Creating a notebook for work

[defaulthdxmg9x8tyij]

I have created a notebook for my job that I use everyday.  It's a small pocketsize spiral bound book.  It of course through daily use begins to come apart and I have to reprint it and every few months.  I'd like to recreate it digitally.  I have indesign and am watching some videos on clickable tabs and hyperlinked tables of contents and that looks great.

My question is what is a good page size to start with.  My intention is to export the notebook to pdf so I can just pull out my phone to see what product to pull for a case or look up what to charge. 

[Bevi Chagnon - PubCom.com · Accepted solution]

Interesting project.

Assuming that you want to view the book on your smartphone, I'd start with what size and type of file works on a smartphone.

That leaves you with 2 file format options:

• PDF viewed with Adobe Acrobat Reader for mobile (see https://www.adobe.com/acrobat/mobile.html). This app has a Liquid Mode which splits apart a multi-column PDF into a single, scrollable column that looks and acts like an EPUB.
• Reflowable EPUB viewed with an EPUB viewer for your smartphone OS (see some apps at https://www.pcmag.com/how-to/no-kindle-needed-10-free-ebook-reader-apps-for-your-phone-or-tablet).

Both file formats can be created from an InDesign layout.

RE size, both formats are designed to be responsive to your device; that means they will reflow your text when you use a larger font and adjust the content's layout to fit your phone's screen dimensions. The concept of a "page" often isn't relevant because everything should adjust to what you need on-the-fly. So an exact size/dimension isn't really needed.

But you should choose a basic portrait orientation, and any of InDesign's default layouts for Mobile. Since new smartphones are averaging between 400  - 600 ppi resolution, I'd choose the largest pixel dimensions so that graphics appear crisp on the screen.

New Document Set-up for Mobile.

I'm sure our colleagues here will have more suggestions for you.

One more from me: make sure to use Paragraph and Character Styles for all of your formatting. When manual formatting is used rather than styles (that is, selecting font size, etc. from the top Control Panel or the new Properties Panel), it really mucks up the file's ability to reflow and flex to your smartphone. It kills the file's "responsiveness."

Good luck with your project!

[defaulthdxmg9x8tyij]

Wow.  That was a lot more information than I was expecting.  Thank you so much.  

[Creamer Training · Accepted solution]

You might want to look at Microsoft OneNote. It comes with Microsoft Office 365 on Mac and Windows; also, there is a free version that comes with Windows 10 (although not a full-featured as the Office version). It's available for phones too.

It's a really good note-taking program. Your notes are shared when logged into the same Office account.

[defaulthdxmg9x8tyij]

Hmmm.  Ok I'll take another look at one note.  I think I'm mesmerized by the videos of people making planners with clickable links and tabs. Maybe I'm making a simple notebook overly complicated.