Newbie Here & she needs help...

[perkiekat]

I would like to know if anyone could direct me to the correct place within the forum and/or HostGator (or any other place) to show & tell how to alter the templates. I have Dreamweaver 8 & Photoshop 7, however, I'm not sure how to alter the photos. I can work with Dreamweaver, but altering/customizing the photos in Photoshop to match my needs has been stressful.
Any tutorials...learning tools someone in the forum could direct me to?

[dwrunyon]

I got a lot of use from the Photoshop For Dummies book a long time back... it helped me to understand the basics enough to figure out the rest from thare. Photoshop LOOKS like a real beast, but once you get the basics down it's actually a LOT simpler (doin what most folks would need to do) than it LOOKS (not to say that it's not actually very complicated or anything).

[slapshotw]

Originally Posted by dwrunyon

it's actually a LOT simpler (doin what most folks would need to do)

This is the key. I probably use 10% of the features photoshop offers (if even that many). Once you learn to ignore the stuff you don't need to know (yet) it's a lot simpler to use.

That said, there's always something to be said for exploring when you're not on a deadline...

[gwyneth]

And remember, you own the program, it doesn't own you.

Also, time to pull out the universal advice: make a cup of tea or cocoa, get some sleep, and things will look better in the morning.

[perkiekat]

Thanks everyone. This gets real "hairy"...I have been following instructions on how to alter photos (I need to alter the text in a photo) and the only png file is the whole document, the gif and jpg files that have been sliced up, I don't have a clue how to change the apearance.

I'm ready to say "forget the templates" and build a site from scratch. It would be less stressful.

[perkiekat]

Originally Posted by dwrunyon

I got a lot of use from the Photoshop For Dummies book a long time back... it helped me to understand the basics enough to figure out the rest from thare. Photoshop LOOKS like a real beast, but once you get the basics down it's actually a LOT simpler (doin what most folks would need to do) than it LOOKS (not to say that it's not actually very complicated or anything).

BTW:
I just purchased the Photoshop 7 for Dummies on eBay. This should "set me free"...

[Hullabaloo]

Welcome.

Are you trying to edit an HG supplied template? Which one? (They are numbered.)

Most (if not all) HG templates include a psd graphic file that can be edited.

[perkiekat]

Originally Posted by Hullabaloo

Welcome.

Are you trying to edit an HG supplied template? Which one? (They are numbered.)

Most (if not all) HG templates include a psd graphic file that can be edited.

Yes! The file number is 328. Do you have any suggestions or any links you could lead me to to understand what I need to do in order to change the text in the top header. I'm pretty sure I can handle the rest of the site in Dreamweaver. If I could just find out "HOW" to make altercations to the photos, then I'll be ready to go!

[Hullabaloo]

First you need to figure out which image you need to edit. (Don't call 'em photos, web geeks hate it when you call graphic images photos.)

I opened up the index.html page in a browser right clicked the image and got properties, shows the name and the size, make a note of the name (1_home_top-top.jpg) and size (768 x 174).

Open Photoshop. In the menu bar at the top click on Window then Workspace > Default workspace. (Just so I know what you should be seeing.)

Look in the PSD folder, open 1_home.psd in Photoshop.

Update the text if it asks you (it should.)
It looks like the font the creator used was Minion Regular - I don't have this font on my machine, PS will substitute the best replacement it can, if you want the exact font you will have to find it on the web and install it on your machine.

Now we need to make the canvas the same size as the image we are replacing.
In the menu bar at the top click on Image then Canvas Size...
In the window that pops up change the height to 174, make sure that pixels are selected as the unit in the drop down box, not inches or whatever.
Then in the Anchor section select top left, center square is default.
Hit OK, it will warn you that you are cutting off the image.

Now edit the text, it is in the LOGO group, look in the layers panel in the lower right side of the window, you may have to scroll up or down.
When you see LOGO click on the little arrow spinner next to the word LOGO.

You should see SLOGAN GOES HERE and Company Name layers.
Edit the heck out of those bad boys. (Double click the icon part of the name to edit the text.)

When you are done, do a Save As... (Shift+Crt+S) call the file anything you want, just saving to avoid the previous steps if you want to edit again.

Now we need to flatten the image, in the menu bar at the top click on Layers then click on Flatten Image (it's near the bottom). Saving as a jpeg will flatten also but I like to see what I'm getting to avoid any surprises.

Save this files as 1_home_top-top.jpg (Shift+Crt+S) then select jpeg from the format drop down. You can either save it in the HTML>images folder or copy it there later.

That should do it.

[perkiekat]

THANK YOU!! This worked out PERFECT!..and with just a few steps!! I truly THANK YOU...you have saved me MANY headaches...and I also thank you for the info about calling graphic images...photos...my bad! This will definitely STICK with me!

[perkiekat]

Originally Posted by Hullabaloo

First you need to figure out which image you need to edit. (Don't call 'em photos, web geeks hate it when you call graphic images photos.)

I opened up the index.html page in a browser right clicked the image and got properties, shows the name and the size, make a note of the name (1_home_top-top.jpg) and size (768 x 174).

Open Photoshop. In the menu bar at the top click on Window then Workspace > Default workspace. (Just so I know what you should be seeing.)

Look in the PSD folder, open 1_home.psd in Photoshop.

Update the text if it asks you (it should.)
It looks like the font the creator used was Minion Regular - I don't have this font on my machine, PS will substitute the best replacement it can, if you want the exact font you will have to find it on the web and install it on your machine.

Now we need to make the canvas the same size as the image we are replacing.
In the menu bar at the top click on Image then Canvas Size...
In the window that pops up change the height to 174, make sure that pixels are selected as the unit in the drop down box, not inches or whatever.
Then in the Anchor section select top left, center square is default.
Hit OK, it will warn you that you are cutting off the image.

Now edit the text, it is in the LOGO group, look in the layers panel in the lower right side of the window, you may have to scroll up or down.
When you see LOGO click on the little arrow spinner next to the word LOGO.

You should see SLOGAN GOES HERE and Company Name layers.
Edit the heck out of those bad boys. (Double click the icon part of the name to edit the text.)

When you are done, do a Save As... (Shift+Crt+S) call the file anything you want, just saving to avoid the previous steps if you want to edit again.

Now we need to flatten the image, in the menu bar at the top click on Layers then click on Flatten Image (it's near the bottom). Saving as a jpeg will flatten also but I like to see what I'm getting to avoid any surprises.

Save this files as 1_home_top-top.jpg (Shift+Crt+S) then select jpeg from the format drop down. You can either save it in the HTML>images folder or copy it there later.

That should do it.

This has been the BEST piece of info I have received about altering graphic images within templates...dude...here's a HIGH FIVE from me! This should be in the tutorial area!!
Many Thanks to you again! I could not had done this without your help...

[BrianH]

Originally Posted by perkiekat

This should be in the tutorial area!!

Is there a tutorial area of the HG site? Seems like I'm always finding new things. I don't see a tutorial forum, but I think it would be a good idea.

EDIT - Just re-found this tutorial page, I had forgotten it was there: http://www.hostgator.com/tutorials.shtml