10 replies to this topic

[Eugenia]

Hello, I found that this forum is extremely helpful -- thank you. As I learn to use the software, I am sure there will be more questions.
But the next question is the following -- my novel is a family saga with characters changing and growing up from children to mature adults and elderly. The sceneries of the same place change as well. So - how can I have several images in the same Character sheet? In the same Settings sheet (the street in 1970, then in 2000 for example...?
Do I create a separate character sheet for every age? Should I link the two Characters as one? Can I?
Linking the same setting but of different year?

Please let me what is the best way to handle these changes through the years....
Thank you for your assistance.
E

[Marguerite]

Hi, Eugenia,
If you just want multiple images of a character, click on an individual character name in the Project View, choose View > as Grid. You should see your main character image (the one on the sheet itself) all on its lonesome against a gray background. Drag as many other images as you wish onto the gray background. This assumes you already dragged the images from somewhere on your computer into the Images folder in Storyist.

If you would also like to keep separate information on a character at different ages, I suggest you set up a folder named, say, Jane. Then you can have sheets inside the folder called Jane - Child, Jane - Teen, etc., each with its own image and info. To see all the images at once, click on the Jane folder and choose View > as Storyboard.

You go back and forth by choosing View > as Text and View > as Storyboard.

In all these cases, that means click on the View menu and select as Text or as Storyboard from the dropdown menu.

And welcome to Storyist and the forums!
Marguerite

[Marguerite]

P.S. Settings operate in exactly the same way.

[Eugenia]

Marguerite, on 08 December 2011 - 12:32 AM, said:

P.S. Settings operate in exactly the same way.

Dear Marguerite,
Thank you for your quick answer -- that really helped! I appreciate your assistance very much.
What a wonderful support this software has!

Wishing you all the best and successful writing!
E

[whirlybird]

Marguerite, on 08 December 2011 - 12:30 AM, said:

Hi, Eugenia,
If you just want multiple images of a character, click on an individual character name in the Project View, choose View > as Grid. You should see your main character image (the one on the sheet itself) all on its lonesome against a gray background. Drag as many other images as you wish onto the gray background. This assumes you already dragged the images from somewhere on your computer into the Images folder in Storyist.

If you would also like to keep separate information on a character at different ages, I suggest you set up a folder named, say, Jane. Then you can have sheets inside the folder called Jane - Child, Jane - Teen, etc., each with its own image and info. To see all the images at once, click on the Jane folder and choose View > as Grid.

You go back and forth by choosing View > as Text and View > as Grid.

In all these cases, that means click on the View menu and select as Text or as Grid from the dropdown menu.

And welcome to Storyist and the forums!
Marguerite

Hi M.

I always seem to have a problem in my Character sheets. Whenever I get to the part for the physical description and put my cursor say on age, it either jumps up to the area for the name of the character or in the summary area.

As for the View as grid. If you're telling me to go to the very top of the menu bar, I have view as Text, Line, or Storyboard but no Grid. Am I in the wrong place or just losing my mind?

-W

[Thoth]

whirlybird, on 19 December 2011 - 08:06 PM, said:

I always seem to have a problem in my Character sheets. Whenever I get to the part for the physical description and put my cursor say on age, it either jumps up to the area for the name of the character or in the summary area .... Am I in the wrong place or just losing my mind?

I don't know if you're going crazy, Whirly, but you may have a small targeting problem. The labels on the sheets are active buttons that bring up menus, so you have to be careful where you click. They all extend one space past the colon, so click just past there to get your cursor positioned properly.
Click it good for me.
-Thoth

[whirlybird]

Thoth, on 20 December 2011 - 04:35 AM, said:

I don't know if you're going crazy, Whirly, but you may have a small targeting problem. The labels on the sheets are active buttons that bring up menus, so you have to be careful where you click. They all extend one space past the colon, so click just past there to get your cursor positioned properly.
Click it good for me.
-Thoth

Hi T.

I was actually hoping it was just a targeting problem but, alas, no. I know the labels are active buttons with menus because I've changed some and been successful. I've also been successful putting in the height, age, hair color, etc of different characters but not for others. When I point to the active button without clicking it turns blue. When I point it just to the right of that it turns into a cursor and I can even click and the cursor line (whatever it's called) is there but it doesn't stay there. If I click there and start typing it jumps up to the top of the sheet where the characters name goes.

Sorry, T, I was clicking good for you but failed.

-W

[Thoth]

whirlybird, on 20 December 2011 - 02:50 PM, said:

Hi T.

I was actually hoping it was just a targeting problem but, alas, no. I know the labels are active buttons with menus because I've changed some and been successful. I've also been successful putting in the height, age, hair color, etc of different characters but not for others. When I point to the active button without clicking it turns blue. When I point it just to the right of that it turns into a cursor and I can even click and the cursor line (whatever it's called) is there but it doesn't stay there. If I click there and start typing it jumps up to the top of the sheet where the characters name goes.

Sorry, T, I was clicking good for you but failed.

-W

Absolutely no need to apologize, W.
I think you need to report a bug.
Be sure to report which version of Storyist, OSX and Mac you're using.
-T

[whirlybird]

Thoth, on 21 December 2011 - 01:22 AM, said:

Absolutely no need to apologize, W.
I think you need to report a bug.
Be sure to report which version of Storyist, OSX and Mac you're using.
-T

Good idea. I'm just curious though why it seems like I'm the only one experiencing it. Wouldn't a bug affect more people?

-W

[Thoth]

whirlybird, on 21 December 2011 - 04:39 AM, said:

Good idea. I'm just curious though why it seems like I'm the only one experiencing it. Wouldn't a bug affect more people?

That would depend on the nature of the bug. For example, it might just effect a particular platform. On the other hand, perhaps it just went unnoticed or thought to be the result of a hardware problem (undisciplined cursors are sometimes the result of a dirty mouse or trackball). Let Steve take a look at it. Just be sure you explain enough so that he can reproduce it.
-T

[Marguerite]

whirlybird, on 19 December 2011 - 08:06 PM, said:

Hi M.

I always seem to have a problem in my Character sheets. Whenever I get to the part for the physical description and put my cursor say on age, it either jumps up to the area for the name of the character or in the summary area.

As for the View as grid. If you're telling me to go to the very top of the menu bar, I have view as Text, Line, or Storyboard but no Grid. Am I in the wrong place or just losing my mind?

-W

Hi, Whirlybird:
Yes, View as Storyboard is what I meant (this is the trouble with offering assistance when I don't have the program open in front of me). Sorry for the confusion.

Does the problem with the character sheets happen every single time, or only more often than you'd like? I ask because I do occasionally encounter the problem you mention, especially when I have added lots of character fields to the Physical Description area. Usually it goes away if I click around enough, especially if I click, wait, then click again. In extreme cases, I save the file, quit Storyist, and start over. I have reported the behavior to Steve.

But if it is happening every time, you may have encountered something else.
Best,
M