Books

[Ash]

I have the west mids bus handbook from 2000, i was just wondering did any more editions of these handbooks get published after 2000, as there are other handbooks in other areas but never see any for the west midlands unless im not looking in the correct places

[Nathan4775]

I have the west mids bus handbook from 2000, i was just wondering did any more editions of these handbooks get published after 2000, as there are other handbooks in other areas but never see any for the west midlands unless im not looking in the correct places

I got a 2007 or a 2009 handbook that my uncle brought for me

[windy miller]

I have spent a few hours looking for a handbook specific to NXWM . with no luck I could only find a spiral bound A5 book with just about all other co vehicles operating in the west mids thrown in for good measure which I have no intrest in. I think it costs about £16-99.I imagine even that would currently be full of non-compliant vehs in a few months time?
.What sort of info would you like to see in a WM handbook? I have built up my own  half-fold A5 booklet complete with personal Phots on the front (and back) and runs to 10 pages.if you have a publisher suite on your pc maybe you can produce your own?. I have an XP office 2007 publisher suite on top of windows 7.so it is compatable. Its good for making business cards, notices,flyers/greeting cards ect.although you may need some tuition.maybe tony could produce one,(annualy) if we talk him into it! :)

[Ash]

I was just looking at the fleetlist for 2000 and how it has changed for each garage not many buses remaining from that date

[Isle of Stroma]

What sort of info would you like to see in a WM handbook? I have built up my own  half-fold A5 booklet complete with personal Phots on the front (and back) and runs to 10 pages.if you have a publisher suite on your pc maybe you can produce your own?. I have an XP office 2007 publisher suite on top of windows 7.so it is compatable. Its good for making business cards, notices,flyers/greeting cards ect.although you may need some tuition.maybe tony could produce one,(annualy) if we talk him into it! :)

This book:
http://wmpocketbook.blogspot.co.uk/2012/02/new-west-midlands-pocket-sized.html
.. is produced initially as a MS Word file on my laptop, then converted to a pdf proof which is sent to the printers to produce the final product.

If you can obtain some A5 paper, then it's easy enough to produce your own A6 (pocket) size books using MS Word by printing 2 pages to a side & carefully setting the page print order. In all honesty, It's a piece of p*** to do that compared to using MS Publisher - & I speak from experience, the HB NatEx Coach Book (I've now compiled 4 editions) is produced using that method!

[windy miller]

I see your point nel111.the reason I personaly prefer the publisher is that I can create ,eg 4 vertical text boxes on one page from top to bottom, then I can insert/delete letters/numbers in any one column without disturbing any script/Phots/info ect, in any of the other three columns.I find that without the aid of 'tables' Its a bit of a pain using word.but as they say,you pays your money ect its your choice
     

[Isle of Stroma]

Windy. As you say, a lot depends on the specific content & layout that you desire - & which software package(s) you feel comfortable with.

I should have added that there is an additional stage involved with the books. All the titles I have worked on originate on a master spreadsheet containing the vehicle & operator details. This is then 'pulled apart' as necessary to create the various sections within the books.

If you'd care to e-mail me some basic details of the content & layout that you're looking to achieve, I'll happily have a look to see if i can make any suggestions as to how that can be achieved using word (which than then be converted to pdf).

The Brucie bonus of pdf's is that they can be easily loaded & viewed on portable devices, eg smartphones & tablets etc, so you never need worry about forgetting your book when you go out again!