Editing SignWriting Literature, email overload and schedules ;-)

[Valerie Sutton]

SignWriting List
July 8, 2006

Hi Cherie and Everyone!
Yes. I realize that your computer at work is better than your  
computer at home, so over the weekend, I can at least post my  
messages for editing suggestions, and then next week, or whenever you  
have time, you can work on your finished product.

It is important you use Firefox from now on, preferably from both of  
your computers. Make Firefox your default web browser, rather than  
using Internet Explorer. That will be better for the school too. Use  
Internet Explorer only for searching the web, but use Firefox for  
creating new signs and new documents. Internet Explorer is not as  
good as it used to be...Microsoft is not providing as many updates  
and changes, since they have so much competition from other free web  
browsers like Firefox.

You can also get an external hard drive, attach it to your computer  
at home, and backup your current files onto the hard drive. Then you  
could eliminate some of the files on your home computer, so you can  
free up more memory...

And yes, just as you use MS Publisher, I use Photoshop to fix  
diagrams, create illustrations etc. Microsoft Word is not a graphics  
editing program, so I agree that for graphics editing, you need  
another program of some kind!

SignBank is a desktop database...it is a place to store documents and  
signs and illustrations and videos and so many other things! Plus it  
is an archive for every symbol in the IMWA and you can learn about  
symbols too...so SignBank is a multi-featured database for learning,  
searching, creating dictionaries, doing SignWriting literature  
layout, and then printing. It does not work directly on the web at  
this time. You have to download it and open it on your desktop, to  
use it ;-))

Someday SignText and SignPuddle will flow data directly into SignBank  
in an easier fashion. Right now, I drag and drop signs from  
SignPuddle into SignBank, when I am creating new dictionary entries  
in SignBank.

When I am creating new SignWriting Literature inside SignBank, I  
create screen captures of the sentences in SignText. On my computer,  
a screen capture creates a graphics file in PNG format and it places  
that file on my desktop. I open SignBank on my computer, and insert  
the PNG sentences as graphics inside a new layout I developed for  
printing SignWriting Literature inside SignBank. I have not posted  
this new SignBank on the web for download yet, but of course I will...

I will be happy to teach you SignBank later...perhaps over the  
phone...or later this month on the List...

Right now, since I know that Stefan and Ingvild are participating in  
our discussions of composing literature in SignText, I want to  
continue with that...because some of the older SignWriting users  
became skilled at using SignWriter DOS, and SignText is a totally new  
and different computer experience, and so explaining how I have  
learned to use SignText is important to them...

In your case, Cherie, you basically started with SignText, so you do  
not have the same experiences...Every piece of software has its own  
personality and we all get used to the way we work, and it is hard to  
adjust to new software...Yesterday I tried to learn how to use  
Thunderbird for my email...I am still using Mac Mail program today  
though...why? because I haven't learned all the bells and whistles in  
Thunderbird yet! So I can understand how everyone feels about  
changing to new software!

OK. See next message for the editing of Jack and Jill...


Val ;-)




On Jul 8, 2006, at 7:23 AM, Cherie Wren wrote:

> Cherie...are you able to use Firefox on
>> your home computer
>> over the weekend?
>
> I don't have enough memory left on this computer ...
> I plan on buying a new computer within the next year,
> but right now I can't do it here at home.    I also
> don't have MS Publisher here at home, and thats what I
> do most of my 'offline' things in, because it
> manipulates images SO much better than Word.
>
> I would like to figure out SignBank, since you can
> print from that.  Does it also not work on IE?
> Because I've never gotten it to work right...
>
> cherie
>
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