[linux-audio-user] [OT] graphics for tutorials, was: [OT] any gimp maestros here ?

Dave Phillips dlphilp at bright.net
Fri Nov 26 08:32:31 EST 2004


Greetings:

  First of all, thank you to everyone who responded. I really only 
expected a few replies, but it seems that many of you here are 
multi-talented, and I thank you all for your messages and offers of 
assistance. I received so many replies that I thought it might be better 
to respond to the list (rather than individually), and I want to expand 
the topic anyway.

  After some consideration I've decided to bring the original topic to 
the list. I'm preparing some documentation for a project, and I need to 
make some "instructive" screenshots, what Steve D tells me are called 
callouts. Brett McCoy suggested I use layers in the GIMP, which seems 
pretty do-able to me, but someone else suggested that I might be better 
off using something like xfig. I want to do a simple thing (well, to me 
it's simple, but that's because I don't know how to do it), I want to 
place a screenshot against a larger white background, which would server 
as an area for descriptive text. Arrows would point from the text to the 
item described, and ideally those arrows would be placed at any needed 
angle. Considering how often I see this type of picture I'd assumed it 
would be simple in the GIMP: would I in fact be better accomodated by 
some other graphics app ?

  The topic has got a bit bigger in my mind now, so I thought I'd ask 
this question on the open list: Do users have a preference for 
documentation format ? I admit that while I like HTML it does look 
rather clunky next to a polished PDF file. Trouble is, I don't know how 
to format for PDF. So, what format would you prefer ?

  I've noted this thread as OT, hopefully no-one will be bored to tears 
by it... :)

Best regards,

dp





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