novelWriter is a simple multi-document plain text editor using a modified markdown syntax to - apply simple formatting. Additional features are available through special meta data - commands. These make it possible to generate an overview of the entire novel project and how - the various files are interconnected.
- -The user interface is intended to be as minimalistic as practically possible, and most - features are accessible through the menu and through keyboard shortcuts. The colour scheme - of the user interface can be modified with various themes, and new themes are fairly - straight forward to add. They are separated into gui and syntax themes, and can be found in - the themes folder in the source code.
- -The tree view has various sections for the various types of supporting files that the User - may want to add to the project. The novel itself lives under its own root folder, and export - features are in the process of being added. These will include HTML, open document and PDF - via LaTeX.
- - -A novelWriter project requires a dedicated folder for storing its files. See the - Technical Information section for further details.
-A new project can be created from the Project menu by selecting Project > New - Project. A list of recently opened projects is also maintained and can be selected - from the menu.
-The project specific settings are available in Project > Project Settings. See - further details below.
- - -Projects are structured into a set of root folders in the left side tree view panel.
-The core novel files go into a root folder of type Novel. Other supporting files - go into root folders of types Plot, Characters, - Locations, Timeline, Objects or Custom. - These other root folder types are intended for your notes on the various elements of your - story. Using these are of course entirely optional.
-| Novel | -The root folder of all text that goes into the final novel. This class of files have - other rules and features than other files in the project. See the - Novel Structure section for more details. | -
| Plot | -This is the root folder where main plots can be outlined. It is optional, but adding - at least dummy files can be useful in order to generate the timeline view. | -
| Characters | -Character files go in this root folder. These are especially important if one wants - to use the timeline view to see which character appears where and which part of the - story is told from a specific character's point-of-view. | -
| Locations | -Location is for various scene locations that one wants to track in the timeline - view if that applies to the story. | -
| Timeline | -If the story jumps in time within the same plot, this class of files can be used to - track this. | -
| Objects | -Important objects in the story can be tracked here, and connected to the timeline as - well. | -
| Custom | -the custom root folder can be used for tracking anything else not covered by the - above options. | -
Deleted files will be moved into a special TRASH root folder. Currently, these - files cannot be permanently deleted from the project.
- -In the event the editor crashes or otherwise exits without saving the project state, files - that have been added to the project tree and are saved to disk will appear in a special - "Orphaned Items" root folder next time the application is started. These orphaned files will - not have any meta data associated with them, so the title and other information has to be - set again, and the files moved back to the correct location in the project.
- -Folders, aside from root folders, have no structural significance to the project. They are - there purely as a way for the user to organise the files in meaningful sections and to be - able to close them in the tree view. When processing the files in the novel, the folders are - ignored.
- - -The project settings can be accessed from the Project > Project Settings menu - entry. This will open a dialog box.
- -The Settings tab holds the project title and author settings. Working Title can be - set to a different title than the Book Title. The difference between them is simply - that the Working Title is used for the GUI (main window title) and when the export features - are added can optionally be printed to the cover sheet. The Book Title, on the other hand, - will only be printed to the title page on export.
-The Book Authors text box takes one author per line. The line breaks matter in that - this is converted to a list for later correct formatting.
- -Each file of type NOVEL can be given a status level, signified by a coloured - icon. These are purely there for the user's convenience, and you are not required to use - them for any other feature to work. The intention is to use this list to set what stage of - writing you are on, although you can in principle make them whatever you want.
-Note that status levels currently in use by a file cannot be deleted.
- -Each file of types PLOT, CHARACTER, WORLD, - TIMELINE, OBJECT or CUSTOM can be given an importance - level, signified by a coloured icon like for status level. These are also purely there for - the user's convenience, and you are not required to use them for any other feature to work. - The intention is to use this list to set how important the character, plot element, or - otherwise, is for the story. Again, these can in principle be used for whatever you want. -
Note that importance levels currently in use by a file cannot be deleted.
- -A set of automatically replaced keywords can be added in this tab. The keywords in the left - column wile be replaced by the text in the right column when documents are opened in the - viewer. This will also be applied to exports when the feature is added.
-Note that a keyword cannot contain any spaces. The angle brackets are dded by default, and - when used in the text are a part of the keyword to be replaced. This is to ensure that parts - of the text isn't unintentionally replaced by the content of the list.
- - -New document files can be created from the Document menu, or by pressing Ctrl+N - while in the tree view pane. This will create a new, empty file, and open the item settings - dialog where the filename and various other settings can be set. This dialog can also be - opened again later from either the menu, Project > Edit item, or by pressing - Ctrl+E or F2 with the item selected.
-The different classes of documents have some restrictions.
- - -An automatic backup system is built into novelWriter. In order to use it, a backup path to - where the backups are to be stored needs to be provided in Tools > Preferences. - Backups can be run automatically when a project is closed, which also implies it is run when - the application is closed. Backups are date stamped zip files of the entire project - folder.
- -The backup feature, when configured, can also be run manually from the Tools - menu.
- -For the backup to be able to run, the Working Title must be set in Project - Settings. This value is used to generate the file name. It is also possible to - dissable automated backup for a given project in its project settings.
- - -This section concerns files under the Novel type root folder. There are some - restrictions and features that only applies to these type of files.
- - -Subfolders under root folders have no impact on the structure of the novel itself. The - structure is instead dictated by the heading level. Four levels of headings are supported, - signified by the number of hashes preceding the title. See the - Markdown section.
-The header levels are not only important when generating the exported novel file, but is also - used by the indexer and timeline view. Each heading starts a new region where new references - to tags can be set, and will show up as a new row in the timeline view.
-The different header levels are interpreted as specific section types of the novel.
-| # Header1 | -Header level 1 signifies that the text refers to either the novel title or the - name of a top level partition. | -
| ## Header2 | -Header level 2 signifies a chapter level partition. | -
| ### Header3 | -Header level 3 signifies a scene level partition. | -
| #### Header4 | -Header level 4 signifies a sub-scene level partition. | -
Each section started by a heading can contain references to tags set in the supporting files - of the project. See the File Tags section.
-The references are gathered by the indexer and used to generate the timeline view of how the - different parts of the novel are connected.
-References are set as keyword and a list of corresponding tags. The valid keywords are listed - below. The format of such a line is @keyword: value1, [value2] ... [valueN]. - Note that not all keywords allow multiple values.
-| @pov | -The point-of-view character for the current section. The target must be a note tag - in the character root folder. Only one value is accepted. further values are - ignored. | -
| @char | -Other characters in the current section. The target must be a note tag in the - character root folder. Multiple values are allowed. This should not include the - point-of-view character. | -
| @plot | -The plot timelines touched by the current section. The target must be a note tag in - the plot root folder. Multiple values are allowed. | -
| @time | -The timelines touched by the current section. The target must be a note tag in the - timeline root folder. Multiple values are allowed. | -
| @location | -The location the current section takes place in. The target must be a note tag in - the locations root folder. Multiple values are allowed. | -
| @object | -Objects present in the current section. The target must be a note tag in the object - root folder. Multiple values are allowed. | -
| @custom | -Custom references in the current section. The target must be a note tag in the - custom root folder. Multiple values are allowed. | -
the syntax highlighter will alert the user that only the correct keywords are used, and that - the tags referenced exist. If the index of defined tags is out of date, press - F9 to regenerate it, or select Tools > Rebuild Indices from the - menu. In general, the index for a file is regenerated when a file is saved, so this - shouldn't normally be necessary.
- - -Files that exist under the NOVEL type root folder can have a number of layouts - set. See overview below. These layouts are currently not used for any internal feature, but - when the export feature is added they will be important in determining how the different - sections of the novel is formatted.
-| Title Page | -The title page layout. The title should be formatted as a heading level one. | -
| Book | -In principle, the entire novel can be contained in a single file. In that case, use - the Book layout on this file. The internal structure is then controlled by the - heading levels. | -
| Plain Page | -A plain page is just that, It is not included into content and the heading levels - are ignored. | -
| Partition | -A partition can be used to split a the novel into parts. Use a level one heading for - this. | -
| Chapter | -Signifies the start of a new chapter. If the text itself is contained in scene - files, these files should only contain the title and tag references for characters, - plot, etc. The heading for chapters should be level two. | -
| Un-Numbered | -Same as Chapter, but when exporting the files and automatic chapter numbering is - enabled, this file will not receive a number. | -
| Scene | -A scene file. This file should have a header of level three. Further sections can - have headers of level four. These will not impact the overall structure, but will - allow for setting new characters and plot references in parts of a scene if such - granularity is needed. | -
| Note | -A generic file that is ignored when the novel is exported. These layout is allowed - within the Novel root folder, and is the only layout allowed for a file outside the - Novel root folder. | -
Supporting files, or notes, are any files stored in root folders that are not the Novel root - folder. These files are intended for summaries and outlines of the various plot elements, - characters, locations, and so on, of the novel. These are no required, but making at least - minimal files for each such element makes it possible to use the timeline view feature to - see how each element intersects with each section of the novel itself.
- - -Each note file can have a tag associated with it, The format of a tag is - @tag: tagname, where tagname is a unique identifier. tags can then be - referenced in the novel files and will then show up as dots in the timeline view.
-The syntax highlighter will alert the user that the keyword is correctly used and that the - tag is allowed. Duplicate tags should be detected as long as the index is up to date.
-The tag is the only part of these files that the application used. The rest of the file is - there for the writer to use in whatever way they wish.
- - -The user interface is kept as simple as possible to avoid distractions. The main window - contains a tree vew pane with the entire structure of the project, and a small details panel - below it to display additional information.
-Editing a document can be done by either double-clicking on it, or hitting the return key - when the item is selected. This will open the source editor which uses a simplified markdown - format described in the section below.
-The document can also be viewed as html with all the comments and commands stripped out. To - view a document, simply press Ctrl+R or select a file and go to Document - > View Document in the menu. The document viewed does not need to be the same - document currently being edited.
- - -the document editor uses a simplified markdown format. That is, it supports basic formatting - like bold, italics and underline, as well as four levels of headings. The formats are listed - below.
-In addition to these standard markdown features, the editor also allows for comments, that is - text that is ignored by the word counter and not exported or seen in the document viewer. - The editor also has a minimal set of commands used for setting tags and references between - files.
-| # Title | -Heading level one. The space after the # is mandatory. | -
| ## Title | -Heading level two. The space after the # is mandatory. | -
| ### Title | -Heading level three. The space after the # is mandatory. | -
| #### Title | -Heading level four. The space after the # is mandatory. | -
| **text** | -The text is renderred as bold text. | -
| _text_ | -The text is renderred as italics text. | -
| __text__ | -The text is renderred as underlined text. | -
| % text... | -A comment. The text is not exported, seen in viewer, or counted towards word counts. | -
| @command: value | -A command followed by a value, or a comma separated list of values. | -
All features are available as keyboard shortcuts. These are as following:
-| Ctrl+Shift+O | -Open a project. | -
| Ctrl+Shift+S | -Save the current project. | -
| Ctrl+Shift+W | -Close the current project. | -
| Ctrl+Shift+, | -Change project settings. | -
| Ctrl+Shift+N | -Create new folder. | -
| Ctrl+E, F2 | -If in tree view, edit a document or folder settings. | -
| Ctrl+Del | -If in tree view, move a document to trash, or delete a folder. | -
| Ctrl+Q | -Exit novelWriter. | -
| Ctrl+N | -Create new document. | -
| Ctrl+O | -Open selected document. | -
| Return | -If in tree view, open a document for editing. | -
| Ctrl+S | -Save the current document in the editor. | -
| Ctrl+W | -Close the current document in the editor. | -
| Ctrl+R | -If in tree view, open a document for viewing. If in editor pane, open current document for viewing. | -
| Ctrl+Shift+R | -Close the document view pane. | -
| Ctrl+Z | -Undo latest changes. | -
| Ctrl+Y | -Redo latest undo. | -
| Ctrl+C | -Copy selected text to clipboard. | -
| Ctrl+X | -Cut selected text to clipboard. | -
| Ctrl+V | -Paste text from clipboard to cursor position. | -
| Ctrl+A | -Select all text in document. | -
| Ctrl+Shift+A | -Select all text in current paragraph. | -
| Ctrl+1 | -Switch focus to tree view pane. | -
| Ctrl+2 | -Switch focus to document editor pane. | -
| Ctrl+3 | -Switch focus to document viewer pane. | -
| Ctrl+T | -Show project timeline. | -
| Ctrl+B | -Format selected text, or word under cursor, as bold. | -
| Ctrl+I | -Format selected text, or word under cursor, as italic. | -
| Ctrl+U | -Format selected text, or word under cursor, as underline. | -
| Ctrl+D | -Wrap selected text, or word under cursor, in double quotes. | -
| Ctrl+Shift+D | -Wrap selected text, or word under cursor, in single quotes. | -
| Ctrl+Shift+Up | -Move item one step up in the tree view. | -
| Ctrl+Shift+Down | -Move item one step down in the tree view. | -
| Ctrl+F7 | -Toggle spell checking. | -
| F7 | -Re-run spell checker. | -
| Ctrl+. | -Correct word under cursor. | -
| F9 | -Re-build project indices. | -
| F1 | -Open documentation. | -
This section contains details of how novelWriter stores and handles the project data.
- - -The project itself requires a dedicated folder for storing its files. The main project file - is stored as an XML file with the name nwProject.nwx. This file contains all - the meta data unique for the project. That includes project settings.
-If this file is lost or corrupted, the structure of the project is lost. It is important to - keep this file backed up.
-The project XML file is suitable for diff tools and version control, although a timesetamp is - set in the meta section on line 2 each time the file is saved.
- -The project documents are saved in folders staring with data_. Each document has - a file handle taken from the first 13 characters of a SHA256 hash of the system time. the - documents are saved with a folder and filename derived from this hash.
-The reason for this is to avoid issues with file naming conventions and restrictions. The - file name set in the tree view is only saved in the project XML file.
-Each document file contains a plain text version of the text from the editor. The file can in - principle be edited in any text editor, and is suitable for diffing and version control if - so desired.
- - - \ No newline at end of file diff --git a/novelWriter.py b/novelWriter.py index 76b04378..88070229 100755 --- a/novelWriter.py +++ b/novelWriter.py @@ -3,6 +3,10 @@ import sys +if sys.hexversion < 0x030500F0: + print("ERROR: At least Python 3.5 is required") + exit(1) + try: import PyQt5.QtWidgets import PyQt5.QtGui diff --git a/nw/__init__.py b/nw/__init__.py index 196ae094..1f644260 100644 --- a/nw/__init__.py +++ b/nw/__init__.py @@ -28,6 +28,7 @@ __maintainer__ = "Veronica Berglyd Olsen" __email__ = "code@vkbo.net" __status__ = "Development" __url__ = "https://github.com/vkbo/novelWriter" +__docurl__ = "https://novelwriter.readthedocs.io" __credits__ = [ "Veronica Berglyd Olsen (developer)", "Marian Lückhof (contributor, tester)" diff --git a/nw/config.py b/nw/config.py index 722f4141..dbe6c3c5 100644 --- a/nw/config.py +++ b/nw/config.py @@ -12,6 +12,7 @@ import logging import configparser +import sys import nw from os import path, mkdir, getcwd @@ -114,6 +115,30 @@ class Config: self.verPyQtPatch = verQt[2] self.verPyQtValue = verQt[3] + # Check Python Version + self.verPyString = sys.version.split()[0] + self.verPyMajor = sys.version_info[0] + self.verPyMinor = sys.version_info[1] + self.verPyPatch = sys.version_info[2] + self.verPyHexVal = sys.hexversion + + # Check OS Type + self.osType = sys.platform + self.osLinux = False + self.osWindows = False + self.osDarwin = False + self.osUnknown = False + if self.osType.startswith("linux"): + self.osLinux = True + elif self.osType.startswith("darwin"): + self.osDarwin = True + elif self.osType.startswith("win32"): + self.osWindows = True + elif self.osType.startswith("cygwin"): + self.osWindows = True + else: + self.osUnknown = True + return ## diff --git a/nw/gui/docviewer.py b/nw/gui/docviewer.py index d2062b87..68cba7ec 100644 --- a/nw/gui/docviewer.py +++ b/nw/gui/docviewer.py @@ -13,7 +13,7 @@ import logging import nw -from PyQt5.QtCore import Qt, QUrl +from PyQt5.QtCore import Qt from PyQt5.QtWidgets import QTextBrowser from PyQt5.QtGui import QTextOption, QFont, QPalette, QColor @@ -91,10 +91,6 @@ class GuiDocViewer(QTextBrowser): def loadText(self, tHandle): - if tHandle == "Help": - self.loadHelp() - return True - tItem = self.theProject.getItem(tHandle) if tItem is None: logger.warning("Item not found") @@ -118,14 +114,6 @@ class GuiDocViewer(QTextBrowser): return True - def loadHelp(self): - - self.clearViewer() - self.setSearchPaths([self.mainConf.helpPath]) - self.setSource(QUrl("index.html")) - - return True - ## # Internal Functions ## diff --git a/nw/gui/mainmenu.py b/nw/gui/mainmenu.py index cf67d4ce..0c33c8a1 100644 --- a/nw/gui/mainmenu.py +++ b/nw/gui/mainmenu.py @@ -13,7 +13,8 @@ import logging import nw -from PyQt5.QtGui import QIcon +from PyQt5.QtCore import QUrl +from PyQt5.QtGui import QIcon, QDesktopServices from PyQt5.QtWidgets import QMenuBar, QAction, QMessageBox from nw.enum import nwItemType, nwItemClass, nwDocAction @@ -145,6 +146,10 @@ class GuiMainMenu(QMenuBar): msgBox.aboutQt(self.theParent,"About Qt") return True + def _openHelp(self): + QDesktopServices.openUrl(QUrl(nw.__docurl__)) + return True + ## # Menu Builders ## @@ -604,7 +609,7 @@ class GuiMainMenu(QMenuBar): menuItem = QAction("Documentation", self) menuItem.setStatusTip("View documentation") menuItem.setShortcut("F1") - menuItem.triggered.connect(lambda : self.theParent.viewDocument("Help")) + menuItem.triggered.connect(self._openHelp) self.helpMenu.addAction(menuItem) return diff --git a/nw/gui/winmain.py b/nw/gui/winmain.py index 8a5d28ff..8e37a61d 100644 --- a/nw/gui/winmain.py +++ b/nw/gui/winmain.py @@ -60,8 +60,10 @@ class GuiMain(QMainWindow): self.theIndex = NWIndex(self.theProject, self) self.hasProject = False - logger.info("Qt5 Version: %s (%d)" % (self.mainConf.verQtString, self.mainConf.verQtValue)) - logger.info("PyQt5 Version: %s (%d)" % (self.mainConf.verPyQtString, self.mainConf.verPyQtValue)) + logger.info("OS: %s" % (self.mainConf.osType)) + logger.info("Qt5 Version: %s (%d)" % (self.mainConf.verQtString, self.mainConf.verQtValue)) + logger.info("PyQt5 Version: %s (%d)" % (self.mainConf.verPyQtString, self.mainConf.verPyQtValue)) + logger.info("Python Version: %s (0x%x)" % (self.mainConf.verPyString, self.mainConf.verPyHexVal)) self.resize(*self.mainConf.winGeometry) self._setWindowTitle()