Oh, thank you! I think I’ll make a Numbers version and put it on iCloud. Thanks so much for all you’ve done to help us (we?) newbies!
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I like that layout. (Might steal it for some of the more complex engrave/score/cut/flip/repeat monsters I work with. Currently I’m just putting the instructions in the file, but you always have to turn them off before getting down to business.)
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I used to do that but it was after the fact because until I get things dialed in and the job done I don’t have the settings. Then it’s laser-specific so depending on which laser I did it on it was either not helpful or potentially not right and I’d waste material finding out I meant the other laser (the K40 is 32W and the Redsail is 60W so the settings aren’t interchangeable). So I just keep a project log by laser.
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Thank you, Jim!
This has been asked before but not answered, as I recall. When a software update is pushed to the Forge, are we made aware of it somehow, or does the machine just start working differently for no apparent reason? Is the version number of the software visible to the end user?
Question about logging. Do you log EVERYTHING? Or do you only log the final version of things?
For instance, I’ve been working on a logo for a friend, and we’ve been tweaking things a lot, reprinting, seeing how different options work (lt/dk engrave vs lt/dk score vs custom settings). Since all the intermediate steps do use the laser, I’m thinking you want to record every job, but the settings you want to keep are really only the final version.
In this case, should I essentially just keep a running tally of the laser time on the intermediate versions, and only save the settings for the final version?
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I log every iteration. I’m not necessarily sure which one will be the final one. I use the comments column to record observations on a specific iteration like flashback or cut issues. In Excel the iterations are easy to log because I just copy the previous row and paste it so I only have to change the things I’ve tweaked in the iteration.
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no
yes
no
it’s been a request but something that hasn’t received much response other than something like ‘we’re thinking of ways to improve this’
of course the biggest noticeable change i believe has been the recent power settings update, which obviously came with huge announcements and applause.
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I thought that the GFUI displayed the firmware version on the owner’s GF 
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sorry, that’s a good point; i guess i was referring to it being in a way that lends you any ability to know what’s different.
I do the same as @jamesdhatch - LOG EVERYTHING! the comments are your friends. I’ve also been known to add the settings to the document after I find the RIGHT one.
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We created the Latest Improvements page to keep customers abreast of changes - you can check there to see if anything’s different.
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It doesn’t have any dates or version numbers, so how can one tell if something has changed since you last used the machine?
I love that you made this sheet work with an auto-filled form. So instead of going into the spreadsheet all the time you just fill out a single form for each job and it auto updates? That’s genius. Thank you so much!
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Ummm…you can do that with spreadsheets if that’s the input style you’d like 
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My biggest thing is that I don’t want to pay for office…
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Clarke’s Third Law: Any sufficiently advanced technology is indistinguishable from magic.
I guess spreadsheets qualify 
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OpenOffice is your free friend
If I didn’t get Office through our HUP, I’d be using OpenOffice exclusively. It’s like the Inkscape of MS Office type suites.
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