The Albumeasy Examples Thread With Code

Hello Clivel,
Not exactly, however, I was able to figure a workaround. The idea was to create a stamp frame that extended over the page border. This isn't the finished page, I'm just working out how to do things...

snippet of the code below. When printing I just couldn't get the stamp frame to align up with the white image I created. So what I did was open the PDF in LibreOffice draw and manually moved things a bit..


PAGE_START
PAGE_TEXT_CENTRE (TN 14 "1990");

page_vspace(6)

ROW_START_FS (TN 6 0.0 0.0)

ALBUM_STAMP_IMG_NEW_SETTING (0.0 0.0 true)

STAMP_ADD_IMG(204 44 "204.jpg" "" "" "" "")

ALBUM_STAMP_IMG_NEW_SETTING (4 4 false)
PAGE_VSPACE (-46)
ROW_START_FS (TN 6 0.1 0.0)
STAMP_ADD(204 44 "" "" "" "")
PAGE_VSPACE (-46.0)
ROW_START_FS (TN 6 0.1 0.0)

#40 x 32 mm
#PAGE_TEXT_CENTRE (TN 12 "American Olympic Gold Winners Through History");
ROW_START_FS (TN 6 0.0 0.0)
STAMP_ADD_IMG (40 32 "Images/1990 gold 1.jpg" "" "" "" "2496" -2.0 28.0 -6.0 0.0 no_frame)
STAMP_HEADING(TN 8 "Jesse Owens")
##### end snippet ####

Here's what I got from the code... there's a little overlap..



after editing in LibreOffice here's the layout.

Oh, I got it completely wrong

I now understand what you are trying to do.
If you need to adjust the positions of the stamp headings, you could try the STAMP_HEADING_PADDING command to change the spacing between the heading and the stamp box.

Clive

Hello.

I just begin to make my own page using AlbumEasy.

Thanks a lot for sharing all your codes, it help a lot for learning the process.

I have one problem concerning non-latin fonts (arabic) : I can't enter the right symbols. I copy/past from the original name, load the good fonts (I tried different ones) and the final text is different on the pdf.

The text is copied from the wikipedia page on the Democratic Republic of Afghanistan.

Here is part of the code (most of it is copied from previous post from here) :

ALBUM_PAGES_Size (210.0 297.0) #set the album page size to a4
ALBUM_PAGES_MARGINS (25.0 12.0 15.0 15.0) #left, right, top and bottom page margins, when A4 or letter
ALBUM_PAGES_BORDER (0.1 0.0 0.0 1.0) #single thin line border around the page
ALBUM_PAGES_SPACING (1.0 6.0) #set horizontal & vertical spacing for elements on a page
ALBUM_DEFINE_FONT(MAT "Matura MT Script Capitals")
ALBUM_DEFINE_FONT (PSH "Segoe UI")


STAMP_BOXES_SIZE_ADJUST(5.0)
ALBUM_STAMP_IMG_GREYSCALE_ON


PAGE_START_GROUP_BEGIN

#
# Blot out the header area
#

PAGE_VSPACE(-5)
ROW_START_ES (MAT 6 0.5)
STAMP_ADD_BLANK (23 10)
STAMP_ADD_BLANK (23 10)
STAMP_ADD_IMG(60 10 "White.jpg" "" "" "" NO_FRAME)

PAGE_START_GROUP_END


# ------------------------------------------------------------------------------
# New Page: place text in the header space
# ------------------------------------------------------------------------------
PAGE_START

PAGE_VSPACE(-25)
STAMP_BORDER_STYLE(BLANK)
ROW_START_ES (MAT 18 0.5)
STAMP_ADD_BLANK (23 10)
STAMP_ADD_BLANK (23 10)
STAMP_ADD (60 10 "Afghanistan" "" "" "") # Country name, etc.

PAGE_VSPAcE (-2)
PAGE_TEXT_CENTER (TI 12 "République démocratique d'Afghanistan" 1)
PAGE_TEXT_CENTER (PSH 12 "this part in pashto, the forum editor can't show it")
PAGE_VSPACE (8)
STAMP_BORDER_STYLE (SOLID)

PAGE_COLUMN_START (70 5 1 0 5)
ROW_START_ES (TN 6 0.2)
STAMP_ADD (41 29 "" "" "" "")
STAMP_ADD (41 29 "" "" "" "")

ROW_START_ES (TN 6 0.2)
STAMP_ADD (41 29 "" "" "" "")
STAMP_ADD (41 29 "" "" "" "")

ROW_START_ES (TN 6 0.2)
STAMP_ADD (41 29 "" "" "" "")
STAMP_ADD (41 29 "" "" "" "")

PAGE_COLUMN_NEXT

#ROW_START_ES (TN 6 0.2)
#STAMP_ADD_BLANK (23 10 "" "" "" "")
ROW_START_ES (TN 6 0.2)
ROW_ALIGN_TOP
STAMP_ADD (29 41 "" "" "" "")
PAGE_TEXT_PARAGRAPH_START (TB 6 CENTRE)
Mise en service le 02 mars 1985 \n
Perforation 12
PAGE_TEXT_PARAGRAPH_END

PAGE_COLUMN_STOP

The part I'd like to see is the pashto part :



What I get is :




Could you see what is the problem here ?

Thanks a lot

Hello Silhat,
Unfortunately, I messed up the right-to-left text, which is displayed backwards.

I will try to get a fixed version of AlbumEasy out that addresses the problem within the next week or so. Once I do, I will let you know.

Clive

Thanks Clivel.

I didn't see that the text was written in the wrong order.

I think it's quite difficult to fix, but there's also the letter binding which is not accurate : the aspect of arabic writting is completely different.

That's just a minor point, just for some presentation (I would like to show the original local name for identifiying).

Then I will go on with my pages and implement your upgrade when it comes.

Thanks for your help.

Hello.

I wanted to make an album dedicated to the japanese local cancellations. You get them on japanese post card on specific post office.

What I wished for was : the city emblem or flag, it's name in japanese, it's name on the frame, an image of the cancellation and a description.

I use the method given by Rednaxela and madbaker for the frame.

So the code is

ALBUM_PAGES_Size (210.0 297.0) #set the album page size to a4
ALBUM_PAGES_MARGINS (25.0 12.0 15.0 15.0) #left, right, top and bottom page margins, when A4 or letter
ALBUM_PAGES_BORDER (0.1 0.0 0.0 1.0) #single thin line border around the page
ALBUM_PAGES_SPACING (1.0 6.0) #set horizontal & vertical spacing for elements on a page
ALBUM_DEFINE_FONT(MAT "Matura MT Script Capitals")
ALBUM_DEFINE_FONT (SEG "Segoe UI")
ALBUM_DEFINE_FONT (GRN "Garamond")
ALBUM_DEFINE_FONT (YAH "Microsoft YaHei")


STAMP_BOXES_SIZE_ADJUST(5.0)
ALBUM_STAMP_IMG_GREYSCALE_OFF


PAGE_START_GROUP_BEGIN

#
# Blot out the header area
#

PAGE_VSPACE(-5)
ROW_START_ES (MAT 6 0.5)
STAMP_ADD_BLANK (23 10)
STAMP_ADD_BLANK (23 10)
STAMP_ADD_IMG(60 10 "White.jpg" "" "" "" NO_FRAME)


PAGE_START_GROUP_END


# ------------------------------------------------------------------------------
# New Page: place text in the header space
# ------------------------------------------------------------------------------
PAGE_START

PAGE_VSPACE(-25)
STAMP_BORDER_STYLE(BLANK)
ROW_START_ES (MAT 18 0.5)
STAMP_ADD_BLANK (23 10)
STAMP_ADD_BLANK (23 10)
STAMP_ADD (60 10 "Kenbuchi" "" "" "") # Country name, etc.

PAGE_VSPAcE (-5)
ROW_START_ES (TN 15 0.5)
STAMP_ADD_IMG (23 10 "Kenbuchi.png" "" "" "" NO_Frame))
PAGE_VSPACE (-5)
PAGE_TEXT_CENTER (YAH 13 "#21091;#28149;#30010;" 1)
#PAGE_TEXT_CENTER (SEG 12 "name in japanese, can't be see in the forum")
PAGE_VSPACE (2)
PAGE_TEXT_PARAGRAPH_START (GRN 12 CENTER)
Kenbuchi est un bourg du district de Kamikawa (Teshio), situé dans la sous-préfecture de Kamikawa, sur l'île de Hokkaid#333;, au Japon. Au 31 mars 2015, la population de Kenbuchi s'élevait à 3.336 habitants répartis sur une superficie de 130,99 km2.
PAGE_TEXT_PARAGRAPH_END


PAGE_VSPACE (8)
STAMP_BORDER_STYLE (CORNER)
ALBUM_STAMP_IMG_ASPECT_RATIO (true)
ALBUM_STAMP_IMG_NEW_SETTING_PCNT (40)

PAGE_COLUMN_START (70 5 1 0 5)
ROW_START_ES (TN 6 0.2)
STAMP_ADD_IMG (100 147 "Sceau.png" "" "" "")

PAGE_COLUMN_NEXT
ROW_START_ES (TN 6 0.2)
STAMP_ADD_BLANK (23 10 "" "" "" "")

PAGE_TEXT_PARAGRAPH_START (YAH 8 LEFT 5 0 0 0)
Mise en service: \n
21 novembre 2023\n
\n
Design :\n
Mascotte de la ville (Pucchina) et ville de Kenbuchi.\n
\n
Créateur : \n
Mami Noguchi\n
\n
Lieux : \n
Bureau de poste de Kenbuchi\n
8-4 Nakamachi\n
Kenbuchi-cho\n
Kamikawa-gun \n
Hokkaido 098-0338\n
\n
address in japanese, can't be see in the forum
PAGE_TEXT_PARAGRAPH_END
PAGE_COLUMN_STOP

and the result is




I have difficulties with the ALBUM_STAMP_IMG_NEW_SETTING_PCNT (40) command : at 60 the image is inverted ?

Your advice is very wecome, thanks

Hello Silhat,
The ALBUM_STAMP_IMG_NEW_SETTING_PCNT sets the space between the stamp box's edge and the image.

So, for example, if your box is 100mm wide and you set it to 40%, there will be 40mm of space on each side of the image; that is, the left edge of the image will be placed 40mm from the left edge of the box, similarity the right side. The actual image will then be drawn 20mm wide.

If you instead set it to 60%, there will be 60mm of space on each side of the image. Because the image is only 100mm wide, the left and right edges will be past the centre of the image, which is why the image is inverted.

Instead of ALBUM_STAMP_IMG_NEW_SETTING_PCNT, you could use ALBUM_STAMP_IMG_NEW_SETTING. This works the same way, but the distances are specified in mm instead of as a percentage of the box size.

Hopefully, this makes sense.

Clive

Thanks Clivel. Yes, it makes sense.

I searched for a way to reduce the original image, by using

ALBUM_STAMP_IMG_ASPECT_RATIO (true)
ALBUM_STAMP_IMG_NEW_SETTING_PCNT (30)

I got exactly what I want.

I played with the PAGE_VSPACE command, so now I have a final code :

ALBUM_PAGES_Size (210.0 297.0) #set the album page size to a4
ALBUM_PAGES_MARGINS (25.0 12.0 15.0 15.0) #left, right, top and bottom page margins, when A4 or letter
ALBUM_PAGES_BORDER (0.1 0.0 0.0 1.0) #single thin line border around the page
ALBUM_PAGES_SPACING (1.0 6.0) #set horizontal & vertical spacing for elements on a page
ALBUM_DEFINE_FONT(MAT "Matura MT Script Capitals")
ALBUM_DEFINE_FONT (GRN "Garamond")
ALBUM_DEFINE_FONT (YAH "Microsoft YaHei") #for japanese font


STAMP_BOXES_SIZE_ADJUST(5.0)
ALBUM_STAMP_IMG_GREYSCALE_OFF #for the town flag in colors


PAGE_START_GROUP_BEGIN

#
# Blot out the header area
#

PAGE_VSPACE(-5)
ROW_START_ES (MAT 6 0.5)
STAMP_ADD_BLANK (30 10)
STAMP_ADD_BLANK (30 10)
STAMP_ADD_BLANK (30 10)
STAMP_ADD_IMG (30 10 "White.jpg" "" "" "" NO_FRAME) #the 30 adjusted to the town name


PAGE_START_GROUP_END


# ------------------------------------------------------------------------------
# New Page: place text in the header space
# ------------------------------------------------------------------------------
PAGE_START

PAGE_VSPACE(-25)
STAMP_BORDER_STYLE(BLANK)
ROW_START_ES (MAT 16 0.5)
STAMP_ADD_BLANK (30 10)
STAMP_ADD_BLANK (30 10)
STAMP_ADD_BLANK (30 10)
STAMP_ADD (30 10 "Kenbuchi" "" "" "") # Town name, etc.

PAGE_VSPACE (-8)

PAGE_TEXT_PARAGRAPH_START (YAH 10 RIGHT 0 0 12) #postal code for the pictural cancellation
postal code in japanese, not readable in the forum
PAGE_TEXT_PARAGRAPH_END

PAGE_VSPACE (-15)
ROW_START_ES (TN 15 0.5)

STAMP_ADD_IMG (23 10 "Kenbuchi.png" "" "" "" NO_Frame))#picture of the town flag
PAGE_VSPACE (-5)
PAGE_TEXT_CENTER (YAH 13 "Town name not readable in the forum" 1)

PAGE_VSPACE (5)
PAGE_TEXT_PARAGRAPH_START (GRN 12 CENTER) #description of the aera
Kenbuchi est un bourg du district de Kamikawa (Teshio), situé dans la sous-préfecture de Kamikawa, sur l'île de Hokkaid#333;, au Japon. Au 31 mars 2015, la population de Kenbuchi s'élevait à 3.336 habitants répartis sur une superficie de 130,99 km2.\n
La ville est connue pour son musée du livre d'images et sa mascotte, l'alpalaga Pucchina.
PAGE_TEXT_PARAGRAPH_END


PAGE_VSPACE (10)
STAMP_BORDER_STYLE (CORNER)
ALBUM_STAMP_IMG_ASPECT_RATIO (true)
ALBUM_STAMP_IMG_NEW_SETTING_PCNT (30)

PAGE_COLUMN_START (70 5 1 0 5)
ROW_START_ES (TN 6 0.2)
STAMP_ADD_IMG (100 147 "Sceau.png" "" "" "") #image of the cancellation

PAGE_COLUMN_NEXT
ROW_START_ES (TN 6 0.2)
STAMP_ADD_BLANK (23 10 "" "" "" "")

PAGE_TEXT_PARAGRAPH_START (YAH 8 LEFT 5 0 0 0)#various information on the cancellation
Mise en service: \n
21 novembre 2023\n
\n
Design :\n
Mascotte de la ville (Pucchina) et Kenbuchi, ville du livre d'images.\n
\n
Créateur : \n
Mami Noguchi\n
\n
Lieux : \n
Bureau de poste de Kenbuchi\n
8-4 Nakamachi\n
Kenbuchi-cho\n
Kamikawa-gun \n
Hokkaido 098-0338\n
\n
This part in japanese, not readable in the forum
PAGE_TEXT_PARAGRAPH_END
PAGE_COLUMN_STOP

And the final resut.




The PAGE_VSPACE command need a little brain gymnastic but is verry usefull. Same goes when I need to adjust horizontal placing. Anyway, the end result is what I wanted and now I can proceed for the other towns.

Thanks for your help

How much extra ink are you using in your first example where you are printing pages with a black background?

I really don't know how much extra ink I used for the black backgrounds. I assume it would 2-3 times the normal, at a minimum.

How much extra ink does someone use when they do color pages?

I use a Brother Monochrome printer - the black toner is pretty cheap on Amazon.

I wouldn't use this method to print out 1,000 pages, that's for sure. This was done mainly for demonstration purposes and for those who want "perfect" black squares with clear mounts - the visual effect for those who deem it important...

John

If ink is a concern, one can get the same effect by adding a thick inner border to the stamp box e.g.

STAMP_INNER_BORDER(0 4.0)
STAMP_ADD (26.0 32.0 "4mm\ninner border\nno padding"    ""  "sg5" "")

Which results in

Clive

Hi - I have been creating pages with AlbumEasy for a while now and here is one of my examples.

This replicates PALO one country albums so that I can insert extra pages.

As you will see from the comments I have circumvented one problem and ignored a couple of others.

# Include file PaloNiueAlbum.txt
ALBUM_AUTHOR ("Rick Parsons")
ALBUM_TITLE ("Matching pages for the PALO Pre-printed Album")

ALBUM_PAGES_SIZE (272.0 310.0)	# Palo sized paper
ALBUM_PAGES_MARGINS  (54.4 17.0 17.5 17.5)

ALBUM_PAGES_DECORATIVE_BORDER("PaloBorder.txt")

ALBUM_PAGES_SPACING (10.0 5.0)

# This is a public domain font found at https://www.onlinewebfonts.com/
# and converted to TrueType.
ALBUM_DEFINE_FONT(MU "Museum Sixty")	# Font is a close match for the title
			# But only contains Alpha and a few punctuation

ALBUM_DEFINE_FONT(PE "Perpetua")	# For other characters
# I suggest that for the header and issue issue titles you use MU but for subsequent
# lines, especially if contains numbers, that you use PE.
# The main difference that is slightly obvious is that PALO uses a capital I for
# the digit 1 but I can't find a similar font that does this.

# This next section is there because ALBUM_PAGES_TITLE doesn't allow control over the
# space above.
PAGE_START_GROUP_BEGIN
PAGE_VSPACE (8.0)
PAGE_TEXT_CENTRE (MU 24 "Niue" 10.0)
PAGE_START_GROUP_END

STAMP_BOXES_SIZE_ADJUST (5.0)	# Size allowance for Hawid mounts

# $INCLUDE ("PaloNiueAlbum.txt")
# ---------------------------- #
# Define the page of the album #
# ---------------------------- #
PAGE_START

# Issue Description

PAGE_TEXT_CENTRE (MU 10.5 "New Zealand Arms Surcharged" 1.0)
PAGE_TEXT_CENTRE (PE 10.5 "Perforated 11¼" 1.0)
PAGE_TEXT_CENTRE (PE 10.5 "1967" 2.0)

PAGE_VSPACE (2.0)
ROW_START_FS (PE 9 0.2 4.0)
STAMP_ADD (29.0 34.0 "135a 25c" "" "" "")
STAMP_ADD (29.0 34.0 "136a 50c" "" "" "")
STAMP_ADD (29.0 34.0 "137a $1" "" "" "")
STAMP_ADD (29.0 34.0 "138a $2" "" "" "")

The border file is

# ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
# AlbumEasy decorative border description file
#
# Replicates Palo album borders
# ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

IMAGE_SCALE(0.12)
IMAGE_CORNER("PaloCorner.png")
IMAGE_CORNER_PAD(1.5 1.5)

BORDER_LINES(0.5 0.2 0.0 1.0)
BORDER_END_OFFSETS(2.7 2.7)

# The Palo original has the inner line cut back a little further than the
# outer one but I can't replicate that.

And the image is (converted to JPG to enable it to be uploaded here)


The finished page

renowden:

Fantastic - thanks for your contribution to this thread! I like the fact that you included the border file as well...

John

This is a definition file that I have used a lot for my main collection.

It replicates Lighthouse (Leuchtturn) one country albums so that I can insert extra pages.

Again, as you will see from the comments I have a problem that I can't currently solve

# Include file LighthouseNewZealandAlbum.txt
ALBUM_AUTHOR ("Rick Parsons")
ALBUM_TITLE ("Matching pages for the Lighthouse Pre-printed Album")

ALBUM_PAGES_SIZE  (270.0 297.0)        # Lighthouse paper

ALBUM_PAGES_MARGINS  (66.0 22.0 19.0 18.0)

ALBUM_PAGES_BORDER   (0.4 0.0 0.0 0.0) # Single line border

ALBUM_PAGES_SPACING  (10.0 4.0)

ALBUM_PAGES_FOOTER_PAD (1.0)

ALBUM_DEFINE_FONT(OPTIMA "Optima")     # Font is a close match for the title

# Use Helvetica (HN) for the page text except...
ALBUM_DEFINE_FONT (TA "Tahoma")	# Needed for some accented characters and looks
			# much like Helvetica in small sizes

# This next section is there because ALBUM_PAGES_TITLE doesn't allow control over the
# space above.
PAGE_START_GROUP_BEGIN
PAGE_VSPACE (12.0)
PAGE_TEXT_CENTRE (OPTIMA 24 "NEW ZEALAND" 12.0)
# Unfortunately this doesn't work - only one ALBUM_PAGE_FOOTER command is recognised
# So only one page can be generated at a time
ALBUM_PAGES_FOOTER (HN 7 R $$1) 
PAGE_START_GROUP_END

STAMP_BOXES_SIZE_ADJUST (5.0)          # Allowance for Hawid mounts

# $INCLUDE("LighthouseNewZealandAlbum.txt")
# ---------------------------- #
# Define the page of the album #
# ---------------------------- #
PAGE_START_VAR(10.0 10.0 "CAL 09.5")

# Issue Description

PAGE_TEXT_CENTRE (HN 6 "2009" 3.0)

PAGE_TEXT_CENTRE (HN 8 "Customised Advertising Labels" 3.0)
PAGE_VSPACE (2.0)
ROW_START_ES (HN 5 0.2 2.0)
STAMP_ADD (34.0 29.0 "CAL 2009-78 50c" "" "Simes Real Estate" "")
STAMP_ADD (34.0 29.0 "CAL 2009-79 50c" "" "Belle Property Real Estate" "")
STAMP_ADD (34.0 29.0 "CAL 2009-54 50c" "" "North Canterbury Chess Club" "")
ROW_START_ES (HN 5 0.2 2.0)
STAMP_ADD (25.0 30.0 "CAL 2009-55 50c" "" "Merry Christmas by Warwick Wright" "")
STAMP_ADD (25.0 30.0 "CAL 2009-55a 50c" "" "ovpt. 'and a Happy New Year'" "")
PAGE_TEXT_CENTRE (HN 8 "Radio New Zealand 'Sounds Like Us'" 3.0)
ROW_START_ES (HN 5 0.2 2.0)
STAMP_ADD (34.0 29.0 "CAL 2009-34 50c" "" "Pavlova Radio" "")
STAMP_ADD (34.0 29.0 "CAL 2009-35 50c" "" "Caravan Radio" "")
STAMP_ADD (34.0 29.0 "CAL 2009-36 $1" "" "Tartan Radio" "")
ROW_START_ES (HN 5 0.2 2.0)
STAMP_ADD (34.0 29.0 "CAL 2009-37 $1.50" "" "Handbag Radio" "")
STAMP_ADD (34.0 29.0 "CAL 2009-38 $2" "" "All Blacks Radio" "")

Hey @renowden, that's a very nice page. Thanks for sharing the template.

I use footers in my albums too. I think there are only certain variables that can be accessed using the footer command, like page numbers.

You might try moving the ALBUM_PAGE_FOOTER command out of the PAGE_START_GROUP block and put it up with the other Album level settings. But I think that will just print "$$1" on every page.


What I do is use the PAGE_SET_VERTICAL_POS command to put the cursor down where the footer should be, then print a line using the variable. That way it prints on the exact same position on each page, not relative to each page's stamp layout.

For US Letter paper, that's 269mm down the page.

I have a 'page header' file that I made once and include in all my pages that is the PAGE_START_GROUP for my standard layout. I put this bit in the include file. Like this:

---

# ------------------------------------------------------------------------------
#
# The Page_Start_Group is standard for every album page.  Title pages will use 
# PAGE_START_INFO and will therefore have custom properties.
#
# ------------------------------------------------------------------------------

PAGE_START_GROUP_BEGIN

#
# Print the page header
# 


PAGE_TEXT_CENTRE(EB 18 "$$1" 10)

#
# Print Thematic Footer
#
PAGE_SET_VERTICAL_POS (269) 
PAGE_TEXT_CENTRE(JB 9 "$$2" )

# Head back up to the top of the page to start laying out stamps

PAGE_SET_VERTICAL_POS (25)

PAGE_START_GROUP_END

You'd need to use PAGE_TEXT_RIGHT to get the footer text right justified, of course.

Hope this helps a bit,

Mark