Chapter Notes and Section Sheets

[TexasRunner]

Okay, I'm confused. I'm a new Storyist user. In the sample manuscript, under Section Sheets, there are folders (Groups?) called CHAPTER 1 Notes, CHAPTER 2 Notes, with Section Sheets beneath them. I have set my Manuscript Preferences to automatically create section sheets. However, when the section sheets are created, they appear all together in a list and not grouped in corresponding folders. Apparently Storyist doesn't automatically create "Chapter Notes" folders even though the sample manuscript implies that it does. So, I created them and dragged all the Section Sheets into their proper Chapter Folders. However, I moved some things around and inserted some new chapters in my manuscript. Since the Chapter Note folders were manually created, those labels didn't change when I changed the Manuscript chapters. Did I miss something?

 

Also, I noticed that if you forget to turn on automatic section sheets, you apparently can't turn it on later and have it automatically create section sheets from that point on. I had to start over, blocking the manuscript text and pasting it into a new project.

 

Would appreciate any help in this area.

 

Thanks for the many helpful Forum posts.

[Steve]

Hi TexasRunner,

 

Welcome to the forums and to Storyist!

 

Okay, I'm confused. I'm a new Storyist user. In the sample manuscript, under Section Sheets, there are folders (Groups?) called CHAPTER 1 Notes, CHAPTER 2 Notes, with Section Sheets beneath them. I have set my Manuscript Preferences to automatically create section sheets. However, when the section sheets are created, they appear all together in a list and not grouped in corresponding folders. Apparently Storyist doesn't automatically create "Chapter Notes" folders even though the sample manuscript implies that it does. So, I created them and dragged all the Section Sheets into their proper Chapter Folders. However, I moved some things around and inserted some new chapters in my manuscript. Since the Chapter Note folders were manually created, those labels didn't change when I changed the Manuscript chapters. Did I miss something?

 

You didn't miss anything. Storyist doesn't automatically create and manage folders for the automatically created section sheets, just the section sheets themselves.

 

Let me know where the sample manuscript led you to believe the groups/folders were managed and I'll update it try to make that clearer.

 

Also, I noticed that if you forget to turn on automatic section sheets, you apparently can't turn it on later and have it automatically create section sheets from that point on. I had to start over, blocking the manuscript text and pasting it into a new project.

 

Would appreciate any help in this area.

 

Thanks for the many helpful Forum posts.

 

You should be able to turn automatic section sheet creation by checking the "Create Sheets Automatically" checkbox in the manuscript preferences. Storyist won't automatically create sheets for sections created when the setting was off, however.

 

If this isn't what you are seeing, let me know and we can investigate further.

 

Hope this helps.

 

-Steve

[TexasRunner]

Hi TexasRunner,

 

Welcome to the forums and to Storyist!

 

 

 

You didn't miss anything. Storyist doesn't automatically create and manage folders for the automatically created section sheets, just the section sheets themselves.

 

Let me know where the sample manuscript led you to believe the groups/folders were managed and I'll update it try to make that clearer.

 

 

 

You should be able to turn automatic section sheet creation by checking the "Create Sheets Automatically" checkbox in the manuscript preferences. Storyist won't automatically create sheets for sections created when the setting was off, however.

 

If this isn't what you are seeing, let me know and we can investigate further.

 

Hope this helps.

 

-Steve

 

Thanks for the quick response Steve.

 

The sample manuscript implied that folders were automatically created, I thought, because they were there, in the Project View pane. I don't remember reading that you had to manually create them. (See Screen Shot - I hope it came through.)

 

As far as "automatically creating Section Sheets" is concerned. I know about the "Create Sheets Automatically" checkbox. However, if you don't turn it on when you begin your project and later remember to (or decide to), it doesn't automatically create them from that point on. At least, that didn't work for me, which was why I started over again, remembering to check the option at the beginning.

 

Thanks.

[Steve]

The sample manuscript implied that folders were automatically created, I thought, because they were there, in the Project View pane. I don't remember reading that you had to manually create them. (See Screen Shot - I hope it came through.)

 

Thanks for the screenshot. Perhaps the template should omit the folders. This is actually how a lot of screen writers use the sheets--as a big linear list of scenes.

 

As far as "automatically creating Section Sheets" is concerned. I know about the "Create Sheets Automatically" checkbox. However, if you don't turn it on when you begin your project and later remember to (or decide to), it doesn't automatically create them from that point on. At least, that didn't work for me, which was why I started over again, remembering to check the option at the beginning.

 

Hmmm. I just turned the feature on in a large project of mine and was able to see Storyist automatically create section sheets. I'll look into this some more. I'm sorry you had to start from scratch.

 

-Steve

[TexasRunner]

Thanks for the screenshot. Perhaps the template should omit the folders. This is actually how a lot of screen writers use the sheets--as a big linear list of scenes.

 

 

Hmmm. I just turned the feature on in a large project of mine and was able to see Storyist automatically create section sheets. I'll look into this some more. I'm sorry you had to start from scratch.

 

-Steve

 

Thanks again for the reply. Kind of hard to please everyone, isn't it? Especially since we all write differently. Maybe you could leave the folders in the template but mention in the sample manuscript (or User Guide) that some people like to use them to organize the scenes but that they aren't created automatically. I just thought I was doing something wrong.

 

As far as the the auto feature is concerned, I'm not sure why mine wouldn't start generating mid-manuscript. I verified that the box was checked but, but there's still a chance it was user error.

[marguerite]

Hi, Texas Runner--

Are you sure Storyist is not creating the section sheets, as distinct from creating them and stashing them at the bottom of the Project View? It will do the latter—remember, Steve, when I did this mid-project?—if you don't do the following:

 

1. Set up a new collection and give it a name—say, SECTION SHEETS.

2. Control-Click or right-click on your new collection and choose "Edit SECTION SHEETS Preferences" (enter whatever you called the collection if you didn't choose SECTION SHEETS).

3. Next to Contents, pull down the menu and choose Section Sheets.

 

Then Storyist will dump your new section sheets in that collection. It won't file them for you, 'cos it won't know where you want them, but they will be in the right collection and you can drag them into a group.

 

BTW, if you change your mind mid-stream, you can add the sheets manually and drag each one into the collage of its associated section. When Storyist asks if you want to attach the sheet, say "Yes." You don't actually have to start from scratch.

Best,

Marguerite

[Steve]

Hi, Texas Runner--

Are you sure Storyist is not creating the section sheets, as distinct from creating them and stashing them at the bottom of the Project View? It will do the latter—remember, Steve, when I did this mid-project?—if you don't do the following:

 

1. Set up a new collection and give it a name—say, SECTION SHEETS.

2. Control-Click or right-click on your new collection and choose "Edit SECTION SHEETS Preferences" (enter whatever you called the collection if you didn't choose SECTION SHEETS).

3. Next to Contents, pull down the menu and choose Section Sheets.

 

Thanks for jumping in M.

 

The novel template comes with a collection titled SECTION SHEETS that is already set up to hold section sheets, so I suspect this not what TexasRunner was seeing unless s/he deleted the collection and then added it back to the project.

 

-Steve

[marguerite]

Thanks for jumping in M.

 

The novel template comes with a collection titled SECTION SHEETS that is already set up to hold section sheets, so I suspect this not what TexasRunner was seeing unless s/he deleted the collection and then added it back to the project.

 

-Steve

Point taken. Sorry if I added to the confusion. It's just that I have never seen Storyist fail to add sheets after I checked "automatic creation of section sheets," no matter when I checked it. I have seen it add sheets in places where I didn't expect them, so that it took me a while to discover they existed....

Best,

M

[TexasRunner]

Thanks for jumping in M.

 

The novel template comes with a collection titled SECTION SHEETS that is already set up to hold section sheets, so I suspect this not what TexasRunner was seeing unless s/he deleted the collection and then added it back to the project.

 

-Steve

 

Thanks y'all. At this point I don't remember what I saw. And, it's not a big deal to me because I just did a cut-and-paste and made the Auto Section Sheet choice in the beginning when I started over. I don't think I deleted the Collection, but who knows, when you are first learning software you do a lot of dumb things. If it worked for you, Steve, mid-manuscript, it was obviously "user error" on my part.

 

I do like it well enough to keep learning it. I love being able to jump to a specific chapter or section from the Project view and I think the Search feature is top notch. I would agree with Jessica Trapp, though, that ability to Go To a specific page and Page __ of ___ at the bottom of the screen would be great. And, for a Newbie, navigation is HARD. Someone suggested the color of the active screen toolbar (or whatever it's called) could be more distinctive. It's hard to tell the difference between navy blue and black on a laptop. I sometimes don't get what I expect to get when I click on a particular feature. However, I am fully aware that there is a learning curve on all software, and as I said before, the Forum Posts are most helpful.

 

-Alice

[Joolissa]

Welcome to the forums Alice! Always glad to see new Storyist recruits!

 

Thanks for the screenshot. Perhaps the template should omit the folders. This is actually how a lot of screen writers use the sheets--as a big linear list of scenes.

 

At first I agreed with this, if Storyist does not automatically create the folders they should be left out of the template, but then I thought if they are left out, it might not be clear that you can make folders. Maybe the best solution is to leave folders out of the template, but then in the template script, when it mentions section sheets, to mention the fact that the user can organize them in folders if they would like to, but folders will not be automatically created.

 

Why aren't they automatically created? I think it'd be useful to have the option for Storyist to create them, that way I'm not suck with having to do a bunch of organization after the fact. Not a huge deal though, as long as I keep up with it each chapter.

 

I would agree with Jessica Trapp, though, that ability to Go To a specific page and Page __ of ___ at the bottom of the screen would be great.

This would be useful for editing especially. I don't use page numbers much, but it would be useful if someone is reading it and identifies a page for edits.

 

And, for a Newbie, navigation is HARD. Someone suggested the color of the active screen toolbar (or whatever it's called) could be more distinctive. It's hard to tell the difference between navy blue and black on a laptop. I sometimes don't get what I expect to get when I click on a particular feature.

Please oh please oh puhleeaase do this Steve? Pretty please with whipped cream and an iPad on top?

 

- Jools