PDF, Webpage, Viewing & Word Count Wishlist

[Joolissa]

Hello all!

I recently found out about Storyist and am considering switching from Scrivener. I really love Storyist's Character & Setting sheets as well as the industry standard formatting and wiki linking, but I can't switch whole-heartedly. There are 4 features that I use really often in Scrivener that aren't available in Storyist. Most I could work around, but there is one that I can't work around: Adding web pages!

 

Scrivener allows you to drag&drop a web page from your browser into the research folder. It displays the page just like you view it in your browser whether your online or offline. It doesn't import the whole website, so a link to another page will shoot me back into my browser, but that's okay, most of what I've imported has been one page anyway. This is a really useful feature for me and unfortunately there isn't any way to do this in Storyist that I've been able to find. Dragging and dropping only creates a link, which requires me to go into the browser and be online. I've tried saving and importing the pages, but that strips all the images from the page and often messes up the formatting. The same thing happens with copy/pasting. If Storyist had the same ability to add web pages I wouldn't hesitate over switching.

 

My next two requests are related. I really would like the option of a per chapter word count. I realize that I could highlight a whole chapter and get the word count that way, but that interrupts the flow of writing. I like to just glance down and see the word count as I write the chapter. It would be nice for it to give you the word count based on what you have highlighted in the navigation. This relates to the next request: I would love to be able to click on "Chapter 1" in the navigation and only view chapter one, instead of it just taking me to Ch 1 in the whole manuscript. There are times that I don't want to be able to scroll down to chapter 2. I can live without these, but it would be really nice not to have to.

 

As an afterthought, since I don't use this a whole lot, it would be nice to be able to add PDFs to your notebook. As far as I can tell you can't import a PDF at all, but I could be wrong. It would also be nice to have Images appear in your notebook without having to drop them onto a page, but I think that might be implemented in V2, I couldn't tell.

 

As a Review:

1. Adding Webpages as they're displayed in browser

2. Per Chapter Word Count

3. Viewing Chapters Singly

4. Adding PDFs to Notebook

 

So, there's my wish list. The web page thing is really the only thing holding me back about switching, everything else I can work around without too much trouble, but the web page thing is a big deal to me. Either way, I think Storyist is a great program and I really adore the character sheets, since those would be a major asset to my process.

 

- Julia Grace

PS. I'd like to apologize if this has been requested or mentioned in the forums before, but since "PFD" and "web" are under 4 characters long it doesn't allow me to search for the terms. Also if Storyist actually does one of those things and I'm just blind, please enlighten me!

[Steve]

Hello all!

I recently found out about Storyist and am considering switching from Scrivener. I really love Storyist's Character & Setting sheets as well as the industry standard formatting and wiki linking, but I can't switch whole-heartedly. There are 4 features that I use really often in Scrivener that aren't available in Storyist. Most I could work around, but there is one that I can't work around: Adding web pages!

 

Scrivener allows you to drag&drop a web page from your browser into the research folder. It displays the page just like you view it in your browser whether your online or offline. It doesn't import the whole website, so a link to another page will shoot me back into my browser, but that's okay, most of what I've imported has been one page anyway. This is a really useful feature for me and unfortunately there isn't any way to do this in Storyist that I've been able to find. Dragging and dropping only creates a link, which requires me to go into the browser and be online. I've tried saving and importing the pages, but that strips all the images from the page and often messes up the formatting. The same thing happens with copy/pasting. If Storyist had the same ability to add web pages I wouldn't hesitate over switching.

 

My next two requests are related. I really would like the option of a per chapter word count. I realize that I could highlight a whole chapter and get the word count that way, but that interrupts the flow of writing. I like to just glance down and see the word count as I write the chapter. It would be nice for it to give you the word count based on what you have highlighted in the navigation. This relates to the next request: I would love to be able to click on "Chapter 1" in the navigation and only view chapter one, instead of it just taking me to Ch 1 in the whole manuscript. There are times that I don't want to be able to scroll down to chapter 2. I can live without these, but it would be really nice not to have to.

 

As an afterthought, since I don't use this a whole lot, it would be nice to be able to add PDFs to your notebook. As far as I can tell you can't import a PDF at all, but I could be wrong. It would also be nice to have Images appear in your notebook without having to drop them onto a page, but I think that might be implemented in V2, I couldn't tell.

 

As a Review:

1. Adding Webpages as they're displayed in browser

2. Per Chapter Word Count

3. Viewing Chapters Singly

4. Adding PDFs to Notebook

 

So, there's my wish list. The web page thing is really the only thing holding me back about switching, everything else I can work around without too much trouble, but the web page thing is a big deal to me. Either way, I think Storyist is a great program and I really adore the character sheets, since those would be a major asset to my process.

 

- Julia Grace

PS. I'd like to apologize if this has been requested or mentioned in the forums before, but since "PFD" and "web" are under 4 characters long it doesn't allow me to search for the terms. Also if Storyist actually does one of those things and I'm just blind, please enlighten me!

 

Hi Julia,

 

Thanks for the requests!

 

First the good news. :-)

 

Version 2 supports images as full-fledged project members. You don't have to add images to a notebook entry to include them in the project. Also, the new Focus command narrows the text that is displayed to a single section, so you can focus on the work at hand.

 

Now the not-so-good news:

 

Version 2 doesn't support web archives or PDFs. These features may be included in a future release (and I'd love to continue the conversation), but I'm hesitant to duplicate the functionality of other apps you use all the time.

 

-Steve

 

P.S. Duplicate requests are fine! It helps me gauge the popularity of the request.

 

P.P.S. The search facilities of the forum are a little underpowered, but Google visits frequently, and the search results are comprehensive. To search the site using Google, just prepend "site:storyist.invisionzone.com" to the query. For example: "site:storyist.invisionzone.com PDF"

[Joolissa]

Hey!

Yay! *claps* I'm excited for v2 (how's the bug squashing coming along?). I thought that might be the case from the screen shots, but I wasn't exactly sure. Nice. Does the focus ability only display 1 #[text]# type of section or the section that you have highlighted in the navigation (such as a full chapter)? Will it enable a per chapter word count as well or will that still be left to highlighting? Also, will you still be able to add pictures to notebook files? If I wanted multiple images in a file or to add a reference image to text that feature would still be handy, so I hope that hasn't gotten cut. It would be great to have both: add them as stand alone images or add them in text. Oh and one other request about V2. All of the features will be compatible with Tiger right? (except for .docx or what ever it was listed, right?) I haven't spent the money on leopard yet and would like to keep it that way for now.

 

Now, about the PDFs and Web pages, I have discovered a way to work around it, which isn't ideal, but is fairly easy and makes me happy. I saved the web page as a PDF, and then dragged the PDF into a notebook entry. It displayed just fine and is viewable off-line, so this solves the problem until you add your own feature!

 

Do you hesitate to duplicate the feature of another application because it's someone else's application or because I use it so frequently? I would prefer to use one program, especially because to continue to use both I would have to purchase both, leaving me with almost $100 to pay, so if it's a matter of me using the program frequently don't worry about that. If it's because it's someone ele's app I can completely understand that, so let me put an idea to you: adding the ability to import PDFs solves the issue and more. If a user can import a PDF to the notebook then they would be able to import a web page saved as a PDF and also be able to import any other PDF they wanted. You wouldn't have to copy the Scrivener feature and I would imagine that writing code to import a PDF would be simpler than being able to drag a web page straight from the net. I could be wrong about that though. Anyway, adding that feature seems like it would take care of the website issue as well as having the added bonus of importing other handy PDFs.

 

Okay, I'm not sure this belongs here (it probably doesn't), but I might have discovered a bug in my experiments with getting web pages to display. I had first converted the PDF web page to a word document and then imported the word document into my notes. This stripped all the images again, so I went and grabbed the PDF on the desktop and just dragged it in like an image. I accidentally did this in the notebook entry that was the imported word document. When I tried scrolling around the document the images and text were duplicating and smudging like they'd been covered in wet paint and dragged across my screen. Does that make sense? It's the only way I can think to describe it. I couldn't get it to stop except by undoing the drag and drop. Once I stuck the PDF into it's own notebook entry it worked fine. Again, sorry if that should go somewhere else. I can move it to the appropriate location if you like.

 

Thanks for the response!

- Jules

pps. I'll remember that for the future! Thanks!

[marguerite]

Hey!

Yay! *claps* I'm excited for v2 (how's the bug squashing coming along?). I thought that might be the case from the screen shots, but I wasn't exactly sure. Nice. Does the focus ability only display 1 #[text]# type of section or the section that you have highlighted in the navigation (such as a full chapter)? Will it enable a per chapter word count as well or will that still be left to highlighting? Also, will you still be able to add pictures to notebook files? If I wanted multiple images in a file or to add a reference image to text that feature would still be handy, so I hope that hasn't gotten cut. It would be great to have both: add them as stand alone images or add them in text. Oh and one other request about V2. All of the features will be compatible with Tiger right? (except for .docx or what ever it was listed, right?) I haven't spent the money on leopard yet and would like to keep it that way for now.

Hi, Jules:

Welcome to the forums! Although Steve asks the beta testers not to comment on future releases, I think he won't insist on taking my firstborn if I tell you that Thoth and I are the Tiger beta testers, and we give Steve grief regularly until the Tiger version works as advertised. (He claims he likes it. Go figure! )

 

Also, once an image is in the project, you can drag it to as many image wells as you want and into the notebook. This is in response to previous wails from various folks (okay, mostly me) about 1.5 files bulging into behemoths when I added the same image more than once.

Now, about the PDFs and Web pages, I have discovered a way to work around it, which isn't ideal, but is fairly easy and makes me happy. I saved the web page as a PDF, and then dragged the PDF into a notebook entry. It displayed just fine and is viewable off-line, so this solves the problem until you add your own feature!

Jules

I have had good luck with copying and pasting Wikipedia pages into the Notebook in version 1.5. I just select the whole thing, making sure the blue text covers the images, copy and paste. The images show up together with the text, although the placement is not exactly the same. Not just what you're looking for, I know, but it works.

 

We have squashed many bugs, but only Steve can tell you when version 2.0 will be ready for prime time.

Best,

Marguerite

[Steve E]

Hi, Julia:

 

Welcome to the forum. I see M has once again beat me to the punch: image bloat; whining at Steve; Wikipedia pages; riding the Tiger on a V2 saddle (M has a "fine seat", as they say in the equestrian arts. Or should that be felidian arts?).

 

-Thoth.

[hase]

Hi, Julia:

 

Welcome to the forum. I see M has once again beat me to the punch: image bloat; whining at Steve; Wikipedia pages; riding the Tiger on a V2 saddle (M has a "fine seat", as they say in the equestrian arts. Or should that be felidian arts?).

 

-Thoth.

 

So, proposing to drop support for Tiger will indeed get me crucified?

My, I'm SO glad I wouldn't do that ...

[Joolissa]

Thanks for the welcome!

 

I've officially bought Storyist, though I had a bit of trouble trying to import my story. Long story short I couldn't get my italics to import. Finally I figured out that I had to remove the "section text" from the apply formatting menu. . After some trial and error I got it all figured out and imported though! Phew. There are a couple things I'm still having some issues with:

Trying to change the fonts is a bit annoying I go into the inspector, then hit edit for what ever style I want to change the font for, and try to use the letter keys to jump around my list of fonts, but that doesn't work. Neither does typing in a font name and hitting enter (bug?). So I have to scroll through the whole list to click on it.

 

Also, my organization OCD strikes again: I was wondering if perhaps in V2, that Groups withing Groups or some type of threading will be supported? i.e. in my settings I want to have a group for "World One" and inside "World One" I want to have "Country One", "Country Two", "Country Three", etc. Then inside those I would like City, Town, Forest, etc.

 

 

Anyhow,

Hase:

yes proposing to drop support for Tiger will indeed get you crucified, perhaps even put on the rack, made to walk off a plank, or worse.

 

Thanks again for the welcome! I'm gonna get working on plugging more info into my project. Yay!

- Julia Grace

[Joolissa]

Oh, and as an afterthought, are there any plans for a Quick Add feature? i.e. If you're clicked on the Notebook in the navigation you can hit enter and it will add a new notebook entry, or perhaps a + button? Anything to replace the right click > add > notebook entry... etc. etc. The same for settings etc. etc.

[Steve]

I've officially bought Storyist

 

Thanks Julia!

 

Trying to change the fonts is a bit annoying I go into the inspector, then hit edit for what ever style I want to change the font for, and try to use the letter keys to jump around my list of fonts, but that doesn't work. Neither does typing in a font name and hitting enter (bug?). So I have to scroll through the whole list to click on it.

 

Type-ahead should work in the font dialog. If it doesn't (it might be case sensitive), let me know and I'll look into it.

 

Another way to change the font:

 

1) Select some text.

2) Bring up the Font panel.

3) Change the font to your desired font.

4) Choose Format > Style > Redefine Style from Selection

 

Also, my organization OCD strikes again: I was wondering if perhaps in V2, that Groups withing Groups or some type of threading will be supported? i.e. in my settings I want to have a group for "World One" and inside "World One" I want to have "Country One", "Country Two", "Country Three", etc. Then inside those I would like City, Town, Forest, etc.

 

Groups can have subgroups in V1 (and that hasn't changed for V2). Example:

 

1) Create a Character Group

2) Create a second Character Group.

3) Drag the second group into the first group.

 

Anyhow,

Hase:

yes proposing to drop support for Tiger will indeed get you crucified, perhaps even put on the rack, made to walk off a plank, or worse.

 

Thanks again for the welcome! I'm gonna get working on plugging more info into my project. Yay!

- Julia Grace

 

Well I'm glad to see Hase is safe for the moment.

 

Good luck with the project!

 

-Steve

[Steve]

Oh, and as an afterthought, are there any plans for a Quick Add feature? i.e. If you're clicked on the Notebook in the navigation you can hit enter and it will add a new notebook entry, or perhaps a + button?

Anything to replace the right click > add > notebook entry... etc. etc. The same for settings etc. etc.

 

The + button should do this now in V1.

 

1) Select a notebook entry in the Project view.

2) Click the + button at the bottom of the Project view.

 

A new notebook entry is created.

 

In V2, Cmd + Return will also create new entries (and Cmd + \ will create new groups). These shortcuts are carried over to the outliner and storyboard as well.

 

-Steve

[marguerite]

Oh, and as an afterthought, are there any plans for a Quick Add feature? i.e. If you're clicked on the Notebook in the navigation you can hit enter and it will add a new notebook entry, or perhaps a + button? Anything to replace the right click > add > notebook entry... etc. etc. The same for settings etc. etc.

Julia, in v1, if you click on the Notebook/Character Group/Plot Thread/Settings Group and hit the + sign at the bottom left corner of the Project Pane, you get a new note, character, plot point, setting as appropriate to the group selected.

 

Glad you've laid down the law with Hase. I favor boiling in oil, myself.

Best,

Marguerite

 

P.S. I see that Steve and I answered this at the same time.

[Joolissa]

Ha! You guys are such a fun group. Boiling in Oil could definitely be added to the list and there's always Tar and Feathering. =P

 

Heh! Thanks for letting me know about the + button! I totally missed that thing. I also discovered shortcuts, now I just need to learn them . The V2 option sounds great. *goes back to impatiently waiting* lol!

 

As for the groups in groups. Oiy! I feel silly. I was trying to drag/drop it on top of a group instead of actually dragging it inside of the group. That works now! Also you were right about the Font thing being case sensitive. I hadn't even thought to try that! Works splendidly now. I'm glad you guys put up with the "duh" questions Usually I'm a bit better with that kinda thing!

 

Thanks a million times over!

Have a great day all!

- J

[marguerite]

Ha! You guys are such a fun group. Boiling in Oil could definitely be added to the list and there's always Tar and Feathering. =P

 

Heh! Thanks for letting me know about the + button! I totally missed that thing. I also discovered shortcuts, now I just need to learn them . The V2 option sounds great. *goes back to impatiently waiting* lol!

 

As for the groups in groups. Oiy! I feel silly. I was trying to drag/drop it on top of a group instead of actually dragging it inside of the group. That works now! Also you were right about the Font thing being case sensitive. I hadn't even thought to try that! Works splendidly now. I'm glad you guys put up with the "duh" questions Usually I'm a bit better with that kinda thing!

 

Thanks a million times over!

Have a great day all!

- J

Eh, no need to feel silly. Everyone goes through this. I once wrote to Steve with a feature request that would make my text bigger on screen, and he politely mentioned that the zoom menu, there large as life right under my nose, was designed for exactly that purpose. I'd never even thought to wonder what the 100% meant. So I, like, clicked on it, and lo and behold, it had options!

 

So don't hesitate to ask. I'm sure there is no question so dumb one of us hasn't already asked it.

 

Yeah, we have a way with words. Writers, you know. Hase is probably plotting his revenge as we type.

Cheers,

Marguerite

[Joolissa]

Hehehe! Glad I'm not the only one!

[hase]

Me? Revenge?

Let me look that one up, 'revenge':

revenge |rɪˈvɛn(d)ʒ|

noun

the action of inflicting hurt or harm on someone for an injury or wrong suffered at their hands : other spurned wives have taken public revenge on their husbands.

the desire to inflict such retribution : it was difficult not to be overwhelmed with

 

That is an interesting concept.

And you even asked for it ...

[astillac]

Why is it that writers like to post the definition of words? I've always been curious about that.

[Joolissa]

I think it makes us feel smarter and shows off our mad vocabulary skills. Though I'm not sure "revenge" classifies under the "mad vocab" category

[hase]

Why is it that writers like to post the definition of words? I've always been curious about that.

 

Just to make sure what we truly write about, I'd guess. And, since the glorious beauty of English is not my primary language, I certainly need to know what I am writing about. Sometimes it is even fun when one does discover a words origin...

 

I think it makes us feel smarter and shows off our mad vocabulary skills. Though I'm not sure "revenge" classifies under the "mad vocab" category

 

Now that depends how you actually do it, doesn't it? Admitted, not the word, but the concept of it, though.

[codemer]

Why is it that writers like to post the definition of words? I've always been curious about that.

 

There are so many lovely words. Didn't the English language just get its one millionth word?

 

I miss the olden days when writers not only wrote the definitions of words, but made them up too.

 

IF

[Steve E]

I miss the olden days when writers not only wrote the definitions of words, but made them up too.

Me too. After all, where do people think words come from? Folks made them up. (The word "fast" alone has 4 adjective definitions, 2 adverb definitions, 1 verb form and 1 related noun form (to fast, a fast).)

 

As a little treat, I've always enjoyed The Devil's Dictionary (click there).

 

Okay, not really a Feature Request so this thread has clearly become skidozzled.

-Thoth.

[Joolissa]

lol! Suddenly I'm overcome with the urge to invent a word or two....

 

 

Hase: okay, so how do you plan on exacting your revenge upon us?

[Steve E]

lol! Suddenly I'm overcome with the urge to invent a word or two....

Hase: okay, so how do you plan on exacting your revenge upon us?

Careful Julia! Don't give him any ideas. Our leporine friend already has a Bug Bunny-esque way about him. I already have to contend with the occasional barrage of overmuffins from the other ladies of the group. (Thanks for sparing me, by the way.)

 

Still spinning this wayward thread.

-Thoth.

[Joolissa]

lol I'm not quite sure how I spared you or what an overmuffin is....

 

Ah the life of wayward threads and how they go careening at breakneck speeds down small holes that lead to lands full of playing cards with unhealthy obsessions and mischievous grinning cats... or at least made up words and revenge.

[marguerite]

lol I'm not quite sure how I spared you or what an overmuffin is....

 

Ah the life of wayward threads and how they go careening at breakneck speeds down small holes that lead to lands full of playing cards with unhealthy obsessions and mischievous grinning cats... or at least made up words and revenge.

For a brief definition of "overmuffin" by the inimitable Thoth, recipient of many such, see the discussion here.

 

The search engine— intimidated, no doubt, by the likes of Calli and me—does a miserable job of tracking down the early history of the term on these forums. Try searching for "stiletto heels," although that may not work either.

 

In any case, I am hoarding my overmuffins in case Julia succeeds in provoking Hase to seek revenge instead of simply defining it, so, sorry, Thoth, I have none to spare for you at present.

 

Hallelujah, it's Friday! Happy writing weekend, everyone!

Best,

Marguerite

[Steve E]

Hallelujah, it's Friday! Happy writing weekend, everyone!

Hallelujah indeed.

 

It is also DTV day, when all American TV stations (finally) flip over from analog to digital. If you use a digital converter box don't forget to rescan since many stations are now transmitting at different frequencies. People with CATV and SATV are safe; you won't even notice the changeover. You folks with rabbit ears are sh@t out of luck.

 

Today is also the 580th anniversary of Joan of Arc leading the French army in their capture of the English commander, William de la Pole, 1st Duke of Suffolk in the second day of the Battle of Jargeau. (Hundred Years' War, June 12, 1429.)

 

They don't make wars like they used to. Is that a good thing or a bad thing?

-Thoth.