Post Your Writepad Templates

[Adam B.]

With the writepad on the DR1000 not able to automatically create new pages like the iLiad, a good note template is important.

Right now, I'm just using 50 sheets of lined paper as a template for writing notes.

I wish I was more creative, and could come up with a better design.

What does everyone else use?

[pthwaite]

pop along to the "sketching goodies"
https://www.mobileread.com/forums/showthread.php?t=30729

you'll find another 4 useful ones there (single pages)

[adi]

Originally Posted by Adam B.

With the writepad on the DR1000 not able to automatically create new pages like the iLiad, a good note template is important.

I am thinking of buying the digital reader, and was confused with this comment.

Suppose I am reading a pdf and want to scribble some notes about what I am reading. To do that, I will need to go to a separate pdf, write there, and then merge the two pdf's together!!! Where is the convinence of digital paper here. I might as well write on a piece of scrap paper, scan it, and merge it with the pdf.

Or did I misunderstand your statement.

Thanks.
Adi

[Adam B.]

Originally Posted by adi

I am thinking of buying the digital reader, and was confused with this comment.

Suppose I am reading a pdf and want to scribble some notes about what I am reading. To do that, I will need to go to a separate pdf, write there, and then merge the two pdf's together!!! Where is the convinence of digital paper here. I might as well write on a piece of scrap paper, scan it, and merge it with the pdf.

Or did I misunderstand your statement.

Thanks.
Adi

You misunderstood. When you want to write notes on the DR1000, you press the menu, click the writing button, and select pencil. Now you can write all over the pdf you are currently reading.

My comment was regarding functionality that was in the iLiad software. The notes pages on the iLiad were png's. You could essentially build one page as a template, and on the iLiad, press a "new page" button that would duplicate the base page to give you another to write on. On the DR, you have to create a document that has as many pages as you'd want to use.

[adi]

Originally Posted by Adam B.

You misunderstood. When you want to write notes on the DR1000, you press the menu, click the writing button, and select pencil. Now you can write all over the pdf you are currently reading.

I plan to read journal articles on DR1000. Frequently, the comments that I want to make are big (about one or two handwritten pages), which are hard to make in the margins.

I assumed that I could just add a new page in the pdf and add notes there. Is that possible or not.

Thanks for the clarification.

[allovertheglobe]

Originally Posted by Adam B.

With the writepad on the DR1000 not able to automatically create new pages like the iLiad, a good note template is important.

Right now, I'm just using 50 sheets of lined paper as a template for writing notes.

Uhm, once a file is "templated" in the PC Companion i.e. has that flag set in the corresponding metadata.db, it automatically creates a new "page" every time you start scribbling on it!

These are labeled originalname 001.pdf, originalname 002.pdf etc. Start writing on those and you will edit the existing page. Start writing on the templated original, and it creates another instance.

To clarify, when I say "page" it assumes a 1-page document, otherwise the entire (multi-page) document is duplicated, like the included "Meeting Notes.pdf" from iRex.

[allovertheglobe]

Originally Posted by adi

I plan to read journal articles on DR1000. Frequently, the comments that I want to make are big (about one or two handwritten pages), which are hard to make in the margins.

I assumed that I could just add a new page in the pdf and add notes there. Is that possible or not.

Thanks for the clarification.

No, you can not alter the original document. The writing is layered on top (on the reader only!), and can later be merged with the original using the PC companion software.

[Adam B.]

Originally Posted by adi

I plan to read journal articles on DR1000. Frequently, the comments that I want to make are big (about one or two handwritten pages), which are hard to make in the margins.

I assumed that I could just add a new page in the pdf and add notes there. Is that possible or not.

Thanks for the clarification.

No, that's not possible.

I think you'll have trouble doing that on any device. The software would have to physically modify the layout of the PDF. There's almost no PDF reading software that can do that now.

[Adam B.]

Originally Posted by allovertheglobe

Uhm, once a file is "templated" in the PC Companion i.e. has that flag set in the corresponding metadata.db, it automatically creates a new "page" every time you start scribbling on it!

These are labeled originalname 001.pdf, originalname 002.pdf etc. Start writing on those and you will edit the existing page. Start writing on the templated original, and it creates another instance.

I use my reader as a "notebook". So I want to be able to create an unlimited amount of continuous pages to write on... I create new instances from a template when I want a new notebook to write on for a different subject.

[thomega]

Originally Posted by adi

I assumed that I could just add a new page in the pdf and add notes there. Is that possible or not.

Originally Posted by Adam B.

I think you'll have trouble doing that on any device. The software would have to physically modify the layout of the PDF.

No, that's easily done. All the reader has to do is to show an empty page for you to scrible on and to store the finished scribble with a flag indicating to the merging software that it should go on an additional page with the same physical dimensions right after the page you were looking at. That's trivial on the side of the merging program and should be straightforward in the reader.

[allovertheglobe]

Originally Posted by Adam B.

I use my reader as a "notebook". So I want to be able to create an unlimited amount of continuous pages to write on... I create new instances from a template when I want a new notebook to write on for a different subject.

I see. Didn't realize that your pdf consisted of 100 blank pages itself. In that case, yeah, you could just create (re)named copies beforehand and avoid the renaming issue. Hey, at least you're not stuck putting them in the Writepads folder

[adi]

Originally Posted by thomega

No, that's easily done. All the reader has to do is to show an empty page for you to scrible on and to store the finished scribble with a flag indicating to the merging software that it should go on an additional page with the same physical dimensions right after the page you were looking at. That's trivial on the side of the merging program and should be straightforward in the reader.

If this information were available, writing a merging program to insert the page at the correct location (using TeX, for example) will be trivial. But, if DR1000 doesn't allow insertion of pages, there is not much that can be done at a scripting level.

[curbarthedog]

Try the software attached. With a PDF printer you can create more or less any paper you want. It will do lined, graph, polar plots, perspective. Best of all, its free!

http://pharm.kuleuven.be/pharbio/gpaper.htm

[adi]

Originally Posted by allovertheglobe

Uhm, once a file is "templated" in the PC Companion i.e. has that flag set in the corresponding metadata.db, it automatically creates a new "page" every time you start scribbling on it!

Is there a way to convert a pdf into pdf template without the companion software. I am on Linux, so the companion software is not an option.

Adi

[allovertheglobe]

Originally Posted by adi

Is there a way to convert a pdf into pdf template without the companion software. I am on Linux, so the companion software is not an option.

No easy way that I know of. In Linux fashion, somebody has to just whip up a little utility, I guess. I'm also mostly using Linux, but keep a Windows boot partition handy for these circumstances.

As I understand it, once SQlite is installed, it could take a shell one-liner to write the corresponding flag to the appropriate metadata.db...