Post by xordevoreaux on Sept 28, 2020 2:48:56 GMT -5
I've posted several of the templates that I use for paintings and posters and such, and I created the templates in LibreOffice Draw (download here).
LO Draw makes creating several swatches quick and easy, and the swatches are all there at a glance in the same file rather than flipping through multiple files created with a single-file editor (like paint.net, Inkscape, PS, what have you.)
Someone has asked that I provide step-by-step instructions on how to use my templates. You can find them here beneath this preamble.
Enjoy!
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My templates are all basically used the same way, just right-click on the existing photo(s) and replace with your own, then select File, Export for each slide. Done.
If you find, after importing your image into one of my LibreOffice templates, that the image is blurry, that means the image is too low resolution for the surface that the template must cover on the object. You don't need to have precisely the same pixel dimensions as the sample pictures, just something close as far as the proportions go.
While on a LibreOffice Draw slide, you can select all, then hit F4, and you'll get the option at the bottom of a dialogue to freeze elements in place or move them around, so in some cases, you might want to unfreeze the picture part that you replace to stretch the image one way or the other to meet your needs. As long as the image still covers the same region as the one I put in the template, you're good to go.
In some cases, included with each template download is a png-based DST file which I've specifically crafted to remove glare and the original raised surfaces (that don't exist in my templates). With S4S open, go to the Warehouse tab, find the DST item, and import the one I included. You only have to do that once per file, not once per swatch. Sometimes there are two DST entries in a file, but a quick visual comparison tells you which one to overwrite. If it's 10x10 pixels, that isn't it. Some have a pinkish cast them. If my DST also has a pinkish cast, that's a match. Sometimes, but not always, because my templates are far higher resolution than the original objects, the DST file may be larger in dimension than the original. That's fine.
Bit of a bummer, but starting with Libreoffice 7.0x, LibreOffice introduced a different rendering engine (Skia), so any transparent element on a given slide will goober the output. I've logged several bugs about this and they're aware, but there hasn't been any movement on any fixes yet (that I can see, anyway).
If using 7.x of LibreOffice, the work-around is to import an image that already has alpha mapping less than 100% (i.e., the image is already somewhat transparent) rather than using the property sidebar in LibreOffice to set the properties of an object to be transparent. I use 7.x and just do the work-around.
If you have no transparent objects or transparent properties set on a given slide, good to go. If you export something and the results look weird, there's a transparent property set somewhere. This is true for my book cover with the transparent stripe across the bottom for the title. I'll have to go in and update that template at some point for that (or you can blow away the transparent box yourself).
So, basic steps:
1. Open S4S
2. Beneath the Object button, select Standalone Recolor
3. Click the Object button
4. From the list of available objects, select the object type (the picture, poster, or whatever) that a given template recolors
5. Export this, which will then be your new recolor mod.
6. Open the corresponding LibreOffice template (6.4.6 if you don't want to deal with transparency issues).
7. Right-click in the middle of the sample photo or image and select Replace...
8. Navigate to your own image and select it
9. Export the slide (File, Export)
10. Import the slide as a new swatch in your S4S package. You may have as many slides in your LO template as you wish (Insert, New Slide)
Repeat steps 7 through 10 for each recolor. 35 recolors per package is high but doable. If the images you're importing are large (3+ MB), consider not having so many swatches per package.
If you find, after importing your image into one of my LibreOffice templates, that the image is blurry, that means the image is too low resolution for the surface that the template must cover on the object. You don't need to have precisely the same pixel dimensions as the sample pictures, just something close as far as the proportions go.
While on a LibreOffice Draw slide, you can select all, then hit F4, and you'll get the option at the bottom of a dialogue to freeze elements in place or move them around, so in some cases, you might want to unfreeze the picture part that you replace to stretch the image one way or the other to meet your needs. As long as the image still covers the same region as the one I put in the template, you're good to go.
In some cases, included with each template download is a png-based DST file which I've specifically crafted to remove glare and the original raised surfaces (that don't exist in my templates). With S4S open, go to the Warehouse tab, find the DST item, and import the one I included. You only have to do that once per file, not once per swatch. Sometimes there are two DST entries in a file, but a quick visual comparison tells you which one to overwrite. If it's 10x10 pixels, that isn't it. Some have a pinkish cast them. If my DST also has a pinkish cast, that's a match. Sometimes, but not always, because my templates are far higher resolution than the original objects, the DST file may be larger in dimension than the original. That's fine.
Bit of a bummer, but starting with Libreoffice 7.0x, LibreOffice introduced a different rendering engine (Skia), so any transparent element on a given slide will goober the output. I've logged several bugs about this and they're aware, but there hasn't been any movement on any fixes yet (that I can see, anyway).
If using 7.x of LibreOffice, the work-around is to import an image that already has alpha mapping less than 100% (i.e., the image is already somewhat transparent) rather than using the property sidebar in LibreOffice to set the properties of an object to be transparent. I use 7.x and just do the work-around.
If you have no transparent objects or transparent properties set on a given slide, good to go. If you export something and the results look weird, there's a transparent property set somewhere. This is true for my book cover with the transparent stripe across the bottom for the title. I'll have to go in and update that template at some point for that (or you can blow away the transparent box yourself).
So, basic steps:
1. Open S4S
2. Beneath the Object button, select Standalone Recolor
3. Click the Object button
4. From the list of available objects, select the object type (the picture, poster, or whatever) that a given template recolors
5. Export this, which will then be your new recolor mod.
6. Open the corresponding LibreOffice template (6.4.6 if you don't want to deal with transparency issues).
7. Right-click in the middle of the sample photo or image and select Replace...
8. Navigate to your own image and select it
9. Export the slide (File, Export)
10. Import the slide as a new swatch in your S4S package. You may have as many slides in your LO template as you wish (Insert, New Slide)
Repeat steps 7 through 10 for each recolor. 35 recolors per package is high but doable. If the images you're importing are large (3+ MB), consider not having so many swatches per package.
Steps for templates whose download include a DST file:
1. Open S4S
2. Beneath the Object button, select Standalone Recolor
3. Click the Object button
4. From the list of available objects, select the object type (the picture, poster, or whatever) that a given template recolors
5. Export this, which will then be your new recolor mod
One-time steps (per package) for the DST:
6. With S4S still open, click the Warehouse tab
7. Scroll down the list until you see entries named "DST Image"
There are usually two DST entries that matter: a gray DST, and a gray DST with a pink and/or green tint.
8. Click the DST that most closely matches the enclosed DST file (based on color). This will never be the 10x10 tiny little DST or any DST that looks like an imported swatch.
9. Hit the Import button on the extreme lower right of the S4S window
10. Navigate to the DST file included with the download and select it.
11. Click the Studio tab
You're now done with the DST part for the life of the package, and can concentrate on developing individual swatches:
12. Open the corresponding LibreOffice template (6.4.6 if you don't want to deal with transparency issues).
13. Right-click in the middle of the sample photo or image and select Replace...
14. Navigate to your own image and select it.
15. Export the slide (File, Export)
16. Import the slide as a new swatch in your S4S package. You may have as many slides in your LO template as you wish (Insert, New Slide)
Hope this helps!