brookbam
Member 
APS 236261
Posts: 226
What I collect: US...everything until I decide what I don't want to collect! And now thanks to a TSF give-away I'm adding Space topicals!
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Post by brookbam on Feb 13, 2023 18:26:35 GMT
Yes, one can have a lot of page start commands. Given that the syntax is text, you can have files with many lines but still small so easy to work with. My custom Machin page file has about 1700 lines but that includes lots of blank lines to make it easier to read. To break up pages or sections, I may add something like this to help me know where I am in the file. These are notes me since do not print. I like using a clipboard to save repeated commands so save typing syntax. Ohhh...I like that idea how you got 2016 and 2017 commented out as a note to yourself. I might steal that idea but for my year breakdowns. I never thought of that. Obviously...
I've been playing around with this program and the more I play around with it and discover a command here and there...the more I like it.
Yesterday, I discovered the \n command (maybe not a command...but...whatever). Wow! Did some of the simplest things help!!
And I discovered the "grayscale" command....if I could have done cartwheels, I would have. I didn't have to take all my color stamp pics, run them through Gimp and decolorize them to b&w. I'm long past doing cartwheels.
I'm posting my page progress in the DIY album page thread. Mike
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brookbam
Member
APS 236261
Posts: 226
What I collect: US...everything until I decide what I don't want to collect! And now thanks to a TSF give-away I'm adding Space topicals!
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Post by brookbam on Feb 13, 2023 18:31:24 GMT
In order to keep my sanity and to keep things neat, I generally set up my pages issue by issue. That is set by set. I name each file according to the country and set, and then store the files in a country folder on my desktop. Keeping each file relatively small means that I have been control over the appearance of each page and can be satisfied before I move on to the next set. I'm already planning on picking a year and working on that year and getting it done before I move on. That will take care of two albums (mint and used).
I'm only doing US but even then I am thinking my mint commemorative album might take up a couple (or 3 or 4) of 2" or 3" binders. I don't want them overly full or heavy. Each binder will have its own AE file.
I'm tracking with you on your game plan here. Mike
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Post by clivel on Feb 13, 2023 19:30:55 GMT
I'm a bit surprised I'm the first message in this since 16 Aug 2022...but here goes... Hi Mike,
Most people correspond with me directly via email, the email address AlbumEasy@.... can be found in the application help, or by first initiating communications via the contact form on the AE website. The advantage for them is that I read and respond to queries much more frequently than on the forum. The disadvantage for me is that I am constantly answering the same questions by email whereas on the forum the answer may be seen by multiple people  As illustrated by angore and BermudaSailor there are no wrong answers, it is just a matter of what one feels comfortable with.
Clive
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brookbam
Member
APS 236261
Posts: 226
What I collect: US...everything until I decide what I don't want to collect! And now thanks to a TSF give-away I'm adding Space topicals!
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Post by brookbam on Feb 13, 2023 19:45:25 GMT
I'm a bit surprised I'm the first message in this since 16 Aug 2022...but here goes... Hi Mike,
Most people correspond with me directly via email, the email address AlbumEasy@.... can be found in the application help, or by first initiating communications via the contact form on the AE website. The advantage for them is that I read and respond to queries much more frequently than on the forum. The disadvantage for me is that I am constantly answering the same questions by email whereas on the forum the answer may be seen by multiple people As illustrated by angore and BermudaSailor there are no wrong answers, it is just a matter of what one feels comfortable with.
Clive
Per my replies, I think I'm getting a system down here. This program actually goes a lot like I envisioned my Access database to go so once I started thinking of this as a database, I could think this through easier. The on-line pdf manual, the built-in Help and the videos all contributed to getting those first two pages done. But now that I have the basics, I can go from there.
I've got an idea how I'm going to store my code now. I'm excited to finally start. Picking out a DIY album program has been tough. ALL the programs I looked at were really good and I spent a LOT of time in some of them.
As of right now, I'm good. Mike
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angore
Member
Posts: 5,335 
What I collect: WW, focus on British Empire
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Post by angore on Feb 17, 2023 19:25:59 GMT
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madbaker
Member
Posts: 690
What I collect: (Mark) General worldwide collector (to 1975 or so) with a soft spot for Sweden and the rest of Scandinavia.
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Post by madbaker on Aug 27, 2023 0:29:22 GMT
I was perusing another forum today and noticed a thread where folks shared sample pages along with their AlbumEasy code. I thought that was pretty clever.
If I were to do that on my friendly neighbourhood TSF forum, do you think it fits in this thread, in the DIY Album pages thread or should I start a new one?
PS - Note that I'm not suggesting posting entire albums. Just one page that illustrates a concept, along with the code that made it happen. So you could copy and paste the code and make something similar for your collection. Clive has a wide selection of complete albums on his website already.
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rednaxela
Member
Posts: 175
What I collect: Germany in all its facets since 1871 (especially German Reich used including postal statinoneries, used), USSR, Austria, Switzerland, Luxembourg, Liechtenstein, Denmark, France. I design all album pages for my collection myself and partly make them available to the general public for use.
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Post by rednaxela on Aug 27, 2023 8:18:17 GMT
I was perusing another forum today and noticed a thread where folks shared sample pages along with their AlbumEasy code. I thought that was pretty clever. If I were to do that on my friendly neighbourhood TSF forum, do you think it fits in this thread, in the DIY Album pages thread or should I start a new one? PS - Note that I'm not suggesting posting entire albums. Just one page that illustrates a concept, along with the code that made it happen. So you could copy and paste the code and make something similar for your collection. Clive has a wide selection of complete albums on his website already. This thread deals, as I perceive it, primarily with the general handling of Clive's wonderful AlbumEasy program (basic handling of it, installation, automatic import of data e.g. from an Excel file, notes on new versions and their new commands and so on). The thread on DIY albums is mainly about the design of album pages, regardless of which digital tool was used to create it. Madbaker's post is about how the AlbumEasy code can be used for the specific case. After all, since Clive's program is deliberately not WYSIWYG software, this is a very important question. This is not about all the things you can do with AlbumEasy in principle, but about how to realize a certain design aspect in a concrete individual case. Examples can be a great help especially here. In my opinion, this justifies a separate thread in TSF. |
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angore
Member
Posts: 5,335
What I collect: WW, focus on British Empire
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Post by angore on Aug 27, 2023 10:06:22 GMT
I think the answer is yes -- source code for AlbumEasy fits "all about AlbumEasy". BYW, i did contribute to the thread on the other forum.
The easy way to find out and post so if mods do not agree they can move it.
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madbaker
Member
Posts: 690
What I collect: (Mark) General worldwide collector (to 1975 or so) with a soft spot for Sweden and the rest of Scandinavia.
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Post by madbaker on Aug 27, 2023 14:28:13 GMT
Thanks for the feedback. 50/50, so I'll post here and if I start a landslide of contributions that require a separate topic (and eventual printing and binding into a permanent keepsake  ) we can do that later. Last night I created a version of the CWS Superb Quad page. I like them because the quadrilles come up around the title block and go right close to the page border. It's the first page I ever bought back in 1995 and so, of course, is the one that looks "correct" to my eye. In the images below, the quadrilles appear much darker than how they print. The quads are lighter than the border in real life. In testing, grey quadrilles print fine in standard mode and lightgrey quadrilles appear fine when printing in 'high quality' mode. (epson 2750 injet printer)
It took me an age to get the title block perfect. There's a white blot-out layer that removes some of the quadrilles right up to the edge of a square, and then another layer that creates the border box. I'm still annoyed that there is a tiny row of pixels poking out right under the title box, but I can live with it or fight again another day. I'm going to use these as temporary pages for my Grand Tour collection for areas where I do not yet have many stamps. I have four stamps from French Polynesia at the moment, for example, so I'll hinge them on this page. Then if I get more, or 1/2 a set, etc, I can build a 'permanent' page with boxes and headings and such. blah, blah, blah. I know. But it took me three hours to make this page so I figure it deserves a write-up! The code :
################################################################################
# Quad Pages for the Grand Tour Collection
#
# Modelled after the CWS "Superb" Quad pages.
################################################################################
# ------------------------------------------------------------------------------
# Common Elements
# ------------------------------------------------------------------------------
ALBUM_PAGES_SIZE (215.9 279.4) # US Letter (8.5 x 11)
# ALBUM_PAGES_MARGINS (12.0 12.0 15.0 15.0) # Sheet Protectors - left, right, top and bottom page margins
ALBUM_PAGES_MARGINS (19.5 10.0 11.5 11.0) # For Hole Punch on left side
ALBUM_PAGES_BORDER (0.5 0.0 0.0 0.0) #single line 5mm border around the page
ALBUM_PAGES_SPACING (0, 0)
ALBUM_DEFINE_FONT(EB "EB Garamond")
ROW_ALIGN_MIDDLE
# ------------------------------------------------------------------------------
#
# The Page_Start_Group is standard for every page and prints a blank quad page.
# The printed headings are in a separate Page_Start area below.
#
# ------------------------------------------------------------------------------
PAGE_START_GROUP_BEGIN
COLOUR_PAGE_QUADRILLE(grey)
ALBUM_STAMP_IMG_NEW_SETTING (0.2 0.2 true) #stretch images right to their borders
# plant the quadrilles
PAGE_VSPACE(1)
PAGE_QUADRILLE(0.0 4.16 4.16 CENTRE) # quad size is 4mm plus a tiny bit so they fill the area inside the page border.
# blot out an area around the header box
# image is sized to erase quadrilles right to the edge of a box on three sides, but the leave top page border
PAGE_VSPACE(-255)
ROW_START_ES (EB 6 0.5)
STAMP_ADD_IMG(83 9.5 "img/white.jpg" "" "" "" NO_FRAME)
# place the header box 3mm above top page border
PAGE_VSPACE(-12)
ROW_START_ES (EB 6 0.5) # 5mm border to match the page border
STAMP_ADD_IMG(81 10.5 "img/white.jpg" "" "" "")
PAGE_START_GROUP_END
# ------------------------------------------------------------------------------
# New Page: place text in the header box
# ------------------------------------------------------------------------------
PAGE_START
PAGE_VSPACE(-10)
PAGE_TEXT_CENTRE (EB 18 "French Polynesia") # Country name, etc.
Samples:   |
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Post by iswscwebmaster on Aug 28, 2023 0:00:46 GMT
Great job madbaker tried it out and it works a treat. |
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angore
Member
Posts: 5,335
What I collect: WW, focus on British Empire
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Post by angore on Aug 28, 2023 9:48:37 GMT
The pattern looked bolder in the PDF than in print for me too when I printed on a color laser.
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angore
Member
Posts: 5,335
What I collect: WW, focus on British Empire
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Post by angore on Aug 28, 2023 10:20:42 GMT
My contribution using the COLUMN command and SIDES B option for stamp border. (pages inspired by John's ASFEC album) ALBUM_PAGES_SIZE (215.9 279.4) #Set the album page size to US Letter (8.5 x 11) ALBUM_PAGES_MARGINS (25.0 15.0 20.0 20.0) #left, right, top and bottom page margins ALBUM_PAGES_FOOTER_PAD (1.5) ALBUM_PAGES_SPACING (1.0 4.0) #set horizontal & vertical spacing for elements on a page STAMP_BORDER_STYLE (SIDES B) COLOUR_STAMP_BACKGROUND(ghostwhite) # =========================================================================== # Kazakhstan #============================================================================= PAGE_START PAGE_VSPACE (-8) PAGE_TEXT_CENTER (BSB 18 "Kazakhstan") PAGE_VSPACE (-2) PAGE_RULE_H (0.3 0 0) PAGE_COLUMN_START (40 0 0 0 0) ROW_START_ES (BA 6 0.1 1.0) STAMP_ADD_IMG (50 50 "\images\kaz_wmap.jpg" "" "" "" NO_FRAME) PAGE_TEXT_PARAGRAPH_START (BA 10 CENTRE) Region: West-central Asia PAGE_TEXT_PARAGRAPH_END PAGE_COLUMN_NEXT PAGE_TEXT_PARAGRAPH_START (BA 11 LEFT) The northern portion of Turkestan, in west-central Asia, the territory of Kazakstan was conquered by Russia during the 18th and 19th centuries. In December 1991, it became an independent republic. PAGE_TEXT_PARAGRAPH_END PAGE_TEXT (BSB 11 "Timeline") PAGE_VSPACE (-4) PAGE_TEXT_PARAGRAPH_START (BA 11 LEFT) xxxx - PAGE_TEXT_PARAGRAPH_END PAGE_COLUMN_STOP PAGE_VSPACE(2) ROW_START_FS (BA 9 0.1 4.0) STAMP_ADD (40 35 "+" "" "Kazakhstan 1992 -" " ") PAGE_TEXT_CENTER (BI 10 "Prior to 1992 see Russia, Union of Socialist Soviet Republics.") #PAGE_QUADRILLE(0.1 5.0 5.0 centre)  |
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angore
Member
Posts: 5,335
What I collect: WW, focus on British Empire
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Post by angore on Aug 29, 2023 10:21:48 GMT
Here is some code to create old style albums The inner border creates a box inside the box and using the sides command to get specific sides to show to create the shorter separator. PAGE_TEXT_CENTRE (HB 12 "\Inner Borders") STAMP_BORDER_STYLE (SIDES L T B) ROW_START_FS (HN 8 0.1 0.0) STAMP_INNER_BORDER_STYLE (SIDES R) STAMP_INNER_BORDER(1.5 0.1) STAMP_ADD (26.0 32.0 "Inner borderR" "" "1" "") STAMP_BORDER_STYLE (SIDES T B) STAMP_INNER_BORDER(1.5 0.1) STAMP_ADD (26.0 32.0 "Inner border" "" "1" "") STAMP_INNER_BORDER_STYLE (SIDES R) STAMP_INNER_BORDER(1.5 0.1) STAMP_ADD (26.0 32.0 "Inner border" "" "1" "") STAMP_ADD (26.0 32.0 "BOX 4" "" "1" "") STAMP_INNER_BORDER_STYLE (BLANK) STAMP_BORDER_STYLE (SIDES T B R) STAMP_ADD (26.0 32.0 "no inner border" "" "1" "")  |
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rednaxela
Member
Posts: 175
What I collect: Germany in all its facets since 1871 (especially German Reich used including postal statinoneries, used), USSR, Austria, Switzerland, Luxembourg, Liechtenstein, Denmark, France. I design all album pages for my collection myself and partly make them available to the general public for use.
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Post by rednaxela on Sept 1, 2023 8:00:51 GMT
I have been designing my album pages for some time now so that the heading (the country name) is placed at the top of the border of the album pages. This gives more space for the stamps. I have also added options to vary the size in which the stamp images are displayed (with the new command as a percentage), in color or gray mode, or whether they are hidden altogether. However, the display of the country name as well as the cover page (usually the coat of arms of the country) and supplementary notes to distinguish variants of individual issues should remain independent of these options. The following lines from a USSR album show how I realized this goal. (The USSR album available on Clive's download pages does not yet contain these modifications! So to say, these examples are a representation of the work in progress). # ------------------------------------------------------------------------------
# Setup page elements that are common to all pages in this album.
# ------------------------------------------------------------------------------
ALBUM_PAGES_SIZE (210.0 297.0) #Set the album page size to A4
#ALBUM_PAGES_SIZE (420.0 297.0) #Set the album page size to A3
#ALBUM_PAGES_SIZE (215.9 279.4) #set the album page size to Letter
ALBUM_PAGES_MARGINS (25.0 12.0 15.0 15.0) #left, right, top and bottom page margins, when A4 or letter
#ALBUM_PAGES_MARGINS (205.0 20.0 20.0 20.0) #left, right, top and bottom page margins, when A3
#ALBUM_PAGES_MARGINSE (25.0 12.0 15.0 15.0) #margins mirrored on even numbered pages
ALBUM_PAGES_BORDER (0.1 0.0 0.0 1.0) #single thin line border around the page
ALBUM_PAGES_SPACING (1.0 6.0) #set horizontal & vertical spacing for elements on a page
#ALBUM_PAGES_TITLE (TN 18 "")
ALBUM_PAGES_FOOTER (TN 6 R "Designed by Alexander Barthel with AlbumEasy")
STAMP_BOXES_SIZE_ADJUST(5.0)
STAMP_HEADING_PADDING (-2.0)
ALBUM_DEFINE_FONT (TNR "Times New Roman")
#The following commands place the heading (country name) at the top of the page border on all subsequent pages. The goal is to make the image "white" as background for the country name independent from the variation possibilities for the stamp images and to define no border for it.
PAGE_START_GROUP_BEGIN
ALBUM_STAMP_IMG_NEW_SETTING (5.0 5.0 false)
ALBUM_STAMP_IMG_ASPECT_RATIO (false)
PAGE_VSPACE(-6)
ROW_START_ES (HN 6 0.1)
ALBUM_STAMP_SETTINGS_SAVE
ALBUM_STAMP_IMG_SHOW
STAMP_ADD_IMG (40.0 10.0 "Images/white.jpg" "" "" "" NO_FRAME)
ALBUM_STAMP_SETTINGS_RESTORE
PAGE_VSPACE(-19.5)
PAGE_TEXT_CENTRE (TN 18 "Sowjetunion" 1.0)
STAMP_BORDER_STYLE (Solid)
ALBUM_STAMP_IMG_ASPECT_RATIO (true)
ALBUM_STAMP_IMG_NEW_SETTING_PCNT (25)
PAGE_START_GROUP_END
ALBUM_STAMP_IMG_GREYSCALE_ON
#ALBUM_STAMP_IMG_HIDE
# ------------------------------------------------------------------------------
# The first page of the album
# ------------------------------------------------------------------------------
#The following commands specify that the country coat of arms on the cover page is always visible in full size and color (and without border) regardless of whether the stamp images are resized, displayed in colors or only in gray, or made invisible. These commands are then neutralized again for the following pages by the parameters defined by the page setup elements and the page start group above.
PAGE_START
PAGE_VSPACE (40.0)
STAMP_BORDER_STYLE (Blank)
ALBUM_STAMP_IMG_NEW_SETTING_PCNT (0 0 false)
ALBUM_STAMP_SETTINGS_SAVE
ALBUM_STAMP_IMG_SHOW
ALBUM_STAMP_IMG_GREYSCALE_OFF
ROW_START_FS (TN 6 0.1 6.0)
STAMP_ADD_IMG (100.0 100.0 "Images/Coat_of_arms_of_the_Soviet_Union_(1923–1935).svg.png" "" "" "")
PAGE_TEXT_CENTRE (TB 14 "Wappen der Sowjetunion 1923 bis 1936" 2)
STAMP_BORDER_STYLE (Solid)
ALBUM_STAMP_SETTINGS_RESTORE
# ------------------------------------------------------------------------------
# Page 2 of the album
# ------------------------------------------------------------------------------
PAGE_START
PAGE_TEXT_CENTRE (TB 12 "1923/1924")
PAGE_TEXT_CENTRE (TN 10 "Arbeiter, Bauer und Soldat, ohne Wasserzeichen, Steindruck, ungezähnt" 2)
ROW_START_FS (TN 6 0.1 6.0)
STAMP_ADD_IMG (19 26 "Images/0228.jpg" "" "" "")
STAMP_ADD_IMG (19 26 "Images/0229.jpg" "" "" "")
STAMP_ADD_IMG (19 26 "Images/0230.jpg" "" "" "")
STAMP_ADD_IMG (19 26 "Images/0231.jpg" "" "" "")
STAMP_ADD_IMG (19 26 "Images/0232.jpg" "" "" "")
ROW_START_FS (TN 6 0.1 6.0)
STAMP_ADD_IMG (19 26 "Images/0233.jpg" "" "" "")
STAMP_ADD_IMG (19 26 "Images/0234.jpg" "" "" "")
STAMP_ADD_IMG (19 26 "Images/0235.jpg" "" "" "")
STAMP_ADD_IMG (19 26 "Images/0236.jpg" "" "" "")
STAMP_ADD_IMG (19 26 "Images/0237.jpg" "" "" "")
PAGE_TEXT_CENTRE (TN 10 "Ebenso, ohne Wasserzeichen, Buchdruck, auf grauem Papier, ungezähnt" 2)
ROW_START_FS (TN 6 0.1 6.0)
STAMP_ADD_IMG (19 26 "Images/0229.jpg" "" "" "")
STAMP_ADD_IMG (19 26 "Images/0230.jpg" "" "" "")
STAMP_ADD_IMG (19 26 "Images/0231.jpg" "" "" "")
STAMP_ADD_IMG (19 26 "Images/0233.jpg" "" "" "")
STAMP_ADD_IMG (19 26 "Images/0234.jpg" "" "" "")
ROW_START_FS (TN 6 0.1 6.0)
STAMP_ADD_IMG (19 26 "Images/0235.jpg" "" "" "")
STAMP_ADD_IMG (19 26 "Images/0236.jpg" "" "" "")
STAMP_ADD_IMG (19 26 "Images/0237.jpg" "" "" "")
#Also all additional illustrations, which give hints to distinguish variants of individual issues, are made independent of whether and how the stamp images and the stamp borders are made visible as described above.
STAMP_BORDER_STYLE (Blank)
ALBUM_STAMP_IMG_NEW_SETTING_PCNT (0 0 false)
ALBUM_STAMP_SETTINGS_SAVE
ALBUM_STAMP_IMG_SHOW
ALBUM_STAMP_IMG_GREYSCALE_OFF
ROW_START_FS (TN 6 0.1 6.0)
STAMP_ADD_IMG (10 10 "Images/0232litho.jpg" "" "Steindruck" "")
STAMP_ADD_IMG (10 10 "Images/0236litho.jpg" "" "Steindruck" "")
STAMP_ADD_IMG (10 10 "Images/0234litho.jpg" "" "Steindruck" "")
ROW_START_FS (TN 6 0.1 6.0)
STAMP_ADD_IMG (10 10 "Images/0232typo.jpg" "" "Buchdruck" "")
STAMP_ADD_IMG (10 10 "Images/0236typo.jpg" "" "Buchdruck" "")
STAMP_ADD_IMG (10 10 "Images/0234typo.jpg" "" "Buchdruck" "")
STAMP_BORDER_STYLE (Solid)
ALBUM_STAMP_SETTINGS_RESTORE
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Post by clivel on Sept 2, 2023 1:33:49 GMT
Thanks, madbaker , angore and rednaxela for some excellent examples, I always enjoy seeing how others make use of AlbumEasy Clive |
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angore
Member
Posts: 5,335
What I collect: WW, focus on British Empire
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Post by angore on Sept 2, 2023 10:27:33 GMT
I have saved some of these type posts (here or elsewhere) in Microsoft OneNote as well as other information off the Internet. I use a dark theme on my system.  |
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rednaxela
Member
Posts: 175
What I collect: Germany in all its facets since 1871 (especially German Reich used including postal statinoneries, used), USSR, Austria, Switzerland, Luxembourg, Liechtenstein, Denmark, France. I design all album pages for my collection myself and partly make them available to the general public for use.
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Post by rednaxela on Sept 3, 2023 7:40:06 GMT
This looks fine, angore . Just a hint: You could save a lot of ink if you would not define the box completely black, but use a sufficiently wide black inner border. Also then the mounted stamps would show up very well. |
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angore
Member
Posts: 5,335
What I collect: WW, focus on British Empire
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Post by angore on Sept 3, 2023 10:05:45 GMT
"You could save a lot of ink...."
Aye.
I did not create the example page but still saved the text and image forum post for reference.
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madbaker
Member
Posts: 690
What I collect: (Mark) General worldwide collector (to 1975 or so) with a soft spot for Sweden and the rest of Scandinavia.
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Post by madbaker on Sept 3, 2023 14:59:59 GMT
Awesome pages. I really like the look of your albums, @renaxela. I'm curious, angore, what is the source of your map in the Kazakhstan page? I'd love to make / find a set like that, possibly with regions highlighted (say, South-East Asia) |
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angore
Member
Posts: 5,335
What I collect: WW, focus on British Empire
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Post by angore on Sept 4, 2023 10:00:48 GMT
"what is the source of your map in the Kazakhstan page?"
Wikipedia. When you download them, they are in svg format so use an online converter to get a jpg.
There is a way to create your own but seemed like it involved work.
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madbaker
Member
Posts: 690
What I collect: (Mark) General worldwide collector (to 1975 or so) with a soft spot for Sweden and the rest of Scandinavia.
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Post by madbaker on Sept 4, 2023 15:55:10 GMT
There is a way to create your own but seemed like it involved work.
I can confirm that! I've been playing with two programs and they are mildly infuriating, given my lack of a geographical engineering degree. 😁😂
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madbaker
Member
Posts: 690
What I collect: (Mark) General worldwide collector (to 1975 or so) with a soft spot for Sweden and the rest of Scandinavia.
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Post by madbaker on Sept 12, 2023 22:11:53 GMT
Hey clivel ! I'm curious if folks have ever asked you for some sort of 'frontmatter' feature for AlbumEasy. I've been building pages for my Grand Tour collection and notice I'm repeating myself a lot. I see the new $includes feature which looks great, but doesn't help with my use case. Here's what I'm doing: - each country gets its own album / AlbumEasy text file. - each album gets a title page. Title pages are standard format - country name, a map image, a flag image, two larger text blocks. - album pages are standard. A country name placed up in the border, then I set headers, stamp boxes, the usual stuff. Because I am only making a page or two per country, I am building 1 or 2 country/album files per night. What I'm noticing is that I'm still poking about looking for all the places where I need to change the image file names, the country names, etc. I use a static site generator (Eleventy) for my website and put that type of standard info in a YAML header at the start of the file. I wonder if that might be possible for AlbumEasy. For example: # start of YAML header, or variable declarations, etc. The backticks denote the start and end of the header.
```
mapImage: "./images/CookIslands.png"
flagImage: "./images/CookIslandsFlag.png"
countryName: "Cook Islands"
```
# AlbumEasy code starts now.
.
.
.
# Reference the header variables
STAMP_ADD_IMG ( 50 50 {{mapImage}} " " " " " " )
.
.
.
# Reference a different variable
PAGE_TEXT_CENTRE (EB 18 {{countryName}} 5.0)
Another advantage might be a reduction of variables and settings that you have to hard-code. I really like the new ALBUM_AUTHOR and ALBUM_TITLE variables; this might remove the need for you to add more specific variables to the application.
I know that you're in the middle of a move and likely don't want to be doing a major release anyway. And this might be way beyond what you want to do with AlbumEasy. But I figured I'd ask.
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Post by clivel on Sept 13, 2023 2:27:57 GMT
Hi madbaker, Actually, there is already something similar to your YAML example, but a bit more primitive and currently only works for the PAGE_START_GROUP which accepts placeholders indicated by $$ and a digit which are substituted by parameters added to the PAGE_START command. An example is probably the easiest way of explaining.
e.g PAGE_START_GROUP_BEGIN
PAGE_VSPACE(6.0)
PAGE_TEXT_CENTRE (HB 16 "$$1")
ROW_START_FS (TN 6 0.1 6.0)
STAMP_ADD_IMG (24.0 32.0 "$$3" "" "" "")
PAGE_TEXT_CENTRE (HN 12 "$$2")
PAGE_START_GROUP_END
# ------------------------------------------------------------------------------
# first page
# ------------------------------------------------------------------------------
PAGE_START("This is the 1st page title" "text under image" "stamp_images/b17.png")
PAGE_TEXT_CENTRE (HB 16 "This text is on the first page ")
# ------------------------------------------------------------------------------
# second page
# ------------------------------------------------------------------------------
PAGE_START("This is the 2nd page title" "text under image on second page" "stamp_images/b18.png")
PAGE_TEXT_CENTRE (HB 16 "This text is on the second page ")The parameters provided to PAGE_START are substituted in positional order. i.e the first parameter will be substituted for $$1 the second for $$2 etc For a better example, please see the CommandGroup_advanced.txt example included with AE.
Another thing that may help, is to use a PAGE_START_INFO for your title page, these pages do not process the PAGE_START_GROUP commands, optionally do not include a border, and do not include headers and footers, and optionally do not increment the page count.
I do think that it would be useful to include a more general sort of parameter system, similar to your YAML example, it is something I will probably look into for the next release, however, this will probably not be for a few months.
Clive
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angore
Member
Posts: 5,335
What I collect: WW, focus on British Empire
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Post by angore on Sept 16, 2023 10:08:38 GMT
The latest issue of Linn's Stamp News (Oct. 2, 2023) has an article on the Album Easy website.  |
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madbaker
Member
Posts: 690
What I collect: (Mark) General worldwide collector (to 1975 or so) with a soft spot for Sweden and the rest of Scandinavia.
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Post by madbaker on Sept 17, 2023 17:10:06 GMT
I'd love some advice from the folks who are using the ALBUM_STAMP_IMG set of commands. I've noticed an issue with images and I wonder if these commands might help. For my page headers, I'm placing the country name in the border, similar to what rednaxela does. I place a white image over the border, then write the country name in the same space. Like this: #
# Blot out the header area - centre
#
PAGE_VSPACE(-5)
ROW_START_ES (EB 6 0.5)
STAMP_ADD_BLANK (23 10)
STAMP_ADD_IMG(60 10 "./images/white.jpg" "" "" "" NO_FRAME)
STAMP_ADD_BLANK (23 10)
#
# Place text in the header space
#
PAGE_VSPACE(-16.5)
PAGE_TEXT_CENTRE(EB 18 "$$1" 10)Note that I'm using the nifty $$1 variable. This code is in a PAGE_START_GROUP. More over, it's in a separate file called 'PageHeader.txt' that gets imported into each album file via the $INCLUDE command. Cool! 🙂 A problem arises, however, because I typically hinge my stamps, but sometimes I use mounts.
For albums where I use hinges, I add a STAMP_BOXES_SIZE_ADJUST(2.0) at the top of the album file. But when I use mounts, I use STAMP_BOXES_SIZE_ADJUST(4.0)
That 2mm difference is reflected in the white image that's displayed over the border at the top of the page. Which then messes with the vertical spacing and placement of the country title. The net effect is that in album files where I'm using mounts, the country name appears too low on the page, slightly below the border. So my question: Is there a way to "turn off" the stamp box size adjustments in my PAGE_START_GROUP commands and then turn them back on again? I see rednaxela does that for images on title pages, but all the commands appear to effect the image inside the virtual box, not the virtual box itself. cc'ing clivel because he has a knack for pointing me to the command that does exactly that, which I gloss over in the help file. PS - I tried using conditional variables:
## at the start of my album file
$DEFINE(MOUNTS)
---
### then later in the PAGE_START_GROUP
$IFDEF(MOUNTS)
PAGE_VSPACE(-2.0) #give it an extra 2mm to account for the larger box
$ENDIF
But the conditional executes 100% of the time, whether I define MOUNTS or not. I can comment out the $DEFINE statement and I still get an extra 2mm VSPACE. |
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Post by clivel on Sept 17, 2023 19:17:34 GMT
The latest issue of Linn's Stamp News (Oct. 2, 2023) has an article on the Album Easy website. Thanks for sharing angore , I will have to try and find a copy. Prior to our recent move to a small town I was able to read Linn's at the library. Unfortunately our local library doesn't carry it.
Clive
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Post by clivel on Sept 17, 2023 19:31:46 GMT
So my question: Is there a way to "turn off" the stamp box size adjustments in my PAGE_START_GROUP commands and then turn them back on again? Hi madbaker, actually there is a command for this very situation. Well actually a pair of commands.
ALBUM_STAMP_SETTINGS_SAVE and ALBUM_STAMP_SETTINGS_RESTORE
These commands save and then restore the various parameters required for drawing a stamp, which includes the value of the STAMP_BOXES_SIZE_ADJUST
So, you can for example:
PAGE_START_GROUP_BEGIN ALBUM_STAMP_SETTINGS_SAVE #save the parameters
STAMP_BOXES_SIZE_ADJUST(2.0) #change the size adjust
PAGE_VSPACE(6.0)
PAGE_TEXT_CENTRE (HB 16 "$$1")
ROW_START_FS (TN 6 0.1 6.0)
STAMP_ADD_IMG (24.0 32.0 "$$3" "" "" "")
PAGE_TEXT_CENTRE (HN 12 "$$2") ALBUM_STAMP_SETTINGS_RESTORE #restore the stamp drawing settings to their previous state
PAGE_START_GROUP_END
The full list of parameters that are saved and restored are in the help. Please let me know how you make out, Clive
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madbaker
Member
Posts: 690
What I collect: (Mark) General worldwide collector (to 1975 or so) with a soft spot for Sweden and the rest of Scandinavia.
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Post by madbaker on Sept 17, 2023 19:52:59 GMT
Hi madbaker , actually there is a command for this very situation. Well actually a pair of commands.
ALBUM_STAMP_SETTINGS_SAVE and ALBUM_STAMP_SETTINGS_RESTORE
These commands save and then restore the various parameters required for drawing a stamp, which includes the value of the STAMP_BOXES_SIZE_ADJUST
...
The full list of parameters that are saved and restored are in the help.
No way! (shuffles off to look at the Help files, which are permanently up on his screen...)
...finds Album_stamp_settings_save...oh look, there's the list...
STAMP_BOXES_SIZE_ADJUST
Good grief! 🤯
I read the help. I swear I do. I run AlbumEasy from the command line but the Help screen is permanently open in another window. Honest true.
Thanks again, Clive.
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Post by clivel on Sept 17, 2023 22:07:22 GMT
No way! (shuffles off to look at the Help files, which are permanently up on his screen...)
...finds Album_stamp_settings_save...oh look, there's the list... STAMP_BOXES_SIZE_ADJUST Good grief! 🤯 I read the help. I swear I do. I run AlbumEasy from the command line but the Help screen is permanently open in another window. Honest true.
Thanks again, Clive.
There are a lot fo commands, so unless one knows exactly what to look for, they can be hard to find
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Post by iswscwebmaster on Oct 21, 2023 14:11:40 GMT
Was going through my latest edition of Linux Format (online edition) and Clive's excellent Album Easy is listed in the Hot Picks section.  This is awesome for Clive and our hobby! Well done Clive. |
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) we can do that later.