Storybook4 0r3 manual

Storybook 4.0 Manual (Revision 3) 1 / 41

Storybook 4.0 Manual
Revision 3

The latest version is available on
www.novelist.ch

© 2012 by Intertec. All rights reserved.

2012-10-04 Storybook - Open Source Novel Writing Software www.novelist.ch


Table of Contents
Chapter 1: Scenes, chapters and parts........................................................................................3
Chapter 2: Create a new file........................................................................................................ 4
Chapter 3: Characters, the object editor, tables...........................................................................6
Input validation........................................................................................................................ 7
Genders.................................................................................................................................. 7
Character Categories..............................................................................................................7
Tables...................................................................................................................................... 8
Chapter 4: Locations, the object tree, context menus..................................................................9
The object tree...................................................................................................................... 10
Context menus...................................................................................................................... 11
Chapter 5: Scenes, view options................................................................................................12
Chapter 6: Strands (plot lines, story lines), informative scenes..................................................15
Chapter 7: Chapters, manage scenes.......................................................................................18
Chapter 8: The book view.......................................................................................................... 20
Chapter 9: The reading view......................................................................................................21
Chapter 10: From Storybook to the final book............................................................................23
How to create a new OpenOffice document..........................................................................23
How to update an OpenOffice document...............................................................................25
How to use an existing OpenOffice document.......................................................................25
Chapter 11: Document styles.....................................................................................................26
Chapter 12: Docking windows and layouts................................................................................28
Docking Windows.................................................................................................................. 28
Layouts................................................................................................................................. 29
Chapter 13: Items...................................................................................................................... 30
What are items and tags for?................................................................................................30
What is the difference between items and tags?...................................................................30
Creating items....................................................................................................................... 30
Item assignments.................................................................................................................. 31
Chapter 14: Tags....................................................................................................................... 33
Creating tags......................................................................................................................... 33
Making tag assignments........................................................................................................33
Using tags to define relationships..........................................................................................33
Using tags to track events.....................................................................................................35
Chapter 15: Information Export..................................................................................................36
Chapter 16: Charts.................................................................................................................... 38
Chapter 17: Tips and Tricks.......................................................................................................39
Chapter 17: Hotkeys.................................................................................................................. 40



Chapter 1: Scenes, chapters and parts
The structure of a book as used in Storybook:
• A book consists of one part or many parts.
• A part consists of one chapter or many chapters.
• A chapter consists of one scene or many scenes.

• A scene can or cannot be assigned to a chapter.
• Scenes which are not assigned to a chapter are not shown in the book view and
the reading view, nor are they exported. Or the other way around: All scenes
which appear in final book must be assigned to a chapter.
• A new scene is not automatically assigned to a chapter. The chapter must be selected in
the editor, or use the view Manage Scenes to drag-n-drop the scene to its right chapter.
• A scene is usually not the same as a chapter. Chapters are split into scenes (smaller
pieces of that chapter). Every time the point of view changes, make a new scene. Every
time the location changes, make a new scene. Splitting chapters to scenes makes a
meaningful usage of the charts and the Memoria tool possible.



Chapter 2: Create a new file
Start Storybook, then from the menu File choose New. In the dialog enter the file name and the
folder where the new file will be saved.

• What is formatted text?
Formatted text is – in contrast to plain text – text which can have formats. Example:
This is a plain text. All letters are of the same size and font. There is no bold or italic
word.
This is a formatted text. Some words have a different size, or a different font.
Some words are bold or italic.
• Formatted text for both may work for most people. If you want to use Storybook for
plotting only, consider to deactivating the first check box. For just scene summaries plain
text may be enough.
• An important note about the file name: Don't use special characters such as / ? * :
and others. For more information see this article on Wikipedia. A safe file name contains
only alphanumeric characters (A-Z,a-z,0-9), spaces and hyphens.



After the file has been created, Storybook looks like this:

• Note the windows inside the Storybook main window. These windows are called docking
windows. Docking windows act similar, but not exactly the same, as normal windows
known from Microsoft Windows.
• Docking Windows can be moved, closed, minimized or maximized. For now we leave
everything as it is. If you have accidentally closed some docking windows and can't find
them anymore, you can always use Default Layout from the menu Window to set the
layout to the one shown above.
[1] In this docking window the object tree is shown. The object tree shows all objects such as
characters, locations or scenes in a hierarchical order.
• Click on the small person icon. All characters will be hidden from the tree. Click the same
icon again, and all characters are shown again.
• Click the plus sign (+) on the right side. The tree will be expanded. Click the minus sign
(-). The tree will be collapsed.
[2] This view shows information about an object. It is linked to the object tree. Click on an object
in the tree, and the information will be shown in the view below.
[3] This view is called “Chronological View”. The Chronological View shows all scenes in
chronological order. As you can see, the first scene was already created for you.
[4] Docking windows can be arranged in tabs as known from Firefox. Four of these tabs are
currently opened and shown. Click on a tab title to switch the view.



Chapter 3: Characters, the object editor, tables
Check out the menu New Object. Choose the submenu Character to create a new character.
The editor shows up:

[1] Usually the editor is hidden. It pops up whenever you create or edit an object. Click on the
tab named Editor to open or hide it. The editor also hides if you click somewhere outside it, e.g.
if you into the chronological view. Click on the Editor tab to show it again.
• Mandatory fields are bold.
• The abbreviation field is filled out automatically if you fill in the first name and the last
name, but it can also be set manually.
• The arrows on the right side of a date field can be used to change the date to the first
date used, the previous / next day, and the last date used.
• It is a good idea to keep editing a short process. It is not possible to delete an object
while another object is loaded in the editor.
• If you just want to show information about an object, you should use the tree instead of
the editor. Or you can also use Show in Info view from the context menu (the context
menu is explained later).
• Press OK to add the character and close the editor, or press Add to add the character
and leave the editor opened for further changes.



Input validation
The editor validates your input. Errors and warnings are shown like this:

• Move the mouse over an error icon to see the error message.
• An object that has errors cannot be created or updated. Fix the input to proceed or press
cancel to abandon your changes.

Genders
• To create a new gender besides the existing genders, choose Gender from the menu
New Object.
• The genders male and female can be edited but they cannot be deleted.

Character Categories
• To create a new character category besides the excising categories, choose Character
Category from the menu New Object.
• The categories major and minor can be edited but they cannot be deleted.



Tables
Now switch to the character overview table (click on the third tab name Characters). All
characters are listed here.

• Tables can be sorted. Clicking on the desired column, click again to sort in reverse order.
• Show or hide columns: Click on the small button in the upper right corner (of table) to
open the table menu. Select or deselect the desired column.
• Note the refresh (or reload) sign on the right of the table title. Click the refresh button to
refresh the table. All views and tools have a refresh button.
• Another way to create a new character (or to create a new object in general) is the
usage of the new button on the bottom of the table. The other buttons are for editing,
coping and deleting. To copy a character select the character in the table, then click on
the copy button. The copied character will be inserted instantly, marked with a “(Copy)”
text in front of the first name - “(Copy) Amy” for instance.
• A double click on a table row edits the chosen object in the editor.



Chapter 4: Locations, the object tree, context menus

Choose Location from the menu New Object to create a new location. Enter a name, a city
and a country. Press OK to create the new location.

Now choose the same menu again to add another location:

• Click on the arrow to show a list of all already entered cities. The same applies to the
countries. Click on the clear button on the right to clear the text.
• To rename a city or a country, choose Rename City or Rename Country from the menu
Primary Objects.



The object tree

Let's have a look at the object tree now:

[1] If the new locations are not shown in the tree, press the refresh button.
[2] To select or deselect an object type, click on the desired small button.
[3] These four buttons are for:
• Select all types.
• Deselect all types.
• Expand the whole tree.
• Collapse the whole tree.

The object tree is linked with the Info window. Click to a location in the tree to show all
information about it in the Info window.



Context menus
Context menus are available almost everywhere: for tables, for the object tree, the
Chronological View, the Book View, the view Manage Scenes and even for the Info window.
Right-click on a character in the tree to show its context menu:

• The context menu shows the available actions for the chosen object.
• To cancel the context menu click somewhere outside the menu or press the escape key.
Right-click on the same character in the table. The same context menu is shown.



Chapter 5: Scenes, view options
Switch back to the Chronological View. Press the edit button on the first (already created)
scene.

[1] Click on the edit button to edit this scene.
[2] Click on the options button to adjust the settings for this view, for instance the zoom factor.

Enter the scene title and the date (Fixed date, Jun 11, 1990):



• Switch to the tab Characters and select Amy.
• Switch to the tab Locations and select Amy's flat.
• Press OK to close the editor.

The scene now looks like this:

[1] Click on the title field to directly edit the title (without the usage of the editor).
[2] Click on the text field to directly edit the text.

Note that Amy's abbreviation as well as the selected location is shown now. Also note the
changed date.



The second scene plays on the same date. Note the three small buttons in the image above:
• The fist button is for editing.
• With the second button this scene can be deleted.
• The third button opens the editor to create a new scene with the same date and strand
(strands are explained later) as the existing scene.

Click the third small button, enter the scene data as before. If relevant for your scene, a scene
time can also be set. We set the time to 10:30 PM is this example. The scene time (if any) is
shown above the title.

[1] Note the second “date row” on the bottom. To create a scene that plays on the next day,
double-click on the plus sign.

• Move the mouse cursor over a character abbreviation to show its important data in a tool
tip. The age of the character in relation the scene date is also shown here (if a birthday is
set).



Chapter 6: Strands (plot lines, story lines), informative
scenes
In this tutorial the first (already created) strand is used for Amy's POV (point of view). Every
scene from Amy's POV will be added to that strand. So we better called “Amy” instead of
Default Strand. Choose Strand from the menu Primary Objects, double-click on the only item in
the table, and change the name and the abbreviation. Also change the color a nice pink.

Now let's add a new strand for Ben, our second character in the story. Call it “Ben”, abbreviation
BM (Ben Miller), color blue.

Switch back to the Chronological View and refresh it, if necessary.

• Every scene from Ben's POV will be added to Ben's strand.



[1] Ben has to work this evening. In our example that information is not part of the story, so we
selected the field “informative” in the scene editor. Informative scenes are not exported nor
shown in the reading view, and they have a white background.



The next scene play on the next day, in the Central Park, where Ben meets Amy. Select both
characters from the character list. Add a new location named “Central Park”.

[1] Since this scene is linked to Amy's strand (but still Ben's POV), we set the strand link to
Amy's strand in the editor.

• Move the mouse over the strand abbreviation to see its full name.



Chapter 7: Chapters, manage scenes
In a final book, scenes are not necessarily in a chronological order. To define the order of the
scenes as it should be in the final book, we have to switch to the view Manage Scenes (from
the menu View).

• Drag-n-drop scenes from Unassigned Scenes to Chapter 1 (the dark gray area).
• Drag-n-drop scenes inside a chapter to change their order.
• Right-click on a chapter (the light gray area) to show the context menu.
• Choose “Re-sort” from the context menu to re-sort the scenes.
• Choose “Order by time” to order the scenes by their time. Note that make only
sense if all scenes inside a chapter has times.



This is how Chapter 1 should look like after all scenes has been assigned:

• Both, chapter and scene number, can also be set in the editor.
• It's fine to assigned informative scenes to chapters, too. Informative scenes are not
shown in the Reading View, nor exported to the final book.
• Switch back to the Chronological View. The chapter and scene number is shown now in
the upper left corner.



Chapter 8: The book view
The Book View shows the scenes in the order of the final book, the order we've defined before
in the view “Manage Scenes”.
• Scenes which are not assigned to a chapter are not shown (are not part of the final
book).

[1] The first two buttons are for editing and deleting. The last button creates a new scene with
the same strand and date as the existing scene.



Chapter 9: The reading view
The reading view shows the final book text. The book elements which should be exported can
be set in the Document Preferences.
• Open the document preferences from the menu file.
• Select all Book Export Settings but Roman numerals.

The result is shown in the reading view:



Open the document preferences again and deselect all but “Export chapter numbers”.
• These are the most common used export settings.

The result in the reading view:

• Note the panel at the right. Select or deselect strands to show or hide the strand text.



Chapter 10: From Storybook to the final book

How to create a new OpenOffice document
1. Export the book text from Storybook (File ⇒ Export book text).

• The file name is automatically set to the Storybook file name but can also be
changed.
• The exported file is a HTML file, therefore its extension is .html.

2. Download and save a book template from here. Rename the downloaded file to the
name of your book.
3. Open it with OpenOffice.
4. Find the book text section on page 7, click somewhere inside the text.
5. Press Ctrl - A to select all text inside the current section (or use the menu Edit ⇒ Select
All).



6. Press Delete to delete all text of the current section.
7. Choose Insert ⇒ File and select the HTML file exported from Storybook.

8. Save the OpenOffice file.

Notes
• The title field used in the template can be changed very easy. Double click on it, change
the field value and it will change everywhere used.
• The Storybook Reading View uses the same settings as the book text export. The
same book elements (part numbers, chapter titles etc.) which are shown in the Reading
View will be exported to the HTML file. These settings can be changed in the document
preferences (File ⇒ Document Preferences).
• For Storybook files which don't use formatted text, plain text is exported instead of HTML
text (file extension .txt).



How to update an OpenOffice document
2. Open the created OpenOffice document, see section above.
3. Find the book text section on page 7, click somewhere inside the text.
4. Press Ctrl – A to select all text of the current section.
5. Press Delete to delete all text of the current section.

How to use an existing OpenOffice document
The important point is to use a so called section to make the update process very easy:
2. Open the existing OpenOffice document.
3. Find the place where you want to insert the book text.
4. Insert a section (Insert ⇒ Section). Name it "Storybook book text".
6. To update your OpenOffice document, see section above.



Chapter 11: Document styles
All styles and other settings (page dimension and so on) will be kept if you use the update
technique described above.
It is very easy to adjust the styles used in the book text export.
1. Open the created OpenOffice document, see section above.
2. Press F11 to show the style window. Select Applied styles from the combo box to show
only the applied styles. Depending on the book text export settings there are several
styles shown now.

Style name Used for
Heading 1 Part numbers
Heading 2 Chapter numbers and titles
Heading 3 Subtitles (chapter dates and locations)
Heading 4 Scene titles
Text body The book text



3. Right-click on the style that you want to edit and choose Modify.... For instance right-
click on Text body.
4. Select the tab Font.

5. Choose Arial, 10pt and press apply.

6. Save the document. If you want to update the book text, follow the steps above.
Remember: All styles and other document settings will be kept.



Chapter 12: Docking windows and layouts

Docking Windows
• A docking window is a view or a tool window inside the Storybook main window.
• A right-click on a docking window title shows the context menu. Closed docking windows
can be restored with Show View from the context menu.
• Double-click on a window title to maximize the window. Double-click again to unset the
maximize state.

Note the buttons at the right of each docking window title.

[1] Settings: Show the settings for this tool or view (for instance the zoom factor). Not all views
and tools have settings.
[2] Refresh: Circle arrow: Refresh this tool or view.
[3] Undock: Undock this window (show it in a separate window).
[4] Minimize: Minimize this window (minimized to the left border by default).
[5] Close: Close this window.

Some tools have an export button (the charts, the Memoria tool):

[1] Export: Export the view or tool as PNG image.



Layouts
• The layout (the arrangements of all views and tools) can be reset with Window ⇒
Default Layout.
• Try the other available layouts from the same menu, too.
• Layout can be saved. Once the views and tools has been arranged, choose Window ⇒
Save Layout and enter a name.
• To restore a layout choose Window ⇒ Load Layout and select the layout you want to
restore.
• Saved layouts are also shown in the status bar. Select one from the combo box to
restore it.



Chapter 13: Items

What are items and tags for?
Items and tags are used to add additional information to a scene, a character or a location.

What is the difference between items and tags?
An item is something that has a weight, for instance a tool or a vehicle. A tag on the other hand
is an abstract information such as a relationship between two characters or an event.

Creating items
Some examples what can be done with items:
• Tools and weapons
• Vehicles
• Artifacts
• Everything else that is important to your story but not abstract things.

To add a new item choose New Object ⇒ New Item:

• Enter an item name and its category.
• To choose an already entered category click on the down arrow.
• An item category may be “Tools” for a hammer or “Vehicles” for a car. The category can
also be empty.
• Secondary Objects ⇒Items shows all items in a table.



Item assignments

To assign an item to a scene, a location or a character, choose Secondary Objects ⇒Item
Assignments and press the button New.

Now select the object you want to assign to the item.

The simplest assignment is to choose only one single object, for instance choose only a
character, or a location, or a scene (the “start scene”, leave “end scene” blank). Such item
assignments endures “forever”, means they are assigned from the start of your story until to its
end.

Some items may not be assigned to a character all the time. That's why there is a second field
called “end scene”. If you choose both, a start scene and an end scene, the item is assigned to
the chosen object from the start scene until to the end scene.

An example: Frodo was not in possession of the ring all the time. Therefore for Frodo we would
add an assignment that starts with the scene “The ring finds Frodo” and ends with the scene
“Frodo destroys the ring”:



• The number of assignments is unlimited. Press “new” again to add another assignment.
• To edit existing assignments double-click on an item in the list or press the edit button.
• If you remove an item, all assignments made for that item will be removed, too.



Chapter 14: Tags

Creating tags
Creating a new tag is actually the same as creating a new item. Enter a name and a category,
and you're done. Some examples what can be mapped with tags:
• Feelings: From love to hate and everything between.
• Moods: From overjoyed to depressed.
• Relationships: Connect character to families, or pairs, or siblings (see below).
• Track events (see blow).
• Assign the actual weather situation to scenes.
• Track the level of excitement.
• Much more.

Making tag assignments
Excellently the same as for items.

Using tags to define relationships
Tag can be used to map families and other relations between characters. The demo project
uses the characters of the TV cartoon show “The Simpsons”. Here how the tag assignments
would be for the Simpson family:



And here how that is shown in the Memoria Tool (the tag “The Simpson Family” is the focused
object):

And the other way round (Homer is the focused object):



Using tags to track events
Assigning events is simple. Let's say in a murder mystery a string of burglaries happens.
1. Create a new tag named “string of burglaries”, category “Event”.
2. Assign that tag to each scene that is affected, i.e. also scenes where characters talk
about the string of burglaries.
3. Use the Memoria Tool to track it.



Chapter 15: Information Export
Click on the export button on the top of the Info Window to export the text shown in the
information window. A dialog asks for a file name (the suggested name can be changed).
Confirm the dialog to save the text as HTML file. The exported HTML file can either be opened
in a browser (double click on the file to open it in your browser) or – more comfortable – it can
be inserted as linked section into an OpenOffice document. How that is done is explained is this
chapter.
• Create a new OpenOffice document and save it.
• Export the desired object from Storybook by using the export button on the top of the
Info Window. Confirm the file export dialog.
• Now open the file manager and drag-n-drop the exported HTML file to the newly created
OpenOffice document. A dialog pops up:

• Confirm the dialog to insert the HTML file as a new section with the name “Section1”.
• Instead of the drag-n-drop mechanism you can also use Section... form the menu Insert
and then choose the file that you want to link.



• The OpenOffice document now shows the text as link in a new section:

• To update the OpenOffice document export the linked objects again. Then save the
OpenOffice document and choose Reload from the menu File. You'll be asked if you
want to get the most recent data. Confirm the dialog.

• The whole text will be up-to-date now.
• Note that you can link more than one object into an OpenOffice document. Just repeat
the steps described above.
• Some notes about images. Images are linked in Storybook (since HTML is used). To use
a Storybook file on more than one computer it is recommended to save the Storybook
file and all used images on either a network storage or on a memory stick.



Chapter 16: Charts

• Click and drag the mouse inside the diagram (the dark gray area) to change the shown
date range (horizontal zoom in).
• To view the whole date range again, right-click inside the diagram and select Auto
Range ⇒ Range Axis.
• Right-click ⇒ Print prints the diagram directly.
• Right-click ⇒ Properties to change all kind of diagram properties.
The following image shows the same chart but zoomed in to the project duration:



Chapter 17: Tips and Tricks
• Right-click on a scene to switch between the 3 views very fast. For instance a right-
click on a scene in the chronological view shows the entries “Show in Book View” and
“Show in Manage View”. Not only the view is switched, it also scrolls to the chosen
scene.
• Right-click on a scene in the tree to show the chosen scene in one of the 3 views.
• In the tree press the first letter(s) to jump to the desired item.
• Want to know the age of a character depending on the scene's date? Move the mouse
cursor over the character abbreviation label. The age is shown on the quick info window.
If a character is dead, the reached age is shown marked with a “+”.
• Memoria Tool
• Use Shift - Left-Click and move the mouse to rotate the graph.
• Use Ctrl - Left-click and move the mouse to skew the graph. Use the mouse
wheel to zoom in / zoom out.
• Want to see a location in Google Maps? In the tree, right click to a location and
choose “Google Maps” from the context menu! The URL used for Google Maps can be
set manually. Open the preferences, select the tab “Internet” and enter the Google Maps
URL of your country.
• Troubles with wrong characters (for instance German Umlauts) after a CSV import in
Word / OpenOffice? Choose “Unicode (UTF-8)” as character set.
• In the editor right-click to show the context menu.
• Most text fields have Drag-n-Drop support. To move text from Word / OpenOffice, just
select it, then drag it to the desired text field and drop it. You can also move text the
same way from one scene to another of course.



Chapter 17: Hotkeys

Category Command Hotkey
View Zoom in / out Ctrl-+ / Ctrl--
Show Chronological View Ctrl-1
Show View “Manage Scenes” Ctrl-2
Show Book View Ctrl-3
Show Reading View Ctrl-4
Show Memoria Ctrl-5
Show Editor Ctrl-6
Show Tree Ctrl-7
Show Info Ctrl-8
Show Navigation Ctrl-9

Refresh all F5
View Part 1 Alt-1
View Part 2 - 9 Alt-2 … Alt-9
Scrolling (all directions) Alt-Cursor Keys
Vertical Scrolling Mouse Wheel
Horizontal Scrolling Ctrl-Mouse Wheel

Primary Scenes Ctrl-Alt-S
Objects
Chapters Ctrl-Alt-H
Characters Ctrl-Alt-C
Locations Ctrl-Alt-L

Secondary Tags Ctrl-Alt-T
Objects
Tag Assignments Ctrl-Alt-Z
Items Ctrl-Alt-I
Item Assignments Ctrl-Alt-O
Ideas Ctrl-Alt-F

File Open File Ctrl-O
New File Ctrl-N
Export / Print Ctrl-P



Book Text Export Ctrl-Shift-P
Export Folder Alt-Shift-F
Close Ctrl-W

Objects New Scene Ctrl-Shift-S
New Chapter Ctrl-Shift-H
New Character Ctrl-Shift-C
New Location Ctrl-Shift-L
New Tag Ctrl-Shift-T
New Tag Assignment Ctrl-Shift-Z
New Item Ctrl-Shift-I
New Item Assignment Ctrl-Shift-O
Flash of Inspiration Ctrl-F
New Idea Ctrl-Shift-F

Misc Close / cancel Dialog Esc
Task List Ctrl-K
Open Edit Scene Editor Ctrl-Enter
Close Edit Scene Editor Ctrl-Enter

Text Editor Undo Ctrl-Z
Redo Ctrl-Y
Italic Ctrl-I
Bold Ctrl-B
Underlined Ctrl-U
Align left Ctrl-L
Align center Ctrl-E
Align right Ctrl-R
Justify Ctrl-J

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