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Technical help
Help pages give informal advice on better ways for authors to work with Word and Open Office.
Adopting our technical standards will result in less work for you, whatever the destination of your book.
Working consistently with Paragraph Styles in Word or OpenOffice is an important element. As styles are often poorly understood, we have included styles help.
Templates supporting Goldenford standards can be downloaded
We provide styles familiarisation sessions on request.
Technical enquiries and information info
'help' updated 10:09 Aug 23 2005
Word vs OpenOffice
The free OpenOffice [www.openoffice.org/] Writer application is likely to become the word processor of choice for many authors and is our recommendation. For the reasons see for example OpenOffice.org Writer vs. Microsoft Word [http://software.newsforge.com/software/05/06/14/2137222.shtml?tid=152&tid;=93]
OpenOffice handles styles much better than Word. If you wish to reformat a manuscript to align with our styles standards, OpenOffice is the natural choice.
OpenOffice Writer tutorial and links
'wp' updated 12:35 Aug 12 2005
Word Processing Options
These recommendations are in addition to the obligatory standards. Whatever your choices, the formatting of your manuscript must be 100% internally consistent.
- Single speech quotes
- The standard is single spaces between words and sentences. If you really need extra spaces (eg for emphasis) use hard spaces (Ctrl + Shift + spacebar). In sequences like . . . use hard spaces to prevent the sequence splitting across lines.
- In fiction, we prefer three consecutive periods... rather then the ellipsis… (they look similar, but in most fonts the single character ellipsis is less prominent)
- Take care with vernacular smart quotes. Use ’im for him, the opposite of what smart quotes generates if you type normally [ ‘im]. To create the proper form, type h’im and remove the h. Note than global replacements of the quote character ['] change vernacular words to the wrong form.
'options' updated 22:46 Jun 5 2005
Using templates
Templates are special documents in which the style of a set of documents is pre-defined.
Creating new documents - Word
- download the relevant Goldenford book template
- make the template automatically available by saving it in the same folder as normal.dot
- if desired, reserve a template for a single manuscript, by copying it into the corresponding folder before attaching it
- base a new document on a template with File > New and double-click the template
- attach a template to an existing document with Tools > Templates and add-ins; attach and select the template you want (check the box 'Automatically update document styles')
- observe the style sequence as you write the document
Creating new documents - OpenOffice
- similar to Word, details to follow
Conversion of existing manuscripts to Goldenford format
For the best results, follow this procedure exactly for each document:
- attach the relevant Goldenford book template to an existing document
- correct the style sequence
- create a new document based on the template
- copy and paste all text from the old document to the new
- close the old document
- save the new document with the same name as the old one
'templates' updated 10:09 Aug 23 2005
Working with Master/Sub documents
If it becomes necessary to split a book manuscript into several documents to keep file size manageable and improve edit performance, amalgamating sub documents into the complete manuscript can be achieved by copy and paste. More elegantly, you can supposedly do this through a master document. For instructions for Word XP, see Subdocuments [www.depts.drew.edu/its/docs/desktop/microsoft/Office/Word/XP/MasterSubdocument.php]
If you are using the Goldenford book template:
- attach the template to existing documents and set style sequences before making a master document
- use the template for new documents
The practice is worse than the theory and, up to and including Word XP (version 10), master documents are unreliable. The amalgamation of text works, but styles from the component documents do not always come across correctly. After the final amalgamation, select the complete document except the TOC, and click Ctrl+Shift+F9 to remove the field codes. Minor corrections to style sequence will most likely be needed.
The web is full of awful warnings about master documents for Word, eg How can I best use the Master Document feature? [www.addbalance.com/word/masterdocuments.htm#PageStart] For a guru view of how to avoid problems, see master documents [www.raycomm.com/techwhirl/masterdocs.doc]
For further help from the web, see google search: word master ~document
OpenOffice [www.openoffice.org/] is reportedly better at handling Master documents. We will test this as soon as version 2.0 is released. Our initial impression is that Styles are significantly easier to manage and not subject to the same vagaries as Word.
See also Word vs OpenOffice.
'chapters' updated 12:50 Jul 8 2005
Why use styles?
Using styles rather than applying specific formatting to paragraphs is a great time-saver, ensuring a manuscript is consistently formatted and allowing easy changes to layout.
The two main approaches to formatting paragraphs are:
Paragraph styles is by far the best option. Consistency is guaranteed because the format definition is in a single place. You do not need to select paragraphs to amend formatting. Simply edit the paragraph style and all dependent paragraphs automatically adopt the changes.
Explicit formatting
Formatting applied to one or more paragraphs using Format >Paragraph, for example to justify the text or indent the paragraph
Formatting is saved with each paragraph (with the end of paragraph mark) and formats easily become inconsistent. If formatting needs to be amended, eg to change the indent, you must select all the relevant paragraphs and use Format > Paragraph again, time consuming and error prone.
Paragraph styles
Formatting applied to one or more paragraphs by selecting an appropriate style from the drop-down list in the toolbar or in the styles pane (Word XP and later)
If the required formatting is not available, create a new style. Thus, formatting details are stored only in one place. If formatting needs to be amended, eg to change the indent, edit the style.
'styles' updated 14:33 Jun 9 2005
Starting off with styles
These pages assume familiarity with Word. If you need basic help with Word, see practical information about computing tools [www.onepoyle.net/art/tutorial/main.pl?tools].
Working with styles needs a new mind set. Those brought up in the typewriter age often seem to have something of a mental block. Styles are an alternative means of managing layout with less effort and more consistency than is possible with a typewriter.
As a first step to understanding layout, you need to make 'invisible' layout characters visible on screen. To do this, in a new document click the Paragraph icon on the Word general toolbar. Type a few spaces, tabs and press return to see how these characters are displayed.
Next, inspect one of your manuscripts (open the document and then click the Paragraph icon) to review how you manage layout. If there are tabs, empty lines with just a paragraph mark or multiple consecutive spaces, it's likely you are not making the best use of styles. If you use styles well, layout does not depend on pressing the tab key or space bar.
To learn how styles can be applied to a book manuscript, see style sequence.
Learning about styles
For an introduction to styles, search for 'style' in Word help and read some of the resulting items. Experiment with what you learn.
Here are four links with further help. Open all of them, choose the one that seems to be best, print it, and take it to a comfortable armchair.
- Word styles [www.editorscanberra.org/Word_styles.htm] Canberra Editors
- word styles [www.rdg.ac.uk/ITS/info/training/notes/word/styles/] Reading University
- Working with templates and styles [www.bbk.ac.uk/ccs/docs/word/5-111.pdf] Birkbeck [pdf]
- Working With Styles2 [http://scscc.com/sigs/Working%20With%20Styles2.pdf] Sun City [pdf]
'style_intro' updated 22:46 Jun 5 2005
Working with styles
Applying styles
- Styles can be applied in many ways, but usually either from the drop-down list in the toolbar or by selecting the paragraphs and clicking the style in the Styles and Formatting pane (Word XP and later). If you use the drop-down list, the cursor can be anywhere in the paragraph; you don’t need to select the complete paragraph.
Creating and modifying styles
- To modify a style, do Format > Styles and Formatting, select the style you wish to change and click Modify. Select an attribute in the Format drop-down list and make the desired alterations.
- To create a new style, click New Style from the Styles and Formatting pane (Word XP and later)
- For new or modified styles, check ‘Add to template’ if you wish to make the style available in the template. Check ‘Automatically update’ to ensure that dependent documents change.
- To aid consistency, it is generally advisable to make new styles dependent on Section Normal and format the style with the variations.
Organising styles
- Copy styles between templates using Tools > Template and add-ins > Organizer.
Solving problems
- Because of conflicts between styles, attaching a template to an existing document may not work in quite the way you want. To recover, reattach the template, checking the box 'Automatically update document styles'. If that doesn’t solve it, for example you still can’t see or assign a style, start a new document from the template and copy and paste all the text from the old document.
- The style chosen for a paragraph is kept with the paragraph mark, as you can confirm by copy and paste. However, if you delete a paragraph mark, the combined paragraph takes the deleted style, ie the style of the first paragraph.
- It’s obvious, but on copy and paste it’s easy to end up with the wrong style sequence, therefore always review document style structure during the final editing phase.
- To review the style structure in your document, do View > Outline and click the icon in the outline toolbar (immediately after All) so that only the first line of each paragraph shows. Use the arrow keys to move up and down the document and inspect the styles in the formatting toolbar. With Word XP you can select all instances of a style from the Styles and Formatting pane, giving a quick visual overview of document structure
'style_tips' updated 22:46 Jun 5 2005
Solving style problems
Even when you have done your best, it’s likely minor problems will remain. Here's how to find and correct them. Correcting a manuscript is straightforward and not particularly time consuming. Once done, you will have a high technical quality product.
Make a list of the paragraph styles you intend to use and what they are for in a separate document (your standard styles). This should be a short list.
Work on a copy of your document, as it's easy to make unintended changes.
In Word XP or later, open the Styles and Formatting pane (Format > Styles and Formatting) and select ‘Formatting in use’ at the bottom. (For earlier versions of Word, there are similar ways to identify and work with styles in use.) You may find it helpful to display end of paragraph markers on screen (click the paragraph icon on the toolbar to turn paragraph marks on and off). Inspect each of your standard styles (hover over style with your mouse) to check they are defined as you expect and make any corrections. Standard styles other than Section Normal should only exceptionally include a font selection and generally only simple layout settings (indent, space before and after).
Next, inspect the styles not on your list and investigate any that you don’t expect to see. You can select all instances of a particular style with the drop-down selection list to the right of each style. To change the style of a selection, click on a different style.
It’s likely you will find several styles that are used only a few times, many of which quite likely should have been section normal. When you have finished these changes, there should be no styles in use for complete paragraphs other than your standard ones.
Where part of a paragraph uses a different format (eg some characters in italics) a style will be shown and these should be left in place. These should only exceptionally include a font selection and never layout settings (tabs, margins...).
Check carefully styles with a + sign in their name, showing a varination of a standard style. Appling explicit formatting and then selecting a different style for the paragraph can result in unintended formatting.
Heading 2, for chapter headings, should be defined as ‘Page break before’, removing the need for hard page breaks.
'style_final' updated 08:45 Jun 7 2005
Styles Familiarisation
Goldenford provides styles training on request. This page shows the agenda for a typical 60 minute session.
Objective
At the end of the session, writers will have a basic understanding of Word templates and be able to use a simple style sequence to achieve consistent layout in a book manuscript.
Agenda
- resources
- Goldenford (GF) floppy
- handout
- GF website
- introduction to Word templates
- what they are and what they do
- using styles
- changing a style
- attaching a template
- GF template
- GF basic styles
- using the GF style sequence to achieve consistent layout
- inspecting a manuscript (outline view)
- reflowing a manuscript (eg margin changes)
- questions, suggestions, requests
Technical enquiries and information info
'style_training' updated 22:46 Jun 5 2005
downloads
click a link to download a document
styles
- working with styles [doc]
- working with styles in openoffice [odt]
templates
- goldenford book [dot]
- goldenford book [ott]
other files
- gallic wars [odt]
All documents copyright © 2004-2005 Goldenford Ltd
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