Documenting Patterns

[ladylinoleum]

Okay, I have TONS of patterns that I've designed. I would like to try to publish some. What is the best program to use to document this stuff for the masses? Word? Excel? Something else?

[RachelG]

You mean publish them for free on-line, or something different?

Most people just put the text (and hopefully a picture) on the web-page. This is more user-friendly. (Nobody has to worry about having a special reader, and a busy webmistress like me doesn't have to spend extra time waiting for it to load.)

However, some people do put their patterns in PDF format. I guess it's harder for people to copy that way?

Most patterns I've seen aren't in Word (although there are a few) and I don't think I've seen any in Excel.

[ladylinoleum]

Online and in print.

[crochet smartcat]

If you don't want to do them twice than PDF (Adobe Acrobat PDF) format is a good way to go. The downside is that you have to buy the program to create it and it can be spendy. You need to purchase the full version of Adobe Acrobat. If you don't want to spend the money than I would write it up in Word with pictures inserted for printing and then retype them with the pictures into your webpage.

I think some of the Microsoft programs are coming out with Acrobat PDF built in, but since I have always had both installed on my computer, it might only be available if you already have both.

Since most people have Acrobat Reader installed for other purposes, this is really the best way to go if you don't want to type your patterns more than once. But I do like the websites that don't use PDFs since the patterns load faster and are easier to preview to see if I even want the pattern.

So really the choice is up to you and how easy you want it to be, if you are selling your patterns for downloads then you probably do want to go with PDFs, but if they are free to print and download then just webformat is best I think.

[Granny Faye]

I typed mine up in notepad then copy and paste to post the thing. I'm not the best at any of this but it works for me. If you come up with a easier way please let me know.

[ladylinoleum]

Thanks ladies! This is a BIG help!

[goldi316]

[QUOTE=crochet smartcat]If you don't want to do them twice than PDF (Adobe Acrobat PDF) format is a good way to go. The downside is that you have to buy the program to create it and it can be spendy. You need to purchase the full version of Adobe Acrobat.[QUOTE]

Just a quickie note since I'm peeking in from work (:eek shhh!) - there are free pdf programs available for download (these would be similar to the full version of Adobe), you should be able to google for them.

If you are looking to publish online, there are also free html editors available for that purpose, google should turn these up as well.

Okaaay, gotta get back to it! :( Don't want to get caught "playing"...

[klouised]

Sorry, but I would like to put my 2 cents in. If you are wanting to put them on a website online, just type them right into your html program. I do that. It's pretty simple. I, personally, don't care to use Acrobat, because it's kinda irritating to me when I come across a pattern in that format. It takes a long time to get it to load up for me, and I'm an impatient person. LOL. You might want to have your own records of your patterns, so type them up in Microsoft Word. I use M Word to make up my patterns and send them to publishers. It's pretty basic, easy to correct, and looks nice. You can easily put a picture at the top of the pattern for reference.

[ladylinoleum]

Thanks, I was thinking of using word as the basic building block.

[TepperWear]

I would say Adobe Acrobat (or PDF) is the best. Every computer has it. And if not, it's free. Also, it's really just a picture of the text, so the document can't all of a sudden get messed up when it's opened. And it's easy. I think most programs now have an option to publish a document to PDF. PDf also works on Mac and PCs.

[goldi316]

I was in a bit of a rush on my previous reply (not that I'm off the hook yet, still at work - but everybody else has gone home so gettin' caught is no longer a danger. :devil )


I can't stand it when patterns come in pdf either, and pretty much for the same reasons, plus several more I won't list now. I forget that my Mozilla also has an html composer associated with it (who has time to explore these things?). I've found Word to be a good option, and even if people don't have the program on their computers, they will usually have some program that can handle files created in Word, even if they're not aware they have it.

No matter which option you choose, the means are available for you to do it, free. Good luck! :cheer

[ladylinoleum]

Okay, I will start off with Word and see where that leads me.

[crochet.sandie]

Last year I put all my patterns into pdf. I feel the same way about pdf that some of you do, but as a designer and teacher, I ran into problems of people taking my pictures and patterns and posting to their own site without permission or not understanding about stealing bandwidth. I have found the easiest deterrent to be putting the patterns in pdf and limiting permissions to use. It is not foolproof as there are ways around it and, of course, sometimes people just don't ask permission at all. I think it's more a problem of not understanding, than deliberate theft. That's it from a designer's viewpoint.

I am also in the process of putting my copyright notice on the pictures themselves. Might want to think about doing that. They are protected without, but it's just an added deterrent.

I do give permissions for use of some of my work for charity and limited printing for teaching. It's not that I won't play nice and share. I just like to know what people are doing with my work since my name is on there and, after all, these things take time to do. It also helps me to know what sorts of things I should add to the site, what is helpful to others.

[Lavelle26]

Hi,
I am desiging some patterns to sell and am very new to this. I have typed up a couple of patterns in my word document for starters but I want it to be in pdf format so its easier for people to not take it or alter it. Also, I noticed that when I try to view it on someone elses computer, it changes if they don't have the right fonts and whatnot.

Okay, so my question is this. I don't have Adobe Acrobat (the pdf writer thing) but I do have the reader. I also have Adobe Photoshop CS which I edit my pictures in. Now CS has a drop down menu when I save an image or whatever and it has a "Photoshop PDF" choice. Can I use this to make my patterns pdf format?
If so, then how would I get my word document into it? Would I just have to retype the whole thing?