An open-source format so I can edit it, and a pdf so I can minimize problems for other people printing it.
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This sounds more like the kind of workflow I would have used Adobe Pagemaker for, a long time back. Havenāt really found anything quite as flexible as that one since then.
If I were using gimp Iād likely approximate this kind of workflow by separating the different elements in their own layers, and using the ālayer groupā functionality to group/move/duplicate them as needed. Exporting to PDF would be a little more tricky than in a page layout program, however, since youād have to take into account the print size of the image - you can base the canvas on the size of a page, but I donāt think thereās easy pre-sets for that kind of thing.
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Near as I can find, ālayer groupā is to group layers, not a set of objects on each layer. So if each piece gets two layers-- one on the counter front and one on the counter back-- thatās 704 different layers.
Correct, itās basically using layers for the concept of an "objectā. Iād put each element that needed to be separate into its own layer, and group those layers together as though each separate layer is an āobjectā. Since you have a grid of cards, I would probably create a single layer with the full grid and the coloring of each cell, and then overlay grouped layers on top of each cell for text, graphics, etc.
Iām not exactly advocating for the method. Mainly just āthinking out loudā for a possible alternative way of looking at the problem.
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I often need to rearrange them. For example, I have to reverse the arrangement of the front side for the back side. If I canāt select a counter as a group, and move it independently of the others, thatās a problem. I may also want to copy a counter for a play aid.
I use Inkscape all the time for authoring vector graphics (Iām not an artist, this is purely for creating images that I can laser cut).
I wouldnāt say itās āgoodā ā in fact, I find it to be quite infuriating to use. It has a poorly designed UI, many quirks, and a very steep learning curve. But, it gets the job done.
Itās not a flashy UI (in the literal or figurative sense) so if you have photosensitivity issues it should work well. Itās very basic with its presentation.
The closest commercial analog to Inkscape is Adobe Illustrator. Itās meant for drawing, not painting. It should support all the usual stuff (import just about any file format you can think of, layers, grouping, drawing tools, fonts, paths, etc.).
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Iāve encountered far too much flashing in Inkscape. There may be a way to disable the flashing, but Iāve not found it, and Iāve not been able to register for their forum; I know not what went wrong there.
What kind of flashing are you seeing? Iām very familiar with accessibility requirements in software development, but Iām also not photosensitive so what youāre experiencing may be completely lost on me.
I was using Inkscape just today to author some shapes and I didnāt notice any flashing. Iām not sure what OS youāre using (Iām using it on Windows).
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First, I tried to find appropriate preferences to avoid flashing and animation. Maybe āshow selection cueā controls that for some things, but not all.
Second, I set up a page and gridded it in lines.
Third, I tried to save the page, by name, using āsave as,ā andā¦ there may have been a dialogue box but I couldnāt see because there was way too much flashing.
What OS are you using? (Sorry if you mentioned it before and I missed it.)
MacOS Sierra.
Good to know. I can only speak for my experience on Windows, and I didnāt see anything at all in the way of animations or flashing.
One suggestion I can think of would be to go into Preferences 
Interface Windows and change āDesktop integrationā from āNativeā to āGTKā and see if this makes any difference.
Hmmmā¦ I donāt have any āDesktop Integrationā options there.
Still just brainstorming, butā¦ in that hypothetical setup, youād be able to rearrange the items on top of the counters or copy them easily. Then, if you had to swap counters that had different backgrounds, that would just be a matter (assuming the backgrounds were just flat colors) of an extra step of hitting the background layer with a flood-fill to change it.
Copying a counter might be a little more fiddly, but if you didnāt need to change it afterwards then you could just flatten the layers, select the area, copy, and then undo the flatten.
In any case, it still sounds like youād prefer something that bases on vector graphics and an object model.
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I know this isnāt the only solution. I can see the following, from most limited to most extensive:
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Hacking existing drawing software to fix the bug. Iāve checked LibreOffice and OpenOffice extensions, and canāt find a fix there.
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Hacking the operating system. Iāve used the NSText tricks. There are actually 3 settings, for zero-grade, On, and Off: http://osxnotes.net/defaults.html
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Finding a countersheet generator, where Iād input a text file and output automatically-generated counters. This is written for Traveller, and assumes larger counters with a different layout and symbolism, but gives an idea: http://zho.berka.com/rules/war/unit_counter.html
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Finding a new drawing program, one which would let me disable blinking.
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Configuring Wineskin to disable blinking and running Windows LOO or Windows OO to run in it. I have not been successful.
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Configuring WINE in the same manner.
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Configuring Linux Mint on a thumb drive. This looks like the best bet. Maybe I could configure MacOS Yosemite, too, on another thumb drive, for when I need older versions of Quartz.
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Point of order: if it is coded, expected behaviour, it is not a bug.
I understand it is detrimental to you personally. As a counter-example:
My eyes donāt like tracking things on a screen. In a car, walking down the street, I notice movement as much or slightly more than the next person, but I often have to deliberately wave the mouse around on a screen to find the pointer. I just donāt see it. When itās life-or-death (ie: in traffic) I do, but otherwise that just shuts off, mostly to save myself eyestrain.
I need those blinking cursors and marching marquees to figure out what the hell is going on with my file. Iām the sort of user who fusses around endlessly with things like default fonts and customizable shortcut keys (and as you might expect from what I said above, I use shortcut keys a lot).
We could never use the same computer, thatās for sure. However, that does not make the features I need āwrongā or ābugsā any more than the features you need are āwrongā. It would be ableist for either of us to say so.
The root requirement is flexibility.
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Huh. I just learned something.
In Ubuntu, if you go to Settings and choose Keyboard, you can turn all cursor blinking off, for all applications:
I tried unchecking it, and yeah! no more blinking. I opened the LibreOffice word processor. No blinking there either.
TIL.
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Does it also turn off the marching migraine ants?
(I would argue that the lack of flexibility in loo core is a bug.)
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As the only non-migraine sufferer in a family of migraine sufferers, I wouldnāt know. My family members all get migraines from lack of sleep and/or stress, plus some food items that are different for each individual.
I get killer eyestrain headaches from fluorescent lights (which I have studied and worked under from the age of 5 until the present day, age 47), reading in too-bright light, and looking at a monitor with a too-low refresh rate.
The eyestrain headaches include making text look āstreakyā, muscle pain, and loads of other fun stuff. The best way to stop them is to take off my glasses or pop out my contacts, and stare out a window at nothing in particular. My eyesight is bad enough without lenses that ānothing in particularā is the only option anyhow.
How I deal with it at work: if itās a nice day and Iām meeting people in a boardroom with windows, I ask if we can keep the lights off and enjoy the natural lighting. If Iām at my desk, I stare out the window when Iām thinking over a problem.
Iām bringing this up because Iāve worked with both deaf and learning-disabled kids (and some who were both). Each one of them needed to work out what mix of available resources worked for them. Not their parents, not the technicians, not the teachers ā them. Perceptual/sensing issues are nearly impossible to work out for other people.
Which is why, in the two decades Iāve been on the internet, this is probably only the second or third time Iāve even mentioned this.
And now, because Iāve been looking at this screen all day, Iām going to log out. Goodnight.
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Goodnight. Iāve found that sunglasses can really help with flourescent lights. I use Polare sunglasses. I hope something like that can help you.
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