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Julesiz BIG HUGE List of Requests & Ideas


Joolissa

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Well I'm back from Vacation, but am still a bit out of it since I found out my Poppop died on the last day of Vaca and I now have a funeral to attend, as well as a wedding to second shoot (photograph), so things are a bit interesting. On a better note I got my first Longbow and already have my first war wound (a softball sized bruise above my elbow from the string whacking it since my elbow hyper extends into the way! I had to have the archery guys teach me an alternative grip to keep from getting hit more). So now that I've caught you all up on personal things you probably don't have much interest in :) .....

 

I read through all of the Feature request forum and put together my list of things I'd like to see. I think there's a few new ones in here somewhere, but I figured I'd put my 2 cents in to Steve. Once I get into Storyist more I'm sure I'll have more, but I'll save those for later! Here goes!

 

Feature Requests

(bold is higher in importance)

 

Probably Moot because they're already in the works:

1. Focus Feature

2. Chapter Word Count (probably linked to the Focus Feature)

3. Configure Storyist to open with the last file used open.

 

New (from what I can tell):

• PDF Support! (probably not too original, but I wanted it at the top)

This is my biggest request, especially since there was an easy work around in V1, but it got nixed in V2. I reaaaalllly want to be able to drag my PDFs into my notebook for research. This enables me to put websites in them along with other documents. While were at it, websites, MP3s, and movies would be great too, but I can live without those as long as I can get PDFs back. This is right on the line of deal-breaker as it was the one ability that pushed me onto the Storyist train from the Scrivener train. I don't even need to import them, I am fine with dragging them into a notebook entry like V1.

 

• Better Importing?

Since I'm having serious trouble with being able to import a file and keep my italics and have industry formatting/correct sections, chapters, etc. I would like to see this a bit more fine tuned? But since I'm not a programmer, this may have more to do with the files I'm importing from than Storyist itself? I dunno!

 

• The ability to have collection specific templates/creating your own sheet types

For example, I can create a template for all new characters, but if I have two collections that contain characters (i.e. one for specific characters and one for races & species) I can only create one template for both collections. That means more work for me, either having to add or delete fields depending on which collection I'm currently adding. This probably applies to shortcuts and where Storyist auto places Characters, but I haven't played enough with it to know. I am perfectly willing to live without this though, because I'm sure it is entirely too complicated to do, but I thought I'd put it out there.

 

• A bit more space at the bottom of the navigation bar

When I open enough drawers that the list goes all the way to the bottom of the window, the last item in the list sits right up against the bottom tool bar/status bar/whatever it's called. This really bugs me. I can live with it, but my OCD makes me twitch a bit. lol! I would love just a bit of a buffer. This also applies writing text in normal mode, but I am insanely used to keeping a bunch of bank lines at the bottom of my document to position the text where I want it on the screen.

 

• Trash Icon change

This is also very minor, but the icon for opening the trash is not intuitive to me. Had I not randomly been pressing buttons I would never know the trash existed there. I think a little trash can icon would be much more intuitive, especially if it was similar to the mac trash icon

 

 

 

Seconding & Beating Dead Horses:

• One button open/close split view

I know there were reasons against this, but I would like a single button for opening and closing a split view containing the collage mode or storyboard depending on what type of file your clicked on. This is very intuitive for me, where as going and clicking workspace and a few other things slows me down. Especially if I just want to check the collage to make sure something is associated or not.

 

• Time lines & Event Sheets!

I definitely ditto that idea. I would love a time line/event sheets feature. This would be handy for creating a world where multiple stories you're writing happen.. you can keep track of what stories happen when. It could also be handy for tracking the time line of one story or one chapter or even a section in which a lot happens. It would be useful for stories resembling the 24 show time line as well. Please note that I am partial to the classic horizontal time line and am not fond of tables.

 

You could get really into this with being able to have a bubble going from Year x to Year Y representing your book, then clicking on that would zoom in and you'd be able to plot your chapters from day x to day y or month x to month y , scenes to hour x to hour y etc. etc. and be able to plot multiple books on the line etc. etc. Could be really cool, but probably insanely complicated to program.

 

• Prop Sheets!

Not only useful to the play-writes out there, but also handy for novelists who have magic rings, talking hats, or immensely handy towels to keep track of. Pretty please?

 

• Dictionary/Thesaurus

Another one of those "it'd be nice, but it's hardly necessary." I can just hi F12 to open dashboard and use the widget there, but since I hear dashboard is the devil of memory using it would be nice to avoid that. Or I can right click and look up in dictionary, but that opens yet another app... so something integrated would be nice, but again, hardly necessary.

 

• Glossary

I'm dittoing this.. it could be immensely useful and a multi tasker. You could use it for jargon, as Thoth once suggested way back when (can you tell I'm reading through the forums?) and you could use if for noting something that needs research AND you could use it to translate your made-up language into english (or what ever language your writing in) i.e. Gobbledegook > right click > add to glossary > Gobbledegook (GOB-bull-dee-guk) means "Your brains belong to me" in Goblin.

 

• Sheet Functionalities Etc.

- Headings & Custom Areas: I know you can highlight text and make it look like a heading and then type under it, which is useful, but it'd be even more useful to be able to insert another form type thing like the "Physical description" area, etc. etc. Also, the ability to customize the default headings would be nice, but I know that's been requested a bunch already.

- Duplicate: The ability to duplicate a sheet would be great

Chapter Sheets/ Group Notes

Drag & Drop re-ordering of fields.. this would be soooooo incredibly useful.

 

• Password/Encryption Options

Came across this idea. The option to have to input a password upon opening would be nice, and then for the true security freaks you can also have the option to have the file encrypted. This probably can be acomplished outside of Storyist somehow... but I don't really want more halfway useless apps on my computer and I'm generally lazy and don't like extra steps, like all of us. lol!

 

 

Ideas:

• (Already Suggested?) Multiple Manuscript/Same Characters:

This is more of an idea than a feature request, but there's been talking of how to link notes, chars, scenes, etc. to multiple manu/scripts. I had the idea, that perhaps the set of notes, characters, scenes etc. could be it's own file in itself that would open along side of your manuscript window. That way you could associate multiple manuscripts to one file of characters and scenes. There of course would also be the option of having some manuscript specific characters and stuff, for ones that don't overlap into the second book or second series etc. This would also keep individual file size down (aka not storing multiple books in one file). I'm not sure how well anyone would actually like that or how complicated it would be to achieve, but it's an idea.

 

• Stock Images

Thoth once brought up the idea of shipping with stock images or stock art (perhaps having it available in a private section of the forums for buyers only?) for easy access and copyright infringement free character/scene sheets. I bet that there are certain artists who would potentially be interested in some kind of a very low cost with credit deal to have her art in the program. ;) Especially if they were willing to work with her time constraints & as she learned more/gained more skill..... Maybe perhaps even more than one interested party (Cali?)... Also, it could potentially worked out to draw line art images that could then be put into Paint/PS/Painter/etc. for use with the paint bucket tool to customize the character to have purple eyes and green hair if the author so desired. =D!

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You've been busy.

 

Well I'm back from Vacation, but am still a bit out of it since I found out my Poppop died on the last day of Vaca and I now have a funeral to attend, as well as a wedding to second shoot (photograph), so things are a bit interesting. On a better note I got my first Longbow and already have my first war wound (a softball sized bruise above my elbow from the string whacking it since my elbow hyper extends into the way! I had to have the archery guys teach me an alternative grip to keep from getting hit more). So now that I've caught you all up on personal things you probably don't have much interest in .....

 

First, my condolences on the passing of your grandfather. That's a hell of a thing to come back to after a vacation away. I trust you enjoyed your "vaca".

 

On a personal note, when I was young and foolish (as opposed to middle-aged and foolish) I managed to put an arrow through my hand. Not the palm but the flesh between the thumb and index finger. The other boys loved it; made me very popular.

 

With respect to your softball-sized bruise, consider yourself lucky. The fabled Amazons (Homer's hellcats, not the Brazilians) cut off one breast to improve their stance and avoid getting...well, you know. Talk about dedication to your craft!

 

As for your feature requests, see below.

-Thoth.

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Yes, vacation was wonderful. Got to spend a lot of time with some of my favorite people. As for the other thing, thanks. I'm doing okay. It wasn't unexpected, so that is at least something.

 

lol boys.... Do you still have a scar? And how did you manage to get an arrow through your hand anyhow?

 

HAHA! Someone actually mentioned that to me... I thought they were joking.... but I can definitely understand how it helps... I don't think I'll follow suit though.

 

See below? I'm looking but it's telling me I can't scroll any farther..... :)

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First, my condolences on the passing of your grandfather. That's a hell of a thing to come back to after a vacation away. I trust you enjoyed your "vaca".

-Thoth.

Yes, let me second this. Profound sympathy! :)

 

FYI, over the weekend, I uncovered and reported a bug in the way Storyist displays images in the notebook, especially in imported version 1 files (see the Beta Testers > Bugs section). I wonder if this bug is related to your troubles with the PDF files. There's no reason that I can imagine why Storyist 1 should be able to read them and Storyist 2 not. Steve?

 

Do you see a dashed square where the PDF used to be? If you do, it's probably the same bug.

 

More flexible sheet creation would be great. Then we could create our own plot and event sheets. So would a timeline feature and the capacity to set a specific file to open on startup.

 

I use templates to manage multiple books that share characters, settings, and notes (I never delete a series character or setting but just shove them into a "Not Used Here" group for later retrieval). It's not perfect, as I have to update the templates periodically to keep things on track, and those changes don't affect any manuscripts already created from the template (although you can export a character, etc., definition and import it into a new file: it's clunky but it works).

 

The template is, in effect, the parallel file that can hold notes, etc., and be open on screen at the same time (you can create one at any time through File > Save as Template). But I'd like to have the option to "reimport characters/settings/etc." from the backup template file rather than juggle updating several files manually.

Best.

Marguerite

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New (from what I can tell):

• PDF Support! (probably not too original, but I wanted it at the top)

... This is right on the line of deal-breaker as it was the one ability that pushed me onto the Storyist train from the Scrivener train. I don't even need to import them, I am fine with dragging them into a notebook entry like V1.

A great big "seconded"!

 

• Better Importing?

Since I'm having serious trouble with being able to import a file and keep my italics and have industry formatting/correct sections, chapters, etc....

Marguerite has been flooding Steve with details about this problem. I'm sure he's on top of it.

 

• The ability to have collection specific templates/creating your own sheet types

For example, I can create a template for all new characters, but if I have two collections that contain characters (i.e. one for specific characters and one for races & species) I can only create one template for both collections. That means more work for me, either having to add or delete fields depending on which collection I'm currently adding. This probably applies to shortcuts and where Storyist auto places Characters, but I haven't played enough with it to know. I am perfectly willing to live without this though, because I'm sure it is entirely too complicated to do, but I thought I'd put it out there.

What I did in V1 was create a whole bunch of character attributes and chose which ones I would display in each Character sheet. See Beta forum for further comments on Customized Character fields.

 

• Trash Icon change

This is also very minor, but the icon for opening the trash is not intuitive to me. Had I not randomly been pressing buttons I would never know the trash existed there. I think a little trash can icon would be much more intuitive, especially if it was similar to the mac trash icon."

Agreed and seconded.

 

Seconding & Beating Dead Horses:

• One button open/close split view

I know there were reasons against this, but I would like a single button for opening and closing a split view containing the collage mode or storyboard depending on what type of file your clicked on. This is very intuitive for me, where as going and clicking workspace and a few other things slows me down. Especially if I just want to check the collage to make sure something is associated or not.

So a button to open and close a collage view? And a button to open and close a outline view? And a button to open and close a text view (why not)? The problem here (if it is a problem) is that Steve has already gone in a different direction, seeing workspace snapshots as the new paradigm, which expects you to set up a collage snapshot (if you need one). But I could be wrong. But your idea does seem more intuitive for your "quick check" example.

 

• Time lines & Event Sheets!

• Prop Sheets!

:)

 

Continued below.

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Continued from above. (I exceeded my "quote" limit.)

 

• Dictionary/Thesaurus

Nice. I think you can set this up for yourself in Leopard.

 

• Glossary

I'm dittoing this.. it could be immensely useful and a multi tasker. You could use it for jargon, as Thoth once suggested way back when (can you tell I'm reading through the forums?) and you could use if for noting something that needs research AND you could use it to translate your made-up language into english (or what ever language your writing in) i.e. Gobbledegook > right click > add to glossary > Gobbledegook (GOB-bull-dee-guk) means "Your brains belong to me" in Goblin.

Heck yeah! (I didn't know you spoke goblin?)

 

• Sheet Functionalities Etc.

- Headings & Custom Areas: I know you can highlight text and make it look like a heading and then type under it, which is useful, but it'd be even more useful to be able to insert another form type thing like the "Physical description" area, etc. etc. Also, the ability to customize the default headings would be nice, but I know that's been requested a bunch already.

- Duplicate: The ability to duplicate a sheet would be great

Chapter Sheets/ Group Notes

Drag & Drop re-ordering of fields.. this would be soooooo incredibly useful.

Yep, yep and yep.

 

• Password/Encryption Options

I don't really feel strongly abut this. My computer is secure and if anyone tries to steal a file from me they're going to have goblins to deal with.

 

Ideas:

• (Already Suggested?) Multiple Manuscript/Same Characters:

I'd like to be able to easily share collections (characters, settings, notes, etc) between stories in separate files. But for now you can have multiple stories/books per file and sharing collections.

 

• Stock Images

Thoth once brought up the idea of shipping with stock images or stock art (perhaps having it available in a private section of the forums for buyers only?) for easy access and copyright infringement free character/scene sheets. I bet that there are certain artists who would potentially be interested in some kind of a very low cost with credit deal to have her art in the program. :) Especially if they were willing to work with her time constraints & as she learned more/gained more skill..... Maybe perhaps even more than one interested party (Cali?)... Also, it could potentially worked out to draw line art images that could then be put into Paint/PS/Painter/etc. for use with the paint bucket tool to customize the character to have purple eyes and green hair if the author so desired. =D!

I believe there are create-a-character programs out there that will output jpegs. But the Web is so big I've never had a problem finding the right picture of a person, place or thing for my personal use. Still, the Stock Images suggestion is sheer brilliance.

 

A nice, healthy list.

-Thoth.

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• Better Importing?

Since I'm having serious trouble with being able to import a file and keep my italics and have industry formatting/correct sections, chapters, etc. I would like to see this a bit more fine tuned? But since I'm not a programmer, this may have more to do with the files I'm importing from than Storyist itself? I dunno!

Thoth is right: I've been making a regular pest of myself all weekend (and in general) :) on this one—although Thoth was too polite to put it quite that way. So please, continue to apply the pressure. But I think the current problems are a stage, not the desired outcome. All the programming necessary to re-envision Storyist to include full screen mode and the like broke the importer, and while it's mostly fixed now, individual bugs still crop up. I'm sure Steve will get them fixed pronto. He doesn't want anyone going back to another software program because it's too big a hassle to import files! Exporting files, now … but no, that would be wrong. ;)

 

Although certain large software companies that oughta be ashamed of themselves have been known to do that even with earlier versions of their own software, never mind anyone else's. (Hey, if some dope doesn't want to shell out $1,000 for an upgrade, why should she get support?!)

 

• Trash Icon change

This is also very minor, but the icon for opening the trash is not intuitive to me. Had I not randomly been pressing buttons I would never know the trash existed there. I think a little trash can icon would be much more intuitive, especially if it was similar to the mac trash icon

Thirded. It's a little thing, but it would be an improvement. The present icon looks like an envelope to me.

 

• Prop Sheets!

Not only useful to the play-writes out there, but also handy for novelists who have magic rings, talking hats, or immensely handy towels to keep track of. Pretty please?

I've actually constructed a prop sheet out of a setting sheet by altering the custom fields. Once you throw an image into the image well and stash it in its own collection, you can't tell that it used to be something else. Or, you won't be able to once Steve fixes the "who cares which fields you wanted in your character sheets—Storyist wants the defaults" bug. At the moment, the sheet opens to Sights, Sounds, and Smells, which for a gold pendant borders on hilarious.

Cheers,

M

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Do you still have a scar? And how did you manage to get an arrow through your hand anyhow?

After all these years the scar is very faint but still there. How did it happen? It was a crossbow and I'm a klutz. (It was a setting accident. Never set the string of a crossbow while it's loaded. But you probably know that. I didn't.)

 

HAHA! Someone actually mentioned that to me... I thought they were joking.... but I can definitely understand how it helps... I don't think I'll follow suit though.

Hmm. Good thinking. See, you're already smarter than Queen Otrere.

 

See below? I'm looking but it's telling me I can't scroll any farther..... ;)

My responses took longer than I thought they would. :)

-Thoth.

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At the moment, the sheet opens to Sights, Sounds, and Smells, which for a gold pendant borders on hilarious.

 

"Hmm. Sounds like gold-pressed latinum." - Quark, Deep Space Nine.

 

Back when I worked on Wall Street I once went on a tour of the Federal Reserve in New York. In the basement there is more gold than in Fort Knox, Kentucky. The one question everybody asked was, "What's that stink?" I swear to you: Gold in large quantities smells just awful.

 

Probably should have put this in Writers' Lounge.

-Thoth.

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M:

Yes, I think I'd seen that bug kicking around as well, but in Tiger trying to add a PDF makes it crash. It doesn't crash in Leopard, but it doesn't display. I'd told steve about this, so I'm sure he's aware. I'm just being impatient! lol!

 

I'd also seen your template. It's nice, and I may have to consider using it at some point, though I'm more apt to just put everything in one file despite the slow downs. Maybe by the time I get around to a second book Steve will have implemented something for this. I can dream at least!

 

Settings > Props work around could work once that bug is fixed. Though, you run into the issue of having to use the same default template for both etc. etc. Still, not an unlivable solution.

 

T:

I can just create a template with 50 bazillion attributes, but then I've got to spend time deleting them everytime I make a character or race. Also trying to get them in the right order is a bit annoying. Overall this is probably what I'll end up doing though. Of course, I'm waiting to work on sheets until the defaults bug is squashed.

 

I am really not a fan of having to go click on work spaces, then choose which one I want etc. etc. It's really cumbersome to me, when I just want to open the collage real quick and then close it. All I want is one simple button to close what ever pane is on the right. I understand this causes issues with how many things can be displayed there and for people who would rather close the left hand or split their window with windows on top of each other... but a single button to open and close the split screen (perhaps with configurable preferences? say auto close right/top/left split always open: collage/text/etc.) would be great. If it was customizable then everyone could pick what fit them best. I would also be happy with a short cut, but a button and a short cut would be great.

 

Not having Leopard and not planning on getting it any time soon puts a bit of crimp in the dictionary thingy.... but it's not a huge deal anyhow.

 

Gobd deley guk boo :)

 

The whole password thing isn't that important to me either, but I wouldn't turn it down if it were offered.

 

But why would us Storyist users want to go steal pictures offline or have to go to another program when we'd much rather stay inside Storyist? :P Besides, if I was to put artwork in and get credit, that'd be great marketing and great on the resume ;)

 

LOL that gold bit gives a whole new meaning to the phrase "smells like money"

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With respect to your softball-sized bruise, consider yourself lucky. The fabled Amazons (Homer's hellcats, not the Brazilians) cut off one breast to improve their stance and avoid getting...well, you know. Talk about dedication to your craft!

 

As for your feature requests, see below.

-Thoth.

 

That's ironic. I watched Elegy recently. In it, Ben Kingsly talks about this. A woman in it gets breast cancer and worries she will be ugly and undesirable after having her breast removed. He tells her about the Amazons to counter her negative thoughts.

 

I think the moral of the movie was that breast cancer is not actually all that bad. I'm ducking to avoid the fruit now. In all seriousness, there has been breast cancer in my family, so I don't actually mean to make light of it.

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That's ironic. I watched Elegy recently. In it, Ben Kingsly talks about this. A woman in it gets breast cancer and worries she will be ugly and undesirable after having her breast removed. He tells her about the Amazons to counter her negative thoughts.

 

I think the moral of the movie was that breast cancer is not actually all that bad. I'm ducking to avoid the fruit now. In all seriousness, there has been breast cancer in my family, so I don't actually mean to make light of it.

I think the point of the story is that Amazons are hot.

 

As for your breast cancer remark, we will suspend overmuffin flinging in your general direction, for now, owing to the presence of the disease in your family and our respect for the inflicted.

 

We're watching you.

-Thoth.

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