Style formating

[Portis]

Hello,

 

Here is a request I have: is it possible to have style formating options explained? There are many and it's a bit confusing!

A tutorial on style configuration and options of styles meanings would really help!

 

Thanks!

[Steve]

Hi Portis,

 

The style formatting options are described here. I've pasted the relevant part below.

 

-Steve

 

Style Properties

 

Style Name—The name of the style.

Based on—The parent style of the style. Styles inherit the formatting properties of their parents.

Next Style—The style applied to a paragraph that is created when you press the Return key at the end of a paragraph.

Outline Level—The outline or heading level for the style. This value controls the outline level in the project view and in the outline view.

Tab Style—The style that is applied when you press the Tab key at the start of an empty paragraph.

Font Properties

Family—The general name given to a collection of related fonts (that is, the font family). Examples of family names include Courier, Times New Roman, and Arial.

Typeface—The name given to a specific font, which together with the family name specifies a font. Example typefaces include Regular, Bold, and Oblique.

Size—The point size of the font.

Color—The text or foreground color of the font.

Underline—The underlining setting for the font. Available values are None, Single, and Double.

Transform—The text transform for the text with this style. Available values are:

• None—Text displays as it is typed.
• All Caps—Text displays using capital letters. For example, “Chapter 1” is displayed as “CHAPTER 1.”
• All Lowercase—Text displays using lowercase letters. For example, “Chapter 1” is displayed as “chapter 1.”
• Capitalized Words—Text displays words with initial capitalization. For example, “book the first” is displayed as “Book The First.”

Spacing Properties

The spacing properties define the alignment, indentation, and space between paragraphs.

Text Alignment—Controls whether paragraph text is displayed left aligned, centered, right aligned, or justified.

Left Indent—Sets the text indentation from the left margin of all lines of a paragraph except the first line.

Right Indent—Sets the text indentation from the right margin. Note that positive values indicate offsets from the left margin, while negative values indicate offsets from the right margin.

First Line Indent—Sets the text indentation of the first line of a paragraph from the left margin.

Before Paragraph—Sets the space before the paragraph.

After Paragraph—Sets the space after the paragraph.

Line Spacing—Controls the amount of space between lines in a paragraph. Available values are:

• Single—Lines are single-spaced.
• 1.5 Lines—Lines are spaced by one and a half times the single-spaced values.
• Double—Lines are double-spaced; that is, the spacing is twice the value of the single-spaced text.
• At Least—Lines are spaced by at least the amount indicated in the text field that follows the pop-up menu. If the height of one or more characters in a line exceeds this minimum value, the space between the lines increases to accommodate the tallest character.
• Exactly—Lines are spaced by exactly the amount indicated in the text field that follows the pop-up menu. If the height of one or more characters in a line exceeds this minimum value, the following line may overwrite portions of the character.
• Multiple—Lines are spaced by a multiple of the amount indicated in the text field that follows the pop-up menu. For example, setting the pop-up menu to this value and entering 2.5 in the following text field causes the lines to be spaced by two and a half times the amount of single-spaced text.

Note: The spacing values display in the default measurement units for your Mac. You can change the default measurement units from the System Preferences window.

Tab Properties

Default—Sets the default tab interval. Tabs after the last tab specified in “Tab Stops” are placed this distance from the previous tab.

Note—A value of zero causes tabs after the last tab specified in “Tab Stops” to move to the next line.

Stops—Defines the position and type of the tab stops. Tab types are:

• Left—Specifies a left-aligned tab stop.
• Center—Specifies a center-aligned tab stop.
• Right—Specifies a right-aligned tab stop.
• Decimal—Specifies a tab stop aligned on a decimal point.

Pagination Properties

The pagination properties define how text is laid out on the page.

Paginate As—Specifies the “pagination mode” of the style. Values other than Normal are used only in screenplay formatting and override the other pagination options.

Paragraph starts on a new page—A page break occurs before paragraphs having this style.

Keep with next paragraph—A paragraph displays on the same page as the paragraph that follows it. This option is useful for headings.

Avoid widow and orphan lines—Paragraphs that have a single line at the top of a page (a widow) or the bottom of a page (an orphan) move to the next page.