Re: [api-dev] Macro Questions
Hal Vaughan wrote: On Wednesday 02 July 2008, Andrew Douglas Pitonyak wrote: I wondered if it was the same Hal :-) Yes. Originally my plans were to do an application completely in OOBasic, but that never worked out because I needed some functions that weren't available, such as reliable (and preferably encrypted) file transfer. I ended up having to learn Java and writing my app in Java. It works fine and in the first 18 months that version 1.0 was running I had something like 4-5 bug reports, including cases like a client who had troubles because my program would write out files that were later unreadable by OOo, but it turned out it was because he had bad sectors on his drive. (The files I created were okay -- just corrupted by a bad drive!) I remember at the time I was working on a way to create macros that would go with the document and hoped to write that up, but it looks like there's a better setup now. With this small project, I won't be doing anything complex. It's to help me with writing screenplays. I need 4 main macros that will change the margins to specific settings, one to ask me the script title and from there create a new directory in my writing directory for it and to put that title in the headers and title page. This next part may be off because it's been so long since I've been able to sit down and write in an actual word processor, so I don't remember if OOo uses the ALT key for any commands, but let's assume it doesn't for now. I'll have one other main macro. When I call it, it'll ask me for a phrase, which will usually be a character's name, then it'll ask me to press a key (or enter a key in a dialog box). Then it'll create a macro (hopefully for that document only) that will, within that macro, call up one of the margin setting macros, then type the name (or phrase) I entered in the dialog box. It'll also link that macro to the key I specified when used with the ALT key. I had a system like that on Word Perfect that worked just fine for me. I'm lucky, I write my screenplays for me and for the film company I'll be starting soon. I don't have to worry about many of the rules of screenplay formatting that get in the way and I prefer not to use programs designed for screenwriters -- I like doing all my writing in one program. All I need to customize it is to be able to set up the macros I just mentioned. I just wanted to get an idea of whether anyone know if it was possible to do the things I wasn't sure of before researching it. If I got a "No," then I knew it wouldn't be worth the hours or days it could take to go through the API and experiment. I can post the results when I'm done, if it'll help. Hal Remember, never do more work than you need to make You may be able to use auto formatting to do the same thing. I have not used it I thought that you could set formatting and everything. The idea would be something like this: You enter some specific text. Press a key like Ctrl+F3 Based on the text that is present, new text and/or formatting is applied I need to search around OOo a bit to figure it out, but it might be one of these. (and I need to be somewhere soon so I can not look now). http://wiki.services.openoffice.org/wiki/Documentation/OOoAuthors_User_Manual/Writer_Guide/Using_AutoText http://wiki.services.openoffice.org/wiki/Documentation/OOoAuthors_User_Manual/Writer_Guide/Autoformatting The bottom line is that you would simply need to create the entry and then use it. This might be easier than the macro, perhaps not... -- Andrew Pitonyak My Macro Document: http://www.pitonyak.org/AndrewMacro.odt My Book: http://www.hentzenwerke.com/catalog/oome.htm Info: http://www.pitonyak.org/oo.php See Also: http://documentation.openoffice.org/HOW_TO/index.html - To unsubscribe, e-mail: [EMAIL PROTECTED] For additional commands, e-mail: [EMAIL PROTECTED]
Re: [api-dev] Macro Questions
On Saturday 05 July 2008, Andrew Douglas Pitonyak wrote: > Hal Vaughan wrote: ... > > This next part may be off because it's been so long since I've been > > able to sit down and write in an actual word processor, so I don't > > remember if OOo uses the ALT key for any commands, but let's assume > > it doesn't for now. I'll have one other main macro. When I call > > it, it'll ask me for a phrase, which will usually be a character's > > name, then it'll ask me to press a key (or enter a key in a dialog > > box). Then it'll create a macro (hopefully for that document only) > > that will, within that macro, call up one of the margin setting > > macros, then type the name (or phrase) I entered in the dialog box. > > It'll also link that macro to the key I specified when used with > > the ALT key. ... > > > > Hal > > Remember, never do more work than you need to make You may be > able to use auto formatting to do the same thing. I have not used > it I thought that you could set formatting and everything. The > idea would be something like this: > > You enter some specific text. > Press a key like Ctrl+F3 > Based on the text that is present, new text and/or formatting is > applied > > I need to search around OOo a bit to figure it out, but it might be > one of these. (and I need to be somewhere soon so I can not look > now). > > http://wiki.services.openoffice.org/wiki/Documentation/OOoAuthors_Use >r_Manual/Writer_Guide/Using_AutoText > http://wiki.services.openoffice.org/wiki/Documentation/OOoAuthors_Use >r_Manual/Writer_Guide/Autoformatting > > The bottom line is that you would simply need to create the entry and > then use it. This might be easier than the macro, perhaps not... I have to look into it, but the advantage of a macro is that once I specify the macro, it happens in one keystroke every time. It sounds like this means I'd type the full text, THEN specify the formatting. The idea is that even though all I'm typing is names, I can still set the margins and type the name in one stroke. This other way I'd have to type the name, then hit the keys for formatting. I have wondered about using an F key instead of a key combination. For example, there are some F keys that aren't used. I thought at one point I had found a way to make OOo listen after a keypress. In other words, I could type something like, say, F6 and it might trigger a macro that does nothing but listen for the next key until it gets a keypress. Then when it does, it dispatches the control to the appropriate macro. Just for reference, a script looks a bit like this: - FADE IN: EXT. PARKER'S MOUNTAIN SHACK Sunrise coming over the mountains and lighting up the roof of the shack as we see PARKER emerge from the door, stretching in the morning. PARKER (as he stretches and yawns) Ho, hum. Another boring day on the island of Pagay Pagay... - I don't know how that came across in your email, with font changes, but there are 4 distinct margins, the one for the first 4 typed lines, the one for the character's name when he speaks (which many systems just center, other times people use a set margin for it), then one for stage directions (the next line) and a 4th for what people say. In a script you often have a lot of dialog, which means typing people's names at that place in the center of the page or with that widest margin 20 times or so in a page. That's why being able to just hit a key instead of typing their full name is so handy. And with that many margin changes, you can see why changing a paragraph margin with a single keystroke is not a luxury but a must. When I was on the Amiga, it was a nightmare dealing with some companies and their word processors. Except for Word Perfect, not one word processor let you change the margin through keystrokes, you had to use the mouse, and trying to do that when writing a script with the frequent margin changes you've just seen is simply not possible if you want to have an average typing speed that's faster than a 5 year old hunting-and-pecking. When I first started checking out OOo, I was concerned because OOo doesn't do actual margin changes without forcing a page break (a serious flaw, as I see it), so when I did early imports from Word Perfect, I'd get one line per page in many cases and it's only after the filter was created to import Word Perfect documents that the situation changed. Anyway, I thought by giving an example of a script page, it would help make more sense of what I'm trying to do. Hal - To unsubscribe, e-mail: [EMAIL PROTECTED] For additional commands, e-mail: [EMAIL PROTECTED]
Re: [api-dev] Macro Questions
Hal Vaughan wrote: On Saturday 05 July 2008, Andrew Douglas Pitonyak wrote: Hal Vaughan wrote: ... You enter some specific text. Press a key like Ctrl+F3 Based on the text that is present, new text and/or formatting is applied I need to search around OOo a bit to figure it out, but it might be one of these. (and I need to be somewhere soon so I can not look now). http://wiki.services.openoffice.org/wiki/Documentation/OOoAuthors_Use r_Manual/Writer_Guide/Using_AutoText http://wiki.services.openoffice.org/wiki/Documentation/OOoAuthors_Use r_Manual/Writer_Guide/Autoformatting The bottom line is that you would simply need to create the entry and then use it. This might be easier than the macro, perhaps not... I have to look into it, but the advantage of a macro is that once I specify the macro, it happens in one keystroke every time. It sounds like this means I'd type the full text, THEN specify the formatting. The idea is that even though all I'm typing is names, I can still set the margins and type the name in one stroke. This other way I'd have to type the name, then hit the keys for formatting. I have wondered about using an F key instead of a key combination. For example, there are some F keys that aren't used. I thought at one point I had found a way to make OOo listen after a keypress. In other words, I could type something like, say, F6 and it might trigger a macro that does nothing but listen for the next key until it gets a keypress. Then when it does, it dispatches the control to the appropriate macro. No, if it works, it would look more like this: You enter the text park and press Ctrl+F3, or something similar, and then it replaces Park with something, and formats it. Certainly, this can be done in a macro, but if the auto-formatting stuff can also do this, then, well, it would be easier :-) In a script you often have a lot of dialog, which means typing people's names at that place in the center of the page or with that widest margin 20 times or so in a page. I considered this with respect to scripts for puppets. I considered storing names in fields so that I could instantly change a name everywhere at one time. When I first started checking out OOo, I was concerned because OOo doesn't do actual margin changes without forcing a page break (a serious flaw, as I see it), so when I did early imports from Word Perfect, I'd get one line per page in many cases and it's only after the filter was created to import Word Perfect documents that the situation changed. I still think that you should use paragraph styles. -- Andrew Pitonyak My Macro Document: http://www.pitonyak.org/AndrewMacro.odt My Book: http://www.hentzenwerke.com/catalog/oome.htm Info: http://www.pitonyak.org/oo.php See Also: http://documentation.openoffice.org/HOW_TO/index.html - To unsubscribe, e-mail: [EMAIL PROTECTED] For additional commands, e-mail: [EMAIL PROTECTED]
