annotating photos & sketches
Posted: Sun Feb 19, 2012 8:51 pm
[Ed. With apologies to those who already know this stuff....]
-------------------------------------------
FYI - Dept. of Peripheral Tips:
"In Praise of Google Docs"
Although I am supposedly computer literate and have waaay too much
software lying around, for years I searched in vain for a simple way
to annotate project photos with text, arrows, etc. Unfortunately, as a
result of not finding anything, there are over 1100 photos on my Rebel
project site with no "on image" annotations. Instead, the captions
below the photos often include annoyingly verbose descriptions which
attempt to point the viewer to the subject at hand using mere words --
a poor substitute for graphical annotations.
Several months ago that changed with my discovery of the free Google
Docs "Drawings", which are created using only a web browser. To use
Google Docs (http://docs.google.com) you only need a free Google
account, which is linked to your existing email address. Once you get
into Google Docs, you click on Create New..., Drawing. Use the Insert,
Image menu command to import your photo into the drawing. Then use the
simple drawing tools on the toolbar to place text boxes, lines,
arrows, free form squiggles drawn with the mouse, and more onto the
photo. Finally, use File, Download As..., JPG file to bring your
completed masterpiece back to your own computer. The result is
something like http://n254mr.com/node/1740, which can be uploaded to
the the Rebel Builders' site, sent in an email, or whatever, like any
other image file.
In addition to photo annotations, you can also easily create rough
sketches of parts and the like. Anything you create can also be
downloaded directly as a PDF file if you prefer. Being a web
application, it's inherently cross-platform, easily used via Windoze,
Mac or Linux. No doubt others have discovered other solutions, but
IMHO this is the cat's meow.
FURTHER OFF TOPIC: Any Google Doc can also be easily shared with
others, who can have Read Only, or Read/Write privileges. For example,
my wife and I use plain word processing docs to collaborate on travel
planning, among other things. No matter the time of day or where we
are, either of us can put in ideas about itineraries, activities,
lodging, transportation, web links, etc., at any time -- all nicely
collected for both of us to see whenever we have time and inclination.
For months we hemmed and hawed about planning a recent trip, flailing
around and never making much real progress. After starting to use a
shared doc, we had the itinerary, lodging, and tickets all nailed down
in just 10 days -- record efficiency for us! <g> Another example: my
daughter (who lives 1000 miles away) and I are using a Google Docs
spreadsheet to collaborate on lists of tasks, camping equipment, etc.,
to plan our upcoming trip to Oshkosh.
Yes, this is a Google advert I guess, but WTH... it's free, and super.
Ron
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-------------------------------------------
FYI - Dept. of Peripheral Tips:
"In Praise of Google Docs"
Although I am supposedly computer literate and have waaay too much
software lying around, for years I searched in vain for a simple way
to annotate project photos with text, arrows, etc. Unfortunately, as a
result of not finding anything, there are over 1100 photos on my Rebel
project site with no "on image" annotations. Instead, the captions
below the photos often include annoyingly verbose descriptions which
attempt to point the viewer to the subject at hand using mere words --
a poor substitute for graphical annotations.
Several months ago that changed with my discovery of the free Google
Docs "Drawings", which are created using only a web browser. To use
Google Docs (http://docs.google.com) you only need a free Google
account, which is linked to your existing email address. Once you get
into Google Docs, you click on Create New..., Drawing. Use the Insert,
Image menu command to import your photo into the drawing. Then use the
simple drawing tools on the toolbar to place text boxes, lines,
arrows, free form squiggles drawn with the mouse, and more onto the
photo. Finally, use File, Download As..., JPG file to bring your
completed masterpiece back to your own computer. The result is
something like http://n254mr.com/node/1740, which can be uploaded to
the the Rebel Builders' site, sent in an email, or whatever, like any
other image file.
In addition to photo annotations, you can also easily create rough
sketches of parts and the like. Anything you create can also be
downloaded directly as a PDF file if you prefer. Being a web
application, it's inherently cross-platform, easily used via Windoze,
Mac or Linux. No doubt others have discovered other solutions, but
IMHO this is the cat's meow.
FURTHER OFF TOPIC: Any Google Doc can also be easily shared with
others, who can have Read Only, or Read/Write privileges. For example,
my wife and I use plain word processing docs to collaborate on travel
planning, among other things. No matter the time of day or where we
are, either of us can put in ideas about itineraries, activities,
lodging, transportation, web links, etc., at any time -- all nicely
collected for both of us to see whenever we have time and inclination.
For months we hemmed and hawed about planning a recent trip, flailing
around and never making much real progress. After starting to use a
shared doc, we had the itinerary, lodging, and tickets all nailed down
in just 10 days -- record efficiency for us! <g> Another example: my
daughter (who lives 1000 miles away) and I are using a Google Docs
spreadsheet to collaborate on lists of tasks, camping equipment, etc.,
to plan our upcoming trip to Oshkosh.
Yes, this is a Google advert I guess, but WTH... it's free, and super.
Ron
-----------------------------------------------------------------
List archives located at: https://mail.dcsol.com/login
username "rebel" password "builder"
Unsubscribe: rebel-builders-unsubscribe@dcsol.com
List administrator: mike.davis@dcsol.com
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