:

class="aligncenter" src="http://main.makeuseoflimited.netdna-cdn.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/11/image55.png" alt="image" width="443" height="251" border="0" />

There are more tabs along the top of the screen. The Auto-Fix functionality gets center-stage here, with a huge button sprinkled with some stars for good measure. In Photoshop Express, this is called “Auto-correct” and gets a simple button alongside the rest. They obviously really want me to use it, so I’ll just go ahead and click. Unlike Photoshop Express, the Auto-Fix button is a single-click affair; click, and the photo changes whichever way Picnik wants to change it (Photoshop Express shows thumbnails and lets you pick between them).

Effects

One thing Picnik has over Photoshop Express is an enormous amount of filters and effects. Let’s look at the effects tab:

class="aligncenter" src="http://main.makeuseoflimited.netdna-cdn.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/11/image56.png" alt="image" width="366" height="623" border="0" />

There are lots of effects you can apply to your photo; however, notice the subtle “premium” label overlayed over some of the buttons. This mean you can’t use them unless you pay up for the full version (around $3/month or so).

Now, since we’ve looked at frames in Photoshop Express, let’s take a quick look at the frames Picnik offers:

class="aligncenter" src="http://main.makeuseoflimited.netdna-cdn.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/11/image57.png" alt="online photo editor" width="226" height="514" border="0" />

Okay, these are far less silly than Photoshop’s.

Bottom Line for Picnik

Picnik’s interface is richer than the Photoshop Express one, but individual functions are not always as detailed (see the Auto-Correct comparison above, for example). The plugs for the paid version may be necessary, but they don’t add to the user experience (it’s no fun to keep looking at functions you can’t use).

Final Verdict – Which is The Better Editor?

If you’re looking for basic edits such as color and contrast corrections, the href="http://www.photoshop.com">Photoshop Express may be the right choice for you, thanks to the amount of choices you can make about each basic fix. On the other hand, if you’re looking to apply funky filters or get more creative with your photo, you should probably go with the href="http://www.picnik.com/">Picnik online photo editor.

Image Credit: href="http://www.shutterstock.com/cat.mhtml?lang=en&search_source=search_form&version=llv1&anyorall=all&safesearch=1&searchterm=paintbrush&search_group=&orient=&search_cat=&searchtermx=&photographer_name=&people_gender=&people_age=&people_ethnicity=&people_number=&commercial_ok=&color=&show_color_wheel=1#id=74097193&src=f6572a81e4068d29b8dc730ef9bcf522-1-5" rel="nofollow">ShutterStock

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class="align-right" src="http://main.makeuseoflimited.netdna-cdn.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/10/bluefishlogo1.png" alt="create web pages fast"/>Although it has been decades since the first web designer opened up a text editor to create the very first HTML document, the tools of the trade haven’t really changed a whole lot.

Sure, websites are now powered by blog platforms like WordPress, or WYSIWYG editors like Kompozer, but the bottom line is that most hard core web designers will always find it necessary to pop open a text editor to tweak the style a little bit here, or to realign the template a bit more there.

I think that text editors are going to be around in the world of web design for a very long time, at least for those web programmers that are always neck-deep into improving and optimizing professional websites. So, it stands to reason that text editing tools would evolve that are more powerful and smarter; Tools created specifically for the needs of those hard-core web designers and web programmers.

Bluefish – The Text Editor for Programmers

For years, I was very adamant about sticking with Notepad, no matter what everyone else started using. In my opinion, WYSIWYG editors just padding way too much garbage into the code (particularly MS Word’s silly save-as-HTML feature).

I was very tempted to try Notepad++ when I first heard about it. Then, after reading Simon’s article on href="http://www.makeuseof.com/tag/sublime-text-the-text-editor-youll-fall-in-love-with/">Sublime Text, I was tempted yet again. I’ve always been hesitant to jump on any bandwagon until a good, solid winner takes root.

This year, I have to confess that I’ve finally found a code editor that I can’t resist – it’s called href="http://bluefish.openoffice.nl/index.html">Bluefish.

class="aligncenter" style="border: 0pt none;"src="http://main.makeuseoflimited.netdna-cdn.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/10/bluefish1.png" alt="create web pages fast" width="503" height="389" />

When you first setup Bluefish, you’ll see the first reason I like it so much – it is designed to handle a huge assortment of programming languages, from straight HTML and PHP to Java, VB and even ASP. The kind of flexibility is a nice thing to have in a code editor, especially if you often have your hands into many different programming languages.

And Bluefish does programming well. But before we get to that, I wanted to just show you how cool this program looks. Up to this point I haven’t found a coder’s editor with this kind of aesthetic coolness on the front end – with the most important, easy-to-find tools and tabs right at your fingertips on the main screen, depending what code you’re focused on at the moment. /> class="aligncenter" style="border: 0pt none;" src="http://main.makeuseoflimited.netdna-cdn.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/10/bluefish2.png" alt="free web page editor" width="578" height="526" /> /> As you can see, file navigation is right there on the left – no need to flip back and forth between Windows Explorer and your editor. Do all of your file exploring from right within the application itself.

That includes all of the usual things you can do with a file explorer, like moving or renaming folders and files. /> class="aligncenter" style="border: 0pt none;" src="http://main.makeuseoflimited.netdna-cdn.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/10/bluefish3.png" alt="free web page editor" width="542" height="500" /> /> When you launch a new document from the file menu, if you choose template you’ll see that Bluefish has a few pre-built program templates available. This is especially useful if you write a lot of web pages, for example, and don’t want to recreate the same generic XHTML or PHP structure. Instead, just launch Bluefish’s template and you can immediately get into creating the content. /> class="aligncenter" style="border: 0pt none;" src="http://main.makeuseoflimited.netdna-cdn.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/10/bluefish3a.png" alt="free web page editor" width="472" height="503" /> /> The pic below is the standard HTML template with the header, title and body tags pre-built for you. As you can see, lines are numbered, and while you’re typing the application has a feature where it will auto-complete tags for you. /> class="aligncenter" style="border: 0pt none;" src="http://main.makeuseoflimited.netdna-cdn.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/10/bluefish3b.png" alt="web page editor" width="475" height="438" /> /> As you can see in the menu bar, there are also pre-built code snippets available under each program language. For example, HTML has standard code for web forms, and PHP has standard code snippets for how to connect to an ODBC or MySQL database. /> class="aligncenter size-full wp-image-89084" style="border-width: 1px; border-color: black; border-style: solid;" title="bluefish4" src="http://main.makeuseoflimited.netdna-cdn.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/10/bluefish4.png" alt="" width="577" height="361" /> /> This can save a lot of time if you’re the kind of person (like me) that often forgets the exact syntax to do some of the most basic things. To complete the code snippet for you, the program will ask you for the details. In the case of making database connections, it’ll ask you for the data source and the login details. Then it’ll basically write the code for you. /> class="aligncenter" style="border: 0pt none;" src="http://main.makeuseoflimited.netdna-cdn.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/10/bluefish7.png" alt="web page editor" width="423" height="359" /> /> The same is true for a whole list of HTML tasks – making this app a web designers dream. You can code the same web page in half the time using Bluefish. Just tap the element that you want, provide the dialog box with a few details, and the code gets typed up and inserted for you. /> class="aligncenter" style="border: 0pt none;" src="http://main.makeuseoflimited.netdna-cdn.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/10/bluefish8.png" alt="web page editor" width="563" height="501" /> /> It isn’t WYSIWYG, but in my opinion it’s ten times better. You know what you want to do in the code, you just don’t have time to keep checking your reference book for the right syntax – so Bluefish lets you cut the headache.

More programming aids are available from the top menu as well. If you have an HTML file open, click the “Tags” menu and you’ll see dozens of quick code functions available to choose from. Create a web form with a fraction of the effort. /> class="aligncenter" style="border: 0pt none;" src="http://main.makeuseoflimited.netdna-cdn.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/10/bluefish9.png" alt="" width="535" height="420" /> /> As though the programming aids and tools weren’t enough, don’t forget to check out the “Tools” menu where you’ll find the ability to organize your code by joining/splitting lines, indenting, or using a filter to strip all empty lines from your code. /> class="aligncenter" style="border: 0pt none;" src="http://main.makeuseoflimited.netdna-cdn.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/10/bluefish10.png" alt="create web pages fast" width="580" height="577" /> /> At the bottom of the main window, you’ll also find an output variable area for coding in languages like PHP or C++, useful to see whether your code is really doing what you want it to do.

I think it’s safe to say that Bluefish has won over my heart when it comes to “intelligent coding” rather than just hacking away in Notepad. So, give Bluefish a try and let us know whether it simplified your programming experience at all. what do you like about it? Share your thoughts in the comments section below.

href="http://www.makeuseof.com/tag/createweb-pages-faster-bluefish-editor/">Create Web Pages Five Times Faster Using the Bluefish Editor [Cross-Platform] is a post from: href="http://www.makeuseof.com">MakeUseOf

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class="align-right" src="http://main.makeuseoflimited.netdna-cdn.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/06/intro12.jpg?54167" alt="cross platform video editing"/>Editing video in href="../service/linux/">Linux can be a right pain in the posterior. Most software is unstable or simply not powerful enough to get the job done, for example when editing HD video. Naturally a well-specified PC is your best friend when it comes to resource-intensive processes like video editing, but that’s not to say you’ll need a showroom model to get the job done.

href="http://www.kdenlive.org/">Kdenlive is a free and cross-platform video editor that will probably mean more to your average Linux user than href="../service/windows/">Windows or href="../service/mac/">Mac types. The shortage of stable, usable and powerful editing suites on the Linux platform is the main reason for this.

If you’re searching for a decent, all-in-one solution for editing video on your Linux system then Kdenlive might just be the program you’re looking for.

Workspace & Features

If you’ve ever edited video before then you’ll probably feel instantly at home with Kdenlive, which is a typical href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Non-linear_editing_system">non-linear video edito href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Non-linear_editing_system">r. If you’re a newcomer to the world of video editing then the interface shouldn’t put you off either. /> class="aligncenter" style="border: 0pt none;" src="http://main.makeuseoflimited.netdna-cdn.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/06/overview1.jpg?54167" alt="cross platform video editing" width="580" height="351" /> /> The editor supports capture from a variety of devices, including href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Video4Linux">Video4Linux compatibles and Firewire cameras as well as screen capture from the desktop. You can check if your device is supported on href="http://www.kdenlive.org/video-editor">this compatibility list.

All the favourites are there – the timeline, a monitor window (with tabs for switching between individual clips and the whole production), file browser, transition window and a menu full of options and features. Overall the workspace is clean, attractive and responsive; if a little limited at times. /> class="aligncenter" style="border: 0pt none;" src="http://main.makeuseoflimited.netdna-cdn.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/06/timeline.png?54167" alt="cross platform video editing software" width="580" height="256" /> /> The program has a fairly extensive range of features, including a very handy transcoder. Transcoding video is as simple as adding source files to your project with the Add Clip button, right clicking your selection in the file browser and choosing Transcode. Kdenlive can do transcode to the popular DNxHD editing codec in two clicks and completely removes the need to download href="../tag/5-easy-to-use-freeware-video-converters/">additional href="../tag/5-easy-to-use-freeware-video-converters/">converters or doing it manually via command line. /> class="aligncenter" style="border: 0pt none;" src="http://main.makeuseoflimited.netdna-cdn.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/06/transcode.png?54167" alt="cross platform video editing software" width="343" height="444" /> /> Cutting up your freshly transcoded video into clips for arrangement on the timeline isn’t difficult, especially if you use the handy keyboard shortcuts. By default “I” is your in-point, “O” is your out-point and “Ctrl+I” creates a clip from your chosen area. Then it’s just a simple case of dragging your newly made clip onto the timeline.

Kdenlive also includes stop-motion capture, which by default worked using my laptop’s webcam. If you have a video device that is configured for use with Linux then there’s little reason you wouldn’t be able to use it for stop-motion here too.

Transitions, Effects & Usability

There’s a decent array of transitions and effects included with Kdenlive, and once you’ve read href="http://www.kdenlive.org/test-book/first-project/now-video/using-clips-your-project/removing-clips-timeline/splitting-clips--0">the how-to, adding them to the timeline is a fairly easy affair. Some users might find the naming and function of some effects and transitions confusing, as they don’t really give much clue as to what the selection does. This makes Kdenlive feel a little less user friendly than it could be at times. /> class="aligncenter" style="border: 0pt none;" src="http://main.makeuseoflimited.netdna-cdn.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/06/monitor.jpg?54167" alt="cross platform video editing software" width="517" height="514" /> /> Another thing that makes the program seem slightly unintuitive are the effects, and their applications. Instead of being able to change the volume of a clip by default in your timeline, volume is instead an effect that needs to be selected and applied. Fortunately you can keyframe it, but it’s nowhere near as quick or straightforward as some of the more advanced (and admittedly costly) non-linear editors out there.

On the Ubuntu 10.10 system I’m currently using, Kdenlive was incredibly stable. I’ve not actually enjoyed this level of stability from a Linux video editor ever, and I’ve tried nearly all of them. Whilst editing together a 7 minute 720p video with effects, transitions, images, additional audio and a lot of source videos the program crashed once in the entire editing process (don’t hit Save whilst you’re previewing your creation).

The only “major” problem I had were my sub-clips (selections of video within other files) somehow hid themselves and there was no clear way of getting them back. Eventually I worked out that creating a new sub-clip from the same source video reveals them again, but it’s annoying all the same. /> class="aligncenter" style="border: 0pt none;" src="http://main.makeuseoflimited.netdna-cdn.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/06/render.png?54167" alt="cross platform video editor" width="413" height="522" /> /> When it comes to rendering you’ve got plenty of pre-defined output options, so choose carefully before you commit. Rendering always takes a while, and the more grunt your PC has the less time you’ll have to wait.

There’s also a decent community sharing custom creations including href="http://www.kdenlive.org/rendering-profiles">render profiles and href="http://kde-files.org/index.php?xcontentmode=683">transitions, though these can be downloaded within Kdenlive from the drop-down Settings menu. /> class="aligncenter" style="border: 0pt none;" src="http://main.makeuseoflimited.netdna-cdn.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/06/downloadstuff.jpg?54167" alt="cross platform video editing" width="580" height="349" />

Download

If you like the look of Kdenlive then you can download the following versions:

• href="http://www.kdenlive.org/user-manual/downloading-and-installing-kdenlive">Linux – Packages available for Debian, Ubuntu, Slackware and more as well as href="http://www.makeuseof.com/tag/tag/compile-install-tar-gz-tar-bz2-files-ubuntu-linux/">source code and instructions on compiling.
• href="http://www.kdenlive.org/user-manual/downloading-and-installing-kdenlive/pre-compiled-packages/mac-os-x-packages-macports">Mac – From Macports.
• href="http://www.kdenlive.org/user-manual/downloading-and-installing-kdenlive/live-demonstration-dvd-or-usb-storage">Live CD – Burn Kdenlive to a CD, DVD or USB stick and href="http://www.makeuseof.com/tag/tag/download-50-cool-live-cds/">boot as an OS (perfect for Windows users).
• href="http://www.kdenlive.org/user-manual/downloading-and-installing-kdenlive">VirtualBox & FreeBSD – Versions for virtual machines and the FreeBSD OS.

Conclusion

I really like Kdenlive, even though it doesn’t feel quite user-friendly enough for everyone. Whilst it does have its bugs, quirks and annoyances it is still the most stable video editor I’ve yet to use on the Linux platform. For this reason (and its decent array of features) I’d recommend Kdenlive as a very workable solution, though if you are thinking of undertaking a project then don’t forget the software’s limitations.

If you’re looking for alternative Linux video editors, Kdenlive was featured alongside href="http://www.makeuseof.com/tag/tag/7-free-open-source-video-editor-for-linux/">6 others in this article.

Have you tried Kdenlive? Did you like it? Any better editors out there? Anything nearly as stable around?

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class="align-right" src="http://main.makeuseoflimited.netdna-cdn.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/06/bluegriffon.png" alt="wysiwyg html editor" />There are several reasons why people hardly use desktop web builders – there are only a few of them available, the good ones are too expensive, and the process of web building itself is not a walk in the park. That’s why it’s sad to hear the news that Apple has decided to discontinue the development of class="vt-p" href="http://www.makeuseof.com/tag/iweb-a-free-mac-web-design-tool-for-easy-beautiful-websites/">iWeb – the application which can help ordinary people build beautiful websites in a fun and easy way.

With iWeb out of the picture, finding a free and good web builder becomes even more difficult. But it is not dead, yet. There’s a new web editing application called class="vt-p" href="http://bluegriffon.org/">BlueGriffon, a free multi-platform WYSIWYG HTML editor which is easy enough for beginners but also powerful enough for more advanced users.

Rise From The Fire

BlueGriffon is powered by Gecko, the rendering engine of class="vt-p" href="http://www.makeuseof.com/tags/firefox/">Firefox. Just like Firefox, this web builder supports the use of extensions, so you can add more features according to your needs. It also supports the latest and greatest of web technologies like HTML5 and CSS3. The app is available for Windows, Mac and Linux.

style="text-align: center;"> class="aligncenter" src="http://main.makeuseoflimited.netdna-cdn.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/06/01a_BlueGriffon_main.jpg" border="0" alt="wysiwyg html editor" width="580" height="432" />

As a WYSIWYG HTML editor, BlueGriffon allows users to easily add, remove, drag, drop, and arrange elements of the webpage. But the easiest way to start is to use the “New wizard” under the “File” menu.

style="text-align: center;"> class="aligncenter" src="http://main.makeuseoflimited.netdna-cdn.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/06/01a_new_wizard.jpg" border="0" alt="free wysiwyg html editor" width="580" height="200" />

The wizard will guide users to set up their canvas, starting with choosing the document type, filling in data for the property, picking the colors, adding a background image, and deciding on the page layouts.

style="text-align: center;"> class="aligncenter" src="http://main.makeuseoflimited.netdna-cdn.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/06/01e_wizard_4_background.jpg" border="0" alt="free wysiwyg html editor" width="551" height="372" />

But the real web building process will start after the wizard. To help you during the construction process, BlueGriffon provides you with all the tools that you need on the toolbar.

style="text-align: center;"> class="aligncenter" src="http://main.makeuseoflimited.netdna-cdn.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/06/02a_tools.jpg" border="0" alt="free wysiwyg html editor" width="580" height="210" />

For example, you can add an audio file to your page by clicking on the “Insert or edit audio file” icon, browse to locate the audio file, and click “OK“. Then the file will appear in the editing area.

style="text-align: center;"> class="aligncenter" src="http://main.makeuseoflimited.netdna-cdn.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/06/02b_add_audio-2.jpg" border="0" alt="wysiwyg web editor" width="330" height="200" />

The editing area itself consists of two different layers. The first one is the “WYSIWYG” area where you can arrange objects visually.

style="text-align: center;"> class="aligncenter" src="http://main.makeuseoflimited.netdna-cdn.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/06/04a_wysiwyg.jpg" border="0" alt="wysiwyg web editor" width="580" height="280" />

The second one is the “Source” area where you can manipulate the web by editing the HTML code. You can switch between these two by clicking one of the two tabs below the editing area.

style="text-align: center;"> class="aligncenter" src="http://main.makeuseoflimited.netdna-cdn.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/06/04b_source.jpg" border="0" alt="04b source" width="580" height="280" />

Saving Your Work & Uploading It To The Web

There’s just too many elements involved in a web building process so it’s impossible to discuss all of them here. Please do your own exploration to familiarize yourself with the app.

The next step is publishing your creation. But before you can put the page online, you have to save the document that you are working on locally.

style="text-align: center;"> class="aligncenter" src="http://main.makeuseoflimited.netdna-cdn.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/06/05a_save.jpg" border="0" alt="wysiwyg web editor" width="400" height="220" />

Choose the name that you want for the webpage and…

style="text-align: center;"> class="aligncenter" src="http://main.makeuseoflimited.netdna-cdn.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/06/05b_page_title.jpg" border="0" alt="05b page title" width="500" height="220" />

Save it in the location that you want.

style="text-align: center;"> class="aligncenter" src="http://main.makeuseoflimited.netdna-cdn.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/06/05c_location.jpg" border="0" alt="05c location" width="424" height="203" />

To publish the webpage so that it’s accessible by anybody from all over the world, you need to have a web hosting account and a domain name. Your web host will tell you the location of your account and you’ll need to upload the document there using a file transfer protocol ( class="vt-p" href="http://www.makeuseof.com/tags/ftp/">FTP) client.

style="text-align: center;"> class="aligncenter" src="http://main.makeuseoflimited.netdna-cdn.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/06/03a_get_add_on.jpg" border="0" alt="03a get add on" width="580" height="250" />

There are many good class="vt-p" href="http://www.makeuseof.com/tags/ftp-client/">FTP clients available, but why would you use an external client if you can add one to BlueGriffon? You can find the “FireFTP” extension on the “Add-ons” page on the BlueGriffon site.

style="text-align: center;"> class="aligncenter" src="http://main.makeuseoflimited.netdna-cdn.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/06/03c_download_add_on.jpg" border="0" alt="03c download add on" width="580" height="280" />

After downloading the extension, you can install it by going to “Tools – Add-ons” menu, and…

style="text-align: center;"> class="aligncenter" src="http://main.makeuseoflimited.netdna-cdn.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/06/03d_add_on_menu.jpg" border="0" alt="03d add on menu" width="430" height="160" />

Click the “Install Add-on From File” sub menu under the “Extensions” section of the “Add-ons Manager“.

style="text-align: center;"> class="aligncenter" src="http://main.makeuseoflimited.netdna-cdn.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/06/03e_install_extension.jpg" border="0" alt="03e install extension" width="580" height="284" />

After restarting the application, you can find FireFTP available under the “Tools” menu.

style="text-align: center;"> class="aligncenter" src="http://main.makeuseoflimited.netdna-cdn.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/06/03h_installed_FTP.jpg" border="0" alt="03h installed FTP" width="450" height="170" />

After logging into your hosting account, you can transfer files from your local folder to a remote folder (and vice versa).

style="text-align: center;"> class="aligncenter" src="http://main.makeuseoflimited.netdna-cdn.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/06/03i_FireFTP-2.jpg" border="0" alt="wysiwyg html editor" width="580" height="435" />

You can add other extensions to BlueGriffon using the same method. At present, there aren’t many extensions available, but I’m sure the choices will grow over time.

At version 1.0, the software is still far from challenging veteran commercial web builders like DreamWeaver. But as the only up to date free option available today, BlueGriffon has the potential to grow fast and catch up to the big boys.

Have you tried BlueGriffon? What do you think about the application? Do you think that we still need desktop web builders? Share your opinions using the comments below. />
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href="http://www.makeuseof.com/tag/bluegriffon-multiplatform-wysiwyg-web-editor/">BlueGriffon: A Multi-Platform WYSIWYG HTML Editor is a post from: href="http://www.makeuseof.com">MakeUseOf

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class="align-right" src="http://main.makeuseoflimited.netdna-cdn.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/05/00a_WYSIWYG.jpg" alt="setup facebook page" />Everybody that I know has at least one  href="http://www.makeuseof.com/tags/facebook/">Facebook account, but not many of them have set up a href="http://www.makeuseof.com/tag/10-controversial-facebook-fan-pages">Facebook Page. One of the popular excuses is because building a Facebook page is difficult. It’s a pity because Facebook Pages is a great promotion tool. You can use it to promote your blog, your product, or even yourself.

If you are a code novice and want to build and edit your Facebook pages without touching any codes, you could easily do it using href="http://apps.facebook.com/statichtml/">Static HTML – a WYSIWYG (What You See Is What You Get) web editor, built specifically for Facebook Pages.

Add The App

Static HTML is a Facebook app that you can install by clicking href="http://apps.facebook.com/statichtml">this link. After the routine verification and confirmation process, you are ready to start building and editing your Facebook pages.

The first thing that you need to do is register your page(s) with the Static HTML app. Pick one of the pages from the dropdown list and click “Register“. But if you don’t have any page yet, you need to create one. Please refer to href="http://www.makeuseof.com/tag/how-to-promote-your-blog-using-facebook-pages/">this article to do that.

style="text-align: center;"> class="aligncenter" src="http://main.makeuseoflimited.netdna-cdn.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/05/01a-register-and-add.jpg" border="0" alt="setup facebook page" width="580" height="356" />

After that, click the “Add” button, and your page will appear under the “Facebook page name” list. Click “edit” to start the editing process.

style="text-align: center;"> class="aligncenter" src="http://main.makeuseoflimited.netdna-cdn.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/05/01c_start_editing.jpg" border="0" alt="customize facebook page" width="580" height="120" />

There are two editing mode that you can choose: WYSIWYG and HTML mode. Since our discussion today is about no-code editing, we’ll choose the first.

style="text-align: center;"> class="aligncenter" src="http://main.makeuseoflimited.netdna-cdn.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/05/02b_start_editing.jpg" border="0" alt="customize facebook page" width="580" height="220" />

Static HTML also provides two editing panes. The first one is the main content, and the second one is the optional fan gate content. The “fan gate” is the concept of showing the main content only to those who have clicked on the “Like” button. If you want to activate a fan gate, choose the “If user have not liked, below content will be shown” option.

style="text-align: center;"> class="aligncenter" src="http://main.makeuseoflimited.netdna-cdn.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/05/02c_fan_gate_option.jpg" border="0" alt="customize facebook page" width="580" height="200" />

We’ve discussed another method of activating the fan gate in href="http://www.makeuseof.com/tag/promote-blog-business-facebook-wildfire-iframe-app/">this article.

Enter The Editing Process

Building a page using Static HTML’s WYSIWYG editor is similar to creating a document on a word processor. You write your content and modify the fonts (size, family, format, color, and background color). Standard editing features like Align, Bullets and Numbers, Bold, Italic, and Underline are also available.

style="text-align: center;"> class="aligncenter" src="http://main.makeuseoflimited.netdna-cdn.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/05/04a_editing_font.jpg" border="0" alt="creating a facebook fan page" width="580" height="350" />

You can also add images to enrich the page. There are two options to add images: hotlink to the existing images on the web, or upload your own images (hosted on ImageShack).

style="text-align: center;"> class="aligncenter" src="http://main.makeuseoflimited.netdna-cdn.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/05/04b_upload_image.jpg" border="0" alt="creating a facebook fan page" width="580" height="250" />

Those who are familiar with HTML and want to enrich certain parts of the page with HTML codes can activate HTML mode by clicking on the HTML icon.

style="text-align: center;"> class="aligncenter" src="http://main.makeuseoflimited.netdna-cdn.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/05/04d_edit_html.jpg" border="0" alt="creating a facebook fan page" width="580" height="350" />

Static HTML allows you to add a link to anything on the page. Just select the element and click on the “Add Link” button.

style="text-align: center;"> class="aligncenter" src="http://main.makeuseoflimited.netdna-cdn.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/05/04e_add_link.jpg" border="0" alt="04e add link" width="580" height="300" />

Fill in all the necessary information about the link on the pop-up window and click “Submit“.

style="text-align: center;"> class="aligncenter" src="http://main.makeuseoflimited.netdna-cdn.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/05/04f_link_info.jpg" border="0" alt="04f link info" width="580" height="300" />

Don’t forget to click “Update” when you have finished the editing process.

style="text-align: center;"> class="aligncenter" src="http://main.makeuseoflimited.netdna-cdn.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/05/04g_update.jpg" border="0" alt="04g update" width="580" height="450" />

Static HTML will confirm that you’ve completed the process and give you the option to “return to homepage“.

style="text-align: center;"> class="aligncenter" src="http://main.makeuseoflimited.netdna-cdn.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/05/04h_complete.jpg" border="0" alt="04h complete" width="580" height="200" />

This is the result of my short experiment using Static HTML. It’s the page that will be shown to those who haven’t clicked on the “Like” button. You can use other “incentives” to lure visitors to click the “Like” button.

style="text-align: center;"> class="aligncenter" src="http://main.makeuseoflimited.netdna-cdn.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/05/07a_result.jpg" border="0" alt="07a result" width="580" height="440" />

Tidying Up

As you’ve noticed from the picture above, the name of the page I created is “Static HTML“. You can edit the name by clicking on the “Edit Info” link under the page name.

style="text-align: center;"> class="aligncenter" src="http://main.makeuseoflimited.netdna-cdn.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/05/08a_edit_info.jpg" border="0" alt="08a edit info" width="580" height="150" />

Then select “Apps” from the sidebar menu.

style="text-align: center;"> class="aligncenter" src="http://main.makeuseoflimited.netdna-cdn.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/05/08b_edit_app-2.jpg" border="0" alt="08b edit app 2" width="200" height="300" />

Locate Static HTML in the apps’ list and click the “Edit Settings” link.

style="text-align: center;"> class="aligncenter" src="http://main.makeuseoflimited.netdna-cdn.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/05/08c_edit_settings.jpg" border="0" alt="08c edit settings" width="580" height="100" />

You can write down the name that you want for your page. Then click “Save” and “Okay” to finish the process.

style="text-align: center;"> class="aligncenter" src="http://main.makeuseoflimited.netdna-cdn.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/05/08d_change_name.jpg" border="0" alt="setup facebook page" width="450" height="200" />

After trying out Static HTML, I can say that this app is one of the easiest ways to build and edit Facebook Pages. Granted, the tool might be too simple and not powerful enough for veteran web builders, but it’s adequate for beginners.

What do you think of the tool? Have you tried it to set up your Facebook Page? Do you know of other alternatives? Share your thoughts and opinions using the comments below. If you want to learn more about Facebook Pages promotion, don’t forget to read our other articles -  href="http://www.makeuseof.com/tag/how-to-promote-your-blog-using-facebook-pages/">Promote Your Blog Using Facebook Pages and href="http://www.makeuseof.com/tag/promote-blog-business-facebook-wildfire-iframe-app/">Promote Your Blog Or Business on Facebook With The Help Of The Wildfire iFrame App

Image credits: rel="nofollow" href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/bram_souffreau/400749755/">bram_souffreau, rel="nofollow" href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/sarahreido/3120877348/">.reid />
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class="align-right" src="http://main.makeuseoflimited.netdna-cdn.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/03/xvi32.png" alt="what is a hex editor">The term hex, short for href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hexadecimal">hexadecimal or base-16, is the raw data structure that all files stored on your computer follow. Although literally every file is stored on your computer in this format, you almost never see this data anywhere. Yet being able to directly modify the raw bits and bytes in your computer can sometimes be used to your advantage.

So how does hex work, what is a hex editor and why might you need to use one on your PC?

id="more-67096">

What Is Hex?

The number system that humans use to count is called decimal, the numbers from 0 to 9. Decimal was invented by the Persians about 6000 years ago.

Fast forward to 1679. The binary number system made up of 0s and 1s was href="http://mathforum.org/library/drmath/view/52344.html">invented by Gottfried Wilhelm von Leibniz.

Finally in the 1950s or 1960s IBM formalized the Hexadecimal number system, which is a short way to represent binary data. Instead of using digits 0-9, hexadecimal uses digits from 0 to F. Counting from 0 to 31 (converting from decimal to hexadecimal):

0 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 A B C D E F 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 1A 1B 1C 1D 1E 1F

Once you reach the end of the numeric “digits”, you simply increase the number to the left by one, just like you do with the decimal counting system.

Now that we have the basics of hexadecimal out of the way, let’s move on to some hex editors.

Hex Editors

Hex editors differ from a regular text editors in a number of ways. The basis of a hex editor is that they display the raw contents of the file. No encoding or translation into text – just the raw machine code. The second is that line numbers instead of being based on “lines” are an offset address from the beginning of the file.

href="http://www.pspad.com/en/">PSPad

style="text-align: center;"> class="aligncenter" style="border: 0pt none;" src="http://main.makeuseoflimited.netdna-cdn.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/03/pspad.png" alt="what is a hex editor" width="560" height="355" />

My favorite hex editor is href="http://www.pspad.com/en/">PSPad. PSPad, in addition to being a great text and code editor, offers the “Open in HEX Editor …” option which will launch the special editing mode.

Once you are in this mode, you can see the location and hexadecimal values of each bit of the file. You have two choices for editing the file – you can either edit the hexadecimal values by location, or on the right side you have the alphanumeric representation of that value which you can also edit.

href="http://www.chmaas.handshake.de/delphi/freeware/xvi32/xvi32.htm">XVI32

style="text-align: center;"> class="aligncenter" style="border: 0pt none;" src="http://main.makeuseoflimited.netdna-cdn.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/03/xvi32.png" alt="what is a hex editor used for" width="560" height="356" />

href="http://www.chmaas.handshake.de/delphi/freeware/xvi32/xvi32.htm">XVI32 is also a very capable hex editor. As with PSPad you can edit the hex values directly or the character representation.

It also has some advanced hex editing tools such as an address calculator for checking offsets and some other hex-specific options which can help you get around a hex file if you know what you are doing.

What Can You Do With A Hex Editor?

Now that you know what a hex value is, and how you can open and edit them, why would you want to do that exactly?

Find Out A File Type

Every once in a while you might come across a file that you just can’t seem to open. It has a normal size, but Word or Adobe won’t open it. So can you do anything about that?

The first thing I will do is open the file in a hex editor. Most files include some information in the very top of the file which describes what kind of file it actually might be.

Below, is a character representation of an Adobe PDF file. Let’s say someone mistakenly saves a PDF file as a Microsoft Word .DOC file.

style="text-align: center;"> class="aligncenter" style="border: 0pt none;" src="http://main.makeuseoflimited.netdna-cdn.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/03/pdf-example.png" alt="what is a hex editor" width="158" height="302" />

When your system sees that extension, it will try to launch Microsoft Word to open the file – but it will fail. Open the file in a hex editor, and it is immediately clear that this file is indeed a PDF file, and a quick switch to the file extension and you will be able to open it right up in Adobe Acrobat or other proper reader.

If you see a filetype but have no idea what kind of program might be used to open that file, you might check out href="http://www.openwith.org/">OpenWith which lists many file extensions and the programs used to open them.

Game & File Hacking

Another popular reason you might use a hex editor is game hacking. You can load up a game href="http://www.fantasyanime.com/garden/savestatehacking2.htm">save state file and change the amount of money you have from $1,000 to $1,000,000, for example.

Now, on more recent games this has been made much harder. Many modern games include either compression or encryption which make it many times more difficult to decompile the save state or game. However, some games still allow you to edit certain variables, such as in href="http://info.sonicretro.org/SCHG_How-to:Use_a_Hex_Editor">Sonic Spinball.

In addition to looking into game files, sometimes you can glean other important information from a saved file that you otherwise might not have access to. This depends greatly on the type of file and what information you are looking for, but using a hex editor is useful in determining what exactly resides within a file.

Debugging & Editing

Finally the last main reason you might use a hex editor is if you are a programmer who is debugging your code. Instead of going back to recompile you code, a simple hex edit might be all you need to test out a verification pattern. Editing a raw binary file is not recommended for the feint of heart – modify just one character in a file could potentially render it useless. Make sure you have a backup before modifying any files using a hex editor.

When a Hex Isn’t a Hex

Hopefully you’ve learned a little bit about computers that you hadn’t known before, or at least have had your memory refreshed. Knowing how your computer ticks becomes more and more important as they become easier and easier to use. I know if you made it this far, you are ready to use these advanced strategies for getting the most out of the bits and bytes stored on your hard drive!

Have questions about hexadecimal or hex editors in general? Let us know below! />
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class="align-left" style="border: 0px none; margin-left: 20px; margin-top: 5px; float: right;" src="http://main.makeuseoflimited.netdna-cdn.com/wp-content/uploads/2010/11/00-Aviary-HTML5-Photo-Editor.jpg" border="0" alt="online photo editor" />I think many people would agree that one of the most controversial turning points in the tech world is Apple’s decision not to support Flash technology in its iDevices and go with HTML5 instead.

Despite the pros and cons that surround the decision, the real question is whether this new technology has what it takes to at least stand on the same ground with Flash. For the time being, the answer might still be “not yet”. However, a new online photo editor from Aviary called class="vt-p" href="http://aviary.com/html5">Feather shows us that we can definitely expect great things from HTML5.

id="more-60058">

The Photo Editor

Aviary is the maker of class="vt-p" href="http://www.makeuseof.com/tag/edit-images-online-with-the-aviary-web-suite/">the online photo editor suite. Feather, its latest creation, is the simplified version (with HTML5 twist) of class="vt-p" href="http://www.aviary.com/tools/phoenix">Phoenix, Aviary’s Flash-based online photo editor. But being the simplified version doesn’t mean that Feather is less powerful than Phoenix. Feather collects the most popular tools of Phoenix, and packs them into one light and simple tool. Feather is perfect for everyday users who will never use advanced image editing tools to re-touch their images – and who could use extra system resources while doing so.

Anybody can use the tool without any obligation. Just visit the site and click on the “See it in Action” tab.

style="text-align: center;"> class="aligncenter" src="http://main.makeuseoflimited.netdna-cdn.com/wp-content/uploads/2010/11/01a-See-It-In-Action.jpg" border="0" alt="online photo editor" width="385" height="80" />

Then you can upload your image to edit.

style="text-align: center;"> class="aligncenter" src="http://main.makeuseoflimited.netdna-cdn.com/wp-content/uploads/2010/11/01aa-HTML5-Editor-Upload-Image.jpg" border="0" alt="01aa HTML5 Editor - Upload Image.jpg" width="580" height="349" />

Or you could also point Feather to an online image location by providing the image’s URL. Feather will download the image to its server.

style="text-align: center;"> class="aligncenter" src="http://main.makeuseoflimited.netdna-cdn.com/wp-content/uploads/2010/11/01ab-HTML5-Editor-Image-URL.jpg" border="0" alt="01ab HTML5 Editor - Image URL.jpg" width="360" height="80" />

The image will be opened along with a bunch of image editing tools such as Rotate, Flip, Resize and Crop. There are also quick effect tools that you can use, like: Instant!, Toy Camera, Old Photo and Retro.

style="text-align: center;"> class="aligncenter" src="http://main.makeuseoflimited.netdna-cdn.com/wp-content/uploads/2010/11/01ac-HTML5-Editor-Edit.jpg" border="0" alt="01ac HTML5 Editor - Edit.jpg" width="520" height="410" />

More options of a specific tool will be available after you select that tool. There’s also Undo and Redo buttons.

style="text-align: center;"> class="aligncenter" src="http://main.makeuseoflimited.netdna-cdn.com/wp-content/uploads/2010/11/01ax-HTML5-Editor-Crop.jpg" border="0" alt="01ax HTML5 Editor - Crop.jpg" width="475" height="315" />

Feather allows you to add text to your images, but the options are very limited. You can’t change the font type nor add effects. All you can do is change the color and size of the font.

style="text-align: center;"> class="aligncenter" src="http://main.makeuseoflimited.netdna-cdn.com/wp-content/uploads/2010/11/01ay1-Test-Text.jpg" border="0" alt="01ay1 Test Text.jpg" width="295" height="232" />

To delete a text group, select the text and click on the “X” button on the top right corner of the text box.

style="text-align: center;"> class="aligncenter" src="http://main.makeuseoflimited.netdna-cdn.com/wp-content/uploads/2010/11/01ay2-Test-Text.jpg" border="0" alt="01ay2 Test Text.jpg" width="330" height="150" />

To get fun effects quickly and effortlessly, use the quick effect tools. Below is the result of “Instant!” tool.

style="text-align: center;"> class="aligncenter" src="http://main.makeuseoflimited.netdna-cdn.com/wp-content/uploads/2010/11/01az-Quick-Effect.jpg" border="0" alt="01az Quick Effect.jpg" width="580" height="350" />

After you are done, click the save button and wait. You will be given a URL and a download button to download the image.

style="text-align: center;"> class="aligncenter" src="http://main.makeuseoflimited.netdna-cdn.com/wp-content/uploads/2010/11/01ad-Download-Edited-Image.jpg" border="0" alt="01ad Download Edited Image.jpg" width="580" height="270" />

On The Mobile Side

Out of curiosity, I tried to open Feather using iPhone’s Safari. Even though the site could be opened just fine, I couldn’t upload any image from the phone to the editor. The only option left was to use an image URL.

style="text-align: center;"> class="aligncenter" src="http://main.makeuseoflimited.netdna-cdn.com/wp-content/uploads/2010/11/01ba-Opening-Editor-In-iPhone.jpg" border="0" alt="01ba Opening Editor In iPhone.jpg" width="480" height="300" />

So I opened my blog, then tapped and held on an image. I chose “Copy” from the pop up buttons to copy the image.

style="text-align: center;"> class="aligncenter" src="http://main.makeuseoflimited.netdna-cdn.com/wp-content/uploads/2010/11/01bb-Copy-Image-URL-1.jpg" border="0" alt="01bb Copy Image URL-1.jpg" width="480" height="300" />

I went back to the editor, tapped on the URL field and chose “Paste“. The image URL was pasted inside the URL field, I clicked “Go” and the image was opened along with the editor and I could edit the image as if it was done on an ordinary browser.

style="text-align: center;"> class="aligncenter" src="http://main.makeuseoflimited.netdna-cdn.com/wp-content/uploads/2010/11/01bc-Edit-Image-1.jpg" border="0" alt="online photo editor" width="480" height="300" />

This little experiment showed us that this free, light and powerful image editing tool is also accessible from iDevices (and other smart phones) as long as they can connect to the internet. The best method is to edit images that are already on the web, something like Flickr photos or pre-uploaded personal photos.

Embedding The Tool To Your Site?

The developer mentions that you can also embed the online photo editor to your site. After a few failed attempts to use the embedded tool as a personal online image editor, I contacted the developer asking whether I made mistakes in the process. It turned out that the current version of the embeddable image editor doesn’t support image uploading and will only add an Edit button below specific images on the page where the code is embedded.

The developer also said that an image uploading feature might be added in the future. But until then, we’ll have to stick to the online editor on the Aviary site.

In conclusion, I think Feather is a very useful light, simple and powerful image editor. The tool could be a good alternative to heavier online (and offline) image editors.

Have you tried Feather? What do you think of the tool? Share your opinions using the comments below. />
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id="more-55793"> /> This is particularly true if you’re writing for the web, because none of Word’s formatting translates to HTML very cleanly when it comes time to post.

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style="text-align: center;"> class="aligncenter" src="http://main.makeuseoflimited.netdna-cdn.com/wp-content/uploads/2010/10/focuswriter-bottom.png" alt="free writing software" width="579" height="108" />

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style="text-align: center;"> class="aligncenter" src="http://main.makeuseoflimited.netdna-cdn.com/wp-content/uploads/2010/10/focuswriter-themes.png" alt="free writing software" width="576" height="252" />

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strongbad_email.exe

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strongbad_email.exe

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style="border: 0px none;margin-left:20px;float:right;" src="http://main.makeuseoflimited.netdna-cdn.com/wp-content/uploads/2010/08/intro10.png" alt="cool cursors"/> href="http://www.makeuseof.com/tag/best-sites-to-download-very-high-resolution-wallpapers/">Wallpapers are href="http://www.makeuseof.com/tag/best-sites-to-download-good-high-res-wallpapers-part-two/">easy to find and href="http://www.makeuseof.com/tag/how-to-create-top-quality-computer-desktop-wallpapers/">make (even in href="http://www.makeuseof.com/tag/create-cool-desktop-wallpapers-quickly-microsoft-word/">MS Word) nowadays. If you’re the type to crave a href="http://www.makeuseof.com/tag/the-best-resources-to-pimp-your-wallpaper/">new desktop wallpaper every now and then, why not dress up your cursor as well since you probably use and see it more often?

There’s been a few tools we can see from MakeUseOf’s Directory, such as href="http://www.makeuseof.com/dir/totallyfreecursors-free-cursor-library/">TotallyFreeCursors, but as its libraries are huge, you can also save yourself some time from having to download them individually and install them the traditional way (by right-clicking on the desktop > Personalize > Mouse Pointers). Here are two tremendous (and free!) applications you can use to get some top quality cursors, as well as to create your own from images.

id="more-52642">

Installing And Importing Cool Cursors With CursorFX

href="http://www.stardock.com/products/cursorfx/">CursorFX (which MakeUseOf has featured before along with href="http://www.makeuseof.com/tag/5-desktop-enhancements-you-should-see/">other great desktop enhancers) has in all, 13 sets of vector-like cursors in a 14MB download file that you can obtain href="http://download.cnet.com/CursorFX/3000-2317_4-10070056.html?tag=mncol">here. The installation goes without offering any optional toolbars, which is always a plus. Once you run the program, you’ll be greeted with the following cursor sets. Each set is a theme that you can use even without having the program running in the system tray.

style="text-align: center;"> class="aligncenter" style="border: 0pt none;" src="http://main.makeuseoflimited.netdna-cdn.com/wp-content/uploads/2010/08/15.png" alt="cool cursors"/>

If you click on the magnifier icon, you can view additional icons for whenever the cursor’s busy, working in the background, etc.

style="text-align: center;"> class="aligncenter" style="border: 0pt none;" src="http://main.makeuseoflimited.netdna-cdn.com/wp-content/uploads/2010/08/themepreview.jpg" alt="create cool cursors"/>

You can also customize each theme with the built-in cursor editor by clicking on the pencil icon.

style="text-align: center;"> class="aligncenter" style="border: 0pt none;" src="http://main.makeuseoflimited.netdna-cdn.com/wp-content/uploads/2010/08/24.png" alt="create cool cursors"/>

You’ll also be able to create cool new cursors from PNG image files by going to File > New or clicking on New Package back at the main CursorFX window, and then clicking on Import Graphics.

style="text-align: center;"> class="aligncenter" style="border: 0pt none;" src="http://main.makeuseoflimited.netdna-cdn.com/wp-content/uploads/2010/08/64.png" alt="create cool cursors"/>

The images might be imported in their original sizes. You can then move around the exact pointer and press Ctrl + E to save and apply the theme.

style="text-align: center;"> class="aligncenter" style="border: 0pt none;" src="http://main.makeuseoflimited.netdna-cdn.com/wp-content/uploads/2010/08/72.png" alt="cool free cursors"/>

Even though you don’t need the program running and you’ll still have the cursor on system restart, you can’t end the process for CursorFX in the Task Manager, or else, your cursor will disappear.

style="text-align: center;"> class="aligncenter" style="border: 0pt none;" src="http://main.makeuseoflimited.netdna-cdn.com/wp-content/uploads/2010/08/7a.png" alt="cool free cursors"/>

This means that if you’re uninstalling the program, in order to make the cursor appear again, you should right-click on the desktop > select Personalize, then click on Mouse Pointers. In the  Mouse Properties dialog box, make sure you have the OK button selected so you can just finish the uninstallation and press Enter when the cursor disappears.

style="text-align: center;"> class="aligncenter" style="border: 0pt none;" src="http://main.makeuseoflimited.netdna-cdn.com/wp-content/uploads/2010/08/7b.png" alt="cool free cursors"/>

Creating Cool Cursors From Scratch & Images With RealWorld Cursor Editor

At approximately 7MB, href="http://download.cnet.com/RealWorld-Cursor-Editor/3000-2317_4-10550991.html?tag=mncol">the installation file for href="http://www.rw-designer.com/cursor-maker">RealWorld Cursor Editor is smaller than the one for CursorFX. Once you load the program, you will be presented with options to create a new cursor or make a cursor out of an image in PNG, JPG, BMP format (Create From File).

style="text-align: center;"> class="aligncenter" style="border: 0pt none;" src="http://main.makeuseoflimited.netdna-cdn.com/wp-content/uploads/2010/08/84.png" alt="cool free cursors"/>

What makes this program different from CursorFX is that this application offers a much more advanced cursor editor, complete with a color palette and layering features that users with artistic skills will find very much like  href="http://www.makeuseof.com/tag/5-websites-learn-gimp-photo-editor-online/">GIMP for cursors.

style="text-align: center;"> class="aligncenter" style="border: 0pt none;" src="http://main.makeuseoflimited.netdna-cdn.com/wp-content/uploads/2010/08/9a.jpg" alt="cool free cursors"/>

Since MakeUseOf has href="http://www.makeuseof.com/tag/realworld-cursor-editor-%E2%80%93-for-those-who-love-to-make-their-own-free-cursors/">a more detailed guide on creating your own cursor, we’ll talk about making a cursor from an image file here.

style="text-align: center;"> class="aligncenter" style="border: 0pt none;" src="http://main.makeuseoflimited.netdna-cdn.com/wp-content/uploads/2010/08/create2.png" alt="cool free cursors"/>

If you’re choosing to create a cursor from a file, the image selected, unlike CursorFX, will be scaled down to a suitable cursor size (32 x 32), so you don’t need to resize any prospective images. On the right sidebar, you’ll see a box with the imported image, ready for you to position the pointer exactly at the top left of the image.

style="text-align: center;"> class="aligncenter" style="border: 0pt none;" src="http://main.makeuseoflimited.netdna-cdn.com/wp-content/uploads/2010/08/102.png" />

You can also increase the size of the cursor by heading to Cursor in the menu bar and selecting Change Size.

style="text-align: center;"> class="aligncenter" style="border: 0pt none;" src="http://main.makeuseoflimited.netdna-cdn.com/wp-content/uploads/2010/08/11e.png" />

Once you’re satisfied with the results, press Ctrl + S or head to File in the menu bar and select Save as a static (.cur file) or an animated cursor (.ani) that you can select and apply in the Mouse Properties dialog box. Alternative, you can also try the new cursor out by going to Cursor > Use current for > Normal Select.

style="text-align: center;"> class="aligncenter" style="border: 0pt none;" src="http://main.makeuseoflimited.netdna-cdn.com/wp-content/uploads/2010/08/131.png" />

As for prospective PNG image files to import into either program, you can find cool cursor images in  href="http://www.makeuseof.com/tag/8-icon-search-engines-perfect-graphic-symbol/">icon search engines such as href="http://findicons.com">FindIcons, href="http://www.makeuseof.com/tag/customize-computer-cool-icons-windows-xp/">Iconspedia or href="http://icons-search.com/">IconsSearch. class="aligncenter size-full wp-image-52697" src="http://main.makeuseoflimited.netdna-cdn.com/wp-content/uploads/2010/08/141.png" alt="cool cursors" width="580" height="408" />

Where do you usually get your custom cursors from? Voice out in the comments! />
/>Hey Facebookers, make sure to check out href="http://www.facebook.com/makeuseof">MakeUseOf page on Facebook. Over 24,000 fans already! />
/>

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style="border: 0px none;margin-left:20px;float:right;" src="http://main.makeuseoflimited.netdna-cdn.com/wp-content/uploads/2010/08/intro10.png" alt="cool cursors"/> href="http://www.makeuseof.com/tag/best-sites-to-download-very-high-resolution-wallpapers/">Wallpapers are href="http://www.makeuseof.com/tag/best-sites-to-download-good-high-res-wallpapers-part-two/">easy to find and href="http://www.makeuseof.com/tag/how-to-create-top-quality-computer-desktop-wallpapers/">make (even in href="http://www.makeuseof.com/tag/create-cool-desktop-wallpapers-quickly-microsoft-word/">MS Word) nowadays. If you’re the type to crave a href="http://www.makeuseof.com/tag/the-best-resources-to-pimp-your-wallpaper/">new desktop wallpaper every now and then, why not dress up your cursor as well since you probably use and see it more often?

There’s been a few tools we can see from MakeUseOf’s Directory, such as href="http://www.makeuseof.com/dir/totallyfreecursors-free-cursor-library/">TotallyFreeCursors, but as its libraries are huge, you can also save yourself some time from having to download them individually and install them the traditional way (by right-clicking on the desktop > Personalize > Mouse Pointers). Here are two tremendous (and free!) applications you can use to get some top quality cursors, as well as to create your own from images.

id="more-52642">

Installing And Importing Cool Cursors With CursorFX

href="http://www.stardock.com/products/cursorfx/">CursorFX (which MakeUseOf has featured before along with href="http://www.makeuseof.com/tag/5-desktop-enhancements-you-should-see/">other great desktop enhancers) has in all, 13 sets of vector-like cursors in a 14MB download file that you can obtain href="http://download.cnet.com/CursorFX/3000-2317_4-10070056.html?tag=mncol">here. The installation goes without offering any optional toolbars, which is always a plus. Once you run the program, you’ll be greeted with the following cursor sets. Each set is a theme that you can use even without having the program running in the system tray.

style="text-align: center;"> class="aligncenter" style="border: 0pt none;" src="http://main.makeuseoflimited.netdna-cdn.com/wp-content/uploads/2010/08/15.png" alt="cool cursors"/>

If you click on the magnifier icon, you can view additional icons for whenever the cursor’s busy, working in the background, etc.

style="text-align: center;"> class="aligncenter" style="border: 0pt none;" src="http://main.makeuseoflimited.netdna-cdn.com/wp-content/uploads/2010/08/themepreview.jpg" alt="create cool cursors"/>

You can also customize each theme with the built-in cursor editor by clicking on the pencil icon.

style="text-align: center;"> class="aligncenter" style="border: 0pt none;" src="http://main.makeuseoflimited.netdna-cdn.com/wp-content/uploads/2010/08/24.png" alt="create cool cursors"/>

You’ll also be able to create cool new cursors from PNG image files by going to File > New or clicking on New Package back at the main CursorFX window, and then clicking on Import Graphics.

style="text-align: center;"> class="aligncenter" style="border: 0pt none;" src="http://main.makeuseoflimited.netdna-cdn.com/wp-content/uploads/2010/08/64.png" alt="create cool cursors"/>

The images might be imported in their original sizes. You can then move around the exact pointer and press Ctrl + E to save and apply the theme.

style="text-align: center;"> class="aligncenter" style="border: 0pt none;" src="http://main.makeuseoflimited.netdna-cdn.com/wp-content/uploads/2010/08/72.png" alt="cool free cursors"/>

Even though you don’t need the program running and you’ll still have the cursor on system restart, you can’t end the process for CursorFX in the Task Manager, or else, your cursor will disappear.

style="text-align: center;"> class="aligncenter" style="border: 0pt none;" src="http://main.makeuseoflimited.netdna-cdn.com/wp-content/uploads/2010/08/7a.png" alt="cool free cursors"/>

This means that if you’re uninstalling the program, in order to make the cursor appear again, you should right-click on the desktop > select Personalize, then click on Mouse Pointers. In the  Mouse Properties dialog box, make sure you have the OK button selected so you can just finish the uninstallation and press Enter when the cursor disappears.

style="text-align: center;"> class="aligncenter" style="border: 0pt none;" src="http://main.makeuseoflimited.netdna-cdn.com/wp-content/uploads/2010/08/7b.png" alt="cool free cursors"/>

Creating Cool Cursors From Scratch & Images With RealWorld Cursor Editor

At approximately 7MB, href="http://download.cnet.com/RealWorld-Cursor-Editor/3000-2317_4-10550991.html?tag=mncol">the installation file for href="http://www.rw-designer.com/cursor-maker">RealWorld Cursor Editor is smaller than the one for CursorFX. Once you load the program, you will be presented with options to create a new cursor or make a cursor out of an image in PNG, JPG, BMP format (Create From File).

style="text-align: center;"> class="aligncenter" style="border: 0pt none;" src="http://main.makeuseoflimited.netdna-cdn.com/wp-content/uploads/2010/08/84.png" alt="cool free cursors"/>

What makes this program different from CursorFX is that this application offers a much more advanced cursor editor, complete with a color palette and layering features that users with artistic skills will find very much like  href="http://www.makeuseof.com/tag/5-websites-learn-gimp-photo-editor-online/">GIMP for cursors.

style="text-align: center;"> class="aligncenter" style="border: 0pt none;" src="http://main.makeuseoflimited.netdna-cdn.com/wp-content/uploads/2010/08/9a.jpg" alt="cool free cursors"/>

Since MakeUseOf has href="http://www.makeuseof.com/tag/realworld-cursor-editor-%E2%80%93-for-those-who-love-to-make-their-own-free-cursors/">a more detailed guide on creating your own cursor, we’ll talk about making a cursor from an image file here.

style="text-align: center;"> class="aligncenter" style="border: 0pt none;" src="http://main.makeuseoflimited.netdna-cdn.com/wp-content/uploads/2010/08/create2.png" alt="cool free cursors"/>

If you’re choosing to create a cursor from a file, the image selected, unlike CursorFX, will be scaled down to a suitable cursor size (32 x 32), so you don’t need to resize any prospective images. On the right sidebar, you’ll see a box with the imported image, ready for you to position the pointer exactly at the top left of the image.

style="text-align: center;"> class="aligncenter" style="border: 0pt none;" src="http://main.makeuseoflimited.netdna-cdn.com/wp-content/uploads/2010/08/102.png" />

You can also increase the size of the cursor by heading to Cursor in the menu bar and selecting Change Size.

style="text-align: center;"> class="aligncenter" style="border: 0pt none;" src="http://main.makeuseoflimited.netdna-cdn.com/wp-content/uploads/2010/08/11e.png" />

Once you’re satisfied with the results, press Ctrl + S or head to File in the menu bar and select Save as a static (.cur file) or an animated cursor (.ani) that you can select and apply in the Mouse Properties dialog box. Alternative, you can also try the new cursor out by going to Cursor > Use current for > Normal Select.

style="text-align: center;"> class="aligncenter" style="border: 0pt none;" src="http://main.makeuseoflimited.netdna-cdn.com/wp-content/uploads/2010/08/131.png" />

As for prospective PNG image files to import into either program, you can find cool cursor images in  href="http://www.makeuseof.com/tag/8-icon-search-engines-perfect-graphic-symbol/">icon search engines such as href="http://findicons.com">FindIcons, href="http://www.makeuseof.com/tag/customize-computer-cool-icons-windows-xp/">Iconspedia or href="http://icons-search.com/">IconsSearch. class="aligncenter size-full wp-image-52697" src="http://main.makeuseoflimited.netdna-cdn.com/wp-content/uploads/2010/08/141.png" alt="cool cursors" width="580" height="408" />

Where do you usually get your custom cursors from? Voice out in the comments! />
/>NEW: href="http://itunes.apple.com/us/app/makeuseof/id366921965?mt=8" target="_blank">Download MakeUseOf iPhone App. FREE!

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class="align-left" style="border: 0px none; margin-left: 20px; margin-top: 5px; float: right;" src="http://main.makeuseoflimited.netdna-cdn.com/wp-content/uploads/2010/07/guitar2.jpg" alt="free guitar tablature" width="199" height="260" />Paul McCartney cannot read class="vt-p" href="http://www.makeuseof.com/tag/top-6-sites-to-find-and-print-free-sheet-music-nb/">sheet music, and nor can I. The internet has done wonders for class="vt-p" href="http://www.makeuseof.com/tag/essential-guitar-tools-and-software/">budding bedroom musicians all over the world. Since the rise in the popularity of free guitar tablature websites, it is now possible to conduct a quick search and learn how to play some of your favourite songs without actually reading music.

For those of you still in the dark, guitar tabs offer a visual representation of a guitar’s fretboard except instead of notes and musical symbols you get numbers and letters. Each line represents a string, each number represents a fret – anything extra, like bends and slides are added with good old ASCII characters.

Simple? Well yes and no.

id="more-52583"> /> The only problem with guitar tabs lies in their approachability and ease of use. As the concept isn’t that deep, some important bits – like timing – are overlooked. This means that if you haven’t class="vt-p" href="http://www.makeuseof.com/tag/stream-music-for-free-with-spotify-invites-available/">got the song on in the background (or a perfect memory, of course) then getting it spot-on can be frustrating.

style="text-align: center;"> class="aligncenter" src="http://main.makeuseoflimited.netdna-cdn.com/wp-content/uploads/2010/08/nothingelse.jpg" alt="free guitar tablature" width="506" height="245" />

Enter Power-Tab, a free guitar tablature editor with MIDI accompaniment. The software is aimed at both composers and class="vt-p" href="http://www.makeuseof.com/dir/zentao-free-electric-guitar-lessons-absolute-beginners/"> average Joes looking to learn a few songs. The interface looks complicated, but if your only request from the software is to learn a song or two you’ll soon get nicely acquainted with the Play button – which is all you need.

Those of you who fancy using the software to its fullest potential will find a cornucopia of features, but it certainly helps if you’ve had a bit of experience writing music before. As you construct your tab, Power Tab Editor will transcribe your numbers and letters into actual sheet music – a very nice touch.

style="text-align: center;"> class="aligncenter" src="http://main.makeuseoflimited.netdna-cdn.com/wp-content/uploads/2010/08/tabsheet.jpg" alt="guitar tablature" width="540" height="326" />

Tabbing music is a simple case of choosing a string and assigning a numerical number. You can use the keyboard for this, and though it may seem an arduous process the features provided in the software make for a powerful tool.

Anyone Can Play Guitar

The software does a great job of providing you with a true-sounding MIDI representation that’s perfect for helping decide rhythm and tempo. This does of course depend on the skill and determination of the person who originally tabbed the song, but if you find a few good sources (more on that later) you’ll be rocking out in no time.

style="text-align: center;"> class="aligncenter" src="http://main.makeuseoflimited.netdna-cdn.com/wp-content/uploads/2010/08/northingelsept.jpg" alt="guitar tablature" width="561" height="551" />

Head over to the class="vt-p" href="http://www.power-tab.net/">official website to download Power-Tab, the .ZIP file you need is just a little under 6MB. Once you’ve downloaded, extract and run the set-up.

style="text-align: center;"> class="aligncenter" src="http://main.makeuseoflimited.netdna-cdn.com/wp-content/uploads/2010/08/installing.jpg" alt="guitar tablature" width="515" height="422" />

Once you’ve installed and had a quick play, you’ll probably want to find a few songs to learn. The internet holds the key to a great number of class="vt-p" href="http://www.makeuseof.com/tag/5-cool-websites-with-guitar-tuning-tones/">guitar-related tools and you can download Power Tab (.PTB) files from a couple of good sources, though the developers are reluctant to link or provide any on their site.

One of the best sources for .PTB files (and everything else guitar-related) is class="vt-p" href="http://www.ultimate-guitar.com/">Ultimate-Guitar. The Russian-hosted site has grown exponentially since 1998 and now hosts an impressive collection of normal tabs, Guitar Pro tabs and precious .PTB files.

style="text-align: center;"> class="aligncenter" src="http://main.makeuseoflimited.netdna-cdn.com/wp-content/uploads/2010/08/ug.jpg" alt="free guitar tablature" width="565" height="400" />

This is the first place I go to when I want a tab, and the whole portal provides news, reviews and a regular stream of new tabs. If all else fails then there’s always class="vt-p" href="http://www.911tabs.com/power_tabs/">911Tabs, a search engine which crawls other tablature websites and has a section dedicated to Power Tabs.

Conclusion

If you often find yourself stuck when it comes to rhythm and timing when trying to play your favourite songs then you’ll probably find Power Tab Editor to be a welcome addition to your Windows PC. Those of you who’ve “always wanted to tab something” will find this one easy to learn with plenty of features to map out some of the most complicated solos. It probably won’t make you a better guitarist overnight, but any software that can help teach you guitar for free deserves a look-in.

 

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class="align-left" style="border: 0px none; margin-left: 20px; margin-top: 5px; float: right;" src="http://main.makeuseoflimited.netdna-cdn.com/wp-content/uploads/2010/08/intro1.png" alt="subtitles download" />YouTube has been pushing upgrades to the site in slow doses (in the form of class="vt-p" href="http://www.makeuseof.com/tag/youtube-video-editor/">a nifty, basic editor, for example). Now you can even request auto-captioning of your Youtube videos to reach a larger audience (anyone that speaks a different language, wants to learn English or experiences some kind of hearing impairment).

It’s actually not that hard to manually put subtitles into your videos. It often just takes a bit of time, but soon enough, you’ll be able to translate videos to improve accessibility (especially when subtitles in your language aren’t available on the Web), or when you just want to be funny (like some of the English-subtitled Hitler class="vt-p" href="http://www.makeuseof.com/tag/10-funniest-ipad-youtube-spoofs-watch/">spoofs on the iPad).

id="more-51452"> /> Any text editor that you have will be enough to create basic subtitles. For more customized subtitles, you can check out the second section of this article. The footage in the screenshots you see here is from class="vt-p" href="http://www.elephantsdream.org/">Elephants Dream, the first open-source generated, animated short film ever made.

Making Basic Subtitles In A Text Editor

For this article, we’ll be using the built-in Notepad text editor in Windows to make basic subtitles with no additional color or font customization. Open Notepad and save your file with the .srt extension and is in UTF-8 (especially if you’re inputting special characters).

style="text-align: center;"> class="aligncenter" src="http://main.makeuseoflimited.netdna-cdn.com/wp-content/uploads/2010/08/11.png" alt="subtitles download" width="570" height="435" />

We will go over how to create subtitles in the SubRip (.srt) format, which follows this easy-to-learn pattern:

1 /> 00:00:20,000 --> 00:00:24,400 /> Howdy!

2 /> 00:00:24,600 --> 00:00:27,800 /> Why, hello there! /> What's your name?

1. Start the first line with the number 1.
2. Now input the times of the subtitle/caption start and end. The 00:00:20,000 is in hours:minutes:seconds,milliseconds format. You can usually look at the video with milliseconds in Windows Movie Maker while you have Notepad open as well.
style="text-align: center;"> class="aligncenter" src="http://main.makeuseoflimited.netdna-cdn.com/wp-content/uploads/2010/08/21.png" alt="" width="420" height="462" />
3. Make sure to display both windows for easier work by pressing on both programs in the taskbar while pressing Ctrl and right-clicking on either program tab and selecting Show Windows Side By Side.
4. Now just place a space between every line.
5. Repeat the steps until you finish all the lines. Remember to save often.
style="text-align: center;"> class="aligncenter" src="http://main.makeuseoflimited.netdna-cdn.com/wp-content/uploads/2010/08/NOTEPAD.png" alt="" width="399" height="474" />

After you’re done, you can view the subtitles in any major media player as long as your video and the subtitle have the same names but different file extensions of course and are located in the same folder. This is known as softsubbing, which leaves the raw video file intact.

style="text-align: center;"> class="aligncenter" src="http://main.makeuseoflimited.netdna-cdn.com/wp-content/uploads/2010/08/Optimized-3.jpg" alt="subtitles downloads" width="568" height="445" />

You can also upload the srt files to your videos already on Youtube as captions.

style="text-align: center;"> class="aligncenter" src="http://main.makeuseoflimited.netdna-cdn.com/wp-content/uploads/2010/08/3b.png" alt="subtitles downloads" width="579" height="366" />

Making Better-Looking Subtitles In Aegisub

Maybe you’re interested in more professional-looking subtitles or captions. In the world of open-source anything, Aegisub is a cross-platform subtitle editor that’s chock-full of advanced features for just this task.

Available as a portable application, the program provides seemingly endless options to customize the font, size, color and position of the subtitles. It also lets you more easily visualize where you might put the subtitles.

1. Start by loading the video (in AVI, MP4, MPG format) you want to subtitle by going to Video in the top menu bar > Open Video.
style="text-align: center;"> class="aligncenter" src="http://main.makeuseoflimited.netdna-cdn.com/wp-content/uploads/2010/08/3c.png" alt="subtitles downloads" width="304" height="200" />
2. If you don’t have the video (but do have the audio and want to move the position of the subtitles, for example), you can use a dummy video and set the closest matching resolution.
style="text-align: center;"> class="aligncenter" src="http://main.makeuseoflimited.netdna-cdn.com/wp-content/uploads/2010/08/4.png" alt="" width="333" height="253" />
3. You can also load the audio in the video and visualize the timing better (head to Audio > Open Audio From Video).
4. (Optional) To change the font, size and color of your subtitles, head to Subtitles in the menu bar and select Styles Manager. In the dialog box that appears, you’ll see two boxes, Storage and Current Script.
style="text-align: center;"> class="aligncenter" src="http://main.makeuseoflimited.netdna-cdn.com/wp-content/uploads/2010/08/7.png" alt="movie subtitles" width="575" height="453" />
5. You can select to create a new style to your taste in the Storage section (which ensures you’ll always have this style saved) and copy it to the Current Script box (so you can use it to subtitle the video you opened earlier).
style="text-align: center;"> class="aligncenter" src="http://main.makeuseoflimited.netdna-cdn.com/wp-content/uploads/2010/08/81.png" alt="movie subtitles" width="580" height="320" />
6. Then click OK to go back to the main Aegisub window.
7. In the Audio box, click on the start of the sound clip and right-click at the end of the clip. Press the S key or the space bar to hear the audio clip before inputting your subtitle in the class="vt-p" href="http://aegisub.cellosoft.com/docs/Overview">Edit Box (you can also copy and paste the start and end frames as you see them in the video).
style="text-align: center;"> class="aligncenter" src="http://main.makeuseoflimited.netdna-cdn.com/wp-content/uploads/2010/08/61.png" alt="movie subtitles" width="355" height="303" />
8. (Optional) Double-click wherever you want the subtitles to appear in the Video Box to set the position. Sometimes, you may wish to add notes of regional sayings, for example, at the top of your video.
style="text-align: center;"> class="aligncenter" src="http://main.makeuseoflimited.netdna-cdn.com/wp-content/uploads/2010/08/Optimized-9e.jpg" alt="" width="575" height="479" />
9. Type your subtitle (consulting class="vt-p" href="http://www.makeuseof.com/tag/4-reasons-google-translate-beats-services/">Google Translate if you wish) and press Enter (or hit Commit). Note that to display two lines, you need to use the term \N in the Edit Box.
style="text-align: center;"> class="aligncenter" src="http://main.makeuseoflimited.netdna-cdn.com/wp-content/uploads/2010/08/5e.png" alt="subtitles download" width="545" height="386" />
10. Also, hit Save (Ctrl + S) to save your entire subtitle file (the default file extension is .ass for Advanced SubStation Alpha.)
11. Now repeat step 4 to 6 until you finish subtitling (remember this combo: click, right-click, space bar, type the subtitle, Enter). Any changes you make, you must remember to save by hitting Commit and saving your whole subtitle file often.

That’s pretty much it. Be warned: Subtitling a whole clip can be very time-consuming. Once you’re done though, it can be rewarding to see your subtitled video in :

• Your computer using  class="vt-p" href="http://www.makeuseof.com/tag/how-to-add-subtitles-to-a-movie-or-television-series/">VirtualDub or  class="vt-p" href="http://www.makeuseof.com/tag/how-to-use-handbrake-to-attach-subtitles-to-a-movie-file/">Handbrake for permanently subtitled clips, and major media players, such as  class="vt-p" href="http://www.makeuseof.com/tag/top-5-free-media-players-for-windows/">VLC for soft subtitles,
• class="vt-p" href="http://www.makeuseof.com/tag/play-avi-files-subtitles-playstation-3/">Gaming console,
• class="vt-p" href="http://www.makeuseof.com/tag/hassle-free-video-streaming-to-your-iphone-and-ipod-touch-with-air-video-windowsmac/">iPhone/iPod Touch,
• class="vt-p" href="http://www.makeuseof.com/tag/convert-video-files-to-dvd-mp4-vcd-mpeg-windows/">DVD player using  class="vt-p" href="http://www.makeuseof.com/tag/how-to-create-a-dvd-from-any-video-file/">DVD Flick or  class="vt-p" href="http://www.makeuseof.com/tag/create-dvds-out-of-avi-or-other-media-files/">FAVC.

Of course, if you’d rather just download these and watch them with your videos, there are some class="vt-p" href="http://www.makeuseof.com/tag/3-subtitle-sources-movies-tv-series/">very useful subtitle search engines, as well as automatic subtitle-searching-and-downloading software, such as class="vt-p" href="http://www.makeuseof.com/tag/sublight-%E2%80%93-search-download-and-play-subtitles-of-your-movies/">Sublight (for class="vt-p" href="http://www.makeuseof.com/tag/sublight-finally-hasslefree-subtitle-retrieval-solution/">Windows) and class="vt-p" href="http://filebot.sourceforge.net/">FileBot (cross-platform and open-source).

Do you usually add your own subtitles or do you just prefer to download them? />
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Your music files can contain plenty of information that helps you to identify them. Using an MP3 tag editor you can add information to your music files such as the album name, artist, title, track number, genre or year released. This information is used by media players, be they software or hardware players, to organize your music collection into a library in which it is easy to find what you want. You can also select the album cover artwork using an MP3 tag editor which further helps you to identify specific tracks, and it looks a lot better as well. However, without third party software, editing the information in your music files can be an extremely time consuming and rather complicated process. You would typically have to go through the properties of each file one by one to edit the details of the specific songs. This is no big deal if you need to do it only once in a while, but if you have a large music collection with a thousand plus songs, as many of us do, it can become an impossibly time consuming task. An MP3 tag editor is a program that greatly simplifies this process, making it a whole lot faster as well. Although the most popular digital music format other than compact disk is MP3, you may well have your music collection, or parts of it, in a separate format. For example, if you have a collection of lossless audio files, they will be in a completely different format to MP3, and ideally, you need a tag editor that will allow you to edit the information in those files as well. Fortunately, there is a solution to this problem, a solution that will not only allow you to edit the tags of conventional MP3 files, but one which has support for a wide range of other popular formats as well. If you are looking for an MP3 tag editor with a wide range of supported formats and great ease of use, the best solution and the answer to your problems is a small piece of software called mp3Tag Pro, from http://www.maniactools.com. Maniac Tools is one of the industry leaders of such products, offering you a wide range of tools for dealing with your music and video collection and mp3Tag Pro is one of their most popular products. Although the name of the program may suggest otherwise, this software supports not only the MP3 standard, but also FLAC, MPC, WV, WAV, APE, AAC, MP4 and WMA formats. This should definitely cover virtually all of the music in any collection. mp3Tag Pro is a professional MP3 tag editor that anyone can use easily. It can also be used to automate the process of filling out missing tag fields where the information, such as track number, is in the file name. In just a matter of seconds, this software can do a lot of the hard work for you. Install the software today, and start organizing your music collection in minimal time!

If you have ever tried to clean MP3 tags manually then you know that this process is very long and tedious. Most people that download music online have collections of thousands of MP3 files. While I’m sure the majority of the songs are spelled correctly and have the correct ID3 tag information there is still a good portion that is incorrect. Having misspelled artist names and song titles can become a very big problem as your music collection gets larger. Couple that with the phantom songs that have no information and end up labeled as track one or unknown artist and you can have a very unorganized music library. Fortunately software developers have created a program that will automatically clean your MP3 tags with very little user input.

Automatic MP3 tag cleaners also go by the name of iTunes organizers, ID3 tag editors, MP3 tagging tools, and more. All in all the majority of these programs primarily serve the same purpose. While there are planning of programs on the Internet that help with organizing iTunes and other digital music libraries there are only a couple that can automatically scan your music and correct mistakes on the fly. This is made possible by comparing your music files with a large online databases. When the software finds a match it downloads the correct ID3 tag information. It doesn’t use song names or album titles as the basis for its search it actually uses the MP3 file and analyzes the analog sound and compares that with its database.

Here are some features that a good MP3 tag cleaner will offer:

Remove iTunes duplicates
Find and download album art
Fix song details such as artist names, song titles, and genres
Provides a friendly and easy to use user input
Seamlessly and efficiently works with minimal user input

As you can see MP3 tag cleaners are very powerful programs and can play a major role in organizing your iTunes or Windows media player libraries. If you are serious about cleaning your MP3 tags and having a very well-organized library I highly suggest downloading this software.

If your music collection is a mess and full of “Track 01″ and “Unknown Artist” you can clean mp3 tags automatically in minutes!

Fix mislabeled music, download album art, remove iTunes duplicates, and get concert alerts with the best mp3 tag cleaner on the market. Click the links above or copy and past this url in to your address bar for a full review of the program and its features, complete with a video tutorial on how to use the software.

Last week, our MakeUseOf poll asked you if you share passwords with your spouse. I was quite surprised to note that most of you do share passwords of some sort. I had thought that with so many geeks as readers we would have had far tighter security – even when committed partners are concerned. But, apparently that’s not the case. We’re generally quite a trusting bunch!

Results after the jump.

Not everyone was quite so trusting though – 29% of voters don’t share passwords at all. But this was definitely the minority, with most voters sharing at least some of their passwords with their partner. A staggering 33% of voters share all of their passwords: banking, social networks, email – everything. 26% of you are quite happy to share passwords for household stuff like banking. Overall, out of a total of 414 voters, a whopping 71% of MakeUseOf readers are happy to share some of their passwords with their spouse. Very trusting!

To all of you out there sharing passwords with your spouse, I truly hope that your trust isn’t misplaced and that your spouse is both careful and trustworthy. Also, for those of you sharing online banking details, I can honestly say from the bank’s point of view that you really shouldn’t be doing this. If it’s a joint account, it’s recommended that you both get your own online banking login.

The poll also uncovered many people who share passwords simply to ensure things ran smoothly after death. MUO has written about what happens to accounts after you die, and about Legacy Locker. If this was your reasoning for sharing passwords, then have a read!

But, I’m not here to lecture. I’m here to start a war between text editors!

This week’s poll question is: What’s your favourite text editor?

So, which are you? Stoic plain text? Word processor type who adamantly sticks to their preferred editor? Or a unix geek with a clear preference for Vi or Emacs? Speak up!

Obviously, not all text editors have made it in to the poll. But, please feel free to rant and rave about why your favourite text editor should not only be on the list, but should win this poll and then be installed on every computer in the world. Seriously, tell us!

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