I wrote Page-o-Mat because I had an idea for a paper journal that I wanted to make. I could have just made a PDF, but making each page was a repetitive task that was easier to do with code. I could have just made a python script to make just that journal, but I was still designing the journal, so I put some configuration in a YAML file. Once I did that, the config grew to the point that it became a language for making journals. I made my 2023 journal with it and got it printed by LuLu.

In mid 2023, I wanted to make a different kind of journal (one for writing Morning Pages), and so I added some features to draw shapes on pages, which I also used to make covers. Later that year, I made my 2024 journal with it without needing more features. I hadn’t touched it since then.

I like my custom paper journals, but they are thick and heavy, so I am trying something different for 2025. I finally found an E-Ink tablet that I can use to replace my Kindle and get a more portable writing/journaling solution too.

I’ve been looking at E-Ink writable tablets. After considering the Kindle Scribe, Daylight, and Remarkable, I decided that I cared about a few things:

1. It had to be hard to use the machine for anything but reading and writing because I want it to be more like factory equipment.
2. It had to have a long battery life (like the Kindle).
3. It had to be easy to get files to and from the device (unlike the Kindle).
4. It had to be able to read Kindle books.
5. It had to be readable in sunlight (I live in Florida and read at the beach).
6. It had to be A5-sized.

The only device I found that met all of these criteria was something that Supernote used to make and said they would make again. I signed up for updates and waited. Then, I forgot it existed. I almost got a Daylight in the meantime, which is a nice device, but it’s too nice—it can easily run any Android software, so it’s too general purpose. I want a “worse is better” machine.

But a few weeks ago, I got an email from Supernote that the A5 is available, so I bought one—it arrives later today. In the meantime, I’ve been reading more about its capabilities, and I see that I can make my own planner for it by just bringing over a PDF, which is what Page-o-Mat produces.

I could make one just like my 2023/2024 planners right now with Page-o-Mat, but one of the advantages of an electronic journal is internal linking. So, I could be looking at a page of all months, tap and jump to a month overview, then tap and jump to a day overview (and back). All you need to do is add tappable zones to the PDF that link to a page.

So, yesterday, I added simple support for that to Page-o-Mat and pushed up the change along with a simple example.

This won’t be enough for my 2025 journal, but helped me get back into the codebase again. I have a week to get the features in so I can make a journal and use it on January 1st.