Time for an update on an application I last looked at over 12 months ago. Acknowledged as the premier diagramming, charting and visualisation tool for OSX, OmniGraffle has recently been relaunched with a mojor upgrade - OmniGraffle 5.

Available in both Standard and Pro versions, OmniGraffle is the tool that Mac users rely on to produce diagrams, process charts, UI mock ups and much more. Recognised as a perfect Visio replacement for switchers coming across to the Mac, OmniGraffle is a delight to use (see this recent blog post - "OmniGraffle makes it easy to leave Visio behind") combining simplicity with ease of use to deliver outstanding results.

This weeks show revisits some of the functionality I examined in the last show but focuses more on the new features in OmniGraffle 5 including:

• User Interface Update
• New Toolbar
• Configuring Drawing Tools
• Mini Inspector
• Style Tray
• Tools Basics including:
• New Bezier Line Tool
• Diagram Tool
• New Layout Engine
• New Stencil Palette
• Graffletopia Integration
• New OmniGraffle Pro features including:
• Subgraphs
• Presentation Mode
• Visio Compatability

This weeks free show is sponsored by the Omni Group and they have kindly offered a special discount to ScreenCastsOnline viewers. You can get 10% off any purchase of OmniGraffle 5 (upgrades or new purchases) by using the promo code:

SCO_OG5

when making your purchase.

Discussions: Forum

Extra members get access to full versions of the show in AppleTV (HD), ED and iPod resolutions.
Click here for more details on becoming a ScreenCastsOnline Extra! member

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Preview is one of OS X Leopards hidden gems. So much so, that most people are only aware of a fraction of its somewhat surprising range of features and capabilities!

Preview received a complete makeover with the release of Leopard, providing you with lots of additional power and flexibility. The great thing is, it's free and it's on all Macs so you never have to falter to make that image correction when your favourite shareware or freeware application isn't installed on someone else's Mac.

In this show, I'll take you through all the basic features of the latest version of Preview including:

• Image Capture
• Viewing Single and Multiple Images with Preview
• Slideshow Views
• Managing Images within Preview
• Color Correction
• Image Annotation
• Image Conversion and Resizing
• Opening and Re-arranging PDFs
• Annotation and Mark Up of PDFs
• Searching
• Bookmarks

See, I told you there was a lot to Preview!

Discussions: Forum

Extra members get access to full versions of the show in AppleTV (HD), ED and iPod resolutions.
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Simple. Intuitive. Powerful. That's the strap line for this weeks application which is VectorDesigner by TweakerSoft.

Causing quite a buzz earlier this year by winning a "Best of Show" 2008 and also being featured as one of the premium applications in the last MacHeist* promotion, VectorDesigner is a fully featured vector drawing application.

Unlike raster or bitmapped based drawing applications such as PixelMator or Photoshop, VectorDesigner uses vector based graphics allowing you to create drawings that are infinitely scalable without any degradation or loss of quality. VectorDesigner has some pretty amazing features including:

• Fully editable Smart Shapes
• Bezier creation and editing
• Flowing text along a path
• Flowing text inside a shape
• Boolean operators
• Layers
• Image filters powered by Core Image and Quartz Composer
• iSight Integration
• Flickr Integration
• Scanner Integration
• iLife photo browser

In addition, VectorDesigner also allows you to import or scan raster based images and convert them into scalable, editable vector graphics.

This weeks show touches on all these features (OK, except for iSight integration, I don't think you're quite ready for my ugly mug in a screencast yet!) and even takes you through creating a vector image design from scratch.

Of special interest is the Flickr integration that allows you to browse Flickr via a VectorDesigner Flickr browser and search for images and photos based on subject, colour or your own criteria. Once you've found an approriate image, just drag the image directly into your own VectorDesigner document as a new image or to add texture to an existing object.

This week is a free show and is sponsored by TweakerSoft.

To order your copy of VectorDesigner with $10 off the usual price, just visit:

TweakerSoft store.

The offer is available until the 23rd May, 2008.

Discussions: Forum

Extra members get access to full versions of the show in AppleTV (HD), ED and iPod resolutions.
Click here for more details on becoming a ScreenCastsOnline Extra! member

* If you'd like to see more tutorials on applications that have been featured in the Macheist promotions, just click on the MacHeist logo or on the "MacHeist" category in the sidebar. ScreenCastsOnline is not affiliated with MacHeist but offers these tutorials as a service to the Mac community!

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Featuring an excellent CD/DVD labelling utility this week, and that's DiscLabel 5 from SmileOnMyMac. As well as CD and DVDs, DiscLabel 5 also allows you to create stunning covers and inserts for all types of cases and boxes

As well as a whole library of templates and clip art, DiscLabel is fully integrated with iPhoto, iTunes, iDVD and other digital content packages to provide both artwork and automated track listings easily and quickly.

The show covers:

• Introduction to DiscLabel 5
• Creating Your Own Designs
• Inserting Tracks and Images from iPhoto
• Editing
• Applying Effects
• Installing and Using Clip Art
• Printing

This weeks show is sponsored by SmileOnMyMac and they've kindly provided a special ScreenCastsOnline discount code for 20% off the usual price of both the standard package plus the family pack. You can get the discount by using the coupon code: SCODISCLABEL The discount is available until 31st December 2007.

Discussions: Forum

Extra members get access to full versions of the show in AppleTV (HD), ED and iPod resolutions.
The free show (or trailer) is at a much lower resolution.
Click here for more details on becoming a ScreenCastsOnline Extra! member

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More iWork 08 goodness this week as I take a look at some of the new features in Keynote 08, Apples fantastic presentation application.

Keynote 3 was great but Apple have added in some additional features that really take Keynote to the next level. It's one of those applications that make you thankful you're a Mac user and might even just make those business users sitting on the fence make the final leap!

There is already a full ScreenCastsOnline tutorial on Keynote 3 covering some of the basic functionality so this week's show focusses on the new and improved elements within Keynote 08. The show also takes a more advanced approach on how you can configure the new features to create even more sophisticated and impressive effects!

This weeks show includes:

• Introduction & New Effects
• Smart Builds
• Integrating Smart Builds with Bullet Points
• Instant Alpha
• Creating Animations
• Presenters Display Setup & Usage
• Adding an Audio Narration
• Exporting & Printing

This weeks show is an Extra Members show and is available in Apple TV HD format (1280x720), Enhanced Desktop ED Format (960x540) and iPhone/iPod resolution (640x360). For full details on how easy it is to become an Extra! member and get this show along with the next six months worth of weekly shows PLUS access to over 110+ Mac based tutorials, just follow this link.

Discussions: Forum

Extra members get access to full versions of the show in AppleTV (HD), ED and iPod resolutions.
The free show (or trailer) is at a much lower resolution.
Click here for more details on becoming a ScreenCastsOnline Extra! member

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A special free show this week all about Pixelmator, the beautiful new image editing application. Pixelmator is a low cost, yet extremely powerful, image editor built especially for Mac OS X. It utilises many of its core technologies including Core Image, Open GL, Automator, ColorSync, Spotlight and many more!

As well as being a fully featured, layer based image editor in its own right, it also fully supports the editing and saving of PhotoShop files, removing the financial barrier many of us have in achieving PhotoShop compatibility.

The show covers many of the functions available in Pixelmator including:

• Pixelmator User Interface
• Using Pixelmator Tools
• Using Layers in Pixelmator
• Using a Clipping Mask
• Applying Filters to Layers
• Using a Layer Mask
• Using Filters and Effects in Pixelmator.

The beauty of the application is that you don't have to be a graphics pro to access some very advanced features and at only $59, Pixelmator is ideal for anyone on a budget.

You can order Pixelmator for download from the Pixelmator website from Tuesday, 25th September 2007.

Downloading and Viewing the Show
The easiest way to download this weeks show and receive all future shows is to subscribe to the weekly show in iTunes. Just click this link to subscribe to the free feed in iTunes. To get the HD versions each week plus the Members Only shows plus immediate access to the 140+ shows in the ScreenCastsOnline archive, read all about becoming a member here.

As a special treat, and to celebrate the launch of Pixelmator, I've included links to all three resolutions of the show on this page as well. Just click on the icons below to start the show streaming to your browser, or right or ctrl click the icons to download to your computer for local playback:

	Free Resolution (22MB)	This is the usual resolution for all free shows.
	Enhanced Definition (32MB)	Normally reserved for Extra! members and is great for viewing on the desktop. All shows (and the shows in the ScreenCastsOnline archive are available in this resolution for members).
	High Definition (62MB)	Again, usually reserved for Extra! members, this resolution is superb for viewing on your Mac desktop or on your Apple TV. All shows (and the shows in the ScreenCastsOnline archive are available in this resolution for members).

Discussing the Show
Along with the show, there's a very active ScreenCastsOnline forum which you're more than welcome to take part in. As well as threads and sections on all things Mac, you'll also find a separate thread for each published show allowing forum members to comment on that specific show, add extra hints and tips or to put me straight if I've made a mistake! You can find the discussion thread for the Pixelmator show here.

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omni

Another premier league Mac application this week, it's the fantastic Comic Life from Plasq.

If you've recently bought a new mac, chances are you've already got this super application already installed on your hard disk!

Comic life is a really easy way to turn your boring old digital photos into mini works of art. It's great for turning your holiday or family snaps into funny comic books that you can print, email or publish to the web using iWeb or .Mac. As well as its entertainment value, Comic Life can have a serious purpose in creating informative, easy to follow how to guides as well as being a great desktop publishing package. You'll find kids will love its flexibility and because it's so easy to use, Comic Life has carved out a special niche in the education market as a super educational tool for all ages.

In this week's show, I'll take you through the basics of Comic Life including:

◦ The User Interface
◦ Creating a Simple Comic
◦ Styles and Attributes
◦ Publishing and Exporting
◦ Some Sample Uses of Comic Life

Thanks to Cris over at Plasq for supporting ScreenCastsOnline by sponsoring this weeks episode.

Some links mentioned in this weeks show:

Comic Life Website
Educational Resources

Don't forget to also check out the Education Forum

Discussions: Forum

Extra members get access to full versions of the show in AppleTV (HD), ED and iPod resolutions.
The free show (or trailer) is at a much lower resolution.
Click here for more details on becoming a ScreenCastsOnline Extra! member

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