Apparently apps

A is for Adobe, an abundance of apps

A-Z challenge 2016: Apps in April

Welcome to an April trip through the alphabet via apps.


1. Adobe Acrobat has for many years been the industry standard for PDFs. One can annotate, highlight, strikethrough, underline, add text, add a note, draw on the pdf, create a signature all within the app. When finished, share the file, open in another app or print. Available free for iOS and Android.

2. Explore Adobe Draw with Tony Vincent’s excellent tutorial here. Learn how he uses photos and converts them to drawings, clipart, and avatars to generate original content. Free for iOS and Android.

3. Photoshop Express – one of the original photo editing apps, improved upon and added to over the years. Choose your photo from a variety of sources then auto enhance, or use a wide variety of filters or adjust all settings manually as available in the finest of desktop editing software suites. Rotating, flipping, sharpening, red-eye and blemish removal, are just a few of the tools available via your fingertips.This is an excellent photo editing app free for iOS and Android.

4. Photoshop fix is a more sophisticated tool incorporating layers and exports directly to Photoshop. if you don’t need native .psd files for Photoshop, there are plenty of other sophisticated photo editing apps.

5. Adobe Post - late to the scene of creating professional looking social graphics and branded across the bottom with #AdobePost not my top choice in the graphic creation apps. Beautiful designs and text variations but the branding spoils the end product for me. Templates for common social platforms with a wide range of font styles, layouts, colour palettes, shapes and filters. iOS only.

The open book seat in the foyer of the British Library
Photo by C Galvin enhanced and text added via Adobe Post

6. Adobe Voice – iOS only, when will Adobe cater for all consumers? Tell a story using icons, photos, and music. This is simple to use and the end product can be embedded or shared via a link. Tell your family stories, choose from a variety of themes, vary the layout and publish. Share on a variety of social platforms.  

View my trip to Greenwich, made with Adobe Voice (2 mins)

7.. Adobe Slate – iOS only Makes images and text move together. Here’s a story about my great-grandparents, John and Maria O’Dea made with Slate. Click on the picture to start. The back arrow will return you to this post after viewing the Slate page.

My great grandparents story - made with Slate

These are just a few of Adobe’s suite of products, have fun exploring.

A-Z challenge - Theme Reveal

A-Z challenge: Apps in April

This year I have decided to participate in the Blogging from A-Z April challenge. The idea is to write a blog post each day in April except for the Sundays. By choosing a theme I hope to stay on track for each letter of the alphabet.

The theme I plan to follow is "A-Z of useful apps" Most of these will be mobile apps that I use regularly and which are suitable for a variety of platforms but occasionally I may wander into a desktop-only application.

I hope my tips on favourite tools will be useful to a wide variety of people, including family historians. My list of apps A-Z is ready to go in one of my favourites, E for Evernote.

This post first appeared on https://librarycurrants.blogspot.com

Alice in the British Library

150 years on

While in London to visit a newly arrived grandchild and his parents, I've had the opportunity to visit the British Library and view the wonderful exhibition mounted to celebrate 150 years of Alice in Wonderland.The giant luggage tag hanging in the foyer promises a journey into the heart of the making of and the interpretations of this story throughout the years.

An inspiring collection is displayed showing the work illustrated in different manners and modes. There's the original illustrations by Tenniel, and adaptations of these by a variety of artists.

• The flapper 20s style has the pack of cards kicking up their heels in a becoming manner. 
• Who would have thought that during the London blitz the Mad Hatter's tea party would be illustrated with 'rations in a Molotov bread basket'? 
• Another version has Alice as a Brownie peering seriously into that hole. Also on display are the versions illustrated by Mabel Lucie Atwell and Ralph Steadman.

The original handwritten text has its own display case telling the story of the American purchase from the estate of Alice Liddell to the ultimate return to the British Library as recognition of the role of Britain during the second World War.

Posters of the Cheshire cat in pyschedelic colours reflect the 60s. Puzzles, games and cards based on the book are also on display along with Disney interpretations of the story.

As no photography was permitted within the exhibition area I have relied on a few notes made on my phone. Maria Popova's Brain Pickings post here provides a look at the works of some illustrators. Those who are in London before April 17th have the opportunity to enjoy these treasures brought together by the British Library.  The excellent Treasures of the British Library is always on display in the gallery.

I leave you with the two versions of Alice near the entrance to the inevitable pop-up shop that accompanies the exhibition. The second picture is a collection of bookmarks I could not resist, after all...We're all mad here!

Alice outside the pop-up shop

Bookmarks