Linking styles to Body Text style

[Norm]

I'm curious how the pros link their "body text" style to other
styles.... assuming they do.

The reason for my question is how I defined my List Styles and some
non-TOC heading styles.

First, I decided to use a "vanilla" body text style (call it bt1)
without the "leading" (space before/after the paragraph) that I use for
most of my documents.

I then linked (based on) that style (bt1) to my list, heading and other
styles.

And I defined another Body Text style (call it bt2) with the leading I
normally use for documents and linked it to that vanilla Body Text (bt1).

Given that I'm a beginner in all of this I'm wondering if I'm making
things easier or more complicated for the long term. Just curious.

Thanks for any tips.

 

[John McGhie]

Hi Norm:

Mmmm...

You have added another layer of complexity there. That's something I would
not bother with unless I were setting up an "extreme" project of about
30,000 pages that I planned to re-express in multiple output formats.

I would also have a staff of about 150 fully-trained technical writers on
the job to generate such a project.

Me, I use the built-in Body Text style, with leading. I break its default
link to Normal and base it on "No style". Then I base all the body styles
(lists, tables, whatever) on Body Text.

Always remember that if you create complex inheritance, you need to hold the
effects of all that in your mind while you're working. It is very easy to
make a document's style sheet too complex for most human beings to work
with; and very difficult to work with such a document when you get it into
that condition

Keep it simple. Keep it very, very, simple! Inheritance is a VERY powerful
tool, but like Garlic, a little goes a LONG way. Ask your wife!

Cheers

I'm curious how the pros link their "body text" style to other
styles.... assuming they do.

The reason for my question is how I defined my List Styles and some
non-TOC heading styles.

First, I decided to use a "vanilla" body text style (call it bt1)
without the "leading" (space before/after the paragraph) that I use for
most of my documents.

I then linked (based on) that style (bt1) to my list, heading and other
styles.

And I defined another Body Text style (call it bt2) with the leading I
normally use for documents and linked it to that vanilla Body Text (bt1).

Given that I'm a beginner in all of this I'm wondering if I'm making
things easier or more complicated for the long term. Just curious.

Thanks for any tips.

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]

 

[Norm]

Me, I use the built-in Body Text style, with leading. I break its default
link to Normal and base it on "No style". Then I base all the body styles
(lists, tables, whatever) on Body Text.

Does the leading one uses in the other body styles (lists, tables,
whatever) override one's Body Text leading or is it additive?

I thought it was additive and therefore it was easier to for me to use a
body text without leading as the base for the other body styles.

Thanks,

Norm

 

[John McGhie]

No, local properties always override inherited properties.

That may change in Word 2010 for XML properties if we get the ability to use
XSLT stylesheets, Until then, all properties override always.

Cheers

Does the leading one uses in the other body styles (lists, tables,
whatever) override one's Body Text leading or is it additive?

I thought it was additive and therefore it was easier to for me to use a
body text without leading as the base for the other body styles.

Thanks,

Norm

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]

 

[Norm]

No, local properties always override inherited properties.

Thanks for that info.

Do I understand correctly that while you use Body Text as the based on,
including its leading, you may change that leading for one or more of
your body styles?

Appreciate the help.

 

[John McGhie]

Yes.

If I have a chain of 12 style, everything inherits down to number 3, where I
change the leading.

The new leading inherits all the way down the chain to number 9, where I
change it again.

Style 12 inherits the setting from 9.

Cheers

Thanks for that info.


Do I understand correctly that while you use Body Text as the based on,
including its leading, you may change that leading for one or more of
your body styles?

Appreciate the help.

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]

 

[Norm]

Hi John:

Yes.

Thanks much.

That looks, sounds, is an easier set up to remember.

So a question on changing the base style in an inheritance chain.

As per my original question in this thread, I set up my Body Text
without leading (bt1) and linked my list paragraphs, my list continue
paragraphs, my multi-level list paragraphs, etc. to it thinking I
shouldn't have a leading defined in that top style. I defined (sometimes
leaving it at zero) leading as preferred in each of those other styles.

Then for my day to day docs I created bt2 with the leading that I
normally use.

Now, to follow your approach/recommendation, I'm going to change bt1 to
include my leading and thus eliminate bt2.

In testing one or two styles which inherited from bt1, it appears that
even though I changed the leading in bt1 the leading in those linked
paragraph styles were not affected. That was what I wanted to have
happen but want to make sure that that makes sense. In other words, I
changed the leading on the "top" style but the leading on those linked
did not change and remained how I originally defined them.

Make sense?

Is that how the inheritance flows or doesn't flow as was the case in
this situation?

Thank you,

Norm

 

[John McGhie]

Hi Norm:

Yes, that's all correct...

Remember back to our explanation of the "Formatting Table" at the end of the
document below the last paragraph where you can't see it?

Remember I said each set of formatting was a "style". The style itself is a
row in the table. And that the styles you create have names? The names are
in column 1 of the table, and the name of the style its "Based On" is in
Column 2.

Each other property set in the style is in a different column.

The "value" of each property is either "blank" or a number. If it's blank,
the setting for that property (for example: the leading) is being obtained
from the "Based On" style. If a value is specified (say, "10 pt") then
that's the value that will be used.

So once you have set the value of any property in a style, you have broken
the inheritance chain for that property.

If you have a chain of styles, the inheritance will work on each property
down the chain until it comes to the first row where you have intervened and
changed a property. Once you change a property, everything in the chain
below the style in which you made the change will get the changed value.

If you then make a change to a property in the top style in the chain, that
change will inherit down only as far the first style in the chain where you
manually set the property. The value in the top style will not affect the
changed style, or anything below it.

It's like a daisy chain: remove a daisy and you now have two independent
chains.

However: Any properties you have NOT changed will continue to inherit from
the top style.

Cheers

Hi John:



Thanks much.

That looks, sounds, is an easier set up to remember.

So a question on changing the base style in an inheritance chain.

As per my original question in this thread, I set up my Body Text
without leading (bt1) and linked my list paragraphs, my list continue
paragraphs, my multi-level list paragraphs, etc. to it thinking I
shouldn't have a leading defined in that top style. I defined (sometimes
leaving it at zero) leading as preferred in each of those other styles.

Then for my day to day docs I created bt2 with the leading that I
normally use.

Now, to follow your approach/recommendation, I'm going to change bt1 to
include my leading and thus eliminate bt2.

In testing one or two styles which inherited from bt1, it appears that
even though I changed the leading in bt1 the leading in those linked
paragraph styles were not affected. That was what I wanted to have
happen but want to make sure that that makes sense. In other words, I
changed the leading on the "top" style but the leading on those linked
did not change and remained how I originally defined them.

Make sense?

Is that how the inheritance flows or doesn't flow as was the case in
this situation?

Thank you,

Norm

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]

 

[Norm]

Hi John:

Yes, that's all correct...

Thank you. Very helpful.

However: Any properties you have NOT changed will continue to inherit from
the top style.

And this "however" is very helpful.

So the ones where I modified the style but did not change the leading
will inherit the leading from the based on style. So those I will need
to change.

Thanks again,

Norm