I have a suggestion for another tool to help improve writing.
You know the way many people like to print out their writing because they spot mistakes, double words, bad grammar etc when they see it in this different form? How about a tool in Atlantis to randomly change a few (user definable) settings temporarily so the writing is displayed differently?
So, for example, the margins are moved in or out a little, the font size is changed a bit – maybe a different font chosen (possibly different colours chosen for text and paper?) etc. Thinking about it, it would act a little like a variation of the ‘Shrink Page Count’ feature.
Obviously, all this is possible manually, but it would be time consuming to change (and change back later) and most people would be reluctant to change their working page setup. So, I would imagine it would work in the following way:
1 – Press the button (or select it in the menus) and your current setup is saved and various random changes made to the formatting. Note that these changes shouldn’t be saved in the file (in case the user quits before restoring the original settings). Some indication on screen shows the view is currently the ‘Alternate View’.
2 – Press the button again and the original settings are restored and the Alternate View indicator disappears.
What do you think?
Suggestion for an ‘Alternate View’ tool
Hi Andy,
All this sounds a bit convoluted to me.
Maybe you could simply start saving your document as Web page, and use the “Preview in browser…” button so that you don’t even need to actually save the document as Web page (you get a temporary Web page). In the browser view, you can change the zoom factor, the font size, the window size. You can also switch between the browser view and the Atlantis document window to make all suitable changes.
Likewise, you could start saving your document as eBook and use the “Preview in eBook Reader…” button so that you don’t even need to actually save the document as eBook (you get a temporary eBook copy). Most eReaders allow you to change the page margins, the font size, etc. Again, you can switch between the eReader view and the Atlantis document window to make all suitable changes.
You can save as Web page or eBook repeatedly from Atlantis until the browser or eReader previews tell you that your document is OK.
HTH.
Cheers,
Robert
All this sounds a bit convoluted to me.
Maybe you could simply start saving your document as Web page, and use the “Preview in browser…” button so that you don’t even need to actually save the document as Web page (you get a temporary Web page). In the browser view, you can change the zoom factor, the font size, the window size. You can also switch between the browser view and the Atlantis document window to make all suitable changes.
Likewise, you could start saving your document as eBook and use the “Preview in eBook Reader…” button so that you don’t even need to actually save the document as eBook (you get a temporary eBook copy). Most eReaders allow you to change the page margins, the font size, etc. Again, you can switch between the eReader view and the Atlantis document window to make all suitable changes.
You can save as Web page or eBook repeatedly from Atlantis until the browser or eReader previews tell you that your document is OK.
HTH.
Cheers,
Robert
Hi,
Love your lateral thinking Robert but those methods wouldn’t allow you to edit them in situ – you’d have to switch back to Atlantis, locate the problem, re-save and reload in the browser/ebook reader to spot the next problem.
That seems much more convoluted to me. In my version, the user simply clicks a button to turn the effect on and off – what could be simpler?
Love your lateral thinking Robert but those methods wouldn’t allow you to edit them in situ – you’d have to switch back to Atlantis, locate the problem, re-save and reload in the browser/ebook reader to spot the next problem.
That seems much more convoluted to me. In my version, the user simply clicks a button to turn the effect on and off – what could be simpler?
Hi Andy,
There is another possibility.
1. Create one or several templates whose formatting would change your document looks in any suitable way.
2. Click “Tools | Toolbars…”
3. In the “All Commands” category, select “Apply document template”. Place that command on your Atlantis toolbars.
4. Whenever you want to change the looks of a document, press that button to open the “Apply Document Template” dialog. In the dialog, check “Enable preview”, then select a template from the list. Atlantis will automatically apply the corresponding changes to the document.
5. OK out of the dialog if you want to keep the changes. Press the “Cancel” button if you do not want to keep the changes.
HTH.
Cheers,
Robert
There is another possibility.
1. Create one or several templates whose formatting would change your document looks in any suitable way.
2. Click “Tools | Toolbars…”
3. In the “All Commands” category, select “Apply document template”. Place that command on your Atlantis toolbars.
4. Whenever you want to change the looks of a document, press that button to open the “Apply Document Template” dialog. In the dialog, check “Enable preview”, then select a template from the list. Atlantis will automatically apply the corresponding changes to the document.
5. OK out of the dialog if you want to keep the changes. Press the “Cancel” button if you do not want to keep the changes.
HTH.
Cheers,
Robert
Hi Andy,
You could push this even further.
1. Create one or several templates whose formatting would change your document looks in any suitable way.
2. Now let’s suppose you want to look at “Document_01.docx”. Open it in Atlantis and save it as “Document_01(b).docx”.
3. Apply a template to “Document_01(b).docx”.
4. Reopen “Document_01.docx” (your original working document). Create a Side by Side with “Document_01(b).docx”.
5. Use the Side by Side to navigate from the original to the revamped document. Edit the original document as suitable.
HTH.
Cheers,
Robert
You could push this even further.
1. Create one or several templates whose formatting would change your document looks in any suitable way.
2. Now let’s suppose you want to look at “Document_01.docx”. Open it in Atlantis and save it as “Document_01(b).docx”.
3. Apply a template to “Document_01(b).docx”.
4. Reopen “Document_01.docx” (your original working document). Create a Side by Side with “Document_01(b).docx”.
5. Use the Side by Side to navigate from the original to the revamped document. Edit the original document as suitable.
HTH.
Cheers,
Robert