Kindle app?

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Aesandre
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Kindle app?

Post by Aesandre »

Hi all,

I find myself squinting at my printed HAED chart because the symbols are so small and my printer can't/won't print them any bigger. I've tried having the PDF open on my laptop but I can't mark off any squares. I've tried using Mendeley to highlight the completed squares but it has a tendency to highlight the entire line, not just the one square. Also, I'm unhappy that the highlight is in yellow, which late at night (when I'm boggle-eyed) becomes indistinguishable from the white background.

I've recently bought a KindleFire and was wondering if anyone can recommend a good app which will let me view the chart in a decent-enough size and which will also let me highlight the squares (and ONLY those squares) that I've completed (and be able to save it afterwards). I've heard good things about GoodNotes but I believe that's only for the ipad.

Thanks

Aesandre
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NeedleAndFork
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Re: Kindle app?

Post by NeedleAndFork »

I have a kindle fire, but I still work off the laptop for my HAED as it is much easier with the larger screen. I import my pattern into Photoshop, but if you don't have photoshop, you can download GIMP - which is a free program - http://www.gimp.org/" target="_blank

Before you do anything, make a working copy of your file - save it as PatternWorkingCopy.pdf or something so you don't mix it up with the original incase something gets messed up. Then, open GIMP, and from within there, open up your working copy. It will ask you if you want to import or convert the PDF, and which pages you want to import. Each page will bbe imported as a separate document, so just pick the one you're working on at the moment.

Using this page as a guide, do the following: http://www.ephotozine.com/article/how-t ... odes-10659" target="_blank

Create a new layer and change the layer mode of that layer to multiply. What this does is any black that is on the pattern stays black even when you paint over it, but the rest changes colors - so it works like a highlight.

Then, select whatever color you want to use as a highlight and making sure that your blank layer that is set to multiply mode is selected, use the painbrush tool to 'paint' in the squares you want to highlight. You might want to tweak the settings of the paintbrush too - I have set to a square shape rather than round and sized to the same size as a single square in my pattern.

The end result is something that looks like this when highlighted..

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I actually use a different color to highlight on each day of the week so that I can see some progress.

I tried doing something similar on my kindle, and while I got it to kinda work, it wasn't as easy to use as on the laptop.. I had to zoom way into he pattern to highlight accurately and then zoom out again to see more of the pattern. With the laptop, I can size the pattern to whatever is comfortable to view and just paint off the squares that I am done stitching. I actually work with 2 colors at a time - orange marks where threads are parked, and then the color of the day to highlight completed stitches.

If you have any trouble getting this to work, let me know - I don't actually have GIMP on my computer right now since I use photoshop (which unfortunately isnt free) so my instructions are based on googling, but if you can't get it ot work, I can download GIMP and give you more exact instructions. I really think this is the best way to work on a HAED if you want to work off the screen.
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RichardH
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Re: Kindle app?

Post by RichardH »

This is a very good idea. I have photoshop but have never used it for this. Its amazing what you can learn from reading someones post. I also have trouble reading the charts when my eyes go crosseyed. :lol:
I'll try it tonight with something I am working on but I'll have to scan it to get it into photoshop.

Thanks for the tip. :applesauce:

Richard
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NeedleAndFork
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Re: Kindle app?

Post by NeedleAndFork »

RichardH wrote:This is a very good idea. I have photoshop but have never used it for this. Its amazing what you can learn from reading someones post. I also have trouble reading the charts when my eyes go crosseyed. :lol:
I'll try it tonight with something I am working on but I'll have to scan it to get it into photoshop.

Thanks for the tip. :applesauce:

Richard
I swear, half the knowledge I have on one topic is never used in a field related in that topic but in something entirely different. Photoshop is a great tool for crafting if you're able to think outside the box for it. I use it to mark up my patterns and even to merge multi-paged patterns into one single sheet so I don't have to keep track of working across pages.

If you have any trouble getting this working, please feel free to holler, I'll be happy to grab a couple of screenshots.
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RichardH
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Re: Kindle app?

Post by RichardH »

This worked out great. I scanned the very small graph which was 3"x3", put it in photoshop and layered it, worked on the layer and added what I have all ready stitched with different (close to same) color of the floss that was used and enlarged it. I only went to 8 1/2x 11 but my printer will print 13" wide by xxxxx. I need to go to the paper store and get a roll of paper and start making my enlargments. It sure will be nice to pin the graph on the wall and don't have to squint and strain my eyes to see. Also I don't have to work with the computer while I stitch. I'll update it when I back away from the desk and rest my eyes.
Thanks for the good tip.

Richard
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NeedleAndFork
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Re: Kindle app?

Post by NeedleAndFork »

RichardH wrote:This worked out great. I scanned the very small graph which was 3"x3", put it in photoshop and layered it, worked on the layer and added what I have all ready stitched with different (close to same) color of the floss that was used and enlarged it. I only went to 8 1/2x 11 but my printer will print 13" wide by xxxxx. I need to go to the paper store and get a roll of paper and start making my enlargments. It sure will be nice to pin the graph on the wall and don't have to squint and strain my eyes to see. Also I don't have to work with the computer while I stitch. I'll update it when I back away from the desk and rest my eyes.
Thanks for the good tip.

Richard
GLad it worked! Yes, for people who prefer to work from paper, enlarging it this way works as well. I prefer to work from screen because I don't want to mess with highlighers and pens and risk gettng them on my work, and besides the laptop is always rigr next to me anyways since I use it to listen to an audiobook while I stitch. That and on screen I can zoom in and out as needed to see a small area, or to look over the entire region and get a better idea of the progress I'm makin.
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Aesandre
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Re: Kindle app?

Post by Aesandre »

That is absolutely fantastic advice! Thanks very much, I'll download the programme and let you know how I get on.

EDIT: I've managed to highlight the squares, although zooming in now has the unfortunate effect of blurring the symbols. Do you have to save each edited page individually or can you save it all under the working copy file? I've not been able to figure this part out yet.
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NeedleAndFork
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Re: Kindle app?

Post by NeedleAndFork »

Aesandre wrote:That is absolutely fantastic advice! Thanks very much, I'll download the programme and let you know how I get on.

EDIT: I've managed to highlight the squares, although zooming in now has the unfortunate effect of blurring the symbols. Do you have to save each edited page individually or can you save it all under the working copy file? I've not been able to figure this part out yet.

When you import the PDF are you given an option for resolution? It should have something marked DPI (dots per inch) or PPI (pixels per inch) or something along those lines. Find that setting and change it to 300 (it is likely 72 or 100 by default). This is much like the thread count on a piece of evenweave - how many dots of data are in an inch of the image.. if you only have 72, which is what your screen display is, it looks fine small but once you enlarge it to greater than 100%, the computer is having to guess at what goes inbetween, so you get blurry images. If you import it at 300 DPI which is what is usually used for printing to get crisp clean images and text, then you can enlarge the image much bigger without the computer having to guess what goes where.

As for page - you have to save each one individually. If your chart isn't too big, you could combine the pages into one document by changing the canvas size to be big enough for the entire pattern, then copying the graphic of each page over to the large canvas and using layers to help position them correctly before merging the layers to form one large image. I did this with my HAED QS since it's just 4 pages, but I wouldn't do it with a full sized one simply because the file would be HUGE. For a full sized one I would probably combine 4 pages in the area that I was working in though so that I could stitch across page borders as needed and keep adjusting the file as I finished an area and moved onto another page.
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Aesandre
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Re: Kindle app?

Post by Aesandre »

*jawdrop* That has made a MASSIVE difference! That's perfect! You are now top of my list of favourite people!

My HAED is 24 pages so I'll probably just stick with saving one page at a time.

Thank you for revolutionising my stitching!
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NeedleAndFork
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Re: Kindle app?

Post by NeedleAndFork »

Aesandre wrote:*jawdrop* That has made a MASSIVE difference! That's perfect! You are now top of my list of favourite people!

My HAED is 24 pages so I'll probably just stick with saving one page at a time.

Thank you for revolutionising my stitching!
:dance: :dance: :dance: :dance:

I'm so glad it worked!

DO you park or cross country stitch? I've been working on a script that will work with photoshop (or possibly gimp) where I give it a symbol and it goes through the entire part of the image visible on screen and finds all instances of that symbol. It's not 100% foolproof - sometimes it picks up a different symbol that looks similar and sometimes it misses one, but for hte most part it works. I've been using it to help me when I reach the bottom of the confetti area that I'm working on to see if there are any more stitches in the same color nearby before I finish the thread and cut it.. Manually looking for a single symbol quite literally gives me a headache - I don't know how those who cross country do it!

As you can see, I'm a firm believer in using technology to make even the most traditional of crafts more enjoyable. In fact I especially enjoy the blending of old world craft with modern technology - think about it, HAEDs would not be possible without computers.. charting an image like that by hand would be impossible!
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vickil
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Re: Kindle app?

Post by vickil »

I have a Kindle Fire also and would be very interested in finding out if it can be used like the Ipad or a computer.
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Re: Kindle app?

Post by fccs »

vickil wrote:I have a Kindle Fire also and would be very interested in finding out if it can be used like the Ipad or a computer.
I'm not sure exactly what you mean, and I don't have a Fire, but I have friends who do and they use it just like I use my iPad and tablet (reading, email,internet, etc.).
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Aesandre
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Re: Kindle app?

Post by Aesandre »

Hi, sorry it's taken me a while to reply.

I''m not sure what you mean by "park" or "cross country" stitch.

I've now got the EZPDF app on my Kindle Fire. The biggest problem is marking off the squares accurately. Even with a stylus it doesn't make a neat / across the completed square as I want it to, and it's easy to accidentally make a mark in an uncompleted square. The GIMP on my PC is actually easier to use, so I might stick with that.
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JoannaG
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Re: Kindle app?

Post by JoannaG »

I know this is an old post, but wow! just Wow!
Thank you so much for this detailed method.

Are you still using this method, or has something been developed that is "better"?
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Re: Kindle app?

Post by sina28 »

I only have a Kindle Paperwhite for reading, but it can't be used like an ordinary tablet. But I use my Samsung tablet, it has an app called "write on PDF" and comes with a very exact stylus. I scan my paper charts, export them as PDF files and that way I can mark off completed sections on my tablet without harming the actual paper charts, as they get packed away securely right after scanning.
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