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Veronica K. B. Olsen
2020-07-30 21:53:57 +02:00
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docs/source/index.rst
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####################################
Welcome to novelWriter Documentation
####################################
########################################
Welcome to the novelWriter Documentation
########################################
This is the documentation for novelWriter |version|.
**Contents**
.. toctree::
:maxdepth: 2
:maxdepth: 1
introduction
started
docs/source/interface.rst
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***************
The user interface is kept as simple as possible to avoid distractions when writing.
The main window contains a tree view pane with the entire structure of the project, and a small details panel below it to display additional information about the currently selected item.
The main window contains a tree view pane with the entire structure of the project, and a small
details panel below it to display additional information about the currently selected item.
Edit View
=========
docs/source/introduction.rst
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Introduction
************
novelWriter is a simple, multi-document plain text editor using a modified markdown syntax to apply simple formatting.
Additional features that are not standard markdown are available through special meta data keywords.
These keywords make it possible to inter-link documents, and generate an overview of the entire novel project and how the various files are interconnected.
novelWriter is a simple, multi-document plain text editor using a modified markdown syntax to apply
simple formatting. It is designed for writing novels, and allow for the component documents to be
ordered freely to create the desired structure of the novel project.
In addition, the project can contain notes on the various plot elements, characters, locations, etc,
that make up the story. These notes are organised in a set of category-specific folders, and each
entry can be tagged and cross referenced from within the novel files and other notes. These tags
make it possible to inter-link documents, and generate an overview of the entire novel project and
how the various files and plot elements are interconnected.
These additional features are not standard in markdown, but are available through special meta
keywords. Syntax highlighting is provided to make it easier to verify that the markdown tags are
used correctly.
Design Philosophy
-----------------
The user interface is intended to be as minimalistic as practically possible, while at the same time provide a complete set of features needed for writing a novel.
The user interface of novelWriter is intended to be as minimalistic as practically possible, while
at the same time provide a complete set of features needed for writing a novel.
.. note::
novelWriter is not intended to be a full office type word processor.
It doesn't support images, links, tables, and its formatting is limited to headers, and bold, italicised and underlined text.
novelWriter is not intended to be a full office type word processor. It doesn't support images,
links, tables, and its formatting is limited to headers, and bold, italicised and strikethrough
text.
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.
The main window does not have a tool bar like most other applications do. This reduces clutter, and
since the documents are formatted with markdown tags, more or less redundant. However, all
formatting features supported are available through convenient keyboard shortcuts. They are also
available in the main menu.
The project itself is laid out in a tree view on the left hand side of the main window.
It has various sections, called *root folders*, 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.
The colour scheme of the user interface defaults to that of the host operating system. In addition,
a dark theme is provided, and can be enabled in Preferences. A number of syntax highlighting themes
are also available in Preferences. Coloured and grayscale icon themes are also available.
The main window is split in two, or optionally three, panels. The left-most contains the project
tree and all the files in your project. The second panel is the document editor, and the optional
third panel is a document viewer which can view any document in your project.
A second tab is also available on the main window. This is the Outline tab where the entire novel
structure can be displayed, with all the tags and references listed. Depending on how you structure
your novel project files, this outline can be quite different than your project tree.
Project Layout
--------------
The layout of the novel itself is managed through the four supported heading levels, H1 through H4.
H1 is used for the book title, and for partitions.
H2 is used for chapter tiles.
H3 is reserved for scene titles.
H4 is for section titles within scenes, if such granularity is necessary.
You are free to structure your project files as you wish in subfolders and split between files. All
that matters to novelWriter is the linear order they appear in the project tree (top to bottom) and
the chapters, scenes and sections of the novel is determined by the headings within those files.
For the files designated as project notes, the usage of headers imply no structural meaning, and the user is free to do whatever they want.
The four heading levels (H1 to H4) are treated as follows:
* H1 is used for the book title, and for partitions.
* H2 is used for chapter tiles.
* H3 is reserved for scene titles.
* H4 is for section titles within scenes, if such granularity is needed.
This structure is only considered on novel files. For the files designated as project notes, the
usage of headers imply no structural meaning, and the user is free to do whatever they want.
Project Export
--------------
The project can at any time be exported to a range of different formats.
Natively, novelWriter supports export to plain text file, HTML document, novelWriter flavoured markdown, standard markdown (requires Qt 5.14), and to a basic Open Document.
In addition, printing and printing to PDF is also possible.
The best supported export format is HTML, which can be imported or converted by a number of other tools like Pandoc, or simply imported into Libre Office and similar.
The project can at any time be exported to a range of different formats. Natively, novelWriter
supports export to plain text file, HTML document, novelWriter flavoured markdown, standard
markdown (requires Qt 5.14), and to a basic Open Document.
In addition, printing and printing to PDF is also possible. The best supported export format is
HTML, which can be imported or converted by a number of other tools like Pandoc, or simply imported
into Libre Office and similar.
It is also possible to export the content of the project to a JSON file. This is useful if you want
to write your own processing script in for instance Python, as the entire novel can be read into a
Python dictionary with a couple of lines of code.
Screenshot
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