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

[anahata]

On Fri, Nov 26, 2004 at 08:32:31AM -0500, Dave Phillips wrote:
> 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.

I do this by importing the screenshots as graphics into the Open
Office word processor and then using its drawing tools to make text
(with or without boxes around it) and arrows.

If you've not used OOo or its drawing tools there's a bit of a learning
curve, but there's lots of good applications once you've got the hang of 
it :-)

> 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 ?

Open Office will export to PDF. If it's going to be printed and
downloaded from the web for printing that's a good option. That kind 
of diagram can't be done reliably in HTML except as a big graphic.

It would be nice if OO could import vector grpahics like PS files so
everything scaled and could be rendered with arbitrary precision, but it
doesn't seem to be able to do that. Instead you get big files because of
ther bitmap data size.

Doumentation purists will prefer one of the generic formats (TeX,
docbook, XML-based ?) that can be converted into HTML, print or other
formats but I don't know as much about them as I ought to :-/

>  I've noted this thread as OT

Nearly on topic as music related: I've published a song book using the
WP-with-imported graphics method described above. The music was done
with ABC, converted to PS with abcm2ps, then from ps to png with
ghostscript, then cropped with The Gimp and imported into the WP
document. 
The terminally curious can see the result at:
http://www.treewind.co.uk/mha/songbook.html

-- 
Anahata
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