Browsers
I used Chrome to manage the Google-related needs, EDGE for the Microsoft 365 programs, and FireFox for research. Brave and Opera were used to test the public-facing sites. Why so many browsers? Cookies and tracking software. I find it best not to do all my work in one browser, as logins and permissions can cross, causing crashes and lost data.
Font
I used Open Sans for this website and the Leaflets template. Open Sans is a humanist sans serif typeface designed by Steve Matteson. This font works great on different devices and is platform agnostic. Learn more about Open Sans here: https://fonts.google.com/specimen/Open+Sans.
GIMP
The GNU Image Manipulation Program (GIMP) is a free cross-platform image editor. I used it to edit images and for some simple adjustments to aspect-ratio and pixel density. Learn more about GIMP here: https://www.gimp.org/
Google Docs
The data and structure for the reverie is saved to a Google workbook. Google lets you publish a read-only version of the workbook, which the Leaflets template can import to create the resulting site. More here: https://www.google.com/sheets/about/.
Latitude and Longitude Finder
A very fun site that lets you tap a location on the world map and get the corresponding location. More here: https://www.latlong.net/
Leaflet Storymaps
The reverie was build using the Leaflet Storymaps code template and is hosted on GitHUB. This system is designed to show a point-by-point guided tour, with a scrolling narrative to display text, images, audio, video, and scanned map backgrounds. Learn more about the software here: https://github.com/HandsOnDataViz/leaflet-storymaps-with-google-sheets
PowerPoint 365
The designer function in this familiar presentation software is actually very clever with thematic suggestions. The cuts and jags in some of the slides are result of that function. Learn more about Designer here: https://www.microsoft.com/en-us/microsoft-365/blog/2023/04/27/microsoft-designer-expands-preview-with-new-ai-design-features/.
Snag-It
While there are many free image capture programs, Snag-It is my go-to because it can so much and do it quickly. Learn more here: https://www.techsmith.com/screen-capture.html.
Word 365
The script and associated citations were first created here. Once the script was done, images were created and the related Google workbook was populated. More about Word here: https://www.microsoft.com/en-us/microsoft-365/word.
WordPress
This site is build WordPress software and hosted on the servers of the CUNY Graduate Center. “The WordPress open source project has evolved in progressive ways over time—supported by skilled, enthusiastic developers, designers, scientists, bloggers, and more. WordPress provides the opportunity for anyone to create and share, from handcrafted personal anecdotes to world-changing movements.” Learn more about WordPress here: https://wordpress.org/about/.
Zotero
Zotero is a easy-to-use tool that can collect, organize, annotate, cite, and share research work. It creates citation lists with ease and will store a wealth of information on each resource. I rely on it so much, I have a paid subscription. More about Zotero here: https://www.zotero.org/.
