how do i select all the rows at a particular level and decide on the style attributes for that level - the way i do with oo3?
Sorry we don't have any documentation yet! OmniOutliner 4 has adopted the style method we implemented with the iPad version. The system used in OO3 that allowed the "level X rows" style involved way too many additional option that caused much confusion.
Everything works off of named styles now. If you select a named style in the sidebar and look at the Style inspector, you'll see three options at the bottom: Include styles, Style children as, Style next row as.
Include styles allows you to basically make a named style group, you can make one named style inherit the attributes of as many other named styles as you want.
Style children as is the option you're interested in here. This is how you can get the same automatic level styling. Create a named style for each row level you want, you can even name them "Level x rows". Then select your level 1 row style and set the Style children as to your level 2 row style. Continue this chain for as many levels as you want. Once that is done, in the document inspector set the Top-level row style value to your level 1 row style. This will apply that named style to all existing and future level 1 rows made in that file. You now have automatic level styling for your document.
Style next row as can be used to alternating row styles. If you set up two named styles that set each other for this value, it will alternate between the two as you make new row after each one. This could be used for say a Q&A list or such.
We're planning to create placeholder named styles pre-configured to do level styling in the default template so you can essentially use them like the option in OmniOutliner 3.
Let me know if you have any questions about this. Thanks!
thanks very much Derek, for your reply. excellent clarifications. i realise that this is a majorly different approach to the one i'm used to, and i guess i'll have to get to grips with it by playing.
i'm not 100% convinced yet that the new system will be any less confusing than the old, but that's perhaps because of its unfamiliarity at the moment.
We just added empty named styles for levels 1-5 to the default template. So, unless you've modified the template yourself, after you update any new documents should have these already. You can simply select them in the sidebar and use them like you did in OO3. You'll have to manually add additional styles to get beyond level 5 though.
i appreciate this - i was so confused before - didn't know where to start. in the documentation - when it comes out, i think it may be necessary to advise people used to OO3 that how styles are used in v.4 involves an entirely new approach. i was getting quite frustrated .
I see Heading 1, Heading 2, etc in the side bar. Are headings the same as levels?
I want all first level items to have the same styling. I can't figure it out.
Edit: After spending :10 minutes, I understand how the styling works. However, I don't know how to change existing text.
In particular, how do I select everything at a particular level?
Last edited by steve; 2013-04-15 at 10:39 AM..
Once you have selected everything, though, you should (in theory) be able to use the checkboxes at lower left to style it all the same. I notice that when I try to put this theory to the test, I am not always able to remove styles that have been applied.
I'm not sure how to build a document incorrectly, but I am satisfied now that I have figured out how to change all level 1 or level 2 at once. Sometimes you decide that you want to change a style. I opened a long and complex document that I had created in oo2 and I had no problem changing all items of a particular level.
What exactly have you tried selecting in the sidebar? The row numbering option will be disabled if you select a column style. But for any named style, or the Whole Document style, it should be available.