 March 17, 2008 - 10:03am | That's a feature not available in the free PDF-making software. However, if you set your Adobe Reader to two-page format, it does the same thing. |
 March 17, 2008 - 10:08am | It is more a matter of realizing what the page number will be and strategically deciding that any 2 page articles be placed so that they begin on even page numbers, while single page articles might be placed on either even or odd page numbers (often on the odd pages). If that sounded weird, I mean strategically ordering the articles (as in the order in which they appear in the magazine) so that page numbers face well/attractively. <insert witty comment here> |
March 17, 2008 - 11:13am | Having done layout myself, that's a pretty tall order. The best you can hope for is that the majority of articles appear in that way, but not all of them. |
March 17, 2008 - 11:38am | Understood; it is very tough to accomplish, which is why I suggested occassional filler (and gave a few examples including some ideas that have not been explored yet). It may be well known that I am artistically retarded (or challenged if you are PC), but the best filler is prodigious amounts of artwork... sorry I cannot help much here, unless squiggly stick figures are wanted. <insert witty comment here> |
 March 18, 2008 - 2:39pm | Actually, it's a very easy thing for me to deliver, Corjay. I'm just not sure I want to... You see, I currently make strong efforts to start most articles on an odd page. The reason is simple: page 1 is odd, and it's where the magazine first starts with its first article. So therefore, I use filler all the time (an inserted one-page map, character sheet, adventure idea, or illustration, for example) to bump the page count by one to help assure that most will start on odd pages, on the right-hand side when flipping through a book (where our right-side-of-the-road-driving brains scan first). Thumbing through a printed book while looking for a specific article title is simplest if the placement of those article titles is consistent. Most novels have chapters begin on an odd page for this same reason. If you analyze most articles of most sfman webzines, you'll find that probably 90% of the articles begin on an odd page. Now, if I were to make sure the first article I place in the 'zine had an odd number of pages, (or bump an even page count with a filler page) then I could easily shift that to 90% beginning on even pages. Note that of the 15 articles in issue 8, only 2 start on even pages. Some older issues were 100% starting on odd pages. So if I do as you ask to make it simpler for those who only want to print out one or two articles, then I sacrifice the consistency I've established and cause thumb-flipping to be less intuitive. I'm willing to do that if it's preferable to the masses... so chime up and state your preference. If this is desireable to many people, It's no effort for me to switch up. 3. We wear sungoggles during the day. Not because the sun affects our
vision, but when you're cool like us the sun shines all the time. |
March 18, 2008 - 3:05pm | I don't think magazine layouts typically follow the book/chapter methodology, but I will follow this up with sampling some magazine layouts... probably use Dragon Magazine for my examples. In purely digital format it really does not make much difference (reading one page at a time), but if these eventually move to print formats, then consideration must be made to make what shows (as it lays open). Two-page layouts could have even more impact, with art splashed across both pages or art that is coordinated to appear on two pages... for instance, the lower left page might have a sniper firing a rifle with the target appearing on the lower right... ... but all in all, I am just trying to make sure that the webmag continues to strive for ever-increasing quality in both content and in its presentation. What's the Japanese term... Kaizen., or continual improvement. <insert witty comment here> |
March 18, 2008 - 3:30pm | I don't think you're going to get a lot of participation in this particular thread. Maybe I'm wrong. |
March 18, 2008 - 6:50pm | I don't think you're going to get a lot of participation in this particular thread. Maybe I'm wrong. ...huh? Not sure what you're trying to say here.3. We wear sungoggles during the day. Not because the sun affects our
vision, but when you're cool like us the sun shines all the time. |
March 18, 2008 - 6:52pm | I don't think magazine layouts typically follow the book/chapter methodology, but I will follow this up with sampling some magazine layouts... probably use Dragon Magazine for my examples. In purely digital format it really does not make much difference (reading one page at a time), but if these eventually move to print formats, then consideration must be made to make what shows (as it lays open). Two-page layouts could have even more impact, with art splashed across both pages or art that is coordinated to appear on two pages... for instance, the lower left page might have a sniper firing a rifle with the target appearing on the lower right... Like I said, I have no opposition to it. When I finally put issues 1-6 together in one physical book, it made a lot of difference when thumbing through it looking for something. Perhaps you're right though. Please let me know what your magazine research tells you... ... but all in all, I am just trying to make sure that the webmag continues to strive for ever-increasing quality in both content and in its presentation. What's the Japanese term... Kaizen., or continual improvement. 3. We wear sungoggles during the day. Not because the sun affects our
vision, but when you're cool like us the sun shines all the time. |
March 18, 2008 - 7:40pm | I don't think you're going to get a lot of participation in this particular thread. Maybe I'm wrong. ...huh? Not sure what you're trying to say here.I'm willing to do that if it's preferable to the masses... so chime up
and state your preference. If this is desireable to many people, It's
no effort for me to switch up. This isn't the type of thread that will get much participation. |
March 18, 2008 - 8:42pm | hm... probably true. I did "publish" it to make it show up on the front page... maybe people will check it out, who knows. 3. We wear sungoggles during the day. Not because the sun affects our
vision, but when you're cool like us the sun shines all the time. |
