I don't know if this is the right board...
I've been unable to print directly from the PRD. Maybe Paizo wants me to have to buy a pdf to print! But maybe there's a step I'm missing. If so, can you fill me in?
Yes, I know I can copy text paragraphs directly from the PRD and paste them into Word, but this doesn't help with the big tables in the class descriptions. I'm recommending precisely one base class to a newb GM/set of players from each of two books besides Core, no other material from those books at all, and I just realized that they might not be able to get printed copies of a handful of pages for personal use. Of material under the OGL.
On a related note: When I go to print from my pdf copies, I've been printing whole pages, including perhaps the tail end of the previous section. Is there a way to select material and print just that from pdf?
~~
Added: I'm truly grateful for Paizo's generosity in putting all of its OGL content onto the website. To any Paizo staff seeing this: Thank you! The good news is, I've bought lots of books (paper & pdf), and these new players are likely going to be paying customers for years to come. I think that is the point of seeding material on the website. I'm just wondering where the generosity ends.
What browser are you using?
I was able to get a correct print preview of a page from the PRD with Internet Explorer -- it omitted the index sidebar on the left, just as you likely would have preferred. Maybe there is a technical issue with the browser you are using. If possible, try a different browser from whatever you are using and see if it gives you better results.
Is linking the PRD to them out of question? Maybe they are fine with an online source - you can even save pages to load them despite being offline.
And if they want the artwork etc., they are better off with the PDFs anyway. Two books at 10$ each (assuming APG and another RPG line book) makes only a few bucks for everyone, if they share the expense. And honestly, the official PDFs sometimes make a better read then the streamlined online sources (PRD, d20PFSRD, Nethys etc.). Sometimes.
What browser are you using?
I was able to get a correct print preview of a page from the PRD with Internet Explorer -- it omitted the index sidebar on the left, just as you likely would have preferred. Maybe there is a technical issue with the browser you are using. If possible, try a different browser from whatever you are using and see if it gives you better results.
Did you try previewing a class description? A spellcaster? The big table of level-up data went right off the right side of the page in Firefox. [Added: In landscape mode.] (Print preview & an actual page print.) It's possibly just that Firefox leaves a huge left margin on all the pages, for that index sidebar. (Which it leaves blank, mind you -- the text of the sidebar gets printed all by itself on the first page. AARGH!)
Thanks for checking it out for me. If I can simply recommend Explorer to others, it'll do. (We've ruthlessly stomped it out of existence on our desktop.)
Is linking the PRD to them out of question? Maybe they are fine with an online source - you can even save pages to load them despite being offline.
And if they want the artwork etc., they are better off with the PDFs anyway. Two books at 10$ each (assuming APG and another RPG line book) makes only a few bucks for everyone, if they share the expense. And honestly, the official PDFs sometimes make a better read then the streamlined online sources (PRD, d20PFSRD, Nethys etc.). Sometimes.
They might prefer entirely on-line. [ADD: And I have already linked the classes.] But if not... They just bought Core Rulebooks, following the Beginner's Box. I hate to say, "Here's this cool class that's better than a cleric for a brand new player (oracle), but it's gonna cost you." (The other class was the hunter from the ACG. Also spontaneous.)
Firefox actually has the option to scale the printed size, when going for print preview. I reduced it to 50% (random example) and got all tables on one page.
Further, you can remove the table of contents (to the left on the website, first ~3 pages on the print preview):
1) Download the oracle page by pressing Ctrl-S.
2) Open the downloaded file Oracle.htm with some editor. Personally I prefer Notepad++.
3) Remove everything from <div class = "header"> (line 15) to the next not-indented </div> (line 337).
4) Save the changes.
5) Load Oracle.htm in Firefox.
6) Check the print preview. It should now start with the headline: Oracle.
7) Customize the scaling (top line at the print preview, pretty much in the middle).
Chrome might be able to scale, too.
| 1 person marked this as a favorite. |
Firefox actually has the option to scale the printed size, when going for print preview. I reduced it to 50% (random example) and got all tables on one page.
<face-palms> If "Shrink to Fit" is failing to fit everything, try manual! Duh!!! I feel like a stupid user -- again :) -- but thank you so much for getting me past the technical wall. I don't mind having to order my printer to start printing on page 4, or even getting that huge margin on the left, as long as I can get the full table.
Using Oracle as an example, a little experimentation proved that I can get the entire level-up table on a single page on 55%, and then if I switch to 78%, get the entire spells-per-day table on a single page. At that point, I can print the remaining pages at a higher percentage. Yay!!
Further, you can remove the table of contents (to the left on the website, first ~3 pages on the print preview):
1) Download the oracle page by pressing Ctrl-S.
2) Open the downloaded file Oracle.htm with some editor. Personally I prefer Notepad++.
3) Remove everything from <div class = "header"> (line 15) to the next not-indented </div> (line 337).
4) Save the changes.
5) Load Oracle.htm in Firefox.
6) Check the print preview. It should now start with the headline: Oracle.
7) Customize the scaling (top line at the print preview, pretty much in the middle).
OTOH, I assume I could also get rid of that Pathfinder icon by the Oracle heading, which seems to be what's actually causing the huge left margin... And then remove other unwanted material, like oracle mysteries not chosen... It might be easier than copying text & pasting it into Word, given all the formatting I then end up doing... Hmmm...
I may attempt this later. Thanks!
One last teeny tech help request :)
-- Is there a way to print selections from the PDFs I've bought?
You are welcome. :)
One last teeny tech help request :)
-- Is there a way to print selections from the PDFs I've bought?
If you mean certain pages, you can enter ranges like: 13-14, 16-18
In case it's about parts of a page, at least PDF-XChange allows to mark a part of the page with the snapshot tool, then print just the selected part. I guess other PDF tools can do this, too.
One last teeny tech help request :)
-- Is there a way to print selections from the PDFs I've bought?If you mean certain pages, you can enter ranges like: 13-14, 16-18
In case it's about parts of a page, at least PDF-XChange allows to mark a part of the page with the snapshot tool, then print just the selected part. I guess other PDF tools can do this, too.
I did mean parts of a page. What pdf tools would be freeware?