Styles Overview

A style is a set of formatting commands (such as page size, margins, alignment, font, font size) defined together under one name. Styles let you save a set of formatting commands so you can apply them throughout a document or set of documents. In addition to formatting commands, a style may contain text (e.g. a heading or punctuation before or after a number). A style is first defined using the SS (Set Style) command and then can be used repeatedly throughout the document using the US (Use Style) command. These commands can be issued from the action line or by using a convenient menu interface.

Styles provide powerful controls that are used extensively by other Nota Bene features such as Academic Styles, Frameworks and Numbering. These features provide predefined and often complex sets of styles that can be used to format documents in accord with major Style Manuals, to use an outline format and/or to use any of Nota Bene's numbering features. In general, Academic Styles, Frameworks and Numbering are easier to use than setting up your own styles and they provide an efficient way of accessing the powerful tools that Styles provide. Many users will find that they rarely, if ever, use Styles apart from the implicit use in these other features. However, for those who would like to set up and use their own styles, they provide significant ways to make the process of writing more efficient. Using styles allows you to insert several formatting commands with one shortcut keystroke. In addition, you can adjust the definition of the style and thus make one change that effects every use of the style throughout the document.

Possible uses of Styles include:

•A style for emphasizing text can be defined (for example changing the font as well as making it bold). If you decide after writing 50 pages that you want the emphasized text to be formatted differently, one change at the top of the document will change all emphasized text throughout the document.

•If you are referring throughout a document to the title of a yet untitled book, a style could be used to insert the title of the book as well as any formatting of the title. One change at the beginning of the document where the style is defined will change the title of the book throughout the document.