Is there a hack to display Style lists in plain text?

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trent the thief
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Is there a hack to display Style lists in plain text?

Post by trent the thief »

Does anyone have a hack to display the Styles Window and the Styles dropdown listbox in plain text? I couldn't find a config setting for it.

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doc_guy
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Re: Is there a hack to display Style lists in plain text?

Post by doc_guy »

I don't think there is a way. But it would be a great feature request. I'd prefer the text list for a variety of reasons.
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trent the thief
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Re: Is there a hack to display Style lists in plain text?

Post by trent the thief »

I think most tech writers prefer it. "Training wheels" are for dilettantes and marketing departments.

I've asked MadCap for it every year since V2.

I'd discuss the reasons behind the list still looking as it does, but that tends to bring out my nasty side. :evil:

But then, the GUI is still hosed with a couple of windows are undocked, so maybe they have other issues.
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dorcutt
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Re: Is there a hack to display Style lists in plain text?

Post by dorcutt »

I agree, it would be amazing to have that option. I know what my H1 looks like by now, thank you very much. I don't need it showing up in my list in all its glory. The stupid way that Flare lets negative indents push the text off to the left so that the style name is illegible is particularly irritating.

At least with Flare 11, there are an increasing number of workarounds:
Between all of these, I can cope, kind of. A plain text list would definitely be a godsend, though.
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Re: Is there a hack to display Style lists in plain text?

Post by Paulie »

I think it should be possible via a plug-in. If I get time I will have a play and see what I can come up with.
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trent the thief
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Re: Is there a hack to display Style lists in plain text?

Post by trent the thief »

dorcutt wrote:I agree, it would be amazing to have that option. I know what my H1 looks like by now, thank you very much. I don't need it showing up in my list in all its glory. The stupid way that Flare lets negative indents push the text off to the left so that the style name is illegible is particularly irritating.

At least with Flare 11, there are an increasing number of workarounds:
Between all of these, I can cope, kind of. A plain text list would definitely be a godsend, though.
IMHO, a lot of the problem is because MadCap's devs are sticking the GUI together from whatever pre-built object came closest to working. They also seem to be in lock-step with the Microsoft's raft of idio... er.. trendy UI designers. You know them, they're guys who threw away that drab, menu-based UI in favour of that wonderfully stylish ribbon. I adore being trendy!

Pinning alleviated the length issue just a bit, but as you mention, some problems can't be rectified by letting us positioning something in a list. That indenting crap has got to go.

IMHO, Flare needs a layer of typographic control that is actually designed for writers, rather than forcing us to discover through trial and error (with that hot mess that is the style-sheet editor) how to make our documents look like they were written and set by professionals. MadCap should revisit the Format Editors that Frame Technology put into FrameMaker way back when. MADCAP: There's a reason why Adobe left those editors in FrameMaker and still uses them after 20 years: THEY WORK.

Blaze could have benefited by them, too.

MadCap's style sheet editor is fine and dandy if you're making html pages. Not so much, though, for setting a document to any particular design standard.

Even Word's style editing is better than MadCap's, and that's a sad fact.

And don't even get me started on the sad state of complex lists and autonumbering.

MADCAP: Microsoft is not the authority on Technical Writing, document preparation, or GUI design. Set down the Koolaid and step away or we'll have cult de-programmers rescue you. :lol:
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ChoccieMuffin
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Re: Is there a hack to display Style lists in plain text?

Post by ChoccieMuffin »

Get off the fence, Trent, and tell us what you REALLY think! :lol:

ps, feature request submitted.
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trent the thief
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Re: Is there a hack to display Style lists in plain text?

Post by trent the thief »

ChoccieMuffin wrote:Get off the fence, Trent, and tell us what you REALLY think! :lol:

ps, feature request submitted.
Ha! I've already made this year's request.
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