Why just pdf?
Submitted by finnwandersen on Wed, 2006-02-01 18:33.
Being a Dane - it is wishfull to change things (language) ;-)
Couldn't template be in OpenOffice?
in His name,
Finn
Changing template languages
Due to the complexity of the existing "official" kits, which number thousands and thousands of layers, I still use Adobe Illustrator along with InDesign. As much as I like OOo2 Draw, I don't think it's yet capable of handling that degree of complexity. Some preliminary testing seems to indicate it's good for a few dozen templates, but anything beyond that is pushing it. I'm keeping my eye on it, though, and that's why I produce some odds-and-ends with OOo2, including the Widget Kit.
However, all is not lost. I've been told by a Spanish woman with Acrobat Pro 7 that she can easily go in and change the text to Spanish, then save the new file. I do believe that she has the correct font installed (Blue Highway, included in the WK). Keep in mind that I haven't personally tried this, but I see no reason why it can't work, due to the way I save editable information in the files.
If anyone can get ahold of Acrobat Pro 7 and give this a whirl, it would be interesting to hear their findings.
all my best,
dj
Editing Widgets in PDF
It's actually EXTREMELY easy to make your own widget pages using Acrobat 7 Pro. I simply make a blank PDF document, the size I wish,in the application I wish. Then open the blank page and the Widgets PDF in Acrobat. Using the "Touch up object tool" select the desired widgets, copy and then paste on to the new page - I can move them around, paste again, etc. To change the text, you use the "Touch up text tool", select the text you wish to change and then type away. You can also add new text using this tool as well.
Please be serious! Who can
Please be serious! Who can afford Acrobat Pro?
Jester
--
Imagination is intelligence having fun!
There is a free 30 day trial
There is a free 30 day trial on the adobe website of Acrobat Pro 7 http://www.adobe.com/products/acrobatpro/tryout.html
You'd be surprised...
at how many companies/corporations/organizations have site licenses...
I have an academic version, which is very reasonable...
Fully functional 30 day trials are great. You can make alotta widget pages in 30 days...
Inkscape is open source SVG
Inkscape is open source SVG creation program which does Illustrator like things on windows, mac and Linux. www.inkscape.org
Much much nicer than Open Office for creating drawings.
Inkscape
I'm keeping my eye on Inkscape, and have experimented with it quite a deal. Unfortunately, it isn't quite there yet. My highly unscientific tests involved trying to create a few templates in the D*I*Y Planner style. I became frustrated with a few aspects of the program, including big slowdowns after 4 forms, and some wonkiness with the Mac version (which I need to use). Most of the tools are coming along nicely though, and once it's finished, it will be a great application for folks like me.
OOo2 currently strikes a nice balance between ease of use (for beginners) and power (for advanced users), and it's free too. Sure, there are some problems with it, too, but the advantages for template development outweigh them.
all my best,
dj