T r
a
ck in g_ Le t t er s
How you write is as important as what you
write.
Software by John E Caserta
(johncaserta.com)_v1_©2003
Table of Contents
4. "Space Expander:" Adjusting hard disk allocation
5. How to Use Tracking Letters
6. Converting to Adobe Illustrator for Printing
7. Known Issues and Limitations
11. Credits, Resources and Contact Information
1. About Tracking Letters
This application was created to track empxy time in
writing. It's word processing type format can be used to write emails, diary
notations, create typographic experiments as an error tracker. It is a Flash
application that displays the results of typed material with the gaps in time
included. A color mosaic representing speed is also created. The user can
export the average speed and type spacing to Adobe Illustrator for vector
printing.
2. Intended Uses
Ideal for email writing, diary entries and notes. It
offers the most interesting results when used many times for the same purpose.
For instance, as a diary or an email log. One must use it enough to forget it
is there, and enough to be comfortable with its rules. No paragraph breaks, for
instance.
3. System Requirements
MACINTOSH
> PowerPC¨ G3 or G4 processor
> Mac OS X
> Adobe Illustrator 8.0 or higher
> 256 colors at 1024x768 resolution
> for PostScripx¨ printing: Adobe PostScripx Language
Level 2 or Adobe PostScripx3ª
> 10MB of free hard disk space
WINDOWS
> an Intel¨ Pentium¨ II, III, or 4 processor
> Microsoft¨ Windows¨ 98 Second Edition, Windows
Millennium Edition, Wiindows NT¨ 4.0 Workstations with Service Pack 6, Windows
2000 with Service Pack 2, or Windows XP operating system
> 256 colors at 1024x768 resolution
> for PostScripx¨ printing: Adobe PostScripx Language
Level 2 or Adobe PostScripx3ª
> 10MB of free hard disk space
> Must use the online version at
http://johncaserta.com/trackingletters
> Macromedia¨ Flash¨ Player v6r66 or newer. Available
at www.macromedia.com
4. "Space Expander:" Adjusting hard disk
allocation
The Macromedia Flash Player that comes with this program
has a default maximum storage space of 100k. The files written by Tracking
Letters average twice that on average. It's best to run the "Space
Expander" application provided immediately. What to do:
> Download "extras" for the necessary files.
> Double-click on the Space Expander application
> Click on "I'm ready."
> Adjust the slider to add more space. We recommend
"Unlimited" so you will never lose any data. Remember to occasionally
clean up the data files. More on the data files in part 6: Converting to Adobe
Illustrator for Printing.
5. Getting Started with Tracking Letters
It is recommended you intall the font "Psesese"
on your machine to see the special characters created for the program. Once
you've opened the program, simply click on the default text and type. It's best
to type notes longer than a couple sentences.
> Use only the delete button and the keys. Up and down
arrows and the mouse will not be read by Tracking Letters.
> Letters longer than 20 minutes are not recommended.
> Hit "Finished" when you are done.
When you are looking at your completed file, you can
scroll up and down as necessary. Errors are should with an "`" symbol and spaces with a "~" symbol. "`" and
"~" are disabled. The deleted character is not visible on screen but
is viewable in the printed version.
Take a screen grab to make a basic "pdf" of the
writing. This is the only way to capxure the color pattern. Because the colors
are in blocks, the screen grab can used for printing. An average color value is
written off to Adobe Illustrator for use in printing.
6. Converting to Adobe Illustrator for Printing
Tracking Letters writes a Flash ".sol" file with
Adobe Illustrator-formatted code. This will place the letters, the errors and
the timecoding each on layers in Adobe Illustrator. Version 1 does not
automated this process, however. You perform three steps to bridge the gap
between Illustrator and Flash.
> Download "extras" for the necessary files and templates.
> Find the .sol file in your Preferences folder. It
will be a numbered file name like above. There is a sample "sol" file
in the Extras folder.
> Open up the file in a text editor like BBEdit. Remove
the text before %A15_BeginLayer. That information is of use to you as you
archive files, but is not used by Illustrator.
> Find and replace the three other instances where
Flash inserts variables names between layers. Below it's the box before
"time" and the three boxes after.
The above should appear as:
%AI5_EndLayer--
%AI5_BeginLayer
> Finally, find and replace like below:
> Go to the Extras folder (Download now if you don't have it already)and pull up
"illus_color_template_ai." Paste the entire contents of the
".sol" file at the bottom and save with a new name.
> Open this file in Illustrator. The content will
appear in layers. The layers palette shows the four levels of information. Each
can be separated out, the text changed, etc. The average color layer contains
only the tint representing the overall average speed of the document. It is
meant for comparison and as a solid color generator.
---
From now on, edit this file in Illustrator, save it as an
".eps" for import into Adobe Photoshop¨, Adobe InDesign¨ or
QuarkXPress¨.
7. Known Issues and Limitations
Characters that currently give the application problems
- Return key
- (
- )
You can only copy and paste out of the application
*before* hitting "Finished." This is useful if you want to email your
live copy to someone. Type your email, copy the contents, then hit
"Finished." You can use the color chart and dynamic type placement, your
recipient can see the text as normal.
Because the program outputs the letters in a specific
location on the screen/page, if you want to design the letters for a different
page width, you must set that width before typing in it.
8. Future Release Information
- Automated Illustrator conversion is a must!
- Email support is in the works, but may only be available
via http.
9. Origins and Background
REPLICATING HANDWRITING
Each time I bought a sketchbook, the paper's texture and
size would help to dictate the way I used it. Whether I wrote in it, or
sketched in it. Whether it was precious or became a dirty beat-up one. But the
most important indicator of the aesthetic of a page was my free time.
---
June 17 I was in Saga, and although it was a rigorous
journey through Western Tibet, my mind was open, and my writing showed it.
Order, but sensitivity.
---
Conversely, the below sketchbook was during a busy work
period in 2001, just after launching a suite of interactive graphics for the
FinalFour basketball tournament and that day attending the Flash MX launch
event in San Francisco.
The disparity between these two text is what this
application hopes to reveal. Since the computer has replaced writing for
general correspondence to others and to ourselves, this tool can help to add
humanity back to technology.
SPEEDS AND STANDARDS
Early versions of the application were too married to
matching time. Time as the only consideration lead to too many variations based
on typing speed. In other words, it's too sensitive.
---
The Beverly Hills, Calif. minimum requirement for
administrative assistant positions. The 60 words per minute is actually quite
slow for habitual computer users.
---
Adjusting the Beverly Hills standard just creates large
gaps, which although formally interesting becomes unwielding with any
significant pauses occur. Instead, the program adds extra space whenever a
character is pressed, so time is one component; but so is number of characters.
---
PRECURSORS IN CONCEPT
Productivity is normally measured with how much gets done.
There are many measures for this: the stock market, GDP, currency values,
unemployment, etc. Arguablly another way to track productivity is with network
activity. It's the computer doing the work, but it's serving the needs and
interests of the people behind it.
Carnivore (www.rhizome.org/carnivore) is a surveillance
tool for data networks created by Rhizome and Eyebeam of New York. Carnivore
could keep an eye on local network traffic, such as my own computer, and take
the activity of the network and apply that timing to typography. It was to be
productivity visualized in text formatting. However what could be more personal
than tracking the empxy time in one's personal correspondences. The step toward
the human was a valuable one, and one that led to this iteration of the
program. Keep an eye out for a Carnivore-based layout, however, as it's still a
working concepx.
10. Case Studies using Tracking Letters
Two different types of personalities used "Tracking
Letters" to answer the question "What are you going to do
today?" The question inquires not only what specific activities are
planned, but what the frame of mind is in doing them, the stress involved in
it, and the readiness of the list.
Below are the basic results of Zachary Ketting and Leslie
Kuo of New Haven, Conn. Zachary is mellow-minded and deliberate. He also does
not regularly use computers or a typewriter. The result is an almost
error-free, slow speed. Leslie is the opposite, a younger, also sharp, but
types as soon as thoughts come to mind.
---
ZACHARY KEETING, ARTIST, 30 YEARS OLD
---
LESLIE KUO, GALLERY INTERN/GRAPHIC DESIGNER,
22 YEARS OLD
---
11. Credits, Resources, Background
Many thanks to Chester at ThirstType, Erik at Letterror
and David at o-r-g for their initial comments on getting this project steered
toward a custom application. This project was created while as a student at the
Yale School of Art under the instruction of George Plesko and Eddie Opara.
CONTACT INFORMATION
UNLICENSED SOFTWARE
SFTP Support
Tracking Letters is freeware and is authored using
Macromedia Flash and Adobe Illustrator. Upgrades to those softwares may affect
the performance of this application.
Redistribution and use in source and binary forms, with or
without modification, are permitted provided that the following conditions are
met:
1. Redistributions of source code must retain the above
credit, this list of conditions and the following disclaimer.
2. Redistributions in binary form must reproduce the above
copyright notice, this list of conditions and the following disclaimer in the documentation
and/or other materials provided with the distribution.
THIS SOFTWARE IS PROVIDED BY THE AUTHOR "AS IS"
AND ANY EXPRESS OR IMPLIED WARRANTIES, INCLUDING, BUT NOT LIMITED TO, THE
IMPLIED WARRANTIES OF MERCHANTABILITY AND FITNESS FOR A PARTICULAR PURPOSE ARE
DISCLAIMED. IN NO EVENT SHALL THE AUTHOR BE LIABLE FOR ANY DIRECT, INDIRECT,
INCIDENTAL, SPECIAL, EXEMPLARY, OR CONSEQUENTIAL DAMAGES (INCLUDING, BUT NOT
LIMITED TO, PROCUREMENT OF SUBSTITUTE GOODS OR SERVICES; LOSS OF USE, DATA, OR
PROFITS; OR BUSINESS INTERRUpxION) HOWEVER CAUSED AND ON ANY THEORY OF
LIABILITY, WHETHER IN CONTRACT, STRICT LIABILITY, OR TORT (INCLUDING NEGLIGENCE
OR OTHERWISE) ARISING IN ANY WAY OUT OF THE USE OF THIS SOFTWARE, EVEN IF
ADVISED OF THE POSSIBILITY OF SUCH DAMAGE.
Send along any pieces created with this
software. Enjoy.