I have been working on the chapter. If anyone wants to take it please do so. I have so much to learn just to find out anything on how to do it.
Chris, you picked a very difficult chapter as your first review effort, partly because it isn't really ready for a proper review -- it still needs a lot of writing done. (I realise there weren't many chapters to choose from at the time.)
I'll answer some of your questions, but if you would like to work on something easier to begin with, I have some other chapters here to suggest to you... including one I'm working on right now.
Next questions are related to heirarchy of the functions commands or what. I alluded to this when I mentioned that I thought that we should describe the Character first then para then page. Janet answered that question. I am still a little something about the arrangement of these.
In my version of OOo 1.1.3 ...The Stylist has Para, Char, Frames, Pages Lists. The Format (menu) has Default, Char, Para, Page, Sections, Columns, Case/Char Numbers/Bullets/ Styles, Stylist, AutoFormat.
The chapter has Para, Char, Frames, Lists (Numbering), [then also mentions Bullets].
To the master wordsmiths. To make this powerful function of styling then templating accessible to all, would it not be better to have the arrangement in a consistent manner, that is in the Format menu, the stylst bar and the documentation?
Items on the Format menu are covered in the chapters "Working with Text" and "Formatting Pages." Most of them have nothing to do with *styles*, and some are manual ways of doing the same things as styles. (This is mentioned in those chapters.)
Note: We're trying to write *task* oriented user guides, not *function* oriented. That means in most cases we look at what users might be trying to do, and tell them where to find the tools to do it (formatting a page, for example), instead of going through the menus in sequence. The online help is mostly not bad at describing the menu items, btw. (This Styles Reference chapter is an exception to the task-oriented approach, but it is there to provide more details than fit comfortably into the other two task-oriented chapters on styles (see below).
The other thing that I am wondering about, is in the total scheme of things do we have a Beginner, Intermediate and Advanced explanation of the use of all these things. Then the Reference Chapter would have all of them listed to refer to.
We do have an "Introduction to Styles" chapter, and I hope that the "Working with Text" and "Formatting Pages" chapters will provide the Beginner and Intermediate information needed. "Working with Text" is being reviewed now, and I hope to get "Formatting Pages" ready for review today or tomorrow.
I find that everytime I look, I find more. I thought that the page was the highest but maybe sections is, I think that column is a page thing but if it wraps to other pages like Headers/Footers/ Endnotes then .... where was I?
"Formatting Pages" should help you. That might be a very good chapter for you to review when I have it ready.
Good luck with downloading OOo2.0 beta!
Regards, Jean
