DavidRM Software's The Journal Newsletter

August 2007
Volume 8, Issue 8

INTRODUCTION

Welcome to August 2007!

As it's "Back to School" time once again, I wanted to remind everyone that The Journal offers a discount for students and educators at all levels. If you have any questions, please feel free to ask. All available discounts for The Journal are listed here:
http://www.davidrm.com/thejournal/buy/tjbuy-discounts.php

I'm currently working on a new update of The Journal 4.1 to support a feature many of you have asked for: multiple entries on a single date. All you'll have to do is hit F9 (Create New Entry), and you'll have a new, blank, timestamped entry for any date, past-present-or-future. This should make The Journal even more flexible. I expect to announce this FREE update in the September newsletter.

Thank you for using The Journal!

Download the latest update of The Journal from here:
http://www.davidrm.com/download/jnl4setup.exe

Check to see if you have the most recent update of The Journal by clicking on the Help menu (in The Journal) and choosing Check for Update of The Journal.

Add-on Packages Available

MemoryGrabber - Start your autobiography or help your loved ones start theirs.
Learn more about MemoryGrabber for The Journal.

Writing Prompts 1 - Improve your writing skills!
Learn more about Writing Prompts 1.

Writing Prompts 2 - Prose Challenges by Mike Hommel - Stretch your mind and your writing skills!!
Learn more about Writing Prompts 2.

Devotional Prompts 1 - Keep a record of your reflections about God, yourself, and others!
Learn more about Devotional Prompts 1.

Extended Security - Do you need a higher level of security?
Learn more about Extended Security for The Journal.

Steve Pavlina's Templates - 20 journaling exercises to help you discover your life purpose, assess your relationships, solve your problems, and more!
Learn more about Steve Pavlina's Templates for The Journal.

To order the add-on packages for The Journal, or to order The Journal on CDROM:
1. Click on the Help menu in The Journal.
2. Choose "Upgrade The Journal".

TIPS & TRICKS

TIP: Setting the Default Image Type for The Journal

The Journal lets you include images of all sorts in your entries: digital photos, animated graphics, and icons (like Calendar Charms). Most of the time, you don't need to think about how The Journal stores your images. This tip is to help you understand when you might want to take more direct control of what The Journal is doing.

Some types of images, like JPEG's and animated GIF's, The Journal stores directly in your entry. That is, the image file is stored in The Journal just like (and the same size) it would be stored on your hard drive.

But not all graphic file formats are suited for storing like that, either because the image data is larger than it needs to be or because the format is awkward to use. And sometimes (for instance: pasting an image into The Journal) the image is inserted without any compression at all.

For these cases, The Journal allows you to choose between 2 options:

• JPEG - a "lossy", compressed format used by most digital cameras and paint software.
• PNG - a lossless, compressed format supported by a growing number of hardware and applications.

Which is better? That depends. The default image type is JPEG, with 100% quality. This often compresses images smaller than PNG and is good for most cases. Still, there are cases where PNG will be preferred (like screenshots of software). My recommendation is to experiment and see which type of image you like best. For example: You might find that using JPEG images at only 75% quality gives you good images and faster load/save times.

When does The Journal convert images in your entries? Here are the details:

• When you insert an image into an entry using
  • the "Insert Image" command (on the Insert menu); or
  • dragging and dropping the image into your entry; or
  • pasting an image from the Windows clipboard; and

• The image is not in the JPEG (.jpg), PNG (.png), or GIF (.gif) format.

How to set the default image type:

Like I said before: Most of the time you can just let The Journal do what it does. And, of course, you can always just email me and ask if you have any questions. =)

WRITING EXERCISES

Free Writing Prompt - Write for 20 minutes using the following as your starter: "I stood up and gave my name..."

Journaling Prompt - What do you know that you could (and/or *should*) teach to others? "Others" could mean your children, other people's children, the parents of those other children, or anyone or any group. And, of course, what you teach and how you teach it is up to you. How would test your students to make sure they learned what you were teaching?

Memoir Prompt - Have you ever attended a school or class or military reunion? Write about the experience of seeing people you once knew well but haven't talked to in years. Were they the same people now as then? Were you? Did you find yourself falling back into your old role from that time period?

SUBMISSION INFORMATION

If you would like to contribute to the "How I Use The Journal", "Writing Exercises", or "Tips & Tricks" sections, or would like to submit an article about journaling or another The Journal-related topic, we would love to hear from you.

Submissions for the newsletter should be sent to: davidrm@davidrm.com

If you are submitting for a particulare section, please indicate which one. Try to limit your submissions to 500-1000 words. Submissions may be edited for length and content.

If you prefer to remain anonymous, please state this in the email. Otherwise your name (but not your email) will be used in the article heading.

As always, if you have any suggestions for, or bug reports about, The Journal, please feel free to email them. Both are always welcome.

Editor: David Michael (davidrm@davidrm.com)
Copyright © 2007 by David Michael.