Updated the introduction section of the docs
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@@ -5,20 +5,22 @@ Introduction
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************
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novelWriter is a simple, multi-document plain text editor using a modified markdown syntax to apply
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simple formatting. It is designed for writing novels, and allows for the component documents to be
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ordered freely to create the desired structure of the novel. More details about how projects are
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structured is covered on the :ref:`a_struct` page.
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simple formatting to the text. It is designed for writing novels, and allows for the component
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documents to be ordered freely to create the desired structure of the novel. More details about how
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projects are structured is covered on the :ref:`a_struct` page.
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In addition, the project can contain notes on the various plot elements, characters, locations, etc,
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that make up the story. These notes are organised in a set of category-specific top-level folders,
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and each entry can be tagged and cross-referenced from within the novel files and other notes. These
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tags make it possible to inter-link documents, and generate an overview of the entire novel project
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and how the various files and plot elements are interconnected. This is covered on the :ref:`a_proj`
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and :ref:`a_notes` pages.
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In addition, the project can contain notes on the various plot elements, characters, locations,
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etc, that make up the story. These notes are organised in a set of category-specific top-level
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folders (root folders), and each entry can be tagged and cross-referenced from within the novel
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files and other note files. These tags make it possible to inter-link documents, and generate an
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overview of the entire novel project and how the various files and plot elements are
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interconnected. This is covered on the :ref:`a_proj` and :ref:`a_notes` pages.
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These additional features are not standard in markdown, but are available through special meta
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keywords. Syntax highlighting is provided to make it easier to verify that the markdown tags are
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used correctly. The syntax is covered on the :ref:`a_ui` page.
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keywords described on :ref:`a_struct_tags`. Syntax highlighting is provided to make it easier to
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verify that the markdown tags are used correctly.
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An overview of the extended markdown syntax is covered on the :ref:`a_ui` page.
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.. _a_intro_design:
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@@ -27,12 +29,12 @@ Design Philosophy
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=================
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The user interface of novelWriter is intended to be as minimalistic as practically possible, while
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at the same time provide a complete set of features needed for writing a novel.
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at the same time provide a complete set of features needed for writing a novel.
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.. note::
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novelWriter is not intended to be a full office type word processor. It doesn't support images,
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links, tables, and other complex structure and objects often needed for such document. Formatting
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is limited to headers, and bold, italicised and strikethrough text.
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links, tables, and other complex structure and objects often needed for such document.
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Formatting is limited to headers, and bold, italicised and strikethrough text.
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The main window does not have a toolbar like most other applications do. This reduces clutter, and
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since the documents are formatted with markdown tags, is more or less redundant. However, all
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@@ -40,14 +42,14 @@ formatting features supported are available through convenient keyboard shortcut
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available in the main menu. A full list of shortcuts can be found in the :ref:`a_ui_shortcuts`
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section.
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In addition, novelWriter offers a :guilabel:`Focus Mode` where all the user interface elements other
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than the document editor itself are hidden away.
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In addition, novelWriter offers a :guilabel:`Distraction Free Mode` where all the user interface
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elements other than the document editor itself are hidden away.
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The colour scheme of the user interface defaults to that of the host operating system. In addition,
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a dark theme is provided, and can be enabled in :guilabel:`Preferences` from the :guilabel:`Tools`
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menu. A number of syntax highlighting themes are also available in :guilabel:`Preferences`. A set of
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icon themes in colour and greyscale are also offered. The icons are based on the Typicons_ icon set
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designed by Stephen Hutchings.
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menu. A number of syntax highlighting themes are also available in :guilabel:`Preferences`. A set
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of icon themes in colour and greyscale are also offered. The icons are based on the Typicons_ icon
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set designed by Stephen Hutchings.
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The main window is split in two, or optionally three, panels. The left-most contains the project
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tree and all the files in your project. The second panel is the document editor, and the optional
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@@ -55,7 +57,7 @@ third panel is a document viewer which can view any document in your project.
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A second tab is also available on the main window. This is the :guilabel:`Outline` tab where the
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entire novel structure can be displayed, with all the tags and references listed. Depending on how
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you structure your novel project files, this outline can be quite different than your project tree.
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you structure your novel project files, this outline can be quite different from your project tree.
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Your project tree lists files, your Outline tree lists the structure of the novel itself.
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.. _Typicons: https://github.com/stephenhutchings/typicons.font
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@@ -79,7 +81,7 @@ The four heading levels (**H1** to **H4**) are treated as follows:
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* **H4** is for section titles within scenes, if such granularity is needed.
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This header level structure is only taken into account for novel files. For the files designated as
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project notes, the header levels imply no structural meaning, and the user is free to do whatever
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project notes, the header levels have no structural meaning, and the user is free to do whatever
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they want. See the :ref:`a_struct` page for more details.
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@@ -88,9 +90,10 @@ they want. See the :ref:`a_struct` page for more details.
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Project Export
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==============
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The project can at any time be exported to a range of different formats. Natively, novelWriter
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supports export to plain text file, HTML document, novelWriter flavoured markdown, standard
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markdown (requires Qt 5.14), and to a basic Open Document.
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The project can at any time be exported to a range of different formats through the
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:guilabel:`Build Novel Project` tool. Natively, novelWriter supports export to plain text file,
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HTML document, novelWriter flavoured markdown, standard markdown (requires Qt 5.14), and to a basic
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Open Document format.
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In addition, printing and printing to PDF is also possible. The best supported export format is
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HTML, which can be imported or converted by a number of other tools like Pandoc, or simply imported
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@@ -108,8 +111,8 @@ formats.
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.. _a_intro_screenshots:
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Screenshot
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==========
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Screenshots
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===========
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**novelWriter with default system theme:**
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