34 replies to this topic

[BT Jeppesen]

While editing my thesis novel in Storyist, I realized one important thing that Storyist is missing that has always been a part of my workflow. Multiple-color highlights.

Traditionally, I have eight different color highlighters. Each contains a different meaning. For example, I use red for redundant (notice that redundant starts with the color red) and green for grammatical errors. when I'm done with my highlighting pass through the manuscript, I can go through and search for specific types of highlights depending on what I'm in the mood to fix at the time.

It would be awesome to have a Highlighting and Commenting Palette. It would contain a list of user-defined types of edits, each with an assigned color chosen from the standard OS X color palette. Next to each is a checkmark which the user can uncheck to hide all comments of that type (similar to the way you can hide layers in Photoshop). Additionally, each user-defined type would have the circular forward and back buttons to cycle through the edits of that type in the manuscript. This allows me to easily move from one redundancy to the next.

What do you guys think? Any additions or modifications to my idea? And how many of you would find something like this useful? High demand = Willing Steve = Happy Brian.

Ever the highlighter,
Brian

[Thoth]

Hi BT.

I do my Storyist highlighting using Format > Font > Show Colors, on selected text. Being able to assign formal meaning to each color would be useful but I've found notations in Notes on color meaning sufficient. A color-cycle button would be nice but not a high priority. But being able to SEARCH for a particular color would be very cool.

Lukewarm Demand = Sedate Brian?

- Thoth.

[BT Jeppesen]

Thoth, on Sep 21 2009, 03:08 PM, said:

Hi BT.

I do my Storyist highlighting using Format > Font > Show Colors, on selected text. Being able to assign formal meaning to each color would be useful but I've found notations in Notes on color meaning sufficient. A color-cycle button would be nice but not a high priority. But being able to SEARCH for a particular color would be very cool.

Lukewarm Demand = Sedate Brian?

- Thoth.

I won't murder anyone, at least, over lukewarm demand. Can't promise any more than that. Your method works somewhat, but the ability to cycle through a particular kind of edit would be invaluable. Of course, we still need a track changes feature, which could be part of this setup. When track changes is turned on, it creates its own highlight type, highlights the changes in that color while adding a note on what the change was. You can then cycle through the changes made with track changes using the same palette system. Edits in the Track Changes palette would also have the accept and reject buttons expected in track changes features.

[Thoth]

Yep. The ability to track changes does come up from time to time. I think the last time was July/Aug, when Nadin brought it up (click here). So there is certainly interest in it. But I don't know where this feature would fall on Steve's priority list.

Murder over a Feature Request? (Well, maybe bookmarks...)
- Thoth

[BT Jeppesen]

Thoth, on Sep 22 2009, 09:45 AM, said:

Yep. The ability to track changes does come up from time to time. I think the last time was July/Aug, when Nadin brought it up (click here). So there is certainly interest in it. But I don't know where this feature would fall on Steve's priority list.

Murder over a Feature Request? (Well, maybe bookmarks...)
- Thoth

Where? Probably in Istanbul. I'm just guessing though.

Murder over a Feature Request? Of course. I'm a horror writer. That makes me evil. I've yet to eat anyone though. That's next on my priority list.

On that note, you wanna stop by my place for dinner?

Briannible

[Thoth]

BT Jeppesen, on Sep 22 2009, 02:47 PM, said:

On that note, you wanna stop by my place for dinner?
Briannible

Wait. Does that make me Clarice Starling or "Buffalo Bill" ?

[BT Jeppesen]

Thoth, on Sep 22 2009, 06:26 PM, said:

Wait. Does that make me Clarice Starling or "Buffalo Bill" ?

Definitely Clarice. I've always thought of you as a Clarice.

[Thoth]

BT Jeppesen, on Sep 22 2009, 11:14 PM, said:

Definitely Clarice. I've always thought of you as a Clarice.

Aw. That's sweet. Expect an FBI Task Force at your door for breakfast.

Yes, Thomas Harris has made me the man I am today. Ridley Scott?
- Thoth.

[BT Jeppesen]

Thoth, on Sep 22 2009, 09:06 PM, said:

Aw. That's sweet. Expect an FBI Task Force at your door for breakfast.

Yes, Thomas Harris has made me the man I am today. Ridley Scott?
- Thoth.

I'm confused by the Ridley Scott reference. I'm gonna go have a beer or five.

[Thoth]

BT Jeppesen, on Sep 23 2009, 01:59 AM, said:

I'm confused by the Ridley Scott reference. I'm gonna go have a beer or five.

Ridley Scott directed "Hannibal" (the film version of the Harris book). He also produced it with Dino De Laurentiis.

You did know that these chronicles of Hannibal Lecter have all been made into movies. Right, my little confusling?
Have a pint on me.
- Thoth episode IV.

[Joolissa]

Sorry to interrupt your cannibal love fest, but going back to the original post. That definitely sounds like a cool set of features. I'll second it to keep my name off the menu.


"But that my children, is called cannibalism which is frowned upon in most societies!"
- Jules

[Thoth]

Julia Grace, on Oct 4 2009, 09:51 AM, said:

Sorry to interrupt your cannibal love fest, but going back to the original post. That definitely sounds like a cool set of features. I'll second it to keep my name off the menu.

Aw. We were just having a little horror writer fun there, Jules. (Do you believe they actually made a Saw 6? Who's left alive?)

Julia Grace, on Oct 4 2009, 09:51 AM, said:

"But that my children, is called cannibalism which is frowned upon in most societies!"
- Jules

"Wafers and wine, my fine young cannibal. Wafers and wine."
- Thoth.

[Joolissa]

Didn't the jigsaw guy die? Seriously.... those movies should have stopped after the first one. Zombie movies need a break too.....

What is that quote from Thoth?

- J

[Thoth]

Julia Grace, on Oct 5 2009, 10:39 AM, said:

Didn't the jigsaw guy die? Seriously.... those movies should have stopped after the first one. Zombie movies need a break too.....

I know! And now Zombie World? Well, I do rather like the funny ones.

Julia Grace, on Oct 5 2009, 10:39 AM, said:

What is that quote from Thoth?

"The Vampire Lestat" (Anne Rice, 1985).
Ms Rice also writes de-fanged BDSM novels under the pseudonyms of Anne Rampling and A.N. Roquelaure.

Raise a cup of B-positive and toast the immortal genre of the children of the night.
"Buhlee buhlaaaa. I vaunt to suck your toes"...Wait, let me check on that Dracula quote.
- Thoth.

[Joolissa]

Never mind indeed.... all I can do is shake my head and laugh.

[whirlybird]

Hi All.

I'm a fairly new user of Storyist and a brand new poster so please bear with me. I want to say, also, that I have found these forums very helpful in using my favorite writing app, Storyist.

I would like to add my name to those who would request a highlighting feature on Storyist. Others have suggested changing the color of the text for what they believe might accomplish the same thing. My problem with that reasoning is this. When I highlight my text with, say, a soft yellow I can still read the text while being gently reminded that I need to pay more attention to the highlighted area. If, instead, I use the same yellow color for my text, I can barely read the letters on the page.

So, Steve, I really hope you will consider making highlighting a possibility in the future.

Thank you.

Whirlybird

[Thoth]

Hi Whirlybird, and welcome to the forum.

whirlybird, on 12 October 2011 - 03:08 PM, said:

... When I highlight my text with, say, a soft yellow I can still read the text while being gently reminded that I need to pay more attention to the highlighted area. If, instead, I use the same yellow color for my text, I can barely read the letters on the page.
...

I think you make an excellent point.
It's not really a problem for me since I always write at 200% zoom but I can see how it could be a problem for others.
Thank you for bringing it up.
Perhaps if we massage this request enough we can get it into a shape Steve will like.
-Thoth.

[whirlybird]

Hi Thoth.

Thanks so much for the warm welcome.

I'm usually using the 150 to 200 % zoom myself. I haven't had to resort to glasses yet (the big 5-0 is just around the corner so I am very thankful) but I often write on my 11" Air where screen real estate is at a minimum. Also, I have Lion on this Air so I can't use the 'control' and two fingers forward to make the whole screen bigger like I could on Snow Leopard. I know there's a similar way to do it on Lion but it only makes what's in the windows bigger causing much of what's written to disappear around the edges.

I think the bottom line becomes the fact that I am a visual person where colors call out to me. The yellow or green or even red fonts seem to blend into the background too much but the highlighted softer colors actually push the black text towards the foreground more while still being subtle.

I've see your posts all over this forum, Thoth, and I have to say I thoroughly enjoy them. They're also very information and helpful. Thanks for helping me with the massage ;-)

Whirlybird (I'm so proud to actually have an Avatar. My first ever)

[Thoth]

whirlybird, on 12 October 2011 - 04:29 PM, said:

I think the bottom line becomes the fact that I am a visual person where colors call out to me. The yellow or green or even red fonts seem to blend into the background too much but the highlighted softer colors actually push the black text towards the foreground more while still being subtle.

As a writer, you have to do what works for you.

whirlybird, on 12 October 2011 - 04:29 PM, said:

I've see your posts all over this forum, Thoth, and I have to say I thoroughly enjoy them. They're also very information and helpful. Thanks for helping me with the massage ;-)

You're very welcome.

whirlybird, on 12 October 2011 - 04:29 PM, said:

...I'm so proud to actually have an Avatar. My first ever

And it's a good one too. (It could be an album cover.)

Closer to 60 than 50,
-Thoth

[whirlybird]

Hi Troth,

Do you do anything special to help you keep those areas or words that you may have to rework, etc easily visible to you? It's always nice to hear other people's ideas and see if they work for me.

You're very welcome. You've made me feel right at home.

I've decided, since I'll be turning 50 on the 21st, that life only begins from 50 onward. The rest was just practice ;-)

Whirlybird

PS-Thanks for the compliment on my Avatar. It's my sister, a friend, and I in our new backyard riding our whirlybird (I'm assuming that was the name on the box when purchased but I would have been too young to know and the rest are too old to remember), thus the name. If only my fingers wouldn't keep misspelling it.