Project Items in Trash

[TexasRunner]

Good morning! I'm getting ready to do a lot of heavy editing and wanted to "park" my deleted Sections/Chapters in the project Trash so they would be out of the way but still retrievable if I needed them. My project Trash contained a lot of junk that I knew I would never need again, so I started by emptying it. When I started my edits, I deleted a Chapter but it didn't go into the Trash. Trash is completely empty.

 

The only things that seem to go into trash are Section Sheets, Characters, Plots, Settings, etc. Apparently Chapters and Sections are not considered "Project Items." Is this the way it's supposed to work? If so, where do the rest of you "Park" your deleted Sections? I've been cutting and pasting them to Notebooks pages, but they are getting a little unwieldy. Project Trash seemed so much more sensible.

 

Many thanks,

-TR

[orrenm]

I do what you do—cut and paste into notebook entries.

 

Be interesting to hear if there are any other methods out there that are more wieldy.

 

Orren

[marguerite]

Yes, that's how it works, Alice. If you delete a manuscript, the trash holds the whole thing, but not individual sections and chapters.

 

I have a second manuscript called "Saved Text" below my main one. Before I make any major changes, I copy the section or chapter and place it in "Saved Text." That has two advantages over placing text in the notebook. (1) The text doesn't lose its formatting, as it does when you paste it into a note (it looks the same, but if you check, it has become "Default Text"); and (2) if you select the whole section and copy it (control-click on the text and choose to copy the whole thing), when you paste it, Storyist usually remembers the section name(s).

 

Because the sections are in a separate manuscript, you can print or export your main book without including the deleted chapters. And if you know you're done with the whole thing, you can delete that entire manuscript and it will stay in the trash until you empty it (that option would make me nervous that I might erase it when I didn't want to, but maybe that's me).

 

I also make extensive use of Storyist's backup feature (File > Back Up) to save a copy of my entire file before wreaking havoc on it. I add a comment that will help me figure out which file it is (they're listed by date): "Old Villain" or "Full second draft" or whatever.

Best,

Marguerite

[TexasRunner]

 

I have a second manuscript called "Saved Text" below my main one. Before I make any major changes, I copy the section or chapter and place it in "Saved Text." That has two advantages over placing text in the notebook. (1) The text doesn't lose its formatting, as it does when you paste it into a note (it looks the same, but if you check, it has become "Default Text"); and (2) if you select the whole section and copy it (control-click on the text and choose to copy the whole thing), when you paste it, Storyist usually remembers the section name(s).

 

Thanks, Marguerite. I hadn't realized that I was losing the formatting when I pasted it in Notebooks. How do you create a second Manuscript below the first one? I couldn't find anything in HELP and nothing I tried seem to work. I presume you aren't talking about creating a New Project.

 

I forget about the Backup Feature, but I whenever I get ready to chop up the manuscript, I save it with a new number appended to it, e.g., Shattered Dreams 7. Of course the Backup Feature does allow you to add an explanatory note, something you don't get when you do a Save As and rename it.

 

-TR

[marguerite]

Click on the briefcase icon (Project), then Novel Manuscript, and give it a name. Or choose Project > Add to Project > Novel Manuscript. Once you have the default novel manuscript in place and named, just select all the default text and delete it. You can then add chapters and sections and copy and paste text into them, just as you would in your main manuscript. (Usually: Mercedes has recorded problems with this in another thread, but I haven't encountered them. If you do, check that thread, as Steve gave her a suggestion for fixing it.)

 

The only thing you can't do (yet) is drag or option-drag a section from one manuscript to another.

Good luck!

M

[TexasRunner]

Well, I don't know how I missed that. I tried a couple of things and it seems to work. It would be cool to "drag and drop" though.

 

Thanks for your prompt reply. You are an amazing asset to the Forum!

-TR

[marguerite]

Thank you, ma'am. My pleasure.

 

As for the option-drag, many of us would like that. Why not head over to this thread and add your two cents. Steve keeps a list of the most requested features, so it never hurts to ask again.

Best,

M