Changing Note Atrributes with unintended results

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MonEsVil
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Joined: Fri Apr 01, 2011 11:42 am

Changing Note Atrributes with unintended results

Post by MonEsVil »

Hello, people, I have a serious issue. I have a very long document with many words in small caps in hundreds of notes. While I was writing the document, I create a specific style for those words. I have tried to edit the Note Attribute (to change the symbol of reference, i. e., the numbers of the notes). The disastrous side-effect is that every word in small caps in the notes lost this attribute. If I have to change back every word again to small caps, one at a time, I think I will kill myself. Help, please.
Icelander
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Joined: Mon Aug 18, 2014 10:59 pm

Re: Changing Note Atrributes with unintended results

Post by Icelander »

1. Go back to the point in time before you started meddling with the Note attributes and all words with the Small Caps character style were visible in your notes.

2. To begin with, make sure you have a character style called "Note text". Select it by clicking ONLY once on it in the character pane. While it is being selected, click on the pen-button. In the upcoming Character style window you'll see Style variations in the leftmost column. Create a Style variation called 'Small Caps' with the case attribute 'Small Caps' and possibly other attributes you need for this style as well, such as colors. Save.

3. Now enter the special element "Anything" into the Find box. Select it and assign it the character attribute "Small Caps". This will enable you to find all instances of your old "Small Caps" style.

4. Enter the special element "Found Expression" into the Replace box. Select it and assign it the character attribute "Note text" with the Style Variation "Small Caps".

5. Click the Replace All button. Now all the words in your old character style "Small Caps" have been replaced with the character style "Note text" with the Character Variation "Small Caps".

You can now change your Note Attributes without losing your Small Caps. — This assumes your paragraph Note text style (in Insert > Note > Edit note attributes) is associated with (= based on) the character style "Note text.

Let me know if this resolved your problem.
Last edited by Icelander on Fri Oct 23, 2020 7:21 pm, edited 3 times in total.
Icelander
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Posts: 366
Joined: Mon Aug 18, 2014 10:59 pm

Re: Changing Note Atrributes with unintended results

Post by Icelander »

General remarks about adding character styles to a paragraph style
Unlike Nisus, where adding character styles to a paragraph style never leads to problems, Mellel is different.

Rule 1
If you want to add character styles in Mellel to a text with a paragraph style and want to make the character styles and the paragraph style behave independently from each other, then you must make sure the paragraph style is not based on or associated with any character style, i.e., the drop-down menu 'Associated character style' in the paragraph style pane must be set to NONE. If it is not set to NONE and you make changes to the paragraph style, the character styles will immediately disappear!

Rule 2
Alternatively, you can add character styles with appropriate Style variations to a paragraph style. Having done that, you can make changes to the paragraph style and it will not affect the character styles, i.e., they will NOT disappear.

Rule 2 can be used in the Edit note attributes window in order to gain certain independence from the paragraph note text style. Changing the paragraph style will not destroy the previously added character styles.

Rule 1 however, (= using a paragraph style not based on or associated with any character style), does not work in the Edit note attributes window. No matter whether the paragraph Note style is associated with a character style or not, character styles that are applied to the note text in this scenario ALWAYS disappear when something is changed in the Edit note attributes window. Even toggling 'Highlight notes on screen' is enough to wipe out all character styles in the note text.

This is a deplorable exception to the Rule 1. It's confusing and annoying, and ahem…, drives otherwise modest and unassuming long-term Mellel users to commit suicide. (See the post from the original poster :–)

This needs to be fixed.

Any corrections or comments are welcome…
Last edited by Icelander on Wed Dec 16, 2020 8:26 pm, edited 2 times in total.
MonEsVil
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Joined: Fri Apr 01, 2011 11:42 am

Re: Changing Note Atrributes with unintended results

Post by MonEsVil »

Thank you, @Icelander. Eventually, I fixed the situation directly in the exported document in Word, by selecting all the footnotes there.

But I will take into account your answer for future references, thank you.
Icelander
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Posts: 366
Joined: Mon Aug 18, 2014 10:59 pm

Re: Changing Note Atrributes with unintended results

Post by Icelander »

Eventually, I fixed the situation directly in the exported document in Word, by selecting all the footnotes there.
So you left the problem in Mellel unresolved…

Just "selecting all the footnotes there" won't fix anything. Therefore, please be so kind and share more details with us about what you did.

I took a close look at your case, ran multiple tests and worked hard at finding a permanent and lasting solution to the problem. Can I ask you a favor? Create a Style Variation "Small Caps" in Mellel, and then follow the 5-steps-instruction in my first post. This shouldn't take more than one or two minutes of your time. Does it work?

Please help.

Thank you.
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