Veronica Berglyd Olsen
369 lines
17 KiB
ReStructuredText
369 lines
17 KiB
ReStructuredText
.. _a_proj:
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**************
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Novel Projects
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**************
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New projects can be created from the **Project** menu by selecting **Create or Open Project**. This
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will open the **Welcome** dialog, where you can select the :guilabel:`New` button that will assist
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you in creating a new project. This dialog is also displayed when you start novelWriter.
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A novelWriter project requires a dedicated folder for storing its files on the local file system.
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If you're interested in the details, you can have a look at the chapter :ref:`a_storage`.
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A list of recently opened projects is maintained, and displayed in the **Welcome** dialog. A
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project can be removed from this list by selecting it and pressing the :kbd:`Del` key or by
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right-clicking it and selecting the **Remove Project** option.
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.. figure:: images/fig_welcome.jpg
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The project list (left) and new project form (right) of the :guilabel:`Welcome` dialog.
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Project-specific settings are available in **Project Settings** in the **Project** menu. See
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further details below in the :ref:`a_proj_settings` section.
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Details about the project's novel text, including word counts, and a table of contents with word
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and page counts, is available through the **Novel Details** dialog. Statistics about the project
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is also available in the **Manuscript Build** tool.
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.. _a_proj_roots:
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Project Roots
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=============
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Projects are structured into a set of top level folders called "Root Folders". They are visible in
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the project tree at the left side of the main window.
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The :term:`novel documents` go into a root folder of type **Novel**. :term:`Project notes` go into
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the other root folders. These other root folder types are intended for your notes on the various
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elements of your story. Using them is of course entirely optional.
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A new project may not have all of the root folders present, but you can add the ones you want from
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the project tree tool bar.
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Each root folder has one or more :term:`reference` :term:`keyword` associated with it that is used
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to reference them from other documents and notes. The intended usage of each type of root folder is
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listed below. However, aside from the **Novel** folder, no restrictions are applied by the
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application on what you put in them. You can use them however you want.
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The root folder system is closely connected to how the Tags and References system works. For more
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details, see the :ref:`a_references` chapter.
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Root Folder Types
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-----------------
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**Novel**
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This is the root folder type for text that goes into the final novel or novels. This class of
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documents have other rules and features than the project notes. See :ref:`a_struct` for more
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details.
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**Plot**
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This is the root folder type where main plots can be outlined. It is optional, but adding at
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least brief notes can be useful in order to tag plot elements for the **Outline View**. Tags in
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this folder can be references using the ``@plot`` keyword.
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**Characters**
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Character notes go in this root folder type. These are especially important if you want to use
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the **Outline View** to see which character appears where, which part of the story is told from
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a specific character's point-of-view, or focusing on a particular character's storyline.
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The character names can also be inserted into for instance chapter titles when you create your
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manuscript. Tags in this type of folder can be referenced using the ``@pov`` keyword for
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point-of-view characters, ``@focus`` for a focus character, or the ``@char`` keyword for any
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other character present.
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**Locations**
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The locations folder type is for various scene locations that you want to track. Tags in this
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folder can be references using the ``@location`` keyword.
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**Timeline**
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If the story has multiple plot timelines or jumps in time within the same plot, this folder type
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can be used to track this. Tags in this type of folder can be references using the ``@time``
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keyword.
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**Objects**
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Important objects in the story, for instance physical objects that change hands often, can be
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tracked here. Tags in this type of folder can be references using the ``@object`` keyword.
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**Entities**
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Does your plot have many powerful organisations or companies? Or other entities that are part of
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the plot? They can be organised here. Tags in this type of folder can be references using the
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``@entity`` keyword.
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**Custom**
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The custom root folder type can be used for tracking anything else not covered by the above
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options. Tags in this folder type can be references using the ``@custom`` keyword.
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The root folders are closely tied to the tags and reference system. Each folder type corresponds to
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the categories of tags that can be used to reference them. For more information about the tags
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listed, see :ref:`a_references_references`.
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.. note::
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You can rename root folders to whatever you want. However, this doesn't change the reference
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keyword or what they do.
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.. versionadded:: 2.0
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As of version 2.0, you can make multiple root folders of each kind to split up your project.
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.. _a_proj_roots_del:
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Deleted Documents
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-----------------
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Deleted documents are moved into a special **Trash** root folder. Documents in the trash folder can
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then be deleted permanently, either individually, or by emptying the trash from the menu. Documents
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in the trash folder are removed from the :term:`project index` and cannot be referenced.
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A document or a folder can be moved to trash from the **Project** menu, or by pressing
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:kbd:`Ctrl+Shift+Del`. Root folders can only be removed when they are empty.
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.. _a_proj_roots_out:
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Archived Documents
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------------------
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If you don't want to delete a document, or put it in the **Trash** folder where it may be deleted
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accidentally, but still want it out of your main project tree, you can create an **Archive** root
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folder instead and move it there. It has the same effect as moving it to **Trash**, but it is safe
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from deletion.
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You can drag any document to this folder and preserve its settings. The document will always be
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excluded from the **Build Manuscript** tool. It is also removed from the :term:`project index`, so
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the tags and references defined in it will not show up anywhere else.
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.. _a_proj_roots_dirs:
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Using Folders in the Project Tree
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---------------------------------
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Regular folders, those that are not root folders, have no structural significance to the project.
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When novelWriter is processing the documents in a project, like for instance when you create a
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manuscript from it, these folders are ignored. Only the order of the documents themselves matter.
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The folders are there purely as a way for you to organise the documents in meaningful sections and
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to be able to collapse and hide them in the project tree when you're not working on those
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documents.
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.. versionadded:: 2.0
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As of version 2.0 it is possible to add child documents to other documents. This is particularly
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useful when you create chapters and scenes. If you add separate scene documents, you should also
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add separate chapter documents, even if they only contain a chapter heading. You can then add
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scene documents as child items to the chapters.
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.. _a_proj_roots_orphaned:
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Recovered Documents
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-------------------
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If novelWriter crashes or otherwise exits without saving the project state, or if you're using a
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file synchronisation tool that runs out of sync, there may be files in the project storage folder
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that aren't tracked in the core project file. These files, when discovered, are recovered and added
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back into the project.
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The discovered files are scanned for metadata that give clues as to where the document may
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previously have been located in the project. The project loading routine will try to put them back
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as close as possible to this location, if it still exists. Generally, it will be appended to the
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end of the folder where it previously was located. If that folder doesn't exist, it will try to add
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it to the correct root folder type. If it cannot figure out which root folder is correct, the
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document will be added to the **Novel** root folder. Finally, if a **Novel** does not exist, one
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will be created.
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If the title of the document can be recovered, the word "Recovered:" will be added as a prefix to
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indicate that it may need further attention. If the title cannot be determined, the document will
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be named after its internal key, which is a string of characters and numbers.
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.. _a_proj_roots_lock:
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Project Lockfile
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----------------
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To prevent lost documents caused by file conflicts when novelWriter projects are synchronised via
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file synchronisation tools, a project lockfile is written to the project storage folder when a
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project is open. If you try to open a project which already has such a file present, you will be
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presented with a warning, and some information about where else novelWriter thinks the project is
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also open. You will be given the option to ignore this warning, and continue opening the project at
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your own risk.
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.. note::
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If, for some reason, novelWriter or your computer crashes, the lock file may remain even if
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there are no other instances keeping the project open. In such a case it is safe to ignore the
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lock file warning when re-opening the project.
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.. warning::
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If you choose to ignore the warning and continue opening the project, and multiple instances of
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the project are in fact open, you are likely to cause inconsistencies and create diverging
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project files, potentially resulting in loss of data and orphaned files. You are not likely to
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lose any actual text unless both instances have the same document open in the editor, and
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novelWriter will try to resolve project inconsistencies the next time you open the project.
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.. _a_proj_files:
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Project Documents
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=================
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New documents can be created from the toolbar in the project tree, or by pressing :kbd:`Ctrl+N`.
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This will open the create new item menu and let you choose between a number of pre-defined
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documents and folders. You will be prompted for a label for the new item.
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You can always rename an item by selecting **Rename Item** from the **Project** menu, or by
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pressing :kbd:`F2` when a document or folder is selected.
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Other settings for project documents and folders are available from the context menu that you can
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activate by right-clicking on an it in the tree. The **Transform** submenu includes options for
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converting, splitting, or merging documents. See :ref:`a_ui_tree_split_merge` for more details on
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the latter two.
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Document Templates
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------------------
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If you wish to create template documents to be used when creating new project documents, like for
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instance a character note template, you can add a **Templates** root folder to your project. Any
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document added to this root folder will show up in the **Add Item** menu in the project tree
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toolbar. When selected, a new document is created with its content copied from the chosen template.
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.. versionadded:: 2.3
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.. _a_proj_files_counts:
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Word Counts
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-----------
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A character, word and paragraph count is maintained for each document, as well as for each section
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of a document following a :term:`heading<headings>`. The word count and change of words in the
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current session is displayed in the footer of any document open in the editor, and all stats are
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shown in the details panel below the project tree for any document selected in the project or novel
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trees.
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The word counts are not updated in real time, but run in the background every few seconds for as
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long as the document is being actively edited.
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A total project word count is displayed in the status bar. The total count depends on the sum of
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the values in the project tree, which again depend on an up to date :term:`project index`. If the
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counts seem wrong, a full project word recount can be initiated by rebuilding the project's index.
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Either from the **Tools** menu, or by pressing :kbd:`F9`.
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The rules for how the counts are made is covered in more detail in :ref:`a_counting`.
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.. _a_proj_settings:
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Project Settings
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================
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The **Project Settings** can be accessed from the **Project** menu, or by pressing
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:kbd:`Ctrl+Shift+,`. This will open a dialog box, with a set of tabs.
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Settings Tab
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------------
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The **Settings** tab holds the project name, author, and language settings.
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The **Project Name** can be edited here. It is used for the main window title and for generating
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backup files. So keep in mind that if you do change this setting, the backup file names will change
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too.
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You can also change the **Authors** and **Project Language** setting. These are only used when
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building the manuscript, for some formats. The language setting is also used when inserting text
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into documents in the viewer, like for instance labels for keywords and special comments.
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If your project is in a different language than your main spell checking language is set to, you
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can override the default setting here. The project language can also be changed from the **Tools**
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menu.
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You can also override the automatic backup setting for the project if you wish.
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Status and Importance Tabs
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--------------------------
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Each document or folder of type **Novel** can be given a "Status" label accompanied by a coloured
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icon, and each document or folder of the remaining types can be given an "Importance" label.
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These labels are there purely for your convenience, and you are not required to use them for any
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other features to work. No other part of novelWriter accesses this information. The intention is to
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use these to indicate at what stage of completion each novel document is, or how important the
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content of a note is to the story. You don't have to use them this way, that's just what they were
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intended for, but you can make them whatever you want.
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See also :ref:`a_ui_tree_status`.
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.. note::
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The status or importance level currently in use by one or more documents cannot be deleted, but
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they can be edited.
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Auto-Replace Tab
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----------------
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A set of automatically replaced keywords can be added in this tab. The keywords in the left column
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will be replaced by the text in the right column when documents are opened in the viewer. They will
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also be applied to manuscript builds.
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The auto-replace feature will replace text in angle brackets that is in this list. The syntax
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highlighter will add an alternate colour to text matching the syntax, but it doesn't check if the
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text is in this list.
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.. note::
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A keyword cannot contain spaces. The angle brackets are added by default, and when used in the
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text are a part of the keyword to be replaced. This is to ensure that parts of the text aren't
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unintentionally replaced by the content of the list.
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.. _a_proj_backup:
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Backup
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======
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An automatic backup system is built into novelWriter. In order to use it, a backup path to where
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the backup files are to be stored must be provided in **Preferences**. The path defaults to a
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folder named "Backups" in your home directory.
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Backups can be run automatically when a project is closed, which also implies it is run when the
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application itself is closed. Backups are date stamped zip files of the project files in the
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project folder (files not strictly a part of the project are ignored). The zip archives are stored
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in a subfolder of the backup path. The subfolder will have the same name as the **Project Name** as
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defined in :ref:`a_proj_settings`.
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The backup feature, when configured, can also be run manually from the **Tools** menu. It is also
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possible to disable automated backups for a given project in **Project Settings**.
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.. note::
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For the backup to be able to run, the **Project Name** must be set in **Project Settings**. This
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value is used to generate the name and path of the backups. Without it, the backup will not run
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at all, but it will produce a warning message.
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.. _a_proj_stats:
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Writing Statistics
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==================
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When you work on a project, a log file records when you opened it, when you closed it, and the
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total word counts of your novel documents and notes at the end of the session, provided that the
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session lasted either more than 5 minutes, or that the total word count changed. For more details
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about the log file, see :ref:`a_storage`.
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A tool to view the content of the log file is available in the **Tools** menu under **Writing
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Statistics**. You can also launch it by pressing :kbd:`F6`, or find it on the sidebar.
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The tool will show a list of all your sessions, and a set of filters to apply to the data. You can
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also export the filtered data to a JSON file or to a CSV file that can be opened by a spreadsheet
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application like for instance Libre Office Calc or Excel.
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.. versionadded:: 1.2
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As of version 1.2, the log file also stores how much of the session time was spent idle. The
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definition of idle here is that the novelWriter main window loses focus, or the user hasn't made
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any changes to the currently open document in five minutes. The number of minutes can be altered
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in **Preferences**.
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