Re: [libreoffice-users] Character Styles

On 04/16/2014 04:08 PM, Kevin O'Brien wrote:
> Interesting point, Virgil. I think we need to weak a fine line between
> providing a tool that we can use intelligently, and forcing people to
> do something they don't understand. Using styles the right way is
> something you have to be educated about. Like you, I started by
> getting the idea that I could change styles throughout the document if
> I used them consistently. But it took longer for me to really
> appreciate the need to do functional style definitions. Any character
> can be bold for a variety of reasons, and the key is to create and use
> styles based on the function of that element in a document. That way,
> you can change a subset of all of the bold characters without changing
> others. But that requires starting to really think about the
> architecture of your information.
>
> Regards,
Good points, Kevin. I'm learning that using styles takes a lot of 
thought and planning. I like the way I can customize LO to make it do 
amazing things. But, it can't be done thoughtlessly, or you'll end up 
redoing stuff later on.

It occurs to me that, when we create style definitions, what we're 
really doing is making LO work more like LyX. The difference is that, 
with LyX, somebody else has already created really good styles (called 
"environments") thus shielding the user from the need to create them. 
Problem is, when the pre-created environments don't meet your needs, you 
have a steep learning curve to try to change them. With LO, you can much 
more easily create and modify styles, but, if you want really good 
output, you *have* to create and modify your styles, and that takes 
thoughtful planning. For a person just wanting to get his project done, 
the need to create and customize the styles seems to get in the way. 
It's as if each user is actually "finishing" LO by making it work the 
way s/he prefers. In creating my LO styles, I've tried to use LyX 
environments as a model, mimicking their output, and tweaking where I 
find it helpful.

Virgil

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