Importing styles

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janniklindquist
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Importing styles

Post by janniklindquist »

Hi,

I am afraid I don't quite understand the process of importing styles from other documents. According to the help-file I should be able to:
import multiple styles at once. You can also override styles existing in the active document with the styles with the identical names from other documents.
But I always get a dialog that asks me whether I want to overwrite a style in the destination style list with a corresponding style from the source style list. Why can't I just import styles without overwriting anything in the destination list?

EDIT: Actually, even if I choose to overwrite a style in the destination list, nothing happens.

Jannik
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Post by admin »

As I understand, you used the Styles panel of the Atlantis Control Board to import styles.

I am not sure that understand what you mean by “just import”. But it is obvious that you cannot have two “Heading 1” styles in the same document. When the source document and the destination document both include a style with the same name, there are only two possible scenarios: the formatting of the style from the source document can be assigned to the corresponding style from the destination document, or the formatting of the style from the destination document can be left unchanged. So when Atlantis suggests to override a style, this means that the destination document already includes a style with the name which you selected in the “Import Styles” dialog. When you instruct Atlantis not to override a style, the corresponding style from the source document would not be imported. When you ask to override a style, the formatting of a style from the source document gets transferred to the corresponding style from the destination document. If nothing happens when the “import styles” overrides styles, this can only mean that the imported styles have identical (or almost identical) formatting in both documents.

You might wish to “import style” from another document when that another document has styles missing from the destination document, or when you want to import styles existing in the destination document but with a different formatting available in that another document. When importing styles, you are supposed to choose the source document, and select the styles that should be imported. Importing styles normally affects the formatting of the existing paragraphs of the destination document.
janniklindquist
Posts: 71
Joined: Wed Sep 05, 2001 9:44 pm
Location: Copenhagen, Denmark

Post by janniklindquist »

admin wrote:As I understand, you used the Styles panel of the Atlantis Control Board to import styles.

I am not sure that understand what you mean by “just import”. But it is obvious that you cannot have two “Heading 1” styles in the same document. When the source document and the destination document both include a style with the same name, there are only two possible scenarios: the formatting of the style from the source document can be assigned to the corresponding style from the destination document, or the formatting of the style from the destination document can be left unchanged. So when Atlantis suggests to override a style, this means that the destination document already includes a style with the name which you selected in the “Import Styles” dialog. When you instruct Atlantis not to override a style, the corresponding style from the source document would not be imported. When you ask to override a style, the formatting of a style from the source document gets transferred to the corresponding style from the destination document. If nothing happens when the “import styles” overrides styles, this can only mean that the imported styles have identical (or almost identical) formatting in both documents.

You might wish to “import style” from another document when that another document has styles missing from the destination document, or when you want to import styles existing in the destination document but with a different formatting available in that another document. When importing styles, you are supposed to choose the source document, and select the styles that should be imported. Importing styles normally affects the formatting of the existing paragraphs of the destination document.
What I mean by "just import": Suppose, the source document contains a style called "Block citation" and I want to import into a standard Atlantis-document. Atlantis will then ask me whether I want to overwrite the style "Normal" in the destination document with the corresponding style in the source document. To me, that doesn't make sense. I don't think of the style "Block citation" in the source document as corresponding to the style normal. I just want to add the style "Block citation" to the available styles in the document, I'm working on.

But there is a more basic problem: no matter what style I try to import and no matter what options I choose on the dialog, nothing happens. Honestly :-)

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Post by admin »

Suppose, the source document contains a style called "Block citation" and I want to import into a standard Atlantis-document. Atlantis will then ask me whether I want to overwrite the style "Normal" in the destination document with the corresponding style in the source document. To me, that doesn't make sense.
If Atlantis suggests to import the “Normal” style, this means that the “Block citation” style is based on the “Normal” style.

Normally a style includes only a few explicitly specified properties. Other properties are left in a so called “undefined state”. When a style is based on another style (a “base style”), it inherits all the “undefined properties” from the “base style”. It is a powerful mechanism allowing to have a flexible control over the formatting of the whole document.
Let’s take an example. Let’s suppose that all the document styles are based on the “Normal” style. In this case, it is possible to specify some “Font face” only for the “Normal” style, and leave the “Font face” property blank for other styles. All the styles based on the “Normal” style would inherit the “Font face” property from their base style – “Normal”. Consequently all the document styles would share the same “Font face”. If you decide to change the font face of your document, you only need to adjust the corresponding property of the “Normal” style. All the styles based on the “Normal” style, and all the document paragraphs associated with these styles, would be automatically affected by this change.

Quite often it is insufficient just to import a style on its own. If a style from the source document inherits many properties from some other styles, importing this style to another document on its own might be insufficient. The resulting properties of the imported style in the destination document might differ from the resulting properties of this style in the source document because the formatting of the base styles in these two documents are different.

If the properties inherited by “Block citation” from the “Normal” style are not important to you, you should click “No” when Atlantis suggests to import the “Normal” style.
But there is a more basic problem: no matter what style I try to import and no matter what options I choose on the dialog, nothing happens.
Most probably you click the “Cancel” button when Atlantis suggests to import the “Normal” style. The “Cancel” button cancels the entire “import styles” operation. Please just click “No” if you do not want to import the “Normal” style.
janniklindquist
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Location: Copenhagen, Denmark

Post by janniklindquist »

admin wrote: If the properties inherited by “Block citation” from the “Normal” style are not important to you, you should click “No” when Atlantis suggests to import the “Normal” style.
But the properties that are not inherited from the "Normal" style are important to me! That's why I try to import them :-) Obviously, I could simply create a new "Block citation" style in the document that I'm working on - but what's the purpose of the "Import"-option, then?
But there is a more basic problem: no matter what style I try to import and no matter what options I choose on the dialog, nothing happens.
Most probably you click the “Cancel” button when Atlantis suggests to import the “Normal” style. The “Cancel” button cancels the entire “import styles” operation. Please just click “No” if you do not want to import the “Normal” style.


I can assure you that I have tried every button - and nothing happens. To me, the option for importing styles simply does not seem to work.
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Post by admin »

Please try importing the "Block citation" style again. When Atlantis asks to override any style, please click "Yes" or "Yes to all". Do you mean that you still cannot find the "Block citation" style among the styles of the destination document?
janniklindquist
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Joined: Wed Sep 05, 2001 9:44 pm
Location: Copenhagen, Denmark

Post by janniklindquist »

admin wrote:Please try importing the "Block citation" style again. When Atlantis asks to override any style, please click "Yes" or "Yes to all". Do you mean that you still cannot find the "Block citation" style among the styles of the destination document?
Yes - exactly :-)
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Post by janniklindquist »

I have reverted to version 1.6.1.3 (from 1.6.1.4) and the problem has gone. I am now able to import styles again.


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Post by admin »

1.6.1.4 is a maintenance build with only a few minor changes in comparing to 1.6.1.3. It looks like if something is wrong with the executable file of 1.6.1.4 on your disk. Are you sure that it has been downloaded by your Web browser correctly, and there was no problem with unpacking?
janniklindquist
Posts: 71
Joined: Wed Sep 05, 2001 9:44 pm
Location: Copenhagen, Denmark

Post by janniklindquist »

admin wrote:1.6.1.4 is a maintenance build with only a few minor changes in comparing to 1.6.1.3. It looks like if something is wrong with the executable file of 1.6.1.4 on your disk. Are you sure that it has been downloaded by your Web browser correctly, and there was no problem with unpacking?
I downloaded your zip-file with 1.6.1.4 again and un-zipped into my Atlantis-directory - and now it runs beautifully! Thank you for your patience :-)

Jannik
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