tips and tricks:
How do I create a reusable 'template' document?
Create your document, save it, then choose View > Get Info... and click the box next to 'Locked file.' Reopen the document in Bean. It will open as an Untitled copy of the original. Note: You cannot lock a file that hasn't yet been saved. Also note: You cannot save a document that has no text at all.
How do I 'auto-indent' the first line of each paragraph (instead of pressing [tab] each time)?
Under the Defaults tab of Preferences, you can set the default First Line Indent amount for new documents. To adjust this setting for a specific document, select the text to change, open the Inspector (Format > Inspector...), then increase Indent - First Line to the desired amount.
I'm tired of removing extraneous line breaks from text files. How can I do this easily?
Google for the free download WordService 2.6.1, which adds a 'Format > Reformat' command to the OS X Services menu (found under the 'Bean' menu item). WordService is quite useful for reformating text.
What are "Smart Quotes"?
With Smart Quotes enabled in Preferences, Bean will automatically insert an open (“) or close (”) curvy quotation mark while you type (as opposed to the straight (") quotation mark). You can choose different styles of quotation marks to suit your language in Preferences.
To convert the style of quotation marks in selected text or the whole document, select Edit > Convert > to Smart Quotes / to Straight Quotes. Note that when you type over one quotation mark with another, the style of quotation mark alternates.
Why do I sometimes see Smart Quotes even when the option is disabled?
Some fonts are smart enough to put curvy quotation marks on the screen and printed page, even when the ones in the text are all straight.
Why doesn't italics work with (for example) Lucida Grande?
OS X actually uses different fonts for Bold, Italic, etc. for higher quality (older computers 'faked' these by adding slant or weight). But not every option is represented for every font. Sometimes, you get a lot more options. Check out Helvetica Neue as an example. Note that you can change the font style of selected text easily through the drop-down menu in Bean's Inspector.
Anything I should know about working with images in a document?
Not only can you use Edit > Insert > Picture to insert an image, you can also drag and drop image files from the Finder or Copy and Paste images from an image editing applicaton. To resize an image, double-click on the image to be resized to reveal a resizing control. Alternatively, select some text so that the first image in the selection is the image to be resized. Then select Edit > Change > Picture Size to show the resizing control.
How do I make image references work in my exported .html code file?
Follow these steps: 1. Open the exported HTML file in Bean (drop the revealed icon onto Bean's application icon). 2. Replace the image references in the HTML code (they are preceded by img src=) with the names of the image files you will place in the same directory as the HTML file (or like this: "graphics/logo.jpg" if there is a 'graphics' directory there to hold the image files). 3. Save it, then double-click the HTML file to open it in Safari and check what it looks like. |
How do I make a box around text?
Officially, you can't. But it's easy to use the 'table' function to simulate this, as I did in the box just below.
Follow these steps: 1. Select the text you want in a box 2. In the menu: Format > Table 3. Make the 'table' 1 row by 1 column 4. Adjust the Cell Border and Cell Background colors IMPORTANT NOTE: The Text Table function can be very flaky. You can force a mis-behaving table to redraw correctly by selecting a line above the beginning of the table, press 'return,' then 'delete.' Unfortunately, this is how the Cococa Frameworks text object works, so I can't fix it. |
How do I select 'linked' text? It keeps opening Safari!
Position the cursor just beside the 'linked' text and use [Shift] + arrow keys to select.
What exactly is the difference between Autosave and Backup?
• 'Autosave a copy' automatically saves the current version of your document to disk at the interval you specify. To turn on Autosave, select View > Get Info..., adjust the interval of minutes, then click 'Autosave a copy.' Autosave will create a file in the same folder as the original document, but with the word '(Autosaved)' appended to the document's name. It will not overwrite the original. Autosave only writes to disk if the document has changed since the last Autosave (whether the current changes have been saved or not). Autosave is only available for rich-text formats and is activated on a per-document basis.
This function is intended to prevent your work from becoming lost due to unexpected circumstances (such as a power loss or program crash). Bean will not automatically revert the document to the autosaved version. But with 'Autosave a copy' active, the autosaved file will be there should you need it.
• 'Backup at close' automatically makes a copy of your saved document whenever you close the document. To turn on 'Backup at close,' select View > Get Info..., then click 'Backup at close.' Backup at close will make a copy of your file in the same folder as the original, but with the current date appended to the file's name (as well as a sequential version number if the file is backed up more than one time per day). Also, you can create a date-stamped backup any time you wish by selecting File > Backup from the menu. Backup at close is only available for rich-text formats and is activated on a per-document basis.
This function is intended for version control, documentation, and archival purposes.
How can I speed up access to the big Dictionary?
After you select Find > Define Word, choose Hide (cmd-H) to hide the Dictionary app but keep it running.
How do I print to PDF?
Select File > Print, click the 'PDF' button, then choose 'Save to PDF...' from the popup menu. Alternatively, select the menu item File > Export > to PDF.