[Jeff Hinkle]

Are all of your source files uniform? Same number of rows, rows and separators the same height/position every time? Image dimensions constant? If so, you could set up a simple Action to select/copy/paste/move each row into position in a new document, then run a Batch Process to let Photoshop do all the work for you. I did a test run on your small sample image above and it worked out well. Maybe not the most elegant solution, but it’s quick and free.

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It is easier to destroy than to create.
More fun, too.

[Jeff Hinkle]

Do you have a spare monitor you can hook up and try, see if you get the same problem? That might at least help you narrow down the trouble area.

—
It is easier to destroy than to create.
More fun, too.

[Jeff Hinkle]

If Far Cry isn’t killing it, that makes me less inclined to suspect the card.

Not sure if you’re on Mac or PC. We were able to check by opening the case and observing the fan on the card wasn’t spinning and it was blazing hot to the touch. Then it was a trip to the Apple Store to have them hardware test the card which came back as failed. We then installed the free Temperature Monitor to keep an eye on the fans and internal temp of the box overall just to make sure there were no other issues.

—
It is easier to destroy than to create.
More fun, too.

[Jeff Hinkle]

We had a similar issue with one of our machines. Turned out the onboard fan on the graphics card was failing and not keeping the card cool enough, causing it to basically shut down and black the monitors. But we only had the problem when running graphics-heavy applications like Photoshop, Final Cut, etc. Might want to test your graphics card, and check the internal temperature of your machine.

—
It is easier to destroy than to create.
More fun, too.

[Jeff Hinkle]

Glad I could help.

If you save as AI, there’s no need for an alpha as the object is its own alpha channel. That’s one of the benefits of using File>Place. I’m assuming you’re working with pure vector graphics and no background, correct?

If your colors are shifting, make sure you’re working in the same color space in both Illustrator and Photoshop and attaching profiles to the AI files when you save.

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It is easier to destroy than to create.
More fun, too.

[Jeff Hinkle]

There are a couple different ways to do what you’re saying. For now, we’ll say the Photoshop layer with the Illustrator item you want to use as a mask is called Clipper.

Command/Ctl-click on Clipper’s thumbnail in the Layer palette. That will create a selection in the shape of the opaque pixels of the layer. Then choose the layer you want to mask and click the Add Layer Mask icon at the bottom of the palette (looks like a white box with a dark circle in the center). That will create a mask on the new layer in the same shape as Clipper.

Orrrr… Place Clipper below the layer you want to mask. Hold down Option/Alt and place your cursor between the two layers. Your cursor will change to a box with a downward arrow. Click and you’ll create a clipping mask with the top layer only showing up where Clipper is opaque.

One final note: You might find more flexibility saving your Illustrator files as AI files, and then in Photoshop choosing File>Place… and placing the AI file. That creates a Smart Object that you can scale and manipulate with Photoshop re-rasterizing the source info to keep a constantly clean image. Plus you can change the Smart Object in Illustrator (in Photoshop, choose the object layer, right-click, and choose Edit Contents) and the changes will ripple back to Photoshop.

—
It is easier to destroy than to create.
More fun, too.

[Jeff Hinkle]

First, I have to agree with Bill: eBay software is generally a bad idea.

That said, you might want to look into Photoshop Elements and see if it will do what you want. Since it sounds like your image editing needs are pretty modest, Elements may let you do what you want at a fraction of the cost of Photoshop, which will offer a ton of options/features you’ll never use. If nothing else, you can download a demo and see if it works for you.

—
It is easier to destroy than to create.
More fun, too.

[Jeff Hinkle]

It looks like you’ve got all your paths on separate layers. The path commands only work on paths drawn in the same layer. Select the layer you’re trying to exclude from, set the path command to “exclude overlapping shapes” and draw a second path in that same layer. That should do what you want it to do.

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It is easier to destroy than to create.
More fun, too.

[Jeff Hinkle]

Might be QuickView is to blame. If the OS is displaying any preview of your file, even in Column view, it’s considered “in use” and can’t be deleted. Close all your Finder windows before rendering and you shouldn’t have any more issues. At least that’s what always hung me up. Now I do Cmd-Opt-W before I launch AE and haven’t had a “can’t delete existing file” failure since.

—
It is easier to destroy than to create.
More fun, too.

[Jeff Hinkle]

Keyframe Assistant is only for after you’ve created a keyframe and have it selected. If you’re trying to create a keyframe, click the little stopwatch icon for the property you’re animating.

—
It is easier to destroy than to create.
More fun, too.