Ask MetaFilter questions tagged with create

Yuk, that smell is awful! How did you make such a stink?

skylar — Mon, 19 Oct 2009 12:26:00 -0800

So there are dozens of posts on AskMeFi raising the question of how to mask or remove a bad smell. But I have the opposite dilemma: I wasnt to create a bad smell. Not something so abhorrent that people wretch, but a clearly noticeable odour that perhaps evokes decay or sickness or death. And before you start calling the police, it's for a Halloween show. Thoughts on how to disperse said smell (using a plug-in mister? Using a fan?) gladly accepted.

Funeral program

ReneeOg — Thu, 16 Apr 2009 07:13:12 -0800

Can you help me to create a funeral program? I need to do the program or bulletin that's passed out to funeral-goers as they come into the church for my grandmother's funeral this Saturday and have no idea how to format it, proper wording, etc. Her church recently closed, so the church secretary who normally does the programs is not available.

Thanks!

Feed my need to learn about creating

jasondbarr — Wed, 11 Mar 2009 07:47:57 -0800

Need some books on the process of creating works of art in different mediums I've been reading a lot about the process of creativity lately (inspired by Merlin Mann over at 43 Folders and his recommendation of The Creative Habit).

I'm wondering if the good people of MeFi would be interested in sharing any good books (the best books, in your opinion) specifically about the process of creating in different mediums (as an aside, I've seen this link, but I think this question is a little different). By process, I mean the generation of concepts through to completion of the project. I would think that the idea part would probably be similiar across disciplines, but I'm interested to see if that's the case. Anyway, the disciplines can range from the stuff we typically think of as big-A "Art" (painting, sculpture, music, etc.) to processes that are usually considered more linear and "left-brained". I'd prefer it not be super technical, if it can be helped, but suggest what you must. I'd rather it be the best example of the process you know of than it be dumbed down enough for me to understand fully. Thanks!

Web design 101

nicolin — Tue, 10 Mar 2009 05:36:16 -0800

How can I learn to create a website, a server, get the tools themselves ? I've been asked to create a website for a non-profit organization. I don't know much about designing websites (I've tried dreamweaver a few years ago) which means that I have to learn almost everything about it. Could you provide ideas, links, advice about creating a website from scratch ?
I don't need a thorough course to be able to become a designer, I just need the survival kit, including where to get free tools, how to set up a server.
Thanks !

Pop Quiz! How do you create a quiz?

Brettus — Wed, 11 Feb 2009 13:01:22 -0800

Looking for a quiz creator to use with engagement website, details and requirements inside. My fiance and I are designing a website based around our engagement and wedding, which is coming up in September. We would like to make the website a more fun than the usual "here's the info, here are some pictures". Our website is up now - but has just a picture until we are done designing the site. Website is here.

I am looking for a website or program that would allow me to create a quiz about me and Mrs. Brettus that we could imbed into our site. People would enter in their name, take the quiz and a small leaderboard would be kept to see who did the best out of all "quiz takers".

I have seached "create quiz" and "quiz creator" on Google as well as "quiz website" and just "quiz" on here and haven't been able to find much information without trying each site individually. Survey Monkey has caught my eye - but it seems, from what I can tell, it's just a survey - no right or wrong, and no leaderboards.

Thanks in advance for the answers - I trust the hive's opinion more than my own mothers'.

Software to create underwater (topo) maps

flixz — Sun, 18 Jan 2009 17:01:09 -0800

I wat to create a detailed map of dive site including elevation data. I'm looking for a straight forward simple cartograph software which allows me to create these underwater maps. I'm using a mac. Windows tips are also most welcome.

What's an interesting backstory to my character?

nimkip — Wed, 10 Dec 2008 16:20:47 -0800

Flex your creative muscle and help me design a superhero! Growing up my father used to always tell me, half in jest, about this great superhero he came up with. I have a friend who works as an artist for Marvel Comics, and I thought it would be great as part of a Christmas gift to have him draw a sketch of this guy, and flesh out his back story a little. Of course, this first thing he asked me was “what does he look like?” I had no idea. And really, I don't know anything about him other than his name and his superpower.

His name is Random Chance. Whenever danger is present (sort of like a spider sense I guess) his body manifests a random superpower that may or may not be useful in the current situation. It could be something traditional, like flying, heat vision, or super strength. Or, equally likely, it could be something stupid, like making things sticky by looking at them, or rapidly growing out his body hair. The point is he has to rely on his wit and creativity to apply this power in a way that will get him out of trouble. So above all else he’s an intelligence based hero.

I’m terrible at this stuff, so I humbly ask you to fill in the details. Just what does he look like? What’s his alter ego? What’s his origin story? What are his personality quirks? Does he have any notable relationships? How about his archenemy, etc? Anything you guys can come up with would certainly help piece him together. Thanks!

How to make my own karaoke discs from scratch?

thewhynotgirl — Thu, 27 Mar 2008 15:09:03 -0800

How do I take a song off a regular cd, add viewable lyrics (and whatever else is necessary) and turn it into a karaoke disc that I can hand to the kj at a karaoke joint? I already have evil lyrics and some other audio software, but I can only find reference to working with songs that are already on a cdg ... no references in my audio programs to exactly how to make one myself. Further info: Evil lyrics will yield me a .kar and help me sync it to the music I'm playing ... but it doesn't explain what a .kar is or what to do with it.

And I want to make my own rather than find or purchase karaoke tracks because I tend to pick nonmainstream songs that are often not found anywhere but on the cd's I bought them on!

Thanks in advance!

How to automate sorting files into subdirectories?

fanboy65 — Thu, 31 Jan 2008 10:49:26 -0800

I have a large zipped MP3+G collection of about 30,000 songs split into several directories and subdirectories. I have them named by "Disc-Track - Artist - Title". for example... SC7501-01 - Presley, Elvis - An American Trilogy SC7501-02 - Presley, Elvis - Devil In Disguise SC7501-03 - Presley, Elvis - Burning Love Although I have some that are named by "Disc-Volume-Track - Artist - Title". CB5012-01-01 - Stray Cats, The - Rock This Town CB5012-01-02 - Looking Glass - Brandy etc... I'm hoping to automate the following: Within a directory (and all subdirectories) Create a subdirectory for files of the same disc (or disc-volume), and move the files for that disc into that subdirectory. Repeat until every file is moved into the proper subdirectory. I'm using Windows XP.

What program will build my company website?

zardoz — Wed, 24 Oct 2007 17:02:35 -0800

I will soon be put in charge of putting together a secure website for my company. It won't be terribly complex (I think), and it doesn't have to look terribly pretty, but as a relative newbie to something like this, I need some advice as to what software to use. The purpose of the site is to take a rather large number of mainly Word .doc files and some PDF files and make them available for employees via the Internet. As it's for employees only, and we need to protect the files from rivals, a login/password will be necessary.

The files must be categorized and tagged, so I can add a search function. And I also want to add a forum page, so employees can discuss and talk about work and so forth.

So what software is useful for accomplishing these things? Aside from a handful of HTML tags, I don't know any programming language, though I've taught myself some Python basics and can continue that if it'll help with this project. Is there a program that can cover all these bases? Something free/open source would be ideal.

Lastly, is this possible on a relatively older PC (maybe Pentium I or II) running Windows XP, or would I need something more robust?

How to create professional-looking documents

CAnneDC — Fri, 26 Jan 2007 09:56:30 -0800

I want to create a publication to send to customers, but don't know the best way to make it. Is there any program, tool, or template that I could use to make a professional-looking "Getting Started Guide" or informational booklet? I want to make a short booklet (roughly 10-15 pages) that basically walks our clients through our services. I've tried Word and am having trouble customizing it like I hoped. I want to include a mix of screenshots and text and be able to draw arrows, highlight different sections, etc. I will also be making brochures, Newsletters, and other print publications in the future. Any suggestions for how I could create a visually appealing, professional-looking publication? Any and all suggestions are much appreciated!

Help me find a VBScript program to create a PowerPoint file from a directory of images.

ostranenie — Mon, 11 Sep 2006 05:47:53 -0800

I've tried for several weeks to find this VBScript program from long ago. It's deceptively simple (create PPT, create slide within PPT, insert image, put title on slide, repeat last three steps until all images inserted). A while back I found a standalone vbScript (VBS) on a Japanese website that would take all of the JPEG images in a folder, create a PowerPoint presentation and insert each JPEG into a separate slide. I believe it titled the slides with the names of the JPEGs as well. It was surprisingly short--40 or so lines of code if I remember correctly. But stupidly, I lost it and now I can't find it anywhere!

The script requires you have PowerPoint installed since it uses the MickeySoft document engine (or whatever it's called) that lets you automate Office documents and programs.

How do I become a "think-tanker"?

ThFullEffect — Wed, 08 Feb 2006 11:35:30 -0800

What is the official name for a think tank type career? How do I get into the field, and where might I look for company that employs tank-thinkers? I've been told a million times that the best way to enjoy your career is to find something that makes you happy and do it. What I enjoy most is coming up with new ideas relating to technology, the web, and useful products in general. The problem is I lack the connections and knowledge needed to create said products.

My Question: Where can I be employed to do this kind of work, and what is the official title of someone who does it?

Creating DVDs: advice for a newbie

wibbler — Sat, 15 Oct 2005 11:58:29 -0800

I'm trying to get .avi files (15 files at 300kb) onto a DVD in a DVD format so that I can see them on my DVD player. I have two DVD-making applications, WinDVD (which crashes when I try to create one) and Cyberlink PowerProducer, which took 2 hours to do 8%. My questions: One: Does it really take that long to convert from avi to DVD and Two: What is the best home package to create DVDs with interactive menus?

Creating Sudoku puzzles

ralawrence — Fri, 27 May 2005 02:37:59 -0800

I know the theory of solving Sudoku puzzles but I'd like to know how you would go about creating them. I've found a lot of sites on the web that tell you how to solve Sudoku puzzles and even a site and an excel macro (link sadly lost) which will do just that automatically.

However I'm more interested in understanding the logic required for creating your own so that I can write something myself to generate them. Does anyone know where I can find such information?

I'm especially interested in how you go about generating the board and then which numbers you remove to get the puzzle to a pre-defined level of difficulty.

Creating a job for yourself

davebush — Tue, 01 Mar 2005 12:46:39 -0800

If you've ever approached a company and impressed them enough to create a postion for you, I'd love to hear how you went about it.