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How to create a Question-and-Answer style
For basic information about styles, and
links to related pages on this site, see http://wptoolbox.com/tips/Styles.html. |
You can easily set up a pair of styles to
automatically format questions and answers, switching from the
question to the answer to the next question, etc., when you press
<Enter> at the end of each sentence or paragraph:
Q: Where did you go?
A: No place.
Q. What did you do?
A: Nothing.
In the current document or template -
- Click Format, Styles to bring up the Styles
dialog, then click Create to bring up the Styles Editor.
- In the "Style name" field, type
"Question" (without quotes) and in the "Description"
field type a simple description. Make sure the "Type"
is set to "Paragraph." You can check the box, "Automatically
update style...," if you think you may want to change the
format of the style later, and have it automatically change throughout
the document.
- Click in the "Contents" field to
place the cursor in it.
- Options (using
the menu at the top of the Styles Editor dialog):
- Click Insert, Tab to insert a left tab code
[Left Tab]. This will indent the first line of the paragraph
one tab stop before the "Q:" is inserted, as in the
examples above. Or -
- Click Format, Paragraph, Indent to insert
a hard left indent code [Hd Left Ind]. This will indent the entire
paragraph one tab stop before the "Q:" is inserted,
as in the examples above. However, for longer paragraphs, the
paragraph's text will wrap underneath the paragraph instead of
at the left margin. Or -
- Click Format, Paragraph, Hanging Indent to
insert a "back tab" so that the "Q" is outside
the left margin. The paragraph's text will wrap at the left margin.
- Note: If WordPerfect also inserts a [Hd Left Ind]
code to the left of the [HdBack Tab] code in the Contents
pane, delete the [Hd Left Ind] code. You only need
the [HdBack Tab] code.
- Type in a "Q:" (without quotes).
- Using the menu at the top of the Styles Editor
dialog, insert a hard left indent code (Format, Paragraph, Indent),
since you probably will want the paragraph to wrap under the
first character in the paragraph's text, rather than return to
the left margin. Otherwise, insert a Tab with Insert, Tab so
that the paragraph's text will wrap under the left margin instead
of the "Q".
- Note: Such a hard left indent or tab code
will have no effect if you have used the Hanging indent option
above. Your paragraph text will already be at the left margin,
"tabbed" inward by the hanging indent. You can leave
the extra code after the "Q:" or delete it from the
Contents pane.
- The codes in the Contents window should look
like this (assuming you inserted the optional leading hard left
indent):
- [Hd Left Ind]Q:[Hd Left Ind]
- Options:
- You can format the "Q:" (bold,
color, etc.) by selecting the characters and using the top toolbar
options, or click on Format, Font.
- If you want the paragraph style to automatically
insert a hard return at the end of the paragraph (as a "separator"),
click the box "Show 'off codes'," place the cursor
to the right of the [Codes to the left are ON...] code in the
Contents window, and press the Enter key to insert a [HRt] code.
This may be especially useful in the Answer style to put a blank
line between pairs of Q&As.
- You can insert Tabs (with Insert, Tab) or
spaces instead of hard left indents.
- Click OK to return to the Styles dialog.
- Click Create and repeat the above 4 steps
to create an "Answer" style with an "A:"
instead of a "Q:".
- Click OK to return to the Styles dialog.
- Use the Edit button in the Styles dialog
to edit the new Question style you just created. In the
"Enter key inserts style" drop list, choose the Answer
style to "chain" to whenever you press the <Enter>
key after typing your question. Click OK
- Repeat the previous step to edit the new
Answer style, chaining to the Question style. Click OK to
return to the Styles dialog.
- Optional: If
you want to save these two new styles to your default template
(probably a good idea if you think you'll need the styles again),
click Options, Copy to copy the style to the default template.
- Click Close to return to your document.
Now, whenever you need a Question-and-Answer
format, choose the Question style from the Text property bar's
Select Style drop list, and type your question. When you press
the Enter key, you can type the answer. Press the Enter key again,
and you can type the next question, etc.
TIP: If you need multiple, separate
paragraphs inside either the Question or Answer blocks, use <Ctrl+Shft+L>
to insert a Line Break instead of using <Enter> for a hard
return. Remember, inside the Question and Answer style
blocks, the <Enter> key will end the current paragraph
style and begin (chain to) a new paragraph using the opposite
style. To insert the equivalent of hard returns inside the chained
Q&A blocks, use one or more Line Breaks to separate the paragraph
styles.
When you are done with the Q&A style,
either -
- select <None> from the Select Style
drop list on the Text property bar; or
- press <Enter> to chain to the next
block, then <Backspace> to delete the [Para Style][Style]
codes to return to your previous format.
TIP
If you want to number the questions
and answers--- e.g., Question 1 ... Answer 1 -- you can set up
styles with counters (which do the actual numbering for
you). See this page, where
you can simply change the name of the items to "Question"
and "Answer." |
Barry MacDonnell's