[Sca-cooks] Florilegium formats and Pennsic class

[Stefan li Rous]

Ranvaig replied to me with:
<<<<<
 > Jadwiga replied to me with:
 >   <<< Have you considered putting it up as a PDF file? >>>
 >
 > I have a number of articles that have been submitted to me in  PDF
 > format which I want to get online. However, while some can be
 > searched, I don't think google and such are set up to do this. Also,
 > before I put a file into the Florilegium I like to convert it to a
 > format that is similar to the other files in the Florilegium with the
 > appropriate notices and preferably the links to similar files in the
Florilegium and such.

Google searches return pdf files, I'm not sure if it can search all
of them, or just the ones that you could search with the reader.
Perhaps save it in your usual formats without the pictures with a
link to the pdf with the pictures. >>>>

Yes, I've seen Google's translations of some PDF files. But I wasn't  
sure how complete it's cataloging of PDF files was. It may be that  
only PDF files specifically created with searching turned on will work.

Another of the reasons I've stayed away from using PDF files is that  
folks sometimes will republish Florilegium articles in their  
newsletters. At least that is something I'd like to think happens. I  
request that editors let me know in that case, but I only get  
occasional messages that say someone has used an article. Regardless,  
using RTF format as the master format lets an editor download and  
edit or reformat an article as needed to get it to fit in their  
newsletter. If they have to print out a PDF and then type the article  
back in, they might consider that too much effort.

None of this means I can't offer a PDF version in addition to the  
other formats I make available.

<<< Have fun at war, wish I could be there. >>>

I'm sorry to hear this. I know you've made it to Pennsic before.

Urtatim declared in another message:
<<< If one does not have Word, one is, in a word, f***ed.>>>

well, that is one of the reasons that the master files are kept in  
RTF format, rather than Word. I was under the impression that there  
were a number of other word processing programs, besides Microsoft  
ones, which could read RTF formatted files. I am not a fan of  
Microsoft. You will note that my text files use a ".text" ending and  
not ".txt" for instance. I still use Word to edit my files because I  
could get an inexpensive "student" edition of Microsoft office.  And  
I'm not completely happy with the open source version available for  
the Mac.

There are Open Source versions of Microsoft Office available  
including for Linux if that is what you are running, Urtatim.

I have put in a request to teach my class on the Florilegium early in  
the second week at Pennsic, however I have not heard back from the  
class coordinator despite a request on the original request and  
another email yesterday, so I can't tell you precisely the day, time  
or tent number.:-(  I don't know. Maybe he is already at Pennsic.

One of the questions on my survey is about what OS folks are using  
and which formats they tend to download. Although thanks to some  
recent work by my web host, I am beginning to get some of that info  
now from the site database. For instance, there is a substantial  
amount of stuff downloaded from the Florilegium to China and South  
Korea and the ZIP code with the top visitor count is in Beverly  
Hills, CA., 90210.  The site consistently runs 10-15 GB per month,  
with over 100,000 unique
visitors each month, although some of this are still folks revisiting  
the site later.

Oh yes, and another comment from my web host, regarding earlier  
discussion in this thread "Also interesting is that 80% of site  
visitors have PDF enabled in their browser, so you may want to  
consider offering that as a format in the future.". hmmm.

I will eventually post the survey for my class to this list for those  
who might be willing to help. In the meantime, as always, I'm open to  
hearing any suggestions, complaints or ideas you might have about the  
Florilegium and that includes file formats.

Stefan
--------
THLord Stefan li Rous    Barony of Bryn Gwlad    Kingdom of Ansteorra
    Mark S. Harris           Austin, Texas           
StefanliRous at austin.rr.com
**** See Stefan's Florilegium files at:  http://www.florilegium.org ****