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Create Cheat Sheets!

How To Build a Cheat Sheet

A cheat sheet is a free quick-reference guide to, well, anything. It is usually made up of a collection of boxes of content. To make a cheat sheet, you add as many boxes of content as you like to a blank cheat sheet, and when you're finished you click "Publish" to let other people see it.

I can see that you are not yet a member (or you're not logged in). So before we carry on with this short guide, would you mind registering here or logging in, please?

Let's get started! Click here to give your new cheat sheet a name!

Once you've named your cheat sheet, you can choose:

  • What colour you want your cheat sheet to be
  • How many columns you want in your cheat sheet
  • Tags, to help other people find your cheat sheet

As you edit and add to your cheat sheet, new PDFs will be built automatically. Click on the "Downloads" link at the top left of the cheat sheet page to see the latest PDF. (It might say "Building New PDFs", in which case you'll need to give it a moment to finish the build process before you can download a new PDF.)

Every cheat sheet is made up of blocks of content, and there are several different types of blocks on Cheatography for you to choose from:

Plain

  • Text
    A text block is a simple content type - whatever you type into the box is what appears on the page!
  • Code
    The code block is similar to the text block, except that it preserves your whitespace and uses a monospaced font. Ideal for adding, well, code to a cheat sheet.

Lists

  • One to Four Columns
    The list blocks are the most commonly used on Cheatography. They can be one to four columns of content, and display in striped rows to make them easier to read. These are like tables, and ideal for small pieces of reference material.
  • Bar Chart
    The bar chart content type takes a series of labels and numeric values and generates a simple bar chart from the result.
  • Question and Answer
    Question and answer blocks display a question, followed by the answser indented underneath. (These are also useful for listing command-line commands with explanations following them.)

Media

  • Image
    Sometimes text just isn't good enough, so if you feel the urge, add some imagery to your cheat sheets! Logos, diagrams, photos - all will work. It's worth bearing in mind that the PDF doesn't allow people to zoom in easily, so try to keep your images from being too large if you can.
  • Video
    Video content blocks don't work with PDFs, but for the web versions of cheat sheets they are ideal for adding in rich media content. The video content type supports YouTube and Vimeo.

Live

Structural

  • Column Break
    This content type affects the PDFs, and forces the following content block to start in a new column.
  • Page Break
    This content type affects the PDFs, and forces the following content block to start in a new page.

Frequently Asked Questions

  • Why do I need to "publish" my cheat sheet?

    Publishing your cheat sheet means it goes from a draft status, where only you can see it, to a published status, where everybody can. You can still edit your cheat sheet after you've published it. The most recently published cheat sheets are very prominent on the site, so best to wait until you're happy with your work to publish it.

  • Can I use images or video in my cheat sheet?

    Yes, you can! There are two block types for media - images and video. Images are uploaded to the site, and will be added to the PDF versions. Videos can be linked to on YouTube or Vimeo, but aren't added to PDFs - instead, we add a link to the video.

  • Can I see examples of the different block types?

    Yes! There (almost inevitably) is a cheat sheet for making cheat sheets on Cheatography. How wonderfully cyclical.

  • What happened to the "content blocks"?

    The first version of Cheatography had the blocks of content on a page available independently of cheat sheets, but this was making the creation of cheat sheets too complicated and slow, so we made it simpler. The content blocks are still there, but now you add and edit them directly from the cheat sheet page.

Tips! Do:

  • Ask for feedback! Fresh eyes can help you identify areas that need more detail.

  • Pick a dark colour! A dark colour makes your cheat sheet easier to read.

  • Proofread! Once your brand new cheat sheet has been downloaded hundreds of times, realising you made an obvious, terrible typo on an important line is very frustrating.

Tips! Don't:

  • Don't copy content! Make sure you post content you write yourself or that you have permission to use.

  • Don't publish too soon! You only get to publish once, and when you publish your cheat sheet will be seen all over the site, so make it count and make sure your cheat sheet is right before you publish!

Need Some Help?

If you're having trouble, please check out our introduction videos (coming soon) or our help section. If you're still not getting anywhere, please email us: support@cheatography.com.