Project homepage > Instructions for use > Online help > Command reference: File menu
File operation
New
Create a new novel project
- You can create a new project with File > New or Ctrl-N. This will close the current project
and open a file dialog asking for the location and file name of the project to create.
- Once you specified a valid file path, a blank project appears. Be aware, it’s not saved on disk yet.
Open…
Open a novel project
- If no novel project is specified by dragging and dropping on the program icon,
the latest project selected is preset. You can change it with File > Open or Ctrl-O.
Reload
Reload the novel project
- You can reload the project with File > Reload or Ctrl-R.
- If the project has changed on disk since last opened, you will get a warning.
Restore backup
Restore the latest backup file
- You can restore the latest backup file with File > Restore backup or Ctrl-B.
- You will get a warning.
- After restoring the backup, the backup copy is no longer available.
- You can create a backup copy by saving the project.
Refresh tree
Update the project structure after making changes
You can synchronize the tree with the project structure with File > Refresh tree or F5.
This ensures for instance,
that scenes within a “Notes”, “Unused”, or “To do” chapter are of the same type after moving them there.
- Refreshing the tree may trigger the “Modified” flag.
- When refreshing the tree, “Normal type” chapters in the Research tree are moved to the Book tree.
- When refreshing the tree, parts and chapters are renumbered according to the settings.
- When refreshing the tree, the tree view is reset and the browsing history is cleared.
Lock
Protect the project while edited outsides
You can lock the project, so that no changes can be made with novelyst while parts of the project are
edited “outsides”, e.g. with OpenOffice. In locked status, the window footer displaying the project path
is displayed in reversed colors.
- You can lock the project with File > Lock or Ctrl-L. The project is saved when modified.
The project lock status is persistent. This is achieved by automatically creating a lock file
named .LOCK.<project name>.yw7#. If you delete this file while novelyst is not running, the project
will be unlocked upon next start.
This locking mechanism must not be confused with that of yWriter. When the project is opened in yWriter,
yWriter creates its own lock file. If novelyst finds this, it will neither load nor save the project.
Unlock
Make the project editable
- You can unlock the project with File > Unlock or Ctrl-U.
Open Project folder
Launch the file manager
- You can launch the file manager with the current project folder with File > Open Project folder or Ctrl-P.
This might be helpful, if you wish to delete export files, open your project with another application, and so on.
In case you edit the project “outsides”, consider locking it before.
Discard manuscript
Discard the current manuscript by renaming it
- You can add the .bak extension to the current manuscript with File > Discard manuscript.
This may help to avoid confusion about changes made with novelyst and OpenOffice/LibreOffice.
It is recommended in any case if new scenes or chapters were created by splitting during the
last export from OpenOffice/LibreOffice.
Save
Save the project
- You can save the project with File > Save or Ctrl-S.
- If the project is open in yWriter, you will be asked to exit yWriter first.
- If the project has changed on disk since last opened, you will get a warning.
- It is recommended to refresh the tree (see above) before saving. So you can see how
it will look after reloading.
Save as…
Save the project with another file name/at another place
- You can save the project with another file name/at another place with File > Save as… or Ctrl-Shift-S. Then a file select dialog opens.
- Your current project remains as saved the last time. Changes since then go to the new project.
Close
Close the novel project
- You can close the project without exiting the program with File > Close.
- When closing the project, you will be asked for saving the project, if it has changed.
- If you open another project, the current project is automatically closed.
Exit
Exit the program
- You can exit with File > Exit of Ctrl-Q.
- When exiting the program, you will be asked for saving the project, if it has changed.
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