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NeoOffice :: View topic - Creating Simple Styles for Screenplay Format
Creating Simple Styles for Screenplay Format
 
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CRAYDOH
Blue Pill


Joined: Apr 20, 2007
Posts: 3

PostPosted: Fri Apr 20, 2007 4:37 pm    Post subject: Creating Simple Styles for Screenplay Format

I am new to this program and excited about its terrific display characteristics, which have inspired me to create styles and macros for my screenwriting.

Screenwriting requires only five or six very simple styles, and one can then set up macros to switch between them in a single keystroke as one types.

Problem is, I'm a newbie and I can't figure out how to record a macro.

For example, a macro for a CHARACTER NAME would consist of a character name in capital letters centered on the page. Easy to do, but I don't know how to record it.

Can anyone help?

One alternative might be to import a screenplay from FINAL DRAFT, which has styles properly labeled already, but I can't seem to do that.

And in any event, if I could simply type the style characteristics and record them properly, my styles could be completed in minutes.

Thanks in advance for your thoughts.

Very Happy
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Lorinda
Captain Mifune


Joined: Jun 20, 2006
Posts: 2051
Location: Midwest, USA

PostPosted: Fri Apr 20, 2007 5:55 pm    Post subject:

Welcome to NeoOffice and the forums here! We're glad you are enjoying NeoOffice.

I've only done the simplest of macros, but that should suffice here:

1) Create the styles you want
2) Go to Tools>Macros>Record Macro
3) Apply the style you want the macro to do for you (if you want specific text included, type and style it now)
4) Click on "Stop recording"
5) In the window that appears, give the Macro a Name.
6) You might also want to create a special Screenwriting library or module, which you can do from that window. I don't know a whole lot about that part, I'm afraid
7) Click "Save" when you have the settings the way you want

To assign a command key:

1) Go to Tools>Customize...
2) Click on the keyboard tab
3) In the "Category" box, scroll down to "NeoOfficeMacros" and highlight it
4) Burrow your way down through "user" and the library and module your macros are stored in. Eventually your new macros will be listed in the Function box
5) Highlight one of those macros
6) In the Shortcut keys window, select the key you want to assign to that macro
7) Set the radio button to specify if the key assignment is for all of NeoOffice or only for Writer
Cool click "Modify"

For more information on macros, read chapter 10 of the OpenOffice.org uide, available here. It is written for OpenOffice.org, upon which NeoOffice is based, but most of the directions apply; just remember to used the command key where the OpenOffice.org guide says to use the control key.

(Aussie149, one of our "regulars" here is working on creating a NeoOffice specific guide based on the OpenOffice.org guide, but I don't think he has gotten to chapter 10 yet).
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Lorinda
Captain Mifune


Joined: Jun 20, 2006
Posts: 2051
Location: Midwest, USA

PostPosted: Fri Apr 20, 2007 6:32 pm    Post subject:

I looked at the draft chapters of the NeoOffice Guide and discovered that I was wrong; Peter does have a draft of chapter 10 done. you can find it here
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LemonAid
The Anomaly


Joined: Nov 21, 2005
Posts: 1285
Location: Witless Protection Program

PostPosted: Fri Apr 20, 2007 10:29 pm    Post subject: Re: Creating Simple Styles for Screenplay Format

CRAYDOH wrote:
I am new to this program and excited about its terrific display characteristics, which have inspired me to create styles and macros for my screenwriting.

Screenwriting requires only five or six very simple styles, and one can then set up macros to switch between them in a single keystroke as one types.

Problem is, I'm a newbie and I can't figure out how to record a macro.

For example, a macro for a CHARACTER NAME would consist of a character name in capital letters centered on the page. Easy to do, but I don't know how to record it.

Can anyone help?
Very Happy
Welcome to NeoOffice CRAYDOH,

I did a Google search for "Screenwriting with OpenOffice" and found several items:
(NeoOffice 2.1 is based on OpenOffice.org 2.1 code).
Quote:
- http://www.openoffice.org/servlets/ReadMsg?list=users&msgNo=113072
- http://www.ooomacros.org/user.php#98242 Screenplay Template
- http://www.oooforum.org/forum/viewtopic.phtml?t=989&postdays=0&postorder=asc&start=30
- http://sourceforge.net/project/showfiles.php?group_id=87718&package_id=98242
- http://www.mindstarprods.com/cinergy/preview.htm - Cinergy Suite Trial

Warning: I have not used or tested any of these items.
These are good sites for information about OOo Office Suite.
I have no idea how well they might work or if they would mess up your system. YMMV

Now that the Warning are out of the way - You might be surprised in what you can find available for Neo!

Philip (WOW, I didn't know that Neo could do ... that! Wink )

_________________
Have you checked the NeoWiki Documentation Page for more answers?
http://neowiki.neooffice.org/index.php/Documentation_and_Related_Resources
includes User Guides, eBooks, Blogs, additional resource links, and much more!
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sardisson
Town Crier
Town Crier


Joined: Feb 01, 2004
Posts: 4588

PostPosted: Fri Apr 20, 2007 11:26 pm    Post subject:

There are some other threads here on trinity about various aspects of screenwriting with Neo. I can't recall what any of the asked about in particular, though....

Maybe that Waldo character Wink will drop by and share his knowledge with us again. Smile

Smokey

_________________
"[...] whether the duck drinks hot chocolate or coffee is irrelevant." -- ovvldc and sardisson in the NeoWiki
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Lorinda
Captain Mifune


Joined: Jun 20, 2006
Posts: 2051
Location: Midwest, USA

PostPosted: Sun Apr 22, 2007 1:09 pm    Post subject:

I was looking at the macros on this page and saw a set of macros (and templates?) for screenwriters. I don't know anything more about it than what is written there.

Also, thanks to a post from Valterb, I found a better guide to Macros. Clicking on this link will tell your browser to download it.
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LemonAid
The Anomaly


Joined: Nov 21, 2005
Posts: 1285
Location: Witless Protection Program

PostPosted: Sun Apr 22, 2007 3:20 pm    Post subject:

To quote Waldo,
http://trinity.neooffice.org/modules.php?name=Forums&file=viewtopic&p=28906#28906
Waldo wrote:
Just an aside here...

You might want to check out Celtx. It's open source, cross-platform, free, and includes several pre-production tools you won't find in Final Draft.

W
Thanks Waldo!
Even when he is not here, we have access to his wisdom! Cool
Celtx looks like an awesome application.

Philip ( Always something new in the NeoOffice Forums! Wink )

\. after all this time, I'm finally using SEARCH to find hidden Neo Articles! Cool Rolling Eyes
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LemonAid
The Anomaly


Joined: Nov 21, 2005
Posts: 1285
Location: Witless Protection Program

PostPosted: Sun Apr 22, 2007 3:29 pm    Post subject:

Lorinda wrote:
I was looking at the macros on this page and saw a set of macros (and templates?) for screenwriters. I don't know anything more about it than what is written there.

Also, thanks to a post from Valterb, I found a better guide to Macros. Clicking on this link will tell your browser to download it.
Great Links - Thanks

IS http://www.ooomacros.org/user.php listed in the NeoWiki? Shocked
This looks like a site I'll want to visit many times. GREAT STUFF!

Philip ( So many references, so little time! Wink )
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Lorinda
Captain Mifune


Joined: Jun 20, 2006
Posts: 2051
Location: Midwest, USA

PostPosted: Sun Apr 22, 2007 4:39 pm    Post subject:

Quote:
IS http://www.ooomacros.org/user.php listed in the NeoWiki? icon_eek.gif
This looks like a site I'll want to visit many times. GREAT STUFF!


It is now. Very Happy It's on the "Using Macros" page. It's a stub, but at least the links are there.
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Lorinda
Captain Mifune


Joined: Jun 20, 2006
Posts: 2051
Location: Midwest, USA

PostPosted: Sun Apr 22, 2007 6:50 pm    Post subject:

Silly me. I just learned (or is it re-learned?) that you can assign a keyboard shortcut to a style, no macro needed.

So, if all you need to to use Keyboard shortcuts to change styles, take a look at this article by Solveig Haugland on Keyboard Shortcuts. She has a special section titled "Assigning a Keyboard Shortcut to a Style."
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LemonAid
The Anomaly


Joined: Nov 21, 2005
Posts: 1285
Location: Witless Protection Program

PostPosted: Sun Apr 22, 2007 7:03 pm    Post subject:

Many Tanks

Your are ... fast! I was responding to your Macros Wiki and then you ...posted (can see post as I'm re-editing my post) about Keyboard shortcuts from Solveig Haugland.

Her articles are a GREAT resource and she has a LOT of them about Writer items.

Hint: I try to list "some" URLs in plain-text as well as the URL link.
That way, interested folks can follow the link.
Some new users don't understand that they can click on the URL Text link.
Just a hint learned from many years of End User Support. Rolling Eyes

Now a question Question
How do you get the URL link to Wiki?
Like "Performance" under http://neowiki.neooffice.org/index.php/Troubleshooting_Tips?

It's probably very easy but I can't seem to figure it out myself. Embarassed

Philip ( WOW, What a Wonder-full community! Wink ) Embarassed
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RoyFocker
Oracle


Joined: Sep 23, 2006
Posts: 218
Location: Rome, Italy

PostPosted: Sun Apr 22, 2007 11:20 pm    Post subject:

Thanks Lorinda and Philip: that's great. I think that we can add that to our "style explanations" on neowiki...
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Lorinda
Captain Mifune


Joined: Jun 20, 2006
Posts: 2051
Location: Midwest, USA

PostPosted: Mon Apr 23, 2007 5:24 am    Post subject:

Quote:
I think that we can add that to our "style explanations" on neowiki...


I hadn't thought of that!
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CRAYDOH
Blue Pill


Joined: Apr 20, 2007
Posts: 3

PostPosted: Mon Apr 23, 2007 6:40 pm    Post subject: Thank you!

My deepest thanks to everyone who responded to my post. I came home to find my questions answered.... and more! You guys are amazing! I am touched.

Lorinda, your instructions for the creation and customization of macros is terrific, and I am experimentally building a screenwriting program for myself. I am an attorney-turned-screenwriter who started on Wordperfect ten years ago, only to watch the program die a slow death as Word took over. I then switched to Final Draft -- a truly dismal program based on a licensed word processing program that is quite dated and displays dismally, particularly on Macs. Well, I've had enough. Now here I am seeking out alternatives and your help is terrific.

Lemonaid, you truly are refreshing with your list of useful links! And the Waldo reference to Celtx looks promising. What an amazing web-based solution! From what I've seen, this program could perform perfectly for 90% of the tasks a screenwriter needs. There comes a point in the screenwriting process where one needs more control over pagination and so forth than Celtx offers -- basically the point where one is preparing to turn in a draft -- but up until that point, Celtx offers everything I need. What a find!

I even contacted a close friend who works at The Screenwriting Store here in Los Angeles. She'd never heard of Celtx and looked at it with me. We both agreed that the Final Draft people should be sweating bullets! I intend to work on Celtx immediately while also experimenting with Neooffice.

Oh, and the Neooffice screenwriting templates Lemonaid alerted me to look interesting too, but they are not currently set to professionally accepted format standards despite the best efforts of those involved. I hope to learn from them however -- particularly insofar as they seem able to create 'default' styles -- meaning they default to the next anticipated style one needs once you hit return.

Is there a simple way to do this, or is it a complex process? If it's complex, I'm afraid it might be forever beyond my grasp.

In any event, I will be posting my thoughts as I play with all these new toys everyone here alerted me to. Thanks again, you rule!


Richard Cray

_________________
richard

(CRAYDOH)
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LemonAid
The Anomaly


Joined: Nov 21, 2005
Posts: 1285
Location: Witless Protection Program

PostPosted: Wed Apr 25, 2007 12:39 am    Post subject: Re: Thank you!

CRAYDOH wrote:
<snip>
Oh, and the Neooffice screenwriting templates Lemonaid alerted me to look interesting too, but they are not currently set to professionally accepted format standards despite the best efforts of those involved. I hope to learn from them however -- particularly insofar as they seem able to create 'default' styles -- meaning they default to the next anticipated style one needs once you hit return.

Is there a simple way to do this, or is it a complex process? If it's complex, I'm afraid it might be forever beyond my grasp.

In any event, I will be posting my thoughts as I play with all these new toys everyone here alerted me to. Thanks again, you rule!

Richard Cray
Glad we could help you Richard. Laughing
That's one of the GREAT things about the NeoOffice Community.

I don't use Styles a lot but they are part of the basic structure of NeoOffice. They are not "real" complex, but do require some learning. The templates listed have all the basic structure. You can use them to expand upon.
(Paragraph) Styles can be set so that the next Paragraph is pre-set to what-ever you want. So CHARACTER could default to "Action", until you select "Scene", etc.
Read up on Styles for NeoOffice (and OpenOffice.org resources). It sounds like you can do the extra research needed. There are a LOT of resources. Search Neo and Google for " OpenOffice.org Styles" I learned a lot just researching items for your questions. Rolling Eyes
Editing_Default_Styles_and_Using_Templates

Philip ( Plays a Computer Support Specialist in real life Wink )

_________________
Have you checked the NeoWiki Documentation Page for more answers?
http://neowiki.neooffice.org/index.php/Documentation_and_Related_Resources
includes User Guides, eBooks, Blogs, additional resource links, and much more!
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