Re: [libreoffice-users] Master Documents, Office Suites, and the Underwood

On 3/25/2014 9:33 AM, Kracked_P_P---webmaster wrote:
> As a person who learned to type on a typewriter and learned 
> programming on a mainframe computer [since the PC did not exist at 
> that time], I have not learned how to do "styles".  Never really 
> needed it, as far as I was concerned.   Yes, yes, I should learn it, 
> but time to learn and play with styles is not an option for me currently.

Actually, Tim, we're not that different. I learned on an Underwood and 
began using computers in the days of the Commodore 64 and MS-DOS (albeit 
as a lawyer, not a programmer). I was a slow convert to Styles because, 
like you, I was constantly seeking simplicity in my solutions.

I spent years perfecting my use of PC-Write. Then, my office switched to 
Windows 3.1 and WordPerfect for Windows. Knowing the investment I had 
made in PC-Write, I really didn't want to re-invest my time learning 
another full-featured word processor. So, instead, I began using Windows 
Write (the precursor to WordPad).

I loved it. It was the epitome of simplicity. No styles, no templates, 
no "reveal codes" or complex menus and toolbars to complicate life. Just 
a digital typewriter with True Type fonts. I was easily able to create 
legal briefs and other documents. The program was limited to a single 
file, so there was no bloat (other than the inherent bloat of Windows) 
and it was free and immediately available on any computer with Windows.

Now, from a typographic standpoint, a legal brief is fairly simple. The 
main text is double spaced with a first line indent (the tab key worked 
nicely). Quoted matter is single-spaced and indented. Then, there are 
section headings. I typically would have three levels of section 
headings. They were boldface or italic type with either left or centered 
alignment and with or without numbering. I always wanted to make sure my 
headings stayed on the same page as the following paragraph as I didn't 
want a heading by itself at the bottom of the page. My top level would 
also typically start with a new page. I was able to accomplish all of 
this with Write, using the K.I.S.S. method. It felt good not having to 
wade through multiple layers of menus to find that one buried formatting 
command. Of course, this meant I had to directly and manually format 
each of my paragraphs and headings, making sure they were consistent, 
with a page break before each top-level heading, and with none of my 
headings landing at the bottom of the page.

After several legal briefs, I realized I was duplicating a lot of my 
effort each time I wrote a brief not only within each brief, but from 
one document to the next. And, sometimes, I failed in keeping my 
headings consistent. Was that supposed to be 12-point bold, or 14-point 
italic? It changed depending on the court I was in.

Then I discovered paragraph styles. After an initial time investment in 
education, I have become a believer. Rather than manually formatting 7 
to 10 section headings per brief, I have created three paragraph styles 
controlling font, size, weight, alignment, and placement on the page. I 
now apply many formatting characteristics with one mouse click. I no 
longer *ever* type a tab key to indent a paragraph. I *know* my section 
headings will be consistent and that page breaks will always appear 
before my top level heading. And, then, by using styles for my headings, 
I can easily and automatically generate a fully-formatted and numbered 
table of contents with three mouse clicks, rather than typing the whole 
thing manually. Yes, it took time to create my styles, but the time 
saved in my actual work is not insignificant.

It is certainly simpler to insert a section heading with a single mouse 
click on "Heading 1" than it is to hit <ctrl-enter> for a page break, 
then <ctrl-e> to center the paragraph, then <ctrl-b> to make it bold, 
and then click on the point size to increase it, and then after typing 
my heading, hit <ctrl-b> to turn off my boldface, <ctrl-l> to left align 
the next paragraph and click on the point size to decrease it, and do 
this each and every time I insert a heading hoping I don't make a 
mistake. Just describing it is exhausting.

So, yes, if you prefer the typewriter method, by all means use it. I 
would never try to force styles on you. But, I hope you don't consider 
my attempts at styles evangelism to be "forcing." Just trying to point 
out that the K.I.S.S. method may seem simpler to those of us who learned 
our craft on the typewriter, but in the long run, it does result in more 
work and less consistent results.

Virgil

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