this post was submitted on 18 Aug 2023
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Looking for windows software for making cheat sheets / guides (lemm.ee)
submitted 1 year ago* (last edited 1 year ago) by Jaluvshuskies@lemm.ee to c/softwareoptions@lemmy.world
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I didn't know whether it would be best to post in a windows, open source, or software community for this - but this seems best. If not, please redirect me and I will be on my way :)

I'm on the hunt for some kind of windows software (or website is fine) that allows me to craft a guide. I have been using https://www.getpaint.net/ but it's just so tedious and meticulous to align everything perfectly (which you can see if you look at my example below). I would like the software to allow me to:

  • Add/edit text, images, resize images
  • Move around content (text/images)
  • Color sections
  • Create shapes/drawings (ideally with color customization like borders & thickness levels) - including lines and other shapes like arrows, circles, etc
  • Dividers between sections (see image for an example)
  • Modify background color
  • Modify text font (type, size, color)
  • Text formatting (bullets, numbers) though I can also just manually write 1. 2. etc, or draw a circle shape if needed
  • ADDED: the ability to adjust canvas size / full dimensions (see how in the example below its a vertical guide. I also would want to be able to add additional space if it gets cramped, so also the ability to select multiple elements and move together
  • ADDED: the ability to save the project as a PNG, I'm sure I could probably just screenshot with snipping tool but that isn't super ideal
  • ADDED: having elements snap to keep everything aligned easily (or any other way to keep things aligned, rather than what I've had to do with pain.net which is just manually dragging & eyeballing the alignment)

This is specifically for video games but could honestly apply for anything that could have a cheat sheet or a guide

Here is an example for a Lost Ark raid - anything that can make this is what I'm looking for

I am willing to pay a one time fee for a product if it's a a price affordable enough for me, otherwise I'm looking for something possibly FOSS. I'm hoping there's something out there better for this than paint.net , but there might not be. I appreciate any suggestions in advance!

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[–] CorrosiveCapital@lemmy.world 1 points 1 year ago (1 children)

I think you should take a look at miro.com but not sure if they have a free personal account or how bad the subscription would be, since I know you want a one time fee.

Other than that you might try something like affinity designer or their book publishing program.

[–] Jaluvshuskies@lemm.ee 2 points 1 year ago* (last edited 1 year ago)

@CorrosiveCapital@lemmy.world Looks interesting. Thank you, I'll take a look!

[–] slazer2au@lemmy.world 1 points 1 year ago (2 children)

Any office suite could do this. LibreOffice, open office, ms office ( free if you have a Microsoft account)

Other then that you could use something like Draw.IO which is an alternative to Microsoft Visio.

[–] Jaluvshuskies@lemm.ee 1 points 1 year ago* (last edited 1 year ago) (2 children)

@slazer2au@lemmy.world I hit the reply arrow but it seems like this is just a normal comment, tagging you just in case

Would those office products be able to divide the sections in the same colored way that is done in my example? It seems like a weird thing, so that's my main concern. I'll take a look at Draw.IO. Isn't ms office just word? I don't have any paid office versions so whenever I need to use office products I just use the online version (sheets, docs, etc)

Also, there's 3 things I forgot to add for what I'm looking for: (i'll edit OP)

  1. the ability to adjust canvas size / full dimensions (see how in the example below its a vertical guide. I also would want to be able to add additional space if it gets cramped, so also the ability to select multiple elements and move together
  2. the ability to save the project as a PNG, I’m sure I could probably just screenshot with snipping tool but that isn’t super ideal
  3. having elements snap to keep everything aligned easily (or any other way to keep things aligned, rather than what I've had to do with pain.net which is just manually dragging & eyeballing the alignment)
[–] Auster@kbin.social 5 points 1 year ago* (last edited 1 year ago) (1 children)

According to this post, LibreOffice Writer allows coloring specific cells.

I tried coloring random cells to confirm, and it seems to work:

[–] Jaluvshuskies@lemm.ee 1 points 1 year ago

Nice, I'll take a peep at that too. Thanks :)

[–] slazer2au@lemmy.world 2 points 1 year ago (1 children)

Isn’t ms office just word

MS Office is Word, Excel, Powerpoint, Outlook, and OneNote

Given your extra requirements I think Draw.IO is the way to go. You can use the webtool on draw.io or download a desktop version with the same features. I use it for engineering drawings and it can do all the multi object moving and snapping.

[–] Jaluvshuskies@lemm.ee 2 points 1 year ago

ah okay thanks, yea I just wanted to make sure. I've used those 5 office products and didn't think of an easier way to make what I'm making in those, so I was a little confused. Maybe there is a way that I don't know about but I was surprised at the least

I'll take a look at Draw.IO. thanks!!

[–] fraksken@infosec.pub 1 points 1 year ago

I don't think what you're looking for exists. Like the peer comment suggested, use a markup tool. that could be word, openoffice, libreoffice, ... alternatively, you could make it in an html wysiwyg editor. use tables for allignments. background and whatever colours you want are perfectly possible.