Expression Design Forum

vector ai file in expresion

Wed, 25 Nov 2009 01:42:19 Z

Hi

Can I use expression web to produce a vector file so that I can send it to a vinyl cutter?
I asked a pro. and he said that he needs a vector file like ai file which is produced by illustrator by adobe for him to cut the vinyl.

thx

Expression Design save crash

Sun, 22 Nov 2009 18:57:42 Z

Expression Design has started to crash everytime I try to export an image to a jpg.

Unable to enter product key for design, encoder, or blend

Sun, 22 Nov 2009 00:30:16 Z

I installed expression studio 2 successfully, i was able to enter the product key for expression web. however, when i go to use expression blend, design, or encoder, the programs open, but i am unable to select the radio button and enter my product key into the product key field to start using either program.

Photoshop export from Design with Layers

Wed, 18 Nov 2009 05:54:28 Z

So, I'm noticing how tedious it is to separate each element, in a design layout, into individual layers for Photoshop (PSDs). I especially need to do this for web design mockups, so that the web developer can do slicing in Photoshop (I have no idea why he won't just let me slice in design, but he won't).

Is there a better method for exporting designs as PSD, with layers, that isn't so tedious? Also, will Microsoft ever let me export these files with actual fonts, or will it always be rasterized?

Personally, I think answering these questions a bit better by the Microsoft developers for the next version of Design will be a *huge* step in both competing & working with Adobe.

Could anyone please tell me the programs used to design these websites/pages

Sat, 21 Nov 2009 16:10:34 Z

Hi,

http://www.microsoft.com/en/us/default.aspx
http://www.microsoft.com/expression/products/Web_Overview.aspx
http://www.microsoft.com/expression/community/Default.aspx
http://www.microsoft.com/visualstudio/en-us/products/default.mspx

I would like to know what programs were used by the developers of the sites listed directly above. Did the developers used Adobe Flash (surprising though), since it looks like flash works, but loads much faster than usual. Furthermore, I like the richness of the colors and how fast the page loads. Usually, a page designed with Adobe Photoshop doesn't load fast (here in Ghana, we still have considerably slow internet). But these pages listed above and links within the website all load remarkably fast.

I would appreciate any helpful response to my inquiries, since I am in the process of commissioning a website for my small business. I've always admired Flash works, but been thinking twice as a result of the loading time.

Thank you in advance.

Import XAML into Expression Design on Roadmap?

Mon, 27 Jul 2009 17:24:31 Z

Is the ability to import xaml into Expression Design on the roadmap for future versions at all? Especially xaml that was previously exported from Expression Design (so ... a format that Expression Design would understand).

This ability would be awesome. Often, all I have is some vector art in xaml and I would like to modify it in Design and then re-export.

This ability would be extremely helpful in round-tripping scenarios between the developer and the designer.

Do you use Expression Design for professional webdesigning?

Sun, 01 Nov 2009 20:29:30 Z

Hello

I already had an account here but I can't find my password anymore. I also asked the same questions but now I like to know if someone is using Expression Design for professional use? So do you guys use Expression Design for making layouts? And do you guys use Expression Design to design graphics and make money from the design? Like Microsofts website or this website is this created with Expression Design or with Photoshop?

Sorry for my poor English!

Thanks!

Problems exporting slices of rounded rectanges

Fri, 25 Jul 2008 14:49:54 Z

Hello

I'm trying to create a couple overlapping rounded rectangles (5px radius corners) and export slices of them to jpg files so that I can use them in a web page. I'm having tons of trouble getting this seemingly simple task done. I'm using Design 2.

See this image for an example of what I'm trying to create:
http://cid-ca945533e7f37fad.skydrive.live.com/self.aspx/Public/Expression/Example%20of%20what%20I%20want.jpg

The first problem that I've come across is getting the horizontal and vertical lines of the boxes to not antialias to two pixels wide. I seemed to get this to go away by painstaking trial and error of aligning the boxes and/or slices on half-pixels. I'd like to be able to just set "Align to pixels".

Another problem is that even though the two boxes are aligned top-left and the same width, when I export it looks like the topmost box (white one in my example) is wider by a pixel. I cured this by reducing the size of the box by a pixel. But then the box appears smaller when i'm designing. And I'm afraid that i'll have to do this kind of thing all the time by trial and error when I want to export jpgs like this.

The last problem I had was with the size and alignment of the slices themselves. I had specific height and widths that I wanted exported, so I set the height and widths of the slices to be what I want. But when I choose to export them as jpgs, they get a "rasterized" height and width different from my slice height and width. So I tried changing those heights and widths, but when I changed a height the width would automatically change and vice versa. I realized that if I moved my slice around that I could get the jpg size correctly, but it wouldn't neccessarily line up with the other slices.

What I initially did and would love to do is just:

turn on "Align to pixels",
create the 2 rectangles, simply sizing them and aligning them using the action bar,
create the 4 slices of the size that I want exported,
align the 4 slices over the overlapping parts of the rectangles using the Align buttons in the action bar,
export to jpg files that are the size of the slices and which don't have rectangle borders that are 2 pixels.

But because of the issues above, it never worked out like that. I ended up having to fiddle endlessly with the sizes and positions of the rectangles, export it as a single jpeg (not using slice), then slice that jpeg into the 4 slices that I want.

Am i approaching this wrong, just not aware of how to use the tool, or am I running into limitations of Design 2?

Here is the design file that i'm using to create the single jpeg. It has a few more elements than the simple example jpg i linked to above.
http://cid-ca945533e7f37fad.skydrive.live.com/self.aspx/Public/Expression/Rounded%20Rectange.design

Here is the design file with the single jpeg imported and then sliced into the pieces i need.
http://cid-ca945533e7f37fad.skydrive.live.com/self.aspx/Public/Expression/Rounded%20Rectange%20Slices.design

Thanks for any help.

Use Photodraw Files in Expression Design?

Sat, 25 Apr 2009 23:40:08 Z

Is there any chance that Expression Design will at some point in the near 
future allow you to open and edit .mix files from Photodraw 2000? OR is there 
a way to convert these files to keep the layers and to allow them to be 
edited in Expression Design? I have hundreds to convert.
-- 
Kathy

E3 Strokes directory

Sun, 15 Nov 2009 16:21:05 Z

Where should I put .sks file in Expression Design 3. I do not see any strokes directory nor can i get any .sks file on my machine ?

Clearing the recent file list in Expression Designer 3 (in Vista)

Tue, 17 Nov 2009 04:29:09 Z

How do I clear the recent file list in EW Designer 3 (in Vista)? I like to keep out clutter.

MediaPlayer need help for presentation

Tue, 17 Nov 2009 19:48:09 Z

Hi,

I am using Expression Studio 3. I have the Designer, Web and Expression Media installed per default install. I am using the Designer in a SilverLight project and I wanted to include a video. All of the tutorials mention a MediaPlayer asset but I cannot find it. I have searched help and various other sources. I'm stuck and would appreciate any help.

Keith

No Magic Wand Tool????

Tue, 17 Nov 2009 22:47:27 Z

I'm trying to Change the font color of a picture I imorted on Expressions Design 3. When using Photoshop I could just select what I want to change with the Magic Wand Tool. How do I do it on Expressions Design????

Wacoum Pen and Pad

Sun, 25 Oct 2009 01:43:42 Z

Does anyone have a recommendation for the type and size of Graphics pen and pad works best with EW Design?

Or a good site to do comparisons?

Thanks

Mike

"Two things are infinite: the universe and human stupidity; and I'm not sure about the the universe." -- Albert Einstein

No Open Dialog Box

Sun, 08 Nov 2009 06:16:43 Z

Hi everyboby,

I have a strange problem with Expression Design 3: there's no open dialog box. The program works fine, and I can drag and drop files, as well as use the recent file list, but when I chose 'File' > 'Open' or 'Ctrl' + 'O', the window flashes momentarily (like it's out of focus, then back in focus) but nothing happens.

The first time I installed Expression Design it crashed, but I've tried repairing, uninstalling, deleting my preferences, everything I can think of, all to no avail. My setup is:

+ Windows 7 x64 Home Premium
+ Expression Design 3 (no other Expression products are installed at the moment)

I've tried installing to the default directory as well as a custom directory, but that doesn't help either. What am I missing?

As a side note, I previously had the Design 3 trial installed on Windows 7 RC and it worked perfectly. I've since formatted, performed a clean installation of Windows 7 RTM, bought and registered Expression Web 3, and only then did the problems occur.

Thanks in advance!

Removing the center of a graphic to have a transparent whole.

Mon, 09 Nov 2009 22:03:22 Z

I have a odd shaped graphic I want to put on a clean background...Think of the image as a donut. I would like to drag the donut over a background and have the background show around and in the center of the donut. I can remove the outside of my graphic by greating a b-spline and making a clipping path. However, I cannot remove the center piece. How can I do this to create a transparancy around my image as well as maintain a transparent hole in the middle. Thanks.

Also, is it possible that if I create a b-spline of the center to fill that b-spline with a solid color as a second solution to my problem. Thanks again.

Design 2 stuck in Pan mode

Mon, 07 Jul 2008 19:35:04 Z

When I launch Expression Design 2 and create a new blank document, the program gets stuck as if the Pan tool is active. Selecting other tools on the toolbar has no effect other than some flickering of the mouse cursor as if the other tool is trying to fight for control of the cursor image. Other stuff like menu commands still seem to work.

After being in this state for up to a couple of minutes, ED2 will then start behaving normally. If I close it and reopen it, it still behaves normally. I've not yet determined if it is a longer period of time or that my PC has been in sleep mode between incidents that causes it to repeat the erroneous behavior.

Any ideas what is going on here?

Glare effect

Wed, 11 Nov 2009 19:34:37 Z

I've seen this effect on several sites and even on the windows 7 default bg. I want to know one thing: how do you do it? For those of you who don't know what I'm talking about here's one.

I want to do this affect, but in the center of the image, almost like an orb.

Is only allowing the "Pan" tool?

Wed, 21 Oct 2009 01:51:27 Z

HI,

I have been using Design for months and have loved it, bit when I opened it up today it automatically selected the "Pan" tool. I have tried to select other things but it keeps just going back to the "Pan" tool. Did I maybe adjust something I should not have. Any ideas are welcome.

Thanks,

Paul

Web Resolution

Fri, 13 Nov 2009 02:20:04 Z

I use Expression Design to design assets for my websites. When I create a new document, I am faced with setting the resolution. What would be the best resolution in creating a web used image?

Irregularly shaped gradient

Wed, 11 Nov 2009 04:55:45 Z

Hi, I'm new to expression design. I am working with a blobby shaped object. Is there a way to get a radial gradient fill effect to adhere to that shape instead of just remaining a circle. Sorry if this is an elementary question.

The application failed to initialize properly (0xc000007b) Click on OK to terminate the application.

Thu, 20 Aug 2009 23:15:52 Z

Hello,

I'm getting this error when I try to run Design 3. I had 2 installed and running without a problem then installed 3 and now neither works. I found 2 other threads with this error but there is no solution to the problem.

Does anyone know why I cannot get it to run? All other Expression Studio 3 apps work. I did not uninstall version 2 first which was a trial version before installing a non-trial version 3.

thank you,
Bob

Stair-Step Path

Tue, 27 Oct 2009 21:59:53 Z

I'm primarily a Blend user with some Design experience, but more traditional Photoshop skills. I am trying to make a simple stair step path, but having difficulties. Hoping that folks more experienced with Design could be of help. I'm trying to make something like I've ASCI'ed below. Ideally, it would be one path or polygon about 30px in line thickness, 1 pixel black border, with rounded ends (although not uniform rounded, with flat-round), rounded elbows/pits and with gradient fill applied (although solid fill could work). (note that was ideally).

      *****************
      *****************
      ****
      ****
*********
*********

What I have been able to accomplish:

A single color path of thickness 30 with uniform rounded ends. (lacking 1 pixel border).
A polygon, with square ends, 1px border (but because of only 1 px pits and elbows are square).
I've tried creating a polygon + 2 ellipse with combine, but when I got to editing the line points, things weren't grouped right and no border.

Any suggestions would be greatly appreciated.

Resolution

Wed, 11 Nov 2009 15:16:22 Z

Hey Everyone,

This is probably a simple one - so sorry for the newbie question ;) but here it goes

When you open a new document in Design - by default it selects resolution 96dpi px/inch

Could anyone tell me off hand - is this the standard to use when using it for Web graphics?

Also, what resolution would you use if you are creating say a graphic to print on A4 paper (it seems to default to 300dpi - when you selct A4)

Thanks in advance

Paul

Can't see image or table in design mode

Wed, 11 Nov 2009 18:42:13 Z

I am currently creating a webpage in expression web 2 and have run across an interesting problem. My page includes an image and a table below a CSS drop down menu. I created the drop down menu in the code mode, but inserted the image and table while in design mode. When I preview the page in a browser, everything looks exactly the way I want it, but for some reason, when I return to design mode, I can no longer see the image or the table. I can see in the code that it is there, but I can't see it in design mode. It is a page that I will be updating frequently, and I would much rather be able to do that in design mode. Any ideas?

trouble running Design/Blend

Wed, 27 Feb 2008 07:05:12 Z

Hi all,

I downloaded and installed Expression Studio through Dreamspark. I can't seem to get Blend and Design to work. Web and Media work fine, but when I open either Blend or Design, I get, "Microsoft Expression Blend (or Design) has encountered a problem and needs to close. We are sorry for the inconvenience."

The report for Blend contains,

EventType : clr20r3 P1 : blend.exe P2 : 1.0.1083.0 P3 : 4613c995
P4 : microsoft.expression.framework P5 : 1.0.2.1000 P6 : 4613c973
P7 : b58 P8 : 0 P9 : system.typeinitialization

If I choose debug, the error shown is, "An unhandled exception ("System.TypeInitializationException') occured in Blend.exe" [3264]

Running XP sp2, tried repairing install, also installed Visual Studio 2008 and have .net framework 3.5 installed, and have tried uninstalling and reinstalling. Again, Web and Media work fine, as well as VS2008.

Any ideas?

Wish List - Right Mouse Clicks

Tue, 10 Nov 2009 16:43:19 Z

Not an Adobe user. As a Microsoft user/person/PC, I found Designer very difficult (as a beginner) to use... commands don't make sense.... especially contect sensitive Right Mouse Clicks are missing.

Does anybody know why? Is it because Adobe products said so?

Travis McGee

Stuggling with the lack of ability to open .eps files

Mon, 18 Aug 2008 22:51:42 Z

Does anyone know if or when there will be an update that allows you to open .eps files? This is really troublesome to me...I don't know about anyone else. I have so many vector files saved that I cannot open now, among other files that I can no longer access.

Recent Files list dissapears

Mon, 09 Nov 2009 20:42:54 Z

I have an issue with expression Design:

The recent file list often dissapears for no reasons.

Any idea why?

I'm running Windows 7 Ultimate, x64. and Expression studio is installed.

Pierre

How do I create a hyperlink button from an image, with a rollover effect?

Sun, 08 Nov 2009 18:35:00 Z

I have two images (a normal state image and a rollover state image) I wish to use as a hyperlink button and I'm using Expression Blend 3 for my design editing. I've started following the instructions from the thread, "Hyperlink a image on a Silverlight Webpage" (http://social.expression.microsoft.com/Forums/en-US/blend/thread/6db0d9ac-d0e3-4f58-a32e-484a3a90480c). I'm able to create a hyperlink which just has an image (create a HyperlinkButton, then drag and drop an image onto the hyperlink), but I'm having problems trying to get the rollover image to change.

After adding an image to the Hyperlink Button, I do the following:

The hierarchy of the page is:
UserControl
    LayoutRoot
        HyperlinkButton
            Image

I select the HyperlinkButton item, then in the Object menu I select Edit Template>Edit a Copy.
I define in "This document" and set combobox to HyperlinkButton, and then OK
I then switch over to the States tab and select Mouse Over.

It is at this point which I'm confused and don't know what to do. For a normal (text) HyperlinkButton, with the MouseOver state selected and recording I would normally set the appearance of what 'd like the control to look like when the MouseOver event fired, but the only thing I can see which pertains to the image is the Source element in the Common Properties tab, but whne I change the image to the rollover image, that changes the main image, not the image in the mouse over state. Any suggestions?

Thanks,

Jeff

Horrifically Bad Software or Documentation

Sun, 08 Nov 2009 17:59:52 Z

How did we go from Photodraw, a simple easy to use graphics editor, to Expression Design 3, an unbelievably complex, terribly documented piece of sh%t? MS, if your idea of Web 2.0 is to generate documentation in real time as users experience frustration with your product. You need some serious help. I've uninstalled this cr*p from my work computer and will be advising my employer to look elsewhere for good graphics editing software.

working with effects

Sat, 07 Nov 2009 14:45:53 Z

I know some effects are difficult to work with it often depends of what color you use and the settings fom light and brightness you use
even changing once you have the effect applied can cause
problems
here a test for waterpaper
on the green color it worked well on the yellow orange I had to play with the settings to show up
for the border effect I used the calligraphic stroke once 30 points and once 60 points to eraser
copied the first rectangle I draw and pasted it in front added the stroke and set the fill color to none and used blend mode eraser so the stroke erased part of first rectangle
png file

here the design file done in design 1

Random Splatter Background

Fri, 06 Nov 2009 05:54:26 Z

Greetings All,

Someone posted a Design piece in the Gallery located here . Could someone please suggest to me how the artist may have achieved the random splatter effect in the background of that work? I've tried a few things but to no avail.

I would very much appreciate your suggestions. As much as I enjoy the Design product, I've had some projects that have kept me away from "playing" with it. I've somewhat lost my touch.

Peace,

Phroneo

Current Slice Properties Window Doesn't Show Selected Slice in Design 2

Fri, 06 Nov 2009 20:07:47 Z

I'm following along with a Design 2 tutorial. When I select a slice, nothing shows in the Current Slice Properties window. It's a black screen.

How to build this Etheral Fog?

Fri, 06 Nov 2009 20:31:55 Z

The image here :
http://gallery.expression.microsoft.com/en-us/MultiTouch

Is awesome ...
Kudo's to the author.

I've been playing around with blending paths and various levels of opacity,etc.

But does anyone know of a tutorial that shows how to make something like that?

Web 2.0

Fri, 06 Nov 2009 11:23:09 Z

Web 2.0 is a term coined in current years that symbolize the altering trends in the Utilize of World Wide Web knowledge and Web Design Company that aspires to improve imagination, in sequence distribution, partnership and functionality of the web. Web 2.0 views have escorted to the expansion and development of web-based society and hosted services, such as social networking sites, video distribution sites, wicks, blogs, and communal indexes.

Web 2.0 websites are characteristically identified for the utilize of CSS, Folksonomies (communal classification, organization, and indexing), Microformats, REST/XML/JSON-based APIs, wealthy internet applications such as Ajax, Flex, or Flash, semantically valid XHTML and HTML, RSS/Atom syndication and aggregation, web log-publishing tools, wiki or debate software, and the comprehensive use of internet seclusion and contented organization. Underneath is a catalog of the top 15 websites that have been powerful in establishing these techniques of functionality on the web.

Google has been an increasing star for the earlier period now, and is legitimately the leading American conglomerate not a element of the Dow Jones Industrial Average. The innovative site ongoing out as a straightforward search engine, sooner or later becoming a extensive network of sites and services that contain Gmail, Google Maps, Google Docs, Google Talk, Google Desktop, AdWords, Analytics, Picasa, and Google Earth, in the midst of others. As a demonstration to the company’s attractiveness, the word “Google” was added to the Merriam-Webster dictionary as a verb in 2006, meaning “to use the Google search engine to obtain information on the internet.” Google’s “iGoogle” modification site has made known to be a analogous staple on the 2.0 scene.

Friends I wish all the above giving information on web 2.0 will help u.

Expression Design Training

Wed, 21 Oct 2009 14:51:28 Z

I am sure this has been posted here somewhere but I just wanted to pass it along. This is a great GREAT tutorial for Design for the person that knows nothing about Design. It is a non MS source and it cost a little but I find it terrific!

http://www.lynda.com/home/ViewCourses.aspx?lpk0=273

"Two things are infinite: the universe and human stupidity; and I'm not sure about the the universe." -- Albert Einstein

Inner shadow and inner glow

Thu, 28 Feb 2008 17:03:29 Z

Hi

There's a way to obtain the effect
inner shadow
and
inner glow ?

Cu a picture

Wed, 04 Nov 2009 17:04:14 Z

How can i just cut a part of a picture out of a picture. Sicorrs is not working ?

How to use clipping masks in Design?

Mon, 02 Nov 2009 14:19:12 Z

Hello

How do this http://www.republicofcode.com/tutorials/photoshop/video_masks/ in Expression Design 3? I find out how to do this with text and an image but how with two images? And how do I crop an image in ED3?

EDIT: I copied and pasted an object. But now I want to move it with the selection tool but I can't move my object. Maybe I am getting paranoid but could someone help me please!

Thanks!