PPA Training

Great reasons for a CorelDraw Training Course – Part Three

If you have the right picture in the wrong format, CorelDraw could be just what you need to get you out of a fix.

CorelDraw and its stable-mate Corel Photo-Paint can import and export files in just about any format you're ever likely to need.

I'm a bit of a dinosaur in the IT world these days so I can remember the days when just about everyone who created a software application had a proprietary file format to go with it...

https://ppatraining.co.uk/coreldraw/great-reasons-for-a-coreldraw-training-course-part-three/

Continuing my series of "Great reasons to choose a CorelDraw training course", welcome to...

Reason No. 2

It's not just a vector graphics drawing tool. It's also a full-featured DTP (Desktop Publishing) programme, and, if you purchase it as part of the Corel Graphics Suite...

https://ppatraining.co.uk/coreldraw/coreldraw-training-courses-because-youre-worth-it/

Great reasons to use CorelDraw

I've always thought that CorelDraw gets a pretty rough ride from folks in the graphics/design world where Adobe still reigns supreme. But starting today and over the next few weeks I'm going to give you some great reasons for choosing CorelDraw over its better-known competitors.

Reason No. 1

It's available to purchase as a perpetual licence rather than by subscription, although there's a subscription plan option as well if that's what you prefer.

In my experience annual subscription models – at least for Windows users, which is where most CorelDraw users live – are a waste of money. They incentivise software developers to hold back on new features that they could have included this year so that they have something to shout about next year. But more often, the new features in the 'upgrades' year on year aren't really worth shouting about in the first place. I can't remember the last time an upgrade to any graphics product included something really new and innovative that made it worth the cost but I can recall a number of occasions when useful features were removed from 'upgrades', often only to be re-introduced a couple of years later when they were then touted as new features in a subsequent upgrade.

I have an old copy of version CorelDraw 12 (the current 2022 release is version 23) that still works perfectly and runs on a Windows 10 machine. It doesn't have all the bells and whistles of the current release but I'd say it does easily 85% of what the newest release can do, so if I hadn't bought in to any of the subsequent releases that's 10 years of subscriptions I could have saved myself.

PPA runs regular CorelDraw courses, in-class, online or on your own premises. Visit https://ppatraining.co.uk/courses/corel/coreldraw/introductory-course/ to learn more about our CorelDraw training courses.

Do you have an interest in IT training, either as a delegate or as a buyer of training – or both?

We're hoping to get some valuable insights about how, if at all, people's approaches to IT training might have changed as a result of the different ways of working brought about during the Covid 19 pandemic. We'd really appreciate it if you could take 2 minutes to complete a short survey that we've put together here https://www.surveymonkey.co.uk/r/S2LQKHR.

Thank-you in advance if you're able to help.

THE CLASSROOM IS BACK

After nearly two years of delivering only online courses I'm delighted to announce that in-person training in a real classroom is finally back on our schedule.

The ability to deliver courses online has undoubtedly been a lifeline for many of us, and I know that for many of you as well it has proved to be a better alternative than attending classes in-person. Not having to travel to a training venue is an obvious advantage, and providing courses in 3-hour chunks instead of a full day has made it much easier for those working from home to organise their day. So online training is here to stay as well, and over the next few months we'll be scheduling online and in-class versions of courses in alternate months.

Nothing quite beats the learning experience of having your trainer on-hand and in-person though, and I'm really looking forward to seeing as many new and old faces as possible again. From a trainer's point of view, it's been quite tough to know exactly who and how well people in online sessions have understood the content. So much is communicated non-verbally in face-to-face training and I've really missed that. When a person is in the room with me, it's easy to know when they're struggling to understand something. It can be a facial expression, a sigh, a gasp of frustration – a curse even – that lets me know all isn't well. And even if there are no non-verbal cues, I can always just stand near them and watch what they're doing to see how they're getting on.

So, welcome back and I hope to see you soon.

Learn more, visit www.ppatraining.co.uk

PPA Training updated their information in their About section.

As winter approaches and the risks associated with the covid pandemic are far from over, we're continuing to offer all scheduled courses online only – which, let's face it, is not without its lighter moments and some advantages.
We'll be happy to come to your premises to deliver in-person training as long as you're able to provide a covid-secure environment. If you aren't able to host a training session on your own premises but still want in-person training, we can also arrange suitable venues in many parts of the UK and Ireland, so just get in touch and let us know what you need, and we'll do the rest.
www.ppatraining.co.uk/courses

We Hear You

The last twelve months or so have been a bit of a learning curve for all of us. Working from home whilst home-schooling the kids, feeding the baby, walking the dog and seeing to the laundry has been a real eye-opener for many of us. It's given us some hilarious moments too of course. Who will ever forget the American lawyer who appeared in virtual court as a cat, or the time Dr. Kelly's adorable young children photo-bombed a very serious BBC TV News interview.

Hilarity aside, one of the things you've been telling us is that a full day training course that largely follows the same format as a face-to-face classroom course is a tough ask for all sorts of reasons. Quite apart from the numerous other commitments and distractions that come with working from home, an all-day zoom meeting, even with frequent breaks, is just too long for most people to maintain any decent level of concentration.

We hear you.

Last year we took the decision to spread our two-day courses over a week with the second day taking place a week or so after the first, but that still meant two full days online learning. So starting next month, all scheduled online PPA training courses will be broken down into shorter three-hour sessions. One-day courses will now run over two three-hour sessions several days apart, and two-day courses will run over four three-hour sessions with several days between the sessions.

So you see, we're still learning and we're trying to do everything we can to help you carry on learning too.

Learn more about our great courses – visit ppatraining.co.uk

Here we go again...

When covid19 officially became a worldwide pandemic in March last year I'm sure we all thought that by the time we saw in 2021 we'd be looking back on lockdown 1.0 as a bit of a novelty that caused many of us to rethink our priorities and perhaps make some long overdue adjustments to our work/life balance...

https://www.ppatraining.co.uk/uncategorized/here-we-go-again/

Here we go again… | PPA Training When covid19 officially became a worldwide pandemic in March last year I'm sure we all thought that by the time we saw in 2021 we'd be looking back on lockdown 1.0 as a bit of a novelty that caused many of us to rethink our priorities and perhaps make some…

The Lost Art of Paste Up

https://www.youtube.com/embed/CwrePe4-ID4

Have you ever wondered why we use words like "cut" and "paste" to describe the process of moving bits of text and pictures from one place to another in our computer programmes?

In this short video, Bryony Dalefield from the London Review of Books, reminds us of how page layout was done in the days before electronic publishing. It's a sobering reminder of just how easy we have it today when you see how much work was involved in making a "simple" correction to something like a misspelled word or an orphan.

Until the early 1980s all printed matter was created this way, including newspapers. It's hard to imagine that every single story and picture would have been cut and pasted onto an artboard like this, and that corrections were made by cutting and pasting individual words or even parts of words.

This video explains why I describe modern desktop publishing software as "a metaphor for the traditional cut and paste method". When you understand the traditional way of doing things, the digital process somehow makes a lot more sense.

If you need to learn how to use QuarkXPress, Adobe InDesign, Adobe FrameMaker or CorelDraw to electronically paste up pages, check out our training courses.

The Lost Art of Paste-Up Arranging and rearranging a magazine’s layout before it goes to press is all done on computers now. But in the years before desktop publishing software, the ...

"Remote working from home is the new normal. Retrain." they said. "Upskill to improve your prospects."

That's all very well but the reality can be very different. If you fancy turning your hand to something like SAP Business Objects for example, getting access to the software can be a major stumbling block. You can book a place on a course easily enough, but once the course is finished, if you don't already have a job using Business Objects, how do you practice and develop your skills while looking for a new position? When even the cheapest Business Objects setup costs somewhere north of £25k (and requires a level of technical expertise you're unlikely to posess straight away even if you are able to splash out) your best efforts could turn out to be a waste of money if you're not careful.

That's the situation for many people struggling to change direction in the post Covid-19 world. At PPA we've come up with a way to help. Since August 1st when you book an SAP Web Intelligence Reporter course with us you'll get 28 days free access to a cloud-based Business Objects account and the sample data that we use on our courses so that your learning doesn't have to stop when the course ends.

Learn more – visit ppatraining.co.uk

What if this is the new normal?

I’m lucky to live very close to a vast expanse of common land where I’ve been able to take long, leisurely walks most days during the coronavirus pandemic. I’m actually quite ashamed to admit that I never made better use of such an amenity before the lockdown started, but I’d like to think that I’ll make better use of it in future.

I’m choosing my words quite carefully here. I was tempted to write “when things are back to normal” at the end of that first paragraph. But while we’re all waiting to see what the new normal will be, there’s a danger that we’ll miss the opportunities in front of us right now. There’s no doubt that the coronavirus pandemic has changed many aspects of our everyday lives, and maybe some things will have been changed for ever. But what if this is the new normal? Some of the paths on my walks across the common are quite narrow, and already I find myself instinctively checking that no-one is coming towards me on stretches where there wouldn’t be room for us to pass at least two metres apart. I wonder how long it will be until I don’t think like that any more, or if that will become part of my new normal.

So maybe the time has come to embrace the present rather than waiting for things to get back to normal.

Watch this space for some Covid-19 support opportunities!

StaySafe – but what does that actually mean?

"I've had several such emails in the past, but this time he'd added a new coronavirus twist. He assured me that he could and would infect me and all my family with Covid-19 if I didn't make the payment... So be prepared for new takes on old scams and keep your wits about you."
https://www.ppatraining.co.uk/businessobjects/staysafe-but-what-does-it-actually-mean/

I'm using this down-time to update my course manuals, and to correct all those little typos and other errors that I've known about for ages (as well as finding a few I didn't know about) that in busier times I just never got round to doing. Some good will come of all this!

https://www.ppatraining.co.uk/businessobjects/coronavirus-covid-19-update/
"This crisis will end, and when it does your skills will be vital to get businesses and the economy back up to speed as quickly as possible. If you can use this enforced down-time to upskill yourself, improve your CV and maybe boost your confidence, you'll be doing yourself and the economy a great service."

Coronavirus/COVID-19 Update | PPA Training In view of the government advice to avoid all unnecessary social contact as much as possible, we are cancelling all courses scheduled for our Surrey Training Centre until further notice. All our scheduled courses will now run as online courses only in our Virtual Classroom. You can join them from…

We're now offering "coronavirus-safe" training in a virtual classroom in addition to regular scheduled classroom-based courses. Same courses, same content, same standard of professional delivery, just online rather than in person. You'll get to interact with others in the class, and put questions to your trainer just as if you were in the classroom with them. You'll see demonstrations of skills and carry out task-based exercises in the same way as in a physical environment. Plus you can join in from home if you're self-isolating, social distancing or just tele-working. Contact me for more information - www.ppatraining.co.uk/Contact

Be the first to get your copy of our new FREE guide. Includes a £50 voucher towards the cost of your next Business Objects training course. Send for your FREE copy today!

Getting to Grips with Business Objects: What You Need to Know – FREE GUIDE | PPA Training This short FREE illustrated guide will streamline the way you work with Business Objects and get you on the fast track to working with confidence.

"...when people are adequately equipped to do what is expected of them, they make better use of their time, feel better about themselves, and are less stressed"
http://www.ppatraining.co.uk/businessobjects/why-i-do-what-i-do/

Why I do what I do | PPA Training I believe that when people are adequately equipped to do what is expected of them, they make better use of their time, feel better about themselves, a

Have you received one of these? Don't open it! I received this in my Inbox this morning. I wasn't expecting a payment from gklgroup.co.uk (yours may be from a different company) and so was

"For me it comes down to a simple matter of courtesy: if you’re using your phone to communicate with others whilst in a face-to-face encounter with me, then what you’re really saying is that you’d probably rather be somewhere else..."

http://www.ppatraining.co.uk/uncategorized/should-we-ban-mobile-phones-from-training-courses-and-meetings/

Should we ban mobile phones from training courses and meetings? | PPA Training [embed]https://youtu.be/hER0Qp6QJNU?t=12m7s[/embed] A slightly different perspective on the use of mobile phones in the context of business meeting

If your logo looks like this, you need help… | PPA Training

Your company logo is one of the most readily identifiable images you have, and if it’s a strong brand the image will be instantly recognisable. All too often, however, logos appear distorted and pixelated...
Read my top tips for preserving your brand identity in my new blog here http://www.ppatraining.co.uk/businessobjects/if-your-logo-looks-like-this-you-need-help/

If your logo looks like this, you need help… | PPA Training

support.microsoft.com

Not good news if you're still using QX10.

Quark Forums • View topic - End-of-life for QuarkXPress 10 scheduled This is a user-to-user forum, where you meet experts; exchange ideas & discuss solutions with other users of QuarkXPress, App Studio etc. If you...

I remember once teaching CorelDraw to a lady who worked for a local authority in Cambridgeshire. Her knowledge of typefaces was encyclopedic, and she needed little additional artwork to convey her message: her choice of typeface pretty much said it all. It's a skill I wish I could boast, particularly as in the internet age, so much of what we read is in default typefaces such as Arial or Times New Roman. So if you want to add a little pazazz to your designs, experiment with different typefaces. Even on the web, words and short phrases can be converted to images to maintain the integrity of your designs.

Useful explanation of Open Type here

08 - DTP with QuarkXPress: Open Type Features 1 This is the next video of the new video series"Desk Top Publishing with QuarkXPress". Learn about OpenType functionality and font features. The Vollkorn font...

"...you need your trainer to be approachable, and to make you feel relaxed and confident that there is no such thing as a stupid question"

http://www.ppatraining.co.uk/businessobjects/how-confident-are-you-about-asking-questions-in-class/

How confident are you about asking questions in class? | PPA Training When I was at school, I was one of those kids who always felt nervous about asking questions in class in case it made me look stupid in front of my cl

When we asked our customers which words they would use to describe their PPA Training Course experience, look at what they had to say...

http://www.ppatraining.co.uk/businessobjects/practical-well-structured-useful-and-enjoyable/

Practical, Well Structured, Useful and Enjoyable | PPA Training When we asked our customers which words they would use to describe their PPA Training Course experience, look at what they had to say...

I'm all in favour of healthy competition, but I fail to see how a training "agency" like this can justify that sort of mark-up on a course when they haven't invested in hardware, software or course development costs. If you're one of those people who believes that "you get what you pay for", you'll be in for a shock if you fall for this one!
http://www.ppatraining.co.uk/blog/

Blog | PPA Training | Professional, Instructor-led, classroom-based training courses So today I was just researching the competition regarding pricing, and was surprised when I came across this on the website of a company offering Busi

Very proud of these statistics!
http://www.ppatraining.co.uk/uncategorized/over-48-of-our-customers-said-their-ppa-training-course-exceeded-their-expectations/

Over 48% of our customers said their PPA training course exceeded their expectations | PPA Training As promised, here's the breakdown of another of the responses to the PPA training course feedback survey completed by our customers. A recent analy

http://www.ppatraining.co.uk/uncategorized/the-cost-of-not-knowing-what-you-dont-know/

The Cost of Not Knowing What You Don’t Know… | PPA Training If I had a pound for every time I’ve heard someone say “I wish I’d known that before…” during a training course, I could probably be relaxing now either somewhere warm and sunny, or crisp and snowy, instead of sitting here writing this.

PPA Outperforms Global Benchmark for all categories

www.ppatraining.co.uk/uncategorized/ppa-outperforms-surveymonkey-global-benchmark-for-all-categories/

It seems that our customers really love the way we do training courses, and the latest analysis of our feedback questionnaires shows that PPA has outperformed the Surveymonkey global benchmark in all categories of response.

PPA Outperforms Surveymonkey Global Benchmark for all categories | PPA Training It seems that our customers really love the way we do training courses, and the latest analysis of our feedback questionnaires shows that PPA has outp

Business Objects training doesn't have to cost a fortune

How to boost profits and productivity with face-to-face Business Objects training Short animated video

http://www.business2community.com/marketing/history-pdf-marketing-limitations-01650354 .97

Need to know more? Book a place on one of our Adobe Acrobat Training courses and learn how to make the most of your Acrobat software: http://www.ppatraining.co.uk/courses/adobe/acrobat/introductory-course/

The History of the PDF and Its Marketing Limitations The PDF (Portable Document Format) was created by Adobe Systems in the early 90s as a way for companies and individuals to efficiently and reliably exchange electronic documents. Since then, they’v…

http://www.ppatraining.co.uk/uncategorized/why-do-some-function-buttons-keep-disappearing-from-my-webi-toolbars/

Why do some function buttons keep disappearing from my Webi Toolbars?

If I had a quid for every time I've been asked this question over the last couple of years I wouldn't be sitting here writing this blog post now...

Brand new website launched today. Head over to www.ppatraining.co.uk and take a look - I'd love to hear your feedback

PPA Training | Professional, Instructor-led, classroom-based training courses Adobe, Business Objects, Corel and QuarkXPress software training courses from PPA based in Surrey, UK