5ee857f6f4
* Change documentation theme to 'furo' * Update docs source for new theme * Update index and split introduction * Add a Getting Started section to the docs * Rename getting started docs file * Reorganise setup instructions * Update usage sections for consistency * Update docs references in main README * Show release in sidebar
67 lines
3.0 KiB
ReStructuredText
67 lines
3.0 KiB
ReStructuredText
.. _a_intro:
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************
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Key Features
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************
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novelWriter is a multi-document plain text editor using a markup syntax inspired by markdown to
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apply simple formatting to the text. It is designed for writing novels, so the formatting features
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are limited. Your novel project is organised as a collection of separate plain text documents
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instead of a single, large document.
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Below are some key features of novelWriter.
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**Focus on writing**
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The aim of the user interface is to let the user focus on writing instead of spending time
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formatting text. Formatting is therefore limited to a small set of formatting tags for simple
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things like text emphasis and paragraph alignment. When you really want to focus on just
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writing, you can switch the editor into :guilabel:`Focus Mode` where only the text editor window
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itself is vissible.
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**Keep an eye on your notes**
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The main window can optionally show a document viewer to the right of the editor. This view
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panel is intended for displaying another scene document, you character notes, plot notes, or any
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other document you may need to reference while writing.
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**Organise your documents how you like**
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You can split your novel project up into as many individual documents as you want to. They are
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all glued together when you build the project in the top-to-bottom order in which they appear in
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the project tree. Splitting the project up into chapters and scenes means you can easily reorder
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them using the drag and drop feature.
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**Keep track of your plot elements**
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All notes in your project can be assigned a *tag* you can *reference* from any other document or
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note. In fact, you can add a new tag under each heading of a note if you need to be able to
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reference a specific section. Note tags are organised into categories with specific keywords you
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can use to reference them.
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**Get an overview of your plot elements**
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In the :guilabel:`Outline` tab on the main window you can see an outline of all the chapter and
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scene sections of your project. If they have any references in them, these are listed in
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columns. You can also add a synopsis to each document, which can be listed here. You have the
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option to add or remove columns of information from the outline. A subset of the outline
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information is also available in the :guilabel:`Novel` tab under the main project tree.
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**Building your manuscript**
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Whether you want to compile a manuscript, or export all your notes, or generate an outline of
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your chapters and scenes with a synopsis, you can use the :guilabel:`Build Novel Project` tool.
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The tool lets you select what information you want to include in the generated document, and how
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it is formatted. You can send the result to a printer, a PDF, or to an Open Document file that
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can be opened by most office type word processors.
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.. _a_intro_screenshots:
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Screenshots
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===========
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**novelWriter with default system theme:**
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.. image:: images/screenshot_default.png
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:width: 800
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**novelWriter with dark theme:**
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.. image:: images/screenshot_dark.png
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:width: 800
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