*** From the Archives ***

This article is from July 23, 2013, and is no longer current.

Free For All: the Grand Finale

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Since the original publication of “Ten Free Online Tools Every Designer Should Know,” Microsoft shut down FolderShare, replacing it first with Mesh, which is also now dead, and now SkyDrive. Although SkyDrive does file syncing, it only does so with the online storage component of SkyDrive. Like Google Drive, Adobe Creative Cloud Storage, SugarSync, Box.net, DropBox, and a billion others, SkyDrive only allows you to sync between systems as much data as will fit in the online storage; once the online storage is full you can’t synch more files. FolderShare was peer-to-peer synching without files ever having to be stored online. That meant you could synch an unlimited number of files with a total size up to the storage capacity of the drives to which FolderShare connected. It also meant your files were secure; they never wound up in the Cloud. SkyDrive no longer offers those features.

Nowadays, BitTorrent Sync does the job that FolderShare used to do, and it does it much better. And, BitTorrent Sync is free. Although still in beta, the technology uses bittorrents—yes, the technology so many people use illegally—for legitimate, legal sharing and synchronization of files across multiple computers. Collaborators can synch folders and files without ever exposing them to anyone else—because bittorrent is peer-to-peer communication, not even the BitTorrent site or developers can access files handled by BitTorrent Sync. That security is extra important for people who, like me, work on multiple computers and needs files, sometimes sensitive files, kept in synch securely.

Again, BitTorrent Sync is still in beta, so be forewarned you may encounter bugs. I’ve personally been using it for months now with only one issue: During the first synchronization I accidentally told BitTorrent Sync that an empty drive, the destination for files I wanted to back up, was the source. Thus, when I connected the actual source folder, which contained around 50 thousand files I wanted to back up (stock photos, fonts, company logos, and other assets I’ve collected over the years), it wiped out my source folder and all those files. Yes, I freaked out, too. All those images, fonts, and so on I’d bought…

But then I discovered an amazing thing: BitTorrent Sync has its own private trash folder. Everything it had deleted wasn’t actually deleted; instead all those files had simply been moved to the SyncTrash folder on my source drive. I moved everything back out, fixed my error on the other system, and haven’t had a problem since. Synching is instanteous, uses my logo network when both systems are on it and an encrypted Internet peer-to-peer connection when I’m traveling.

8. Covering Your Assets

Every week in design communities I see the same questions over and over—“can I copyright this,” “what is ‘Fair Use’ and how would it allow me to use this graphic I found on that site,” “when is my work copyrighted,” “how long does copyright last,” “do I own the copyright in this scenario or that,” “should I register for a copyright,” and on and on. More importantly, in those same design communities and throughout the blogosphere, I see even more wrong or incomplete answers to those questions. When we’re talking about your work—your creations, your competitive edge, your livelihood—and when following bad or incomplete advice can so easily cause you to lose some or all rights and control over your own creations, competitive edge, or livelihood, are you absolutely sure you want to listen to advice from Joe Blow in a design forum?

Get the real facts about copyrights from the horse’s mouth: the United States Copyright Office. Free and easy to digest online guides explain in plain English—not legalese—the basics about copyright, who owns what when and for how long. After the basics you can delve as deep as you want into specific questions like issues related to the Fair Use Doctrine and copyright protection across international boundaries.

Considering registering your work for federal copyright protection? Online tools help you search the registration database for possibly similar works and submit your copyright registration.

9. Font Identification

Do you ever find yourself trying to identify what typeface was used in a logo or design? Save yourself hours of scrolling through Suitcase or squinting at type spec books with the free What The Font typeface identification service. Upload a decent quality black and white image containing type and this hosted
service will do its best to identify the font (and provide a convenient means of purchasing that font on MyFonts.com). Identification isn’t always perfect, but it’s surprisingly accurate for an automated system. You can also request human font identification assistance for a small fee.

10. Free Stock Photos

What would a list of 10 free online tools every designer should know about be without a free stock photo resource? Well, it wouldn’t be good enough to publish on Creativepro.com, that’s for sure. Although I have several such resources I could have included, there’s only this one spot left on the list. The Morgue File contains thousands of high resolution digital stock photos that are—believe it or not—completely free for either public or corporate use. Search for photos and/or illustrations, by keyword, phrase, author, or date, and then download them—no muss, no fuss. The Morgue File even includes lightbox functionality like the big paid stock photo sites, all for free.

And there you go: the alpha and omega of “Free for All.” The very first list of freebies revised, edited, and updated to be the very latest in free tools for designers.

It’s been my pleasure and honor to help you, my loyal readers, save your hard earned money these last five years. Thank you for commenting and telling me what freebies you wanted; I did my best bloodhound impression to track them all down for you. Thank you for reading. I wish you the best of luck in all your creative professional endeavors.

Sincerely, 

Pariah Burke

 

Please note: Free for All will often link to resources hosted on external Web sites outside of the control of CreativePro.com. At any time those Web sites may close down, change their site or permalink structures, remove content, or take other actions that may render one or more of the above links invalid. As such neither Pariah S. Burke nor CreativePro.com can guarantee the availability of the third-party resources linked to in Free for All.


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Pariah S. Burke is the author of many books and articles that empower, inform, and connect creative professionals.
  • dblatner says:

    We want to thank Pariah for all his awesome work on this column over the past five years. Of course, Pariah will (we hope!) continue writing his other great articles on the site! And the site will continue to offer more free resources for creative professionals as time goes by. Everyone loves freebies!

  • jklm2866 says:

    Thank you for this, and all your hard work over the years. I am super bummed this is your last “Free for All” column — it was my favorite : (

  • triadcom says:

    Thank you, thank you, thank you for the great tips you’ve provided over the years. The moment I see the “free for all” headline, I take time to peruse your info. Even if I haven’t used it, I’ve valued the exposure to another resource that I might tap in the future. Thanks again, Pariah!

  • JohnSBrandt says:

    CreativePro kidz: Come on, keep Pariah & this column. It’s a big attraction, would be sorely missed. Surely you can work it out.

  • Ralph Schoonebeek says:

    Sorry to see it go. I always looked forward to the new offerings. Certainly the best most fun part of the site. (oh well, can’t have anything nice)

  • MoyerDesignWorks says:

    I’ve been using a number of these free tools for several years. But now I remember how I first started using them – it was your alpha article! Thanks, Pariah.

  • Jim Kidwell says:

    Thanks for your years of articles Pariah!

  • Angela Evans says:

    Another great project management tool we use is Trello. It doesn’t really have file storage like others, but integrates perfectly with Google Docs and Dropbox. Is free, unlimited, robust and super easy. I didn’t even read the how-to and had my project board migrated over and set up in an afternoon. Give it a look.

  • Ann Farr says:

    Thank you so much Pariah for all the wonderful freebies you found, and for all the time you must have spent researching. Truly useful and very much appreciated.

  • Walt Bobrowski says:

    Thanks Pariah for all those fabulous freebies for so many years!

  • Terry Veiga says:

    Always liked the well thought out recommendations and will miss them. Thank you! Pariah.

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