How to change default font for title/header in Notebook Layout?

[ramparts]

Version: 2008 Operating System: Mac OS X 10.6 (Snow Leopard) Processor: Intel I want to change the default font for the page header/title in Notebook Layout (it's currently Verdana, 18 pt). But when I go to change the font there, if I click "Default" then it makes the new font the default font for the entire document, not just the header. Clearly not right, since then I end up with the actual notes in really big font.

How do I change the default font particularly for that element of Notebook Layout?

 

[John McGhie]

Generically, it's a really bad idea to try to change anything in Notebook
Layout. It's a specially-constructed "view" of a Word document, and it
relies on various things not being changed.

Notebook Layout documents are fairly fragile: if you change things, you may
find they start crashing on you.

The formatting itself is contained in the style "Header". If you flip into
Print Layout View, you can use Format Style to change it, and if you check
the "Add to Template" box, you will get your new settings for each new
Notebook Layout document.

However, any setting for the Font will be overwritten with "Verdana" each
time you create a Notebook document, so you may not be able to do what you
want.

And as I said, it's a really bad idea to play around with Notebook Layout
View. Even switching to Print Layout and back again can break them: they
are very flaky.

Cheers

Version: 2008 Operating System: Mac OS X 10.6 (Snow Leopard) Processor: Intel
I want to change the default font for the page header/title in Notebook Layout
(it's currently Verdana, 18 pt). But when I go to change the font there, if I
click "Default" then it makes the new font the default font for the entire
document, not just the header. Clearly not right, since then I end up with the
actual notes in really big font.

How do I change the default font particularly for that element of Notebook
Layout?

This email is my business email -- Please do not email me about forum
matters unless you intend to pay!

--

John McGhie, Microsoft MVP (Word, Mac Word), Consultant Technical Writer,
McGhie Information Engineering Pty Ltd
Sydney, Australia. | Ph: +61 (0)4 1209 1410
+61 4 1209 1410, mailto:[email protected]

 

[CyberTaz]

Further to John's reply: If you modify the Header Style it also will apply
to the Headers of all documents based on your Normal.dotm from then on. That
will involve you in yet another kettle of fish

Please keep in mind that Notebook Layout View is designed for, intended for,
& [for the most part] limited to *Taking Notes*.

Regards |:>)
Bob Jones
[MVP] Office:Mac

 

[Jackster12]

Hi there Bob and John... I see your names around a lot in these forums. Many thanks for all the help you give us Mac Office users. I say that to preface a slightly uncomfortable comment (for Microsoft)...

I've been using Office for years. I'm a writer and find Notebook Layout View (a) extremely helpful to organizing my work (b) terribly executed.

As you point out, Bob, the Notebook view was intended for taking notes. However, if you work as a writer, you recognize immediately that one could take a LOT of notes before working on a final document. And those notes need considerable organization.

Outline view has never been convenient for that purpose. NBL, for all it's serious flaws, has been a godsend for me in that regard. I believe that's exclusively for the ease of dragging the tabs around.

However, here's what I hate about it and WISH Microsoft would change...

First, it's indeed treated as a novelty and nothing more. The lined paper, the "customize" option that's only limited to changing the style of page and the "wood" on the desktops? Silly. This could be a powerful tool. Get a real writer in there to test it while the Microsoft programmers watch.

Second, I wish they would reconsider the forced formatting. All these stupid styles for taking notes -- why are they even here? Let the user choose to use the same formatting they use in any other document. The power of the NBL isn't in the formatting of each line, it's in the tabs that can be reorganized and navigated quickly. If I want to make an outline with tabs, I can do that myself as in any other style of document.

Third, improve navigation between the tabs. The fastest way to get to the end of a large set of tabs is to click the plus-button and add a tab and then delete it when you zip to the end. And dragging and dropping a tab when reorganizing requires you to let go of the tab, scroll, then pick it up again if you happen to be moving it between tabs that are off the screen.

Last, fix the bugs. It's insane that Microsoft should be complacent about this being "only for taking notes" as an excuse for why it crashes often. No aspect of the program, if this is a serious product, should be allowed to crash the product just because that's what it's always done. Likewise, the issues of tabs that lose their color designations or labels or position (yes, I've got all the updates installed and permissions repaired).

Just to note, despite all your warnings and my experiences that confirm those warnings (frequent crashes, changes to the styles, etc.) I use NBL all the time as my default starting point for every writing project I do. And I work on a good 300-400 pages worth of written documents every year... whittled down from about four times that much in notes and research.

NBL is an extremely good way to organize that information, when it works. In fact, I use Word right now ONLY because of the NBL view. I hope they see it for what it is and stop treating it like a novelty add-on.

P.S. I came here hoping to find someone explaining how to turn off all NBL forced style adjustments. Looks like that's not possible, yah?

 

[John McGhie]

Hi:

I don't disagree with a word you said.

Sadly, it WAS a novelty, created to try to add some value to Word 2008 for
the home user.

Not only is it extremely flaky and fragile, it's also completely
incompatible with anything on the PC side.

I am hoping they will simply take it away in the next version before it
causes any more problems.

Have a look at OminiOutliner:
http://www.omnigroup.com/applications/omnioutliner/pro/

For seventy bucks, it could be the best purchase you ever made, it's
designed properly from the ground up to do exactly what you need.

Cheers

Hi there Bob and John... I see your names around a lot in these forums. Many
thanks for all the help you give us Mac Office users. I say that to preface a
slightly uncomfortable comment (for Microsoft)...

I've been using Office for years. I'm a writer and find Notebook Layout View
(a) extremely helpful to organizing my work (b) terribly executed.

As you point out, Bob, the Notebook view was intended for taking notes.
However, if you work as a writer, you recognize immediately that one could
take a LOT of notes before working on a final document. And those notes need
considerable organization.

Outline view has never been convenient for that purpose. NBL, for all it's
serious flaws, has been a godsend for me in that regard. I believe that's
exclusively for the ease of dragging the tabs around.

However, here's what I hate about it and WISH Microsoft would change...

First, it's indeed treated as a novelty and nothing more. The lined paper, the
"customize" option that's only limited to changing the style of page and the
"wood" on the desktops? Silly. This could be a powerful tool. Get a real
writer in there to test it while the Microsoft programmers watch.

Second, I wish they would reconsider the forced formatting. All these stupid
styles for taking notes -- why are they even here? Let the user choose to use
the same formatting they use in any other document. The power of the NBL isn't
in the formatting of each line, it's in the tabs that can be reorganized and
navigated quickly. If I want to make an outline with tabs, I can do that
myself as in any other style of document.

Third, improve navigation between the tabs. The fastest way to get to the end
of a large set of tabs is to click the plus-button and add a tab and then
delete it when you zip to the end. And dragging and dropping a tab when
reorganizing requires you to let go of the tab, scroll, then pick it up again
if you happen to be moving it between tabs that are off the screen.

Last, fix the bugs. It's insane that Microsoft should be complacent about this
being "only for taking notes" as an excuse for why it crashes often. No aspect
of the program, if this is a serious product, should be allowed to crash the
product just because that's what it's always done. Likewise, the issues of
tabs that lose their color designations or labels or position (yes, I've got
all the updates installed and permissions repaired).

Just to note, despite all your warnings and my experiences that confirm those
warnings (frequent crashes, changes to the styles, etc.) I use NBL all the
time as my default starting point for every writing project I do. And I work
on a good 300-400 pages worth of written documents every year... whittled down
from about four times that much in notes and research.

NBL is an extremely good way to organize that information, when it works. In
fact, I use Word right now ONLY because of the NBL view. I hope they see it
for what it is and stop treating it like a novelty add-on.

P.S. I came here hoping to find someone explaining how to turn off all NBL
forced style adjustments. Looks like that's not possible, yah?

This email is my business email -- Please do not email me about forum
matters unless you intend to pay!

--

John McGhie, Microsoft MVP (Word, Mac Word), Consultant Technical Writer,
McGhie Information Engineering Pty Ltd
Sydney, Australia. | Ph: +61 (0)4 1209 1410
+61 4 1209 1410, mailto:[email protected]