tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7487871339000666216.post7796189770741584978..comments2024-03-28T09:41:39.187-04:00Comments on GROGNARDIA: Seeking AdviceJames Maliszewskihttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00341941102398271464noreply@blogger.comBlogger54125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7487871339000666216.post-39672944829371766772011-10-04T05:24:54.144-04:002011-10-04T05:24:54.144-04:00This thread is growing cold now but further to the...This thread is growing cold now but further to the LaTeX subdiscussion, I just saw this on Hacker News...<br /><br />"How do I make my document look like it was written by an Cthulhu worshipping madman?"<br /><br />http://tex.stackexchange.com/questions/29402/how-do-i-make-my-document-look-like-it-was-written-by-an-cthulhu-worshipping-madmAnonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7487871339000666216.post-15786980701919515482011-10-04T01:09:44.125-04:002011-10-04T01:09:44.125-04:00I love Quark. I've used it for years. It can d...I love Quark. I've used it for years. It can do all you need. Not sure of the current price, but I assume it's less than indesign.MtbDMhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/03308561716045085035noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7487871339000666216.post-35628346854248341522011-10-03T19:13:25.716-04:002011-10-03T19:13:25.716-04:00I've used Scribus and found it to be over-comp...I've used Scribus and found it to be over-complicated. A couple of years ago I switched to PagePlus from Serif and I haven't looked back since. This is a really, really easy tool that you can do some amazing things with. I do everything from basic layout to marking up maps and graphics with this tool.MThompsonhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/04966961814304031364noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7487871339000666216.post-89590230466927516932011-10-03T17:51:42.737-04:002011-10-03T17:51:42.737-04:00InDesign for Dummies. Personally, I find it the mo...<a href="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dmiXPoz_PlQ" rel="nofollow">InDesign for Dummies</a>. Personally, I find it the most intuitive program in the world (Word sends me into apoplectic fits) but I also grew up using Adobe programs. I mean that literally; I learned Photoshop for projects in grade 6. Which is to say, they can be kid-friendly if the kid has access to someone who knows how it works. They've got lots of <i>stuff</i>, but once you know what the basic tools you need can do that will cover 99% of your functions in that program.<br /><br />That said, powerful programs just allow you to screw up horribly (see CoC 6th ed... or 90% of RPGs since 1990). The layout skills necessary to make something not look like crap aren't complicated, but there's some basic typographic things which have to be consciously thought about when you're doing it. The standard 'how-to-not-mess-up' text is <a href="http://www.peachpit.com/store/product.aspx?isbn=0201782634" rel="nofollow">this book</a>, and it's a pretty quick read. The <i>best</i> book on it that I've come across is probably <a href="http://www.thinkingwithtype.com/" rel="nofollow">Thinking With Type</a>, which has basic explanations for why the "rules" are what they are, and a lot of examples of following them and breaking them well.<br /><br />If you want someone to do a test-read to look for problems or suggestions, let me know (my email's on my blogger profile).huthhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/16502682297320819595noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7487871339000666216.post-87472189052569715142011-10-03T17:26:50.373-04:002011-10-03T17:26:50.373-04:00I love Scribus (lots of power and you can't be...I love Scribus (lots of power and you can't beat the price), but if you are looking for a very easy to use, user-friendly interface DTP program, PagePlus from Serif if the way to go. You can "kick the tires" for free and Serif will make you offers every once in awhile to pick up the full blown software for much less than the $99 retail price. It's similar to MS Publisher if you've ever used that, but much, much better. The six or so online video tutorials on Serif's site are short (no more than 8 minutes long each IIRC)and will have you up and running and producing in no time.Joe Bardaleshttps://www.blogger.com/profile/00242764968237965401noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7487871339000666216.post-51260731103691283122011-10-03T14:22:43.764-04:002011-10-03T14:22:43.764-04:00I actually do have a style file for modules. There...I actually do have a style file for modules. There's an example of the output at http://www.springies.com/layoutsample.pdf (thought I'd posted it earlier, but it's either in a mod queue or I forgot to hit the right submit button). <br /><br />Really, it doesn't do that much. I've got some commands for formatting typical abbreviations, doing boxed text, putting mood images in decent locations, as well as keep track of room numbers and references to other rooms across sections. It's not documented. <br /><br />The thing that I wanted to do but never got around to doing was a way to automatically format stat blocks, similar to the way that bibtex can automatically format citations.Alan Shutkohttps://www.blogger.com/profile/16670019002606009302noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7487871339000666216.post-22245930158572027432011-10-03T13:22:41.463-04:002011-10-03T13:22:41.463-04:00Serif's PagePlus. Cheap and powerful.Serif's PagePlus. Cheap and powerful.Michael Blairhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/13707913126319591535noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7487871339000666216.post-73252068459292369132011-10-03T12:42:00.586-04:002011-10-03T12:42:00.586-04:00@Delta: There may be a way to modify the process ...@Delta: There may be a way to modify the process I described to suit more of a back-and-forth style you describe.<br /><br />I was reading up on Pandoc's other features that I never use (for example, it will turn Markdown into TeX or LaTex.) Pandoc can turn Markdown into ODT (OpenOffice) format directly, but I never do that, so I had no idea that there's an option to use an existing ODT doc as a reference file: it pulls the styles from that.<br /><br />So, you can do your main work in plain text (Markdown,) convert to ODT, edit the styles in OpenOffice, and later use that as a reference doc for later edits. You edit your original plain text version, generating a new ODT with the same styles as the old.Talysmanhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/02162328521343832412noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7487871339000666216.post-5821343477809633372011-10-03T11:53:23.866-04:002011-10-03T11:53:23.866-04:00I'd consider looking at Word, working out what...I'd consider looking at Word, working out what you want to do with it that you can't, then asking for specific help with that. You might find that Word can actually do what you want.anarchisthttps://www.blogger.com/profile/05546197561922726279noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7487871339000666216.post-25607244155097369682011-10-03T08:08:09.838-04:002011-10-03T08:08:09.838-04:00I'm a LaTeX fan, but it probably wouldn't ...I'm a LaTeX fan, but it probably wouldn't be right for James. Anyone who's curious, though, could start with the word-processor-like GUI front-end to LaTeX, <a href="http://www.lyx.org/" rel="nofollow">LyX</a>.<br /><br />Apple's Pages would be ideal for James, but I'm guessing he's on a Windows box. The learning curve for InDesign (or Pagemaker) are too steep.<br /><br />I'm loath to recommend it, but Microsoft Publish might meet James' requirements. He could watch some of Microsoft's <a href="http://office.microsoft.com/en-us/support/getting-started-with-office-2010-FX101822272.aspx" rel="nofollow">getting started with Publish videos</a> to see how it looks.Paulhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/12096724870715714696noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7487871339000666216.post-49287966115831498482011-10-03T07:30:20.068-04:002011-10-03T07:30:20.068-04:00I used Microsoft Word to do the interior of ASE1, ...I used Microsoft Word to do the interior of ASE1, and Scribus to do the cover (because that way I could get a color background - otherwise I would've used Word for the cover as well).<br /><br />I wrote the thing in two-column format, and then did layout after writing, which involved putting lots of extraneous column breaks, so that things wouldn't break in unnatural spots. It wasn't very hard - but if you do any editing AFTER you've started layout, it's a nightmare, because you have to go check every following column break to make sure things still look good.Pathttps://www.blogger.com/profile/11381628150285913370noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7487871339000666216.post-32354398776167343012011-10-03T06:14:25.212-04:002011-10-03T06:14:25.212-04:00I'll check out your link because it's a dr...I'll check out your link because it's a dream of mine to have a LaTeX style for modules - thanks! :-) - but I do really think that LaTeX is overcomplicated for James' needs. If the aforementioned Pandoc is too much then LaTeX is off the scale.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7487871339000666216.post-47251493313206590982011-10-03T05:53:58.058-04:002011-10-03T05:53:58.058-04:00Herewith a simple and very effective document clas...Herewith a simple and very effective document class:<br />http://www.ctan.org/tex-archive/macros/latex/contrib/memoir/Antoniohttps://www.blogger.com/profile/17258180992723371727noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7487871339000666216.post-33813729960403753082011-10-03T05:49:35.346-04:002011-10-03T05:49:35.346-04:00:) eheheh well there are literally TONS of styles ...:) eheheh well there are literally TONS of styles around. Not to speak of fonts (ever seen the Tengwar and Klingon ones?) Even just producing a two-column text with tables and graphics is so much easier than with other packages! I have a mathematics/computer science background so I might be biased, but I know lots of people who don't have any computing background that find it easy to use.Antoniohttps://www.blogger.com/profile/17258180992723371727noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7487871339000666216.post-56310679974040147942011-10-03T05:21:34.796-04:002011-10-03T05:21:34.796-04:00Noooo! :-) I was waiting for someone to chime in s...Noooo! :-) I was waiting for someone to chime in suggesting LaTeX. I use it too, and I _love_ it, but I don't think it's simple unless you're a programmer type (I am), especially if you don't want your end product to look like an IEEE paper or a PhD thesis. I agree with the content-not-formatting philosophy to which LaTeX subscribes and I agree that other packages do it so much worse. But I don't think it's James' answer. (Unless you've got a great LaTeX style you can furnish us! :-))Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7487871339000666216.post-3748827777061520282011-10-03T04:26:01.776-04:002011-10-03T04:26:01.776-04:00If you want a software which does most of the form...If you want a software which does most of the formatting automatically, then LaTeX might be good. It's a document processing software (as opposed to word processing) i.e. the processed unit is the text. It's the professional solution used to write books; it's mostly used by scientists since it handles formulas in a way that Word or similar could never do, but having used it for many years for many different projects, I can say it works very well. You simply have to write plain text, with interspersed "commands" which markup sections, paragraphs etc. It handles automatically the references, so you never have to worry about the dreaded Page XX errors. A good Windows implementation is the MikTeX package, together with the TeXniccenter editor, from which you can control the generation of output (e.g. pdf.)<br />If you need more info feel free to contact me at antonio dot eleuteri at gmail dot comAntoniohttps://www.blogger.com/profile/17258180992723371727noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7487871339000666216.post-43078391237722522052011-10-03T04:20:32.478-04:002011-10-03T04:20:32.478-04:00I use OpenOffice; I write in Writer, layout tables...I use OpenOffice; I write in Writer, layout tables in the Calc spreadsheet, and copy those in as desired. (I also tried to use Scribus in the past and gave up on it.)<br /><br />A process such as Talysman's wouldn't work for me, because my text writing and page layout is not a one-time-one-way (waterfall) process. I go back-and-forth lots of times, using the book at the table, tweaking both text and layout for at least a few dozen playtest versions (in my most recent project) to try to make it as useful as possible. His process makes more sense if he's spent time taking other people's completed text, and doing strictly layout for it. And, as I say, "Don't fight the tool".Deltahttps://www.blogger.com/profile/00705402326320853684noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7487871339000666216.post-6498674397778420812011-10-03T00:23:16.140-04:002011-10-03T00:23:16.140-04:00Apple Pages is your best bet. If you don't hav...Apple Pages is your best bet. If you don't have a Mac then use MS Word. They both make PDFs quite well and as a writer they will be most comfortable to you.Thomas Denmarkhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/06135075012362548876noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7487871339000666216.post-64192080943394524642011-10-02T23:45:15.665-04:002011-10-02T23:45:15.665-04:00You have a Mac? If so, just use Apple's Pages...You have a Mac? If so, just use Apple's Pages. It has a page layout mode which makes short work of any page layout project.Todd A. Gibsonhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/16177477114706281373noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7487871339000666216.post-55415183357934459922011-10-02T23:38:02.642-04:002011-10-02T23:38:02.642-04:00Do you think a Scribus, Word or OpenOffice templat...Do you think a Scribus, Word or OpenOffice template or example document would help you James? That's the sort of approach that a big engineering company such as I've worked at takes for consistent technical documentation. It's 1,000,000 times easier to tweak some headers, footers, title pages and then just copy, paste and modify.<br /><br />I've thought about making templates available for this purpose before but I'm not in the swing of writing modules. Writing a template "just for the fun of it" seemed like a punishing way to spend my leisure time so I canned the idea.<br /><br />Is there anyone who has such a beast who can make one available?<br /><br />Is there an exemplar document that you like, James, that someone can get some kudos for imitating the general design?Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7487871339000666216.post-9923477001952252202011-10-02T22:23:26.437-04:002011-10-02T22:23:26.437-04:00I suggest taking a look at early issues of Star Fr...I suggest taking a look at early issues of Star FrontiersMan (http://starfrontiersman.com/). If you are happy with that look, than all you need to use is MS Word/Open Office. That's all he used to create this fanzine.Eric Nelsonhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/12348937616065235517noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7487871339000666216.post-12275336918000882342011-10-02T21:05:02.854-04:002011-10-02T21:05:02.854-04:00Sorry about the duplicated text there. My E63 doe...Sorry about the duplicated text there. My E63 does bizarre things sometimes. D'oh.<br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br />rre things sometimes. D'oh.Billiam Babblehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/11504438538787804477noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7487871339000666216.post-32193398324599352312011-10-02T20:54:35.846-04:002011-10-02T20:54:35.846-04:00Another PC user Open Office fan here. I use the D...Another PC user Open Office fan here. I use the Draw part of the program to lay graphics out. Then export to PDF. Should be pretty simple to export from Write which is very Word like. Hotlinking graphics can be pretty straightforward too (in the most recent version anyhow). Currently can't afford the adobe editors and I try to limit use of "borrowed" software on moral grounds. ;) I don't you think can make layers with Oo but I could be wrong.<br /><br />(I may have to investigate these other programs people are mentioning) :)Another PC user Open Office fan here. I use the Draw part of the program to lay graphics out. Then export to PDF. Should be pretty simple to export from Write which is very Word like. Hotlinking graphics can be pretty straightforward too (in the most recent version anyhow). Currently can't afford the adobe editors and I try to limit use of "borrowed" software on moral grounds. ;) I don't you think can make layers with Oo but I could be wrong.<br /><br />(I may have to investigate these other programs people are mentioning) :)Billiam Babblehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/11504438538787804477noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7487871339000666216.post-20147079553029011352011-10-02T19:53:09.018-04:002011-10-02T19:53:09.018-04:00Jerry, I'd agree that a page layout program is...Jerry, I'd agree that a page layout program is not designed for writers. The usual workflow is that you write in something else first, and then you import text into your page layout program to lay it out and format it. Over the years, software has gotten somewhat better at helping manage the transition: for instance, by importing Word, OpenOffice.org, or RTF documents and allowing you to translate the styles. That way the author can use styles to tag headings and so forth, but they're translated into the appropriate styles in the layout program on import.<br /><br />The way I like to work these days is to separate the act of writing from the act of layout, no matter what programs I'm using. I'll work on getting the main text out and flowing well, then I'll go back and make it pretty, whether that be by formatting in Word or importing it into something else.Alan Shutkohttps://www.blogger.com/profile/16670019002606009302noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7487871339000666216.post-1614993949360868232011-10-02T19:10:18.681-04:002011-10-02T19:10:18.681-04:00@el Miko, you're correct. $19.99US from the Ap...@el Miko, you're correct. $19.99US from the App Store. I have the iWork suite and paid $79US.Timothy Stonehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/12591260547388059848noreply@blogger.com