Every now and then I’ll come across a tip that makes me slap my forehead and ask “How did I miss that one?”

Photoshop CS3 and CS2 both let you easily extract images that are embedded in PDF documents. Next time you open a PDF file in Photoshop CS3, look at the top of the import window that normally displays a preview of all the available pages in your PDF. Click on the Images radio button and you’ll be presented with a list of all the images embedded in that PDF.

Tip: In Photoshop CS2, the Images option is hidden under a pop-up menu.

Choose the image you want and click the OK button to open it. You can then save it in any file format you like.

Option-dragging is a shortcut to duplicate objects in most modern design applications. But in InDesign, duplicating with the Option key goes much deeper.

In InDesign, you can also hold down the Option key when making some Control panel adjustment to make a duplicate of your selected item. For example, if you make change to the location values and then hold down the Option key when typing Enter, a duplicate of your object will appear in the new location.

Windows Users: Use the Alt key for the same result.

Add InDesign’s ability to perform basic math operations, and you have an great shortcut for quickly and precisely duplicating objects. (Read “Let your design apps do the math for you” back in QuickTips #24)

Last month’s first mini-workshops were a hit. Thanks to everyone who made it out for one of our first topics in August. Here is the new lineup for September and October.

Join us at the Creativetechs office Wednesday mornings 9:30am to 11am. Pick up a couple new skills, and get back to work before lunch. You can put what you learn into use the same day.

The cost is $50 per workshop.