Booklet Template

[Cramulus]

One of the best ideas I've heard around here in a while was Vex's suggestion that we should develop or find a standard template for our distribution projects. This way we don't have to reinvent the wheel every time someone slaps some text together.

I thought I had mastered Mistress Word's formatting, but she is a temperamental and tempestuous biatch. During the Black Iron Prison edit I wanted to put my fist through my monitor. Why does it keep relocating my images if I place them too close to the corner? I swear to Goddess that if Ms. Word were a real person I would strangle the life out of her. But other than Word, what else is there?

Vex said that openoffice can dump into PDF without changing layout, and that sounds really sexy. I might even be able to install openoffice at work without drawing too much attention from IT.

Optimally we'd be able to copy&paste text into a half-page size template, so we could print four pages per 8.5x11 sheet (front & back).

Does anyone have any thoughts on this? or existing templates we could gank?

[AFK]

I remember back in the day when I was publishing a literary zine I had the same problems with the Pagemaker program I was running on a Mac.  And I know what you're saying with Word, it is very touchy, even with just words.  I have nothing else to add really, I just wanted to commisserate.  But I think the idea is golden.  Establishing a template and then it's just drag and drop city.   

[Darth Cupcake]

InDesign is pretty freaking sweet.

Trip0 can give that to you if you wanna use it, although I don't know if you could put it on your work computer.

I was going to use it, but then my IBM died and I replaced it with a MacBook, so I don't think I can use the PC InDesign install on my Mac.

I'll try messing around with some stuff tonight and see if I can find a program that can save files that'll be Mac/PC compatible. I still have basically nothing installed on my new computer currently.

[Triple Zero]

better not put it on the work computer, they can get into real big legal trouble since they don't have a company license for indesign.

i just found a website (but haven't read it thoroughly) that allows you to run all sorts of free software simply from a USB stick: http://portableapps.com/
it's got OpenOffice, Firefox, GIMP

(hell i see they even got XAMPP [webserver software], i need to fix me a USB stick like that!)

and cram: yuo got PM

[Triple Zero]

browsing that portableapps.com site .. it looks really, really swote. and easy to use.

[Bebek Sincap Ratatosk]

We should just use LaTex typesetting...

*tries to look serious when making the suggestion*

After all, it's sooo much easier to build booklets like this:

  \pagestyle{fancy}%
  \renewcommand{\headrulewidth}{0.3pt}
  \renewcommand{\footrulewidth}{0pt}
  \renewcommand{\chaptermark}[1]{\markboth{#1}{}}
  \renewcommand{\sectionmark}[1]{\markright{#1}{}}
  \fancyhf{}
  \fancyhead[LE,RO]{\sffamily\bfseries\thepage}
  \fancyhead[LO]{\sffamily\bfseries\rightmark}
  \fancyhead[RE]{\sffamily\bfseries\leftmark}
  \fancyfoot{}

[Triple Zero]

*continuing on the serious note*

one, if somebody (not me!) is going to make a good LaTeX style definition file, it wouldn't be too hard to just put texts in it. it'd be like writing HTML with a good stylesheet already made for you.

two, LaTeX is made for creating a very uniform type of layout, that looks really good and sharp and DAMN RIGHT SCIENTIFIC TRUSTWORTHY (tm) while often we'd want to get creative with images, cutouts, fonts, stamps, weird multicolumn layouts etc.
all things that are real easy to do in InDesign (click/point/cut/paste), but require a good amount of knowledge, meddling and persistence to get in LaTeX.

three, a few friends of mine have tried to actually layout a book in LaTeX (a Java programming textbook for first-year beginners programming-course students) and decided that, while LaTeX is fine for writing small papers, and possibly also large final theses in, that to write an actual book (with different demands on layout and such than a thesis), LaTeX was simply not the right tool for the job.

*none seriousness*

LaTeX, LOL

[AFK]

Just a thought, we may not want to get too complicated and computery for folks like, oh say me, who have no earthly clue as to what you are talking about.  Unless, of course, you are willing to do all of the work.   

[Bebek Sincap Ratatosk]

*continuing on the serious note*

one, if somebody (not me!) is going to make a good LaTeX style definition file, it wouldn't be too hard to just put texts in it. it'd be like writing HTML with a good stylesheet already made for you.

two, LaTeX is made for creating a very uniform type of layout, that looks really good and sharp and DAMN RIGHT SCIENTIFIC TRUSTWORTHY (tm) while often we'd want to get creative with images, cutouts, fonts, stamps, weird multicolumn layouts etc.
all things that are real easy to do in InDesign (click/point/cut/paste), but require a good amount of knowledge, meddling and persistence to get in LaTeX.

three, a few friends of mine have tried to actually layout a book in LaTeX (a Java programming textbook for first-year beginners programming-course students) and decided that, while LaTeX is fine for writing small papers, and possibly also large final theses in, that to write an actual book (with different demands on layout and such than a thesis), LaTeX was simply not the right tool for the job.

*none seriousness*

LaTeX, LOL

My experiences seem to fit those of your friends. I've found it great when writing whitepapers, but as a book typesetting tool (esp with cutup, stamps etc) it would probably be a nightmare.


but it is LaTeX and therefore good for a lol or two

[tyrannosaurus vex]

For anyone interested and worried about installing OpenOffice at work -- if you have a USB drive, you can download and use PortableApps which lets you run a portable version of OpenOffice without ever installing or downloading anything to your work PC.

[Cramulus]

*blink*  *blink*

...Holy shit they even have a portable GIMP!



this might be the ticket

[Triple Zero]

hey cram if you're looking for portable, you might wanna check out portableapps.com

also, did you know eris is a planet?

[Bebek Sincap Ratatosk]

*blink*  *blink*

...Holy shit they even have a portable GIMP!



this might be the ticket

Everything Open Source is portable in some sense 

[Cramulus]

hey cram if you're looking for portable, you might wanna check out portableapps.com

also, did you know eris is a planet?

No I never heard that! But I just found this picture of it:

[tyrannosaurus vex]

itt, vex doesn't bother reading the thread before repeating half of it.