D*I*Y Planner Index Card Draft 05/05/31
DouglasJohnston
probably the last draft (#3) of the index card set. This version is a
regular 1-up, 3x5" PDF.
Changes:
1) Now 28 templates, which I believe is more than double the last set.
Obviously, not all the regular D*I*Y Planner templates are really
suitable for the index card size, but I've tried my best to create the
most useful ones.
2) Minor changes with font size, grey tones, and line heights (on
certain templates), mainly for legibility's sake and consistency.
3) A "please return to" cover for your pack.
4) A name change to "D*I*Y Planner 2.0 hipsterPDA Edition" (Merlin, if
this isn't kosher, please drop me an email).
5) Fixed colours, boxes, lines, shading, and a hundred other niggly
bits.
6) There is only one Saturday per month now. ;-)
As usual, I'd prefer that no one mention this file outside of the
group. The final version is coming soon enough.
Feedback is highly appreciated, as are any suggestions. You can reach
me at douglasjohnston[ at ] REMOVEALLCAPITALLETTERSgmail dot com.
The PDF file can be found at:
http://www.douglasjohnston.net/templates/diy_index_050531.pdf
all my best,
dj
--
a million monkeys typing : http://www.douglasjohnston.net
Bryan Ewbank
Very nice set of forms; I must say I am most impressed that Hipster
PDA now includes the matrix, too ;-).
I just knew HPDA had everything in it.
Keep up the good work!
Steve Ivy
that will fit within the same margins as the "if lost..." card? Most
of the other cards get cropped on my Brother HL-5070. (Which, BTW, is
a decent printer for 3x5 cards, except that it curls the cards and you
have to mash them in something to get them to straighten out. )
--Steve
Steve Ivy
http://redmonk.net
DouglasJohnston
> DJ - these are great!
Doug is fine, and thank you very much.
> Any chance you could produce at least a subset
> that will fit within the same margins as the "if lost..." card? Most
> of the other cards get cropped on my Brother HL-5070.
I've been trying to think of ways to approach this: keep in mind I've
had more than my fair share of people emailing me with printing issues
with the original D*I*Y Planner. ;-) This is why I'm releasing the
cards in three different versions. So you'll have a choice between:
1) Using a printer with 1/8 inch or less margins, and printing directly
on index card stock;
2) Printing a 4-up to letter-size card stock and cutting (which is what
I do); or
3) Using the graphic files and pasting them into whatever you use for
layout or printing. So you can, for example, paste them into
OpenOffice.org Draw, size 'em to your margins (whatever they are) and
print them like that.
I know the latter is a little bit of work for you, but this way I avoid
a *lot* more work myself, trying to meet the requirements of different
printers and setups. The good news is you only have to do this with the
cards you actually use, and OpenOffice.org is free to use (plus you can
put a different card into each "slide", so you can create your own deck
in just one OOo file).
I'm trying to meet as many needs as possible with these three options,
so hopefully there'll be at least one good option for everybody.
Craig Bradley
again, thanks
craig bradley
web: http://www.drbradley.com
blog: http://www.drbradley.com/blog (currently paused)
email: if you're reading this, you've got it
DouglasJohnston
> over the top need meeting i'd say
I'm sorry, but I don't quite grok what you're saying here. Is this in
reference to the Agenda (Person/Meeting) card, a card for taking
meeting notes, a contact log, or something different?
Or just that I'm going over the top and we should meet so you can talk
some sense into me? ;-)
Craig Bradley
Sorry to be obtuse, just meant to express sincere thanks and say that the formats your planning on offering are not only reasonable, but I think exceed reasonable expectations.
Thanks
DouglasJohnston
> I mean that you've gone over the top as far as I've concerned in trying to
> meet our needs with a multiple variety of formats.
> Sorry to be obtuse, just meant to express sincere thanks and say that the
> formats your planning on offering are not only reasonable, but I think
> exceed reasonable expectations.
First, I just wanted to say that your thanks are very much appreciated.
Feedback from happy customers is what makes me glad to provide the
packages in the first place.
As for the formats, well, the 1-up is the base. The 4-up only takes
another half-hour or hour, and is the format I actually need for my
printer and paper stock. The graphics version is to save me a *lot* of
time in the future; otherwise, I'd be inundated by so many printing
issues and requests that I won't be able to concentrate on getting my
new "babies" out through the door, which are the new Education and
Creativity packs. It's easier to tell people, "grab the graphic version
and print and resize however you want." PDFs aren't very easy to
manipulate by comparison. Until the OpenOffice.org 2 kit comes out, the
graphic files should also suffice for interested individuals to make
their own changes to existing templates (as long as they have some
basic Photoshop/Gimp/etc knowledge, of course), and cut down on those
requests too. So the graphics version is actually pretty selfish, on my
part. ;-)
Craig Bradley
Do you build these in Photoshop/Gimp or Illustrator or what? (probably in the faq somewhere)
DouglasJohnston
> Yeah and for us "photoshop/gimp/actually using elements" novices, looking at
> the graphic versions will help us see how you built them. My "building
> things from scratch in photoshop" skills are pretty weak. This is how I
> learn.
>
> Do you build these in Photoshop/Gimp or Illustrator or what? (probably in
> the faq somewhere)
Well, it might help novices, but it will be through modifying the flat
graphics. There is no layered Photoshop version, because of the methods
used in constructing them in the first place:
1. I usually design them first using (*gasp*) paper, to come up with
rough ideas regarding fields and layout.
2. I then jump into Illustrator. I have about 80 layer "groups", each
one with up to 200 other layers, guides, etc. (Needless to say, this is
a big and complicated file.) I hide all but the layer group I'm working
on, which normally corresponds to a single template, like "Contact
Log." I then design a new template by copying and pasting elements from
all the other forms located in the same file. This not only helps with
consistency, but ensures that new templates are created fairly quickly.
3. After the template is finished to my satisfaction, I copy and paste
from Illustrator into InDesign for the layout to final PDF.
4. For the graphics versions of the index cards, I will also be copying
and pasting each template into Photoshop, where I will resize the
vector art to 3x5" @600dpi. Then I'll optimise and save for web, and
save accordingly.
So I'm afraid that at no time will there be a layered Photoshop file,
since it doesn't even exist. However, by using the marquee and text
tools, one should be able to create a fair number of original designs
using my graphics as raw material. It could be a good way to learn
Photoshop/Gimp basics, and may provide some motivation if someone
really wants to layout one's own text, colours and ideas.
I'm thinking about setting up a wiki where one can share original
designs and advice with others, if they are so inclined. That will
probably be after the Education and Creativity packs.