OBJECTIVES
Create at least five pages for the interactive eBook Be Fire Safe using Adobe InDesign. Complete each page to the standard set out in the printed version of the book. Make sure that each object is inserted into the correct place, make sure the colour is the same as that of the book. Insert text boxes into the correct space provided and name each text box in accordance to the function it is connected with. Make sure that the page turning facility is available.
PROJECT
The project I have been tasked to do is for New Zealand Fire Service. They wish to have two books (Be Fire Safe activity book and Wise Up, the choice is yours) which are published made into interactive eBooks which can be used with an Android device which will allow greater accessibility to children within the school environment.
TASKS
Create five pages using Adobe InDesign
Insert text boxes
Insert text
Insert graphics
Insert page number
Insert colour
Insert shapes
Name each field accordingly
Name each field accordingly
DAILY LOG
Monday
Today I started working on page four of Book One, Be Fire Safe Activity Book. This page has several different sections but the main things that need to be included on this page will be a text field and tick boxes The tick boxes will have to be check boxes to allow the person using the eBook to place a tick in the correct circle.
At the weekend I managed to get up to date with the required progress reports. These I have been doing as a weekly blog, however all I feel as if I am doing is updating the blog all the time as what I have written is not enough. You, the reader will want to know not that I started working on page four but how I was working on it. What I did and how I did it. This to me is time consuming and feels like it takes longer to write down what I have been doing than the actual doing (if you know what I mean). However, I will try to remember to write down each stage so you, the reader can follow what I have been doing.
This is how it went:
After I had made the text boxes and named them I proceeded to make check boxes for the other fields required.
Emailed contact to set up date for meeting and had a break.
When I came back laptop had lost power so I made sure that it was plugged in and proceeded to start the process all over again. To make pages five and six I opened up Adobe InDesign and opened my previously save document for this project (Book One). I scrolled down to the empty page five (set up ready to insert page five). I went back to file manager and selected my external hard drive (this has the copied book saved on it). I selected Book One and opened in Microsoft. I then proceeded to copy page five and then went back to Adobe InDesign and inserted the copy I had done. As it didn't fit the page correctly (went out of the margin lines) I proceeded to change the size until it fitted correctly. There is a lot of fiddling about doing it this way and I am sure there must be an easier way. I did use the icons on Adobe InDesign which if selected say that you can do an 'auto fit' however this did not work as I expected it to so I tried some of the other buttons that are used for auto fit, these were called:
Finally when the page was correctly inserted I thought as I was on a roll so I did the same process as I previously talked about and inserted page six from the copy I had made as a Word document. With the two pages inserted I remembered to save (in the event that the internet went down or I did something accidental and lost the work). Having looked at the two pages I decided that I would work first on page five first as that was the easiest one to do. Why? it only need me to add five text boxes. I did this by selecting the text tool, placing it where I wanted the text box and added it by using the mouse to drag it to the size required. As the first one was not quite right I used my arrow keys to position it in the correct place (I did this with the following text boxes which were required).
After inserting all the text boxes I remembered to go back to the first one I had made on page five so I could name it. Once I had selected the text box I selected the Window tab and clicked on Interactive, this brought another pop up list and I selected buttons and forms. With the first text box highlighted I selected Type (on buttons and forms) and selected Text Field. I then selected the name option and typed in Page_5_Question_1. For the event I elected On Release or Tap and left the Actions button as it was. I then proceeded to select Hidden Until Triggered (a tick appeared next to the comment) and made sure that only printable and scrollable were selected in the PDF Options. There was a facility to write something in the Description area but as I had already named the field I thought that this would just be duplicating what I had written earlier. Font size was left at the standard 12 points.
I did this same process for all the text fields, naming them:
Just checked this last field and saw that I had inserted the wrong field so changed it to a text field and renamed it (so glad that I was looking at what I had done whilst writing this blog). Although it does not seem I have done much (I don't think I have) it takes me forever to do what seems to be the simplest things.
At the weekend I managed to get up to date with the required progress reports. These I have been doing as a weekly blog, however all I feel as if I am doing is updating the blog all the time as what I have written is not enough. You, the reader will want to know not that I started working on page four but how I was working on it. What I did and how I did it. This to me is time consuming and feels like it takes longer to write down what I have been doing than the actual doing (if you know what I mean). However, I will try to remember to write down each stage so you, the reader can follow what I have been doing.
This is how it went:
- Opened laptop
- Started laptop
- Got a cuppa as laptop takes forever loading
- Selected Adobe InDesign - open
- Plugged in external hard drive (copies of what I have done so far saved on device)
- Selected file manager
- Selected Microsoft Word - open
- In Adobe InDesign select File
- Select Open
- Select required file from drive
- Select blank page you want to work on
- Select File
- Select place
- Select page from device you wish to insert (I always op[en this within Microsoft Word to make sure that I have added the correct one)
- Select open
- Click on 'placed' insert
- Rearrange the size to fit the page (lots of fiddling about)
- Select Window from InDesign Drop Down Tabs
- Select Interactive
- Select Buttons and Forms
- On the tools (left hand side of page) select Type Tool
- Move to correct position
- Drag to the required size
- Select Selection Tool, place over type field created
- Within Buttons and Forms select Type
- Select the required type required (Text field in this case)
- Select Name
- Write appropriate name (I always write which page and which question number)
- Select event
- Select hidden until triggered so that it is 'ticked'
- Select PDF Options
- Select Printable
- Select Scrollable
- Make sure font size is 12
- SAVE
After I had made the text boxes and named them I proceeded to make check boxes for the other fields required.
Emailed contact to set up date for meeting and had a break.
When I came back laptop had lost power so I made sure that it was plugged in and proceeded to start the process all over again. To make pages five and six I opened up Adobe InDesign and opened my previously save document for this project (Book One). I scrolled down to the empty page five (set up ready to insert page five). I went back to file manager and selected my external hard drive (this has the copied book saved on it). I selected Book One and opened in Microsoft. I then proceeded to copy page five and then went back to Adobe InDesign and inserted the copy I had done. As it didn't fit the page correctly (went out of the margin lines) I proceeded to change the size until it fitted correctly. There is a lot of fiddling about doing it this way and I am sure there must be an easier way. I did use the icons on Adobe InDesign which if selected say that you can do an 'auto fit' however this did not work as I expected it to so I tried some of the other buttons that are used for auto fit, these were called:
- Align left edges
- Align right edges
- Align Top edges
- Align bottom edges
- Align horizontal centers
- Align vertical centers
Finally when the page was correctly inserted I thought as I was on a roll so I did the same process as I previously talked about and inserted page six from the copy I had made as a Word document. With the two pages inserted I remembered to save (in the event that the internet went down or I did something accidental and lost the work). Having looked at the two pages I decided that I would work first on page five first as that was the easiest one to do. Why? it only need me to add five text boxes. I did this by selecting the text tool, placing it where I wanted the text box and added it by using the mouse to drag it to the size required. As the first one was not quite right I used my arrow keys to position it in the correct place (I did this with the following text boxes which were required).
After inserting all the text boxes I remembered to go back to the first one I had made on page five so I could name it. Once I had selected the text box I selected the Window tab and clicked on Interactive, this brought another pop up list and I selected buttons and forms. With the first text box highlighted I selected Type (on buttons and forms) and selected Text Field. I then selected the name option and typed in Page_5_Question_1. For the event I elected On Release or Tap and left the Actions button as it was. I then proceeded to select Hidden Until Triggered (a tick appeared next to the comment) and made sure that only printable and scrollable were selected in the PDF Options. There was a facility to write something in the Description area but as I had already named the field I thought that this would just be duplicating what I had written earlier. Font size was left at the standard 12 points.
I did this same process for all the text fields, naming them:
- Page_5_Question_2
- Page_5_Question_3
- Page_5_Question_4
- Page_5_Question_5
Just checked this last field and saw that I had inserted the wrong field so changed it to a text field and renamed it (so glad that I was looking at what I had done whilst writing this blog). Although it does not seem I have done much (I don't think I have) it takes me forever to do what seems to be the simplest things.
Tuesday
e-Business lecture this morning in which we discussed things to do with our assignment two. It was quite interesting to learn about other companies and how they operate within the eBusiness commerce field (Tesco and Amazon).
After the lesson I tucked myself away in the Multimedia room (third floor up in the computer block at EIT) and started working on page 6. I had to take my laptop into college (heavy bag) as the software I am using (Adobe InDesign) is not on the college computers. Once I had set up and opened Adobe InDesign I had to select my drive from the File Manager and open up the saved Book One before I could start. I also opened up Microsoft Word so I could use later to open up the pages I had saved (one by one) of the book Be Fire Safe Activity Book. As I was still finding it hard to place things in certain positions I had a look at a video on YouTube which refreshed my memory and helped a lot. However, placing something into a document is not easy, you can not just copy and paste it into Adobe InDesign. You have to:
I had a telephone conversation with my client today, he is excited to see the interactive eBooks and we have arranged a meeting for next Tuesday at EIT at 10am.
After the children were asleep I set up the laptop and added page seven. I completed the same process as page six, naming the fields and selecting the check box as the type required.
After the lesson I tucked myself away in the Multimedia room (third floor up in the computer block at EIT) and started working on page 6. I had to take my laptop into college (heavy bag) as the software I am using (Adobe InDesign) is not on the college computers. Once I had set up and opened Adobe InDesign I had to select my drive from the File Manager and open up the saved Book One before I could start. I also opened up Microsoft Word so I could use later to open up the pages I had saved (one by one) of the book Be Fire Safe Activity Book. As I was still finding it hard to place things in certain positions I had a look at a video on YouTube which refreshed my memory and helped a lot. However, placing something into a document is not easy, you can not just copy and paste it into Adobe InDesign. You have to:
- Select file
- Select place
- Select the drive your work is saved on
- Select what it is you wish to insert
- Select open
I had a telephone conversation with my client today, he is excited to see the interactive eBooks and we have arranged a meeting for next Tuesday at EIT at 10am.
After the children were asleep I set up the laptop and added page seven. I completed the same process as page six, naming the fields and selecting the check box as the type required.
Wednesday
Worked at home today as the laptop is so heavy to keep carrying around.
Today I need to try to find out how to do a drag and drop facility within InDesign as so far I can not find it within the book I got from the EIT Library (Adobe InDesign CS6 Digital Classroom. This is required for the user to complete pages eight and nine. This is taking longer to try to find and set up than I anticipated and it is time consuming and frustrating. I looked how to do this on YouTube as reading the book (from the library) didn't help much. Watching a video and making notes was more helpful but it still did not fully explain how to do this. What I want to do is to be able to drag items ABCDEFGH from page 8 to the correct boxes (Tool Box or Toy Box) on page 9. Also if the item from page 8 was placed into the wrong box I need it to go back to the original place on page 8. This is going to require several different layers and lots of thought. To make sure I don't fall behind I have left it as it is for now.
Today I need to try to find out how to do a drag and drop facility within InDesign as so far I can not find it within the book I got from the EIT Library (Adobe InDesign CS6 Digital Classroom. This is required for the user to complete pages eight and nine. This is taking longer to try to find and set up than I anticipated and it is time consuming and frustrating. I looked how to do this on YouTube as reading the book (from the library) didn't help much. Watching a video and making notes was more helpful but it still did not fully explain how to do this. What I want to do is to be able to drag items ABCDEFGH from page 8 to the correct boxes (Tool Box or Toy Box) on page 9. Also if the item from page 8 was placed into the wrong box I need it to go back to the original place on page 8. This is going to require several different layers and lots of thought. To make sure I don't fall behind I have left it as it is for now.
Thursday
e-Business class working on assignment two. After the lesson I again went and hid myself in the Multimedia room on level 3 of the computer block at EIT. I powered up the machine and proceeded to open up Google Chrome. I search for drag and drop in Adobe InDesign CS6 which came up with lots of different things. Some were tutorials within Adobe, others were on YouTube, including some from people who work for Adobe and call themselves The Gurus. There were no drag and drop facilities that I had previously used in other software but things to do with anchoring objects etc, Left feeling more frustrated and lost than ever.
Friday
Hope today is better. going to get started on page ten. This page is a poem with graphics and should be easy to complete.
Powered up laptop (cuppa time) opened Adobe InDesign, selected my drive from the File Manager and open up the saved Book One before I could start. I also opened up Microsoft Word so I could use later to open up the pages I had saved (one by one) of the book Be Fire Safe Activity Book.
I then followed the normal process:
Select file
Select place
Select the drive your work is saved on
Select what it is you wish to insert
Select open
PROBLEMS
Powered up laptop (cuppa time) opened Adobe InDesign, selected my drive from the File Manager and open up the saved Book One before I could start. I also opened up Microsoft Word so I could use later to open up the pages I had saved (one by one) of the book Be Fire Safe Activity Book.
I then followed the normal process:
PROBLEMS
Graphic placement - not correct sometimes so had to do them several times. Drag and drop facility.
POSSIBLE SOLUTIONS
Watch video on how to place graphics within a document and read book, Adobe InDesign CS6 Digital Classroom. Find out how to do layers and how to 'hide' until I get the correct look I am after.
LEARNING EXPERIENCE
My learning experience this week was good but really frustrating and time consuming. Although I created several pages of the interactive eBook none of it has been easy. Trying to do things which I have done using other software and can't using this software is not only frustrating but annoying because it is not so easy to do as I want it to be.
STATUS OF PROJECT
The objectives for this week were to add five pages into the interactive eBook using Adobe InDesign. This I managed to do.
This week was hard as I could not get the graphics quite right and was getting frustrated so rather than getting more frustrated and leaving the eBook I looked at YouTube videos and wrote some notes with which I can refer back to when required. I found just reading the book on how to do something didn't really work for me and I needed something visual to see and something written in my own words so I could understand and refer back to when required much more useful. I need to learn how not to get so frustrated when the software does not do what I want it to do and to find an easier way around the problems I keep getting. I am also finding it hard to convey in words what I am reflecting upon as I do the work and not really reflect on it. I just make sure that it looks exactly like the page in the book and that all the features that are required on that page are set up correctly. When I get frustrated that I can't find something online to show me how to do something, or I can't read it in a book I realise that it is time to make a cuppa and sit quietly. Quite often it gives me an idea of how I can tackle this problem differently (try something else). If nothing springs to mind all I do is go onto the next page and write down what I have missed (have to do later).
Objectives and Reflections are way too short. We are looking for quite a lot of reflection here. Am sure you think a lot about what you are doing, the issues and how you are handling them. This needs to be documented.
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