For anyone who is a COMPLETE BEGINNER with laser design, designing softwares, etc

Some great advice here. Lynda.com is a user friendly way to learn a new software. I have found it helpful to watch the tutorials on one device while doing the step by steps on my computer. That way I can stop and go back. I don’t need to rely on my memory.

The best news is that many libraries offer FREE access to Lynda.com through their electronic resources services. Please support your public and school libraries.

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Yep, mine did. I have been amazed at some of the things offered FREE through my public library.

Glad ya got the kinks worked out :smiley: @MANDYpalmer83 , Also Mandy as an FYI you can change your username under preferences, even though you use your husbands email for setup it doesn’t need to match it afterward. My username used to be longer, I shortened it to My Firstname , Last initial :slight_smile:

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ahhhh!!! I did not know that @GregK . I will definitely check that out. I wonder if people will still recognize me?!? HaHa. I could just add the word “wife” , take away the “83” , and add an " 's " after palmer. I don’t know I will fig something! Thanks for letting me in on that!

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As long as you don’t change your profile picture at the same time, we’re pretty good at remembering who people are :wink:

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@twinangel1a you can refer to my post here https://community.glowforge.com/t/this-is-not-as-easy-as-it-is-made-out-to-be/43407/48 when I say THESE PEOPLE ARE AMAZING HELP! I am not sure what time zone you live in…but I can assure you that you can most probably get on here at ANY hour as I did, AND ALWAYS get a response from someone that is willing and capable of helping you. Honestly, these guys are the only reason that I still exist on these forums. I knew nothing. I got on here on the very last straw, not knowing that I could have just asked, and I lost all composure. Tears, cusswords, anger, and most of all… HEART BROKEN!!!
I have put in MANY hours since then,that I really didn’t think I had . But it is because of these guys on here. They lifted me up. They made me feel better. They were caring, and did whatever they could to help. You GOT THIS! I promise you will not be heart broken for ever! Its not easy. But it’s rewarding!

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Well DUH Mandy! I didn’t think of that once. Light bulb moment!

I have gotten on here atleast twice since then to do exactly that and change my name, and ended up playing, and reading;)
Notice my name remains the same. HAHA

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@twinangel1a HAVE YOU GOTTEN YOUR GLOWFORGE OUT YET?

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Hey @MANDYpalmer83, happy birthday to you!

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I am embarrassed to even answer this…

because no…I have not. :frowning: sigh!

I really do want to learn. I need a Glowforge class for dummies class haha

Angelina

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So, if you schedule a setup session with a few of us, we can walk you through it. It may drag out but would be fairly simple as the setup routine is pretty good with step by step instructions and illustrations. I have often thought that people might want to do a private YouTube live stream and invite a few of us to assist in commenting.

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@cynd11 HEY THANKS!!! My bday wish was to play with my GF…and that is what I am doing!!! THANKYOU!!

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Yessss I can I please do this!!! I know I will love it once I get started!!

Would have to figure out what platform to use like Skype or Facetime or even share a live stream on YouTube.

I would actually love it on youtube so I can refer back to the video for reference.

What program do you suggest for a mac computer. I have made some designs on it that were already remade on the glow forge site. But if I am trying tp personalize it with someones name it didn’t work. When I tried to use word it wasn’t compatible and didn’t let met upload doc. I watched youtube videos about it and on there they said to download Adobe and there were complicated instructions on changes swatches which I didn’t understand and I didn’t figure out how to do it that way either!! Do you have a youtube channel I can watch??

I have a few videos that work through some simple designs, but I am using Inkscape. There is a new version of Inkscape. It’s free but I am not quite sure about stability with the latest Mac OS. someone will chime in on that.

Maybe this will help.

If you have Adobe Illustrator downloaded, I would stick with that. Otherwise folks use Affinity Designer on a Mac and that works well. It’s not too expensive.

Illustrator has so many features and functions, it’s hard to get over the initial learning curve. But once you get some of the basics down, you will be able to do what you need, especially in adding text and customizing an existing design.

I’ll send you a private message and we can get a conversation started there. I’ll talk you through things.

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@twinangel1a I am a complete newbie…if I were you I would stick to dove illustrator! There are a million tutorials on youtube. I started out just searching on youtube the word “GLOWFORGE” and “ILLUSTRATOR” both at one and it brings up a million tutorials. (Well, maybe not a million) It is so easy!

I literally know nothing about lasers so I feel ya, thanks for sharing, now I feel like I know where to start.

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Hey @twinangel1a, do you have PowerPoint? I hear some folks are using it and saving to pdf successfully. I don’t use it myself (I have Illustrator) but I do use a Mac and can help you get started. It would be helpful to know what versions of the MacOS and any software that you have, and specifically what you’d like to do.

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als…if you are not using Adobe Illustrator as your software…you can search in Youtube or Google “Glowforge, Inkscape” or “Glowforge, Powerpoint” and almost endless results come back to you. As for myself, I searched Youtube for “Glowforge using Illustrator”. Thats how I got started using Illustrator! It is very overwhelming at first. I am no Pro. But I am learning! @Anselm-M you can get on this Community Forum here on Glowforge website and ask questions at just about any hour of any day and so many people will come to your rescue to help!!

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