Making it quicker to jump to bookmarks

Request new features or suggest modifications to existing features of Atlantis.
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andygrunt
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Joined: Mon Jul 23, 2007 12:35 pm

Making it quicker to jump to bookmarks

Post by andygrunt »

I'd like it to be easier and quicker to jump around to specific parts of my document.

I work with several long documents that include a number of bookmarks enabling me to jump to specific parts. At the moment, if I want to jump to a bookmark, I have to press Ctrl+G, select 'Bookmark' in the 'Go To' column, click the drop down box and select the bookmark. This seems long winded to me so I'd like to suggest an alternative. By the way, I'm aware I can open the control board and get it to display the bookmarks there but I don't like having this open all the time as it clutters up the limited space on my laptop screen (and can also be distracting).

I'd like to be able to click somewhere on the screen (suggestions below) and for the list of bookmarks to instantly appear requiring me only to select the relevant bookmark which Atlantis then jumps to. I have my bookmarks sorted by location so having some indication in the displayed list of where I currently am would also be helpful i.e. if I had 2 bookmarks, one at the start of the doc and one at the end and I'm currently somewhere in the middle of the doc, a bold horizontal line (or similar) between the two listed bookmarks would instantly show me where the bookmarks are in relation to my current position.

Here are a few suggestions for this 'hot' area:
1 - On the grey background seen to the left and right of the page. One click or right clicking here wouldn't interfere with the dbl click to bring up the Page Settings box.
2 - Add a button between the 'Go to previous page' and 'Go to next page' buttons under the vertical scroll bar
3 - In the space on the RHS of the status bar

Taking it a step further, this might be a good option to allow the user to alter so I may use this to list bookmarks while another user may prefer it to do something else e.g. quickly select a list of styles etc without having to turn the control board on.
andygrunt
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Post by andygrunt »

Another thought regarding making it easier to navigate around a document...

How about thumbnail images of pages (as you might see in preview mode with a 10% zoom factor) in the grey areas to the left and right of the page which the user clicks on to instantly move to that page? The left side would show several pages above and below the current page optionally with the page number shown below each thumbnail. On the right side could be bookmarked pages (i.e. user specified) with the bookmark title appearing under each thumbnail.

The size of the thumbnails would be dependent on the space available and I'd also like to be able to set their brightness/transparency so the display wouldn't 'overwhelm' the screen.
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admin
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Post by admin »

About bookmarks. You can already access the list of the bookmarks of the active document by right-clicking the first section of the status bar called "Caret position":

Image

Please click the following link for details:
http://www.atlantiswordprocessor.com/en ... okmark.htm
andygrunt
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Post by andygrunt »

That's great, thanks.

Do you have a manual for Atlantis available in PDF (or RTF) format? I've never worked through the online help but would happily read through a manual in book form as I could keep it on my phone/PDA to look at as and when I get the chance.
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Post by admin »

Regrettably we do not have such a manual. Possibly it will be created in a not too distant future.
luc
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Quicker bookmark handling +++

Post by luc »

Quicker bookmark handling would also be one of my wishes. This is one feature which is perfectly implemented in Jarte ( Jarte is annoying in some other ways).
In Jarte you can have your bookmarks always visible ( as small yellow arrow on a thin gray bar to the left of the text) and you can add bookmarks simply by clicking onto this gray bar. Right-clicking of these tiny arrows allows you to edit the bookmarks, jump to the next , to the last, or deleting it.

All bookmark functionality is just a single click (or a right-click away) and bookmarks can be made visible (for feedback and visual survey) all the time. I believe this type of convenience is necessary to make bookmarks actually useful.
Robert
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Post by Robert »

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Post by admin »

Please see the following Help topic:
http://www.atlantiswordprocessor.com/en ... ps_006.htm
luc
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Post by luc »

hello and thanks for your replies,

the bookmarks functionality in Atlantis is extensive and it is certainly well suited for authoring large pieces of text (and it is already quicker than in most other editors). However, I am not going to write a book or another PhD thesis in the foreseeable future.

My point is that "Quick-Bookmarks", the way they are implemented in Jarte, are actually more useful for the vast majority of much smaller writing jobs. There, I can just click on the minimal sidebar without having to bother with a name for the bookmark or bother with anything else distracting - bookmarking is just one click - and jumping from one to the other is just a right-click.
In addition it is very helpful to have the bookmarks visible in the text - the perfect reminder on which parts need further work etc - without the need go through an external list.

I can imagine that at present bookmarks are used fairly rarely because their use is only efficient for extensive texts. The suggested "quick" version is so fast and simple, it's use makes sense even for the smallest texts.
Last edited by luc on Tue Feb 05, 2008 3:23 pm, edited 1 time in total.
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Post by admin »

If you do not have many bookmarks in your document, you can press Ctrl+\ (NUMPAD) (Previous bookmark) or Ctrl+* (NUMPAD) (Next bookmark) hot keys to navigate among the bookmarked locations. These commands can be installed as buttons on the Atlantis toolbars through the "Tools | Toolbars..." menu command.
luc
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Post by luc »

Hello,

thanks for the tip. I will try that ... and I will try to remember the shortcuts.

However, could you let me know, if I did provide worthwhile arguments for both ultimate simplicity and visual feedback in bookmark handling?
Was the suggestion explained understandably?
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Post by admin »

As for me, the bookmark-related features of Atlantis Word Processor are extremely simple to work with. There are multiple ways to achieve the same goal.

If you need a "visual feedback", please use the Bookmarks panel of the Control Board.

Note that you can assign your custom hot keys to any command in Atlantis through the Tools | Hot Keys... dialog.
Robert
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Post by Robert »

Hi,
This might not be the ultimate simplicity you are after, but here are a few tips that might help:

1. If you press "Shift+Alt+B", then "Enter", you will quickly create as many bookmarks as you need. Atlantis will use default bookmark names. Note that you can change the default hot key if you find it too complex. For example, I use “Redo last Find/Replace operation” a lot currently. I found the original hot key too complicated (“Ctrl+Shift+Alt+F5”). I have reassigned it to “F10”. You too could reassign one of your function keys to the “New bookmark” command.

In the same way, you could assign some of your function keys (or any other suitable shortcuts) to the “(Show) Previous/Next Bookmark” commands.

2. If you right-click the vertical scrollbar to the right of the Atlantis document window, you will get clickable commands to navigate to the next/previous bookmark. Please see the help topic on Bookmarks.

3. If you toggle the "Special Symbols" mode on, square brackets will be visible around the bookmarks in the document window.

4. Now if you want to have visible marks in the text, why not use highlighting instead of bookmarks?

As you pointed out yourself, bookmarks are best for large pieces of text where the relevant fragments are scattered over many pages. But for smaller texts, I find highlighting more practical. For the purpose of quick identification of parts that need further work, I personally use “Light Turquoise” highlighting.

Highlighting has the added advantage that the corresponding fragments can easily be selected.

To select fragments formatted with a highlighting color, use the “Ctrl+F” dialog and specify the appropriate color in the “Format” Highlight window. Please have a look at the "Find/Replace" help topic.

When the highlighted fragments are selected, they can be copied or cut to another document, reformatted, or deleted.

To remove highlighting when it is no longer needed, simply press “Ctrl+A” to select the whole document, then click “None” in the “Highlight” drop-down on the toolbar.

Cheers,
Robert
luc
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Post by luc »

Hello all,
thanks for the replies.
admin wrote: .... If you need a "visual feedback", please use the Bookmarks panel of the Control Board. .....
Sorry, I do not see how this gives me any feedback on the position of the bookmarks in the text.

Robert,
the hint about right-clicking the scroll bar is exactly what I was looking for. I know shortcuts are fully customizable ( and a pain to memorize), but a direct solution like this is for me always preferable.

Highlighting is of course very usable for my purposes. What I am suggesting is somewhat a hybrid between highlighting and bookmarking (as implemented in Jarte), with the advantage of being able to jump very quickly from one "highlight" (more likely a problem point) to the next. It is a very convenient feature once you have tried it.

Thanks a lot for the detailed explanations!
Robert
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Post by Robert »

Hi again!
First about bookmarks.

1. Even though you might have chosen to not display the Control Board, never forget that it can be displayed very quickly with a single press on “F6”. The Bookmarks panel gives you all necessary information and commands to deal with bookmarks.

2. If, for example, you assign “F10” and “F11” to “Show previous bookmark” and “Show next bookmark”, navigating among bookmarks will be a breeze.

Now about highlighting.

1. Do not forget that you can grab the vertical scroll box with the mouse and drag it down to scroll the document text with lightning speed if you wish so. With this method, spotting highlighted fragments is as quick as can be.

2. With long documents, jumping from one highlighting to the next can also be done very quickly with the “Ctrl+F” dialog. Here is how to proceed:

Press “Ctrl+F”.
Check the “Format” box.
Click to open the “Highlight” drop-down.
Choose “Any highlighting” (or a specific color if necessary).
Click “Find Next”.
When you have been taken to the first instance, press the “Esc” key to close the “Find / Replace” dialog.
Click “F3” repeatedly to navigate from one highlighted fragment to the next.

This might sound complicated but it is actually very practical with long documents once you have set up the “Ctrl+F” dialog appropriately. Pressing “F3” is no hassle.

Note that this method (“Ctrl+F”, then “F3”) is valid to search all kind of formatting or text and to navigate from one to the next.

Hope this helps.
Cheers,
Robert
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Post by admin »

luc wrote:Sorry, I do not see how this gives me any feedback on the position of the bookmarks in the text.
At the bottom of the Sections panel of the Atlantis Control Board you will find buttons "Sort bookmarks by name" and "Sort bookmarks by location".
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