page number?

[Jessica Trapp]

At the bottom of the screen, Storyist lists the word count and the total page number. Is there a way to make it list what page that one is currently working on as well?

 

Thanks in advance,

Jessica

[Steve]

At the bottom of the screen, Storyist lists the word count and the total page number. Is there a way to make it list what page that one is currently working on as well?

 

Thanks in advance,

Jessica

 

Not currently. I believe there is a feature request open for this though. The page status should be something like "Page 45 of 415."

 

-Steve

[Jessica Trapp]

Not currently. I believe there is a feature request open for this though. The page status should be something like "Page 45 of 415."

 

-Steve

 

So far Storyist is getting a thumbs down from me. The navigation is very frustrating and clunky.

 

Thank you for answering.

 

Jessica

[Steve]

So far Storyist is getting a thumbs down from me. The navigation is very frustrating and clunky.

 

Thank you for answering.

 

Jessica

 

Hi Jessica,

 

From your comments here and in your other thread, it sounds like you prefer to use page numbers to navigate, and I imagine it is indeed frustrating that you can't type in a specific page number and go there.

 

Before Word introduced the Document Map, you pretty much had to work this way if you were working in Word. The focus in Storyist is on the logical chapters and sections rather than page numbers (which change), and is hopefully a step up. I know I have a hard time keeping the page numbers for the sections I'm working on in my head.

 

The place I find page numbers useful is in revision. If I've given a print copy to someone for comment, getting to the paragraph to make the change is easier if I have the page number, but the Find dialog gets me there with only a few more keystrokes.

 

-Steve

[orrenm]

Is there a way to make it list what page that one is currently working on as well?

 

Hi Jessica,

 

What I do is have Storyist put the page number in the header of my manuscript using the Insert Page Number command. That way, I can read the page number directly on the document.

 

Hope that helps,

Orren

[Jessica Trapp]

Hi Jessica,

 

From your comments here and in your other thread, it sounds like you prefer to use page numbers to navigate, and I imagine it is indeed frustrating that you can't type in a specific page number and go there.

 

Before Word introduced the Document Map, you pretty much had to work this way if you were working in Word. The focus in Storyist is on the logical chapters and sections rather than page numbers (which change), and is hopefully a step up. I know I have a hard time keeping the page numbers for the sections I'm working on in my head.

 

The place I find page numbers useful is in revision. If I've given a print copy to someone for comment, getting to the paragraph to make the change is easier if I have the page number, but the Find dialog gets me there with only a few more keystrokes.

 

-Steve

 

Thanks for your help, Steve. I hope that Storyist considers adding better navigation features.

 

Jessica

[marguerite]

Thanks for your help, Steve. I hope that Storyist considers adding better navigation features.

 

Jessica

Hi, Jessica--

Welcome to the forums. If you are accustomed to jumping from one page to another using command-G, I can imagine that it is frustrating not to have that feature readily available. Before you give up on Storyist, though, consider that its navigation features are different from Word's, not necessarily worse.

 

For example, moving to a specific page is more difficult, admittedly, but moving to a specific chapter or section, a complicated process in Word, is simple in Storyist. If you have the Project View displayed on the left (as it is by default), and you have clicked the tabs to open the chapters you're currently working on, you can snap from the beginning of one section to the beginning of any other visible section with a single click.

 

You can also drag any section from one chapter to another (when a chapter gets too long, say, or you decide that plot point fits better somewhere else). That is an enormously time-saving feature that is not available in Word. And Storyist's options for managing your characters, settings, plot, etc., are far better than Word's. Even the notebook is much easier to use than Word's, including the ability to link one note to another.

 

As Steve indicates, one way to move quickly to where you want to be is to use the search feature (not command-F, although that works too, but the magnifying glass search function up at the top right corner). Click on it, type the most distinctive word you can think of, and a list of sections and sheets where that word appears shows up. Click on the one you want, and you're there. Not much slower than command-G. (It's also a good way to prune those phrases that sneak into your prose, as when you reel in horror as you realize that your hero has quirked his mouth derisively for the 400th time in as many pages. )

 

If you've used Word for years, it can take a while to adjust (believe me, I know!). But Storyist really is better suited to the task of writing fiction, so it's worth giving yourself a few weeks to become accustomed to its ways.

Best,

Marguerite

[Steve E]

A pity Search and Find don't look at Headers. Then we could combine Orren's suggestion with M's and just Search for "Page 42." or just "42" if we're feeling lucky.

 

Hint. Hint.

- Thoth

[Jessica Trapp]

If you've used Word for years, it can take a while to adjust (believe me, I know!). But Storyist really is better suited to the task of writing fiction, so it's worth giving yourself a few weeks to become accustomed to its ways.

 

If it were truly better more people would be using it.

 

I like the section and chapter jumps, but without page numbers at the bottom and no way to get to a specific page number or section easily, it's frustrating and clunky for me. When an editor or critique partner says to "go to page 6" or one is in the middle of copy edits to me it should be easy to find.

 

Also, I've been working with it for a few weeks--this is just a bigger issue in a long list of minor frustrations about the navigation within the program. Hopefully they will work the bugs out. Just speaking for myself, I can't recommend the product at this time. Maybe it works for other people. I dunno.

 

Jessica

[marguerite]

If it were truly better more people would be using it.

 

I like the section and chapter jumps, but without page numbers at the bottom and no way to get to a specific page number or section easily, it's frustrating and clunky for me. When an editor or critique partner says to "go to page 6" or one is in the middle of copy edits to me it should be easy to find.

 

Also, I've been working with it for a few weeks--this is just a bigger issue in a long list of minor frustrations about the navigation within the program. Hopefully they will work the bugs out. Just speaking for myself, I can't recommend the product at this time. Maybe it works for other people. I dunno.

 

Jessica

Storyist does some things better--and offers some features that Word does not have at all. Word is better at certain other things--and even offers a few features that Storyist doesn't. Word has also been around for long enough and has become ubiquitous enough (displacing a number of better programs along the way--like WordPerfect 3.5 for Mac) that it has the virtue of familiarity.

 

I'm not arguing with your feature request, though. In fact, I would like to be able to jump to a specific page. As you note, it's particularly useful during revisions.

Best,

Marguerite

[Joolissa]

Welcome to the Forums Jessica!

I hope you won't give up on Storyist completely. I know there are certain things about it that frustrate me as well, but since Steve is a great developer and listens to us and because of the other great features it offeres that are not offered by other programs I stick with it. It's not a perfect fit for everyone though. I'd be interested to hear more about the other things you find frustrating. That way we can learn from your thoughts an opinions.

 

- Jools