Veronica Berglyd Olsen
312 lines
13 KiB
ReStructuredText
312 lines
13 KiB
ReStructuredText
.. _a_proj:
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*****************
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Managing Projects
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*****************
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Your text in novelWriter is organised into projects. Each project is meant to contain one novel
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and associated notes. If you have multiple novels in a series, with the same characters and shared
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notes, it is also possible to keep all of them in the same project.
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.. _a_proj_new:
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Creating Project
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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:`docs_technical_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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Template Projects
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-----------------
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From the Welcome dialog you can also create a new from another existing project. If you have a
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specific structure you want to use for all your new projects, you can create a dedicated project to
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be used as a template, and select to copy an existing project from the :guilabel:"Prefill Project"
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option from the **New Project** form.
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.. _a_proj_roots:
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Project Structure
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=================
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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 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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.. _a_proj_roots_dirs:
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Using Folders in the Project Tree
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---------------------------------
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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 when a project is opened.
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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 data loss caused by file conflicts when novelWriter projects are synchronised via file
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synchronisation tools, a project lockfile is written to the project storage folder when a project
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is open. If you try to open a project which already has such a file present, you will be presented
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with a warning, and some information about where else novelWriter thinks the project is also open.
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You will be given the option to ignore this warning, and continue opening the project at your own
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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 heading. 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 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:`docs_more_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 with an optional shape selected from a list of pre-defined shapes. Each document or folder of
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the remaining types can be given an "Importance" label with the same customisation options.
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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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Both status and importance labels can be exported and imported so you can share them between
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projects, or define a standard set for all your writing projects. When you import labels to a
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project, they are always added as *new* labels.
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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:`docs_technical_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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Session Timer
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-------------
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A session timer is by default visible in the status bar. The icon will show you a clock icon when
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you are active, and a pause icon when you are considered "idle" per the criteria mentioned above.
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If you do not wish to see the timer, you can click on it once to hide it. The icon will still be
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visible. Click the icon once more to display the timer again.
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.. versionadded:: 2.6
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As of version 2.6, clicking the timer text or icon in the status bar will toggle its visibility.
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