BUL Computer Tips for the Macintosh

Questions or suggestions about this page should be sent to mspisar@flip.eecs.umich.edu

Question Index:

Q: How do I make large titles for my poster?
A: Use Adobe Illustrator on the Mac.
  1. Select File..Document Setup
  2. Set the artboard size to 48 inches by 7.5 inches (or as appropriate)
  3. Select "Tile imageable areas"
  4. Select OK
  5. Select File..Page Setup
  6. Select landscape orientation if your title height is less than 8 inches else select portrait orientation
  7. Select OK
  8. Use the text insertion tool to add text, and the pointer tool to move things around and to change the font/size of the text.
  9. Print it out and paste the resulting pages together.
Q: How do I convert PostScript files to PDF files?
A: Use Adobe Distiller on the Mac.
  1. Start Adobe Distiller, which is located in "Pigs Eye:Applications:Adobe Illustrator5.5:Acrobat Folder"
  2. Open the Postscript file using the File:Open menu option
  3. Enter the name of the PDF file to save
  4. Wait for the Distiller to finsh. Nothing else is necessary.
  5. To see the finished product, use Adobe Exchange in the same folder
Q: What is _printname_direct in the chooser list?
A: That is the direct interface to the printer. That is not the printer device you should normally be using.

Use the printing device named for the printer e.g. Rainier. That device is actually a spooler running on bul.eecs that will send your print job to the printer more quickly and reliably. To set up your chooser for the spooler:

  1. Open the chooser and display the list of printers.
  2. Setup/Autoconfig (double click) for each "printer". The icon will change to a spool.
  3. Setup/Autoconfig (double click) for each "_printer_direct".


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