Updated readme

This commit is contained in:
Veronica K. B. Olsen
2019-06-15 23:33:26 +02:00
parent 4cb42339ce
commit a4d7d91630
2 changed files with 14 additions and 35 deletions
+14 -35
View File
@@ -3,14 +3,11 @@
[![Build Status](https://travis-ci.com/vkbo/novelWriter.svg?branch=master)](https://travis-ci.com/vkbo/novelWriter)
[![codecov](https://codecov.io/gh/vkbo/novelWriter/branch/master/graph/badge.svg)](https://codecov.io/gh/vkbo/novelWriter)
This is a reboot of my novelWriter application using Qt5.
The old project, using Gtk3, has been renamed novelWriterGtk and archived.
novelWriter is under initial development, but is currently usable.
I use it for my own projects, but it is probably still smart to save the work frequently and take backups.
novelWriter is a markdown-like text editor designed fro writing novels and larger projects of many smaller plain text documents.
It is under initial development, but is currently usable.
The application is written with Python3 and PyQt5, and developed on Linux.
I will try to make sure it works on Windows as well.
It should work fine on other operating systems as well.
**Note:** This application is designed specifically for my own needs as I work on my projects.
I will only add features as I need them. I am trying to make the application as general as possible within that limitation.
@@ -23,12 +20,16 @@ The application can be started from the source folder with the command:
It also takes a few parameters for debugging and such, which can be listed with the switch `--help`.
There are no launcher icons yet. Consult your operating system documentation for how to make those.
I will add those later.
## Features
The file format for the written text is a format similar to markdown, but with a few extensions and a few omissions.
Project meta data is stored as XML.
The editor has syntax highlighting for the features it supports.
The editor has syntax highlighting for the features it supports, and includes a set of different syntax highlighting themes.
The GUI also has an optional dark theme in addition to the default system theme.
Themes can easily be added to the `nw/themes` folder. Have a look in the existing folders for examples.
Open documents and the project file itself is saved regularly on a timer if they have been altered.
The status of this is indicated by two indicators in the right corner of the status bar. Unsaved changes are in yellow, and saved is indicated by green. The indicators are marked with `P` for project and `D` for document.
@@ -42,47 +43,25 @@ These flags are meant to be customisable, bit the interface hasn't been added ye
Next to the colour icon is a flag that indicates the class of the file or folder, that is `N` for Novel, `C` for character, and so on. The last flag indicates file type. This is spelled out in the details pane at the bottom, and can be edited by pressing `Ctrl+E` or from the menu.
The main documentation is available in the application in the Help menu or by pressing `F1`.
The core features of novelWriter are:
* A plain text editor with a minimal set of markdown formatting features, plus a few additional features like tags and comments. Note: tags and comments are not counted towards word counts.
* A plain text editor with a minimal set of markdown formatting features, plus a few additional features like tags and comments. Tags and comments are not counted towards word counts.
* Most features have keyboard shortcuts to speed up using the editor.
* Files are organised in a tree view with no automatic ordering. The order of the files are as you set them, and are saved in the same order.
* Files live in a set of root folders, and cannot be moved between them. These are currently `Novel`, `Character`, `Plot`, `World`, `Timeline`, `Object` and `Custom`. There can only be one of each, except for the `Custom` one.
* Within the root folders files can be organised in subfolders. The folders will have no impact on the layout of the compiled novel when I get around to adding the export feature. They are simply there for your convenience. The order of the text files in the final novel is dictated purely from the order of entries in the tree.
* Each file can have a file layout, which currently doesn't do anything other than indicate the purpose of the file. It will, however, be used to control the format and structure of the parts of the novel when the export features are added. Each chapter must have a chapter type file. The text of the chapter can be put in the same file, or in following scene files. The choice is yours. The entire book can also be written in a single file of type `Book`.
* Documents can be either opened in the editor (left pane) or in view mode (right pane). That means two documents can be opened at once, making it easier to work on one while following the other.
## Keyboard Shortcuts
All features are available as keyboard shortcuts. These are as following:
* `Ctrl+1`: Switch to tree view.
* `Ctrl+2`: Switch to document editor.
* `Ctrl+3`: Switch to document viewer.
* `Return`: If in tree view, open a document for editing.
* `Ctrl+R`: If in tree view, open a document for viewing.
* `Ctrl+E`: 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+S`: Save the current document in the editor.
* `Ctrl+Shift+S`: Save the current project.
* `Ctrl+A`: Select all text in document.
* `Ctrl+Shift+A`: Select all text in current paragraph.
* `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+F7`: Toggle spell checking.
* `F7`: Re-run spell checker.
* `Ctrl+.`: Correct word under cursor.
Standard cut, copy, paste, undo and redo shortcuts are also present, so are a few more.
Most shortcuts are labelled with the corresponding dropdown menu entry.
* When tags and references are set in the documents, a timeline window will show the relationship between the novel sections and the supporting files like character files, locations, plot elements, etc.
## Dependencies
For the apt package manager, the following Python3 packages are needed:
* `python3-pyqt5` for the GUI
* `python3-pyqt5.qtsvg` may need to be installed separately
* `python3-appdirs` for locating the system's config folder
* `python3-lxml` for writing project files
BIN
View File
Binary file not shown.

Before

Width:  |  Height:  |  Size: 182 KiB

After

Width:  |  Height:  |  Size: 207 KiB