HTML/CSS Publisher?

I'm a geek.

I'm not certifiable, I don't make money at it, I couldn't hack into my mother's Facebook page no matter how many FBI agents were after me.

But I am a geek, at least in spirit.

I know this because I just finished a week-long project that could have probably been accomplished by a non-geek in about 2.5 hours. Why did it take me so long? Because I didn't use Microsoft Publisher. I didn't use Microsoft Word. I didn't even use OpenOffice.

I used HTML and CSS.

In hopes that I connect heart-to-heart with other wanna-be geeks, here's my story:

Project Goal: Create a 72-page, pocket-sized field book, with formatted pages that include graphics.

Easy, right? Fire up any standard word processing or desktop publisher, spend an hour and a half entering content, and perhaps another half hour to format and tweak page sizes and sections, another 30 minutes to print and staple together, and the project's done!

However, I'm a geek. I think HTML and CSS are cool. I like programming computers. I'm not normal.

Step 1 Backstory

I work as a technician. I operate and maintain equipment that samples air. Everything we do is controlled by very official, frequently updated, Standard Operating Procedures. Highly classified and proprietary, of course. If I told you the details I'd have to kill you...that sort of thing (not really! Although, sort of...it's kind of complicated.)

Anyway, some of the stuff I need to know doesn't really change, not often, but it's not easy to memorize, at least not completely accurately. So, I keep a notepad handy. During my first year at work I wrote down important stuff in a 3x5 spiral notepad. When stuff changed, I scratched it out and added in the updated stuff. When the notepad was full, I got a fresh one, recopied all my important stuff and kept going.

After the first year, my important stuff outgrew my little notepad. It became a pain to recopy everything by hand. So, I cogitated how best to digitize my stuff.

Comments

[racastro62]

Simply great! Good work, Milt!

[MiltReynolds]

Thank you so much for the encouragement! I was holding my breath, imagining both extremes. Either the post would be seen as too simplistic and not worthwhile (in the eyes of more experienced programmers) or that it would be seen as too technical for a DIY site.

Your thanks mean a great deal to me!

[racastro62]

In programming there's always someone that has no enough knowledge, or too much. But different approaches bring always something. If you drink your 2 gallons-a-day Cool Aid, nothing will be evolved or sophisticated enough. :D
Don't be shy. It's a good entry-point and not just that.

[MiltReynolds]

I hear you! Thanks!

[Computothought]

Cool. Glad to know you use "the gimp" also. Dumb question. You reference two css files, but only have a listing for one css file. Which goes to which?

[MiltReynolds]

NOT a dumb question at all! I appreciate your asking for clarity. That's something I did not explain very well.

On Step 6 I begin to discuss the css file that I named "html-css-publisher-screen.css". After resetting all tags to a neutral zero, my document then references "html-css-publisher-screen.css" to set new definitions and settings for my tags.

Good question! By the way, my css reset code came from here:

http://meyerweb.com/eric/tools/css/reset/.

You can download a copy of the code I used for this instructable here:

http://miltreynolds.zxq.net/download/html-css-publisher-reset.css

http://miltreynolds.zxq.net/download/html-css-publisher-screen.css

http://miltreynolds.zxq.net/download/html-css-publisher-snippet.html

[Computothought]

Thanx.

[jkahn]

As a web designer. I approve! :D
I've done the same thing for some of my projects haha
Good work! :D

[MiltReynolds]

Thanks for the encouragement!