Expert novel explorer

Expert novel explorer

To display this window, go to the layout and theme tab on the ribbon bar, click the drop-down arrow under the windows button and select show novel explorer window. In addition, within the mode section on the layout and theme tab, the expert novel explorer button must be highlighted / checked. To hide the novel explorer window use the same procedure - or click the cross at the top right of the novel explorer window.

The expert novel explorer arranges your chapters, diagrams, events, characters within a 'tree'. The advantage of this explorer over the classic novel explorer is that you can create folders within the tree to organize, say, your characters into groups. It is most useful when you have a large number of characters, places, etc.; or it may simply be your preference to use it.

As you can see from the screenshot below, each of the groups you see in the classic novel explorer become root folders in the expert novel explorer tree. These are fixed. You cannot delete or reorder these folders. Within each folder - say the characters folder - you keep all your entities of that type - i.e. characters. You can create sub folders (to any depth) within any root folder in order to arrange or categorize the entities within it.

You can drag items within the confines of each root folder to re-order them or to arrange them into sub folders. You cannot drag an event say into the character root folder. To create a subfolder, you click on an item then click the add folder button on the menu which sits at the top of the explorer (or use the context menu as detailed below.)

You will also notice there is a relationships button on the menu at the top of the explorer which you can use to show or hide relationships. Notice that the threshold event has three relationships to other entities in the tree. Relationships are indicated by a small arrow icon. The relationships are automatically updated in the tree when you add or remove (see relationships within the properties window.) In the screenshot, the threshold has relationships to the call, the challenges / minor trials, and the guardian. Hence all of these three relationships automatically appear underneath the threshold.

You will particularly like the explore button. Clicking this button switches the workspace to explorer mode.

Important: you can right click on the novel explorer window to bring up a context menu related to the current active sub-tree. For further details see below.

When you select a different item in the expert novel explorer, including items corresponding to relationships, the properties window will change to match the properties of your selection. In addition, if you select a chapter in the novel explorer, the chapter will be opened so that you can type into it. Similarly if you select a diagram or corkboard in the novel explorer, the diagram or corkboard will be opened so that you can edit it. The novel explorer is the primary means for you to navigate around the various parts of your novel.

Filtering

It is possible to filter the entities displayed in the tree. To do so type a name into the edit box next to the binoculars, and click return. The tree will only display those entities with 'names' matching what you typed. This is useful if you have a large number of characters, for instance, and want to find one - or a number with a given surname etc.

To cancel the filter you can delete everything from the edit box and click return, or alternatively you can just click the clear button.

Context menu (right click on the expert novel explorer)

You can also right-click on the explorer in order to bring up a context menu. The options you will get on the context menu depend upon the currently selected root folder.

Chapters context menu

You can show this context menu by right clicking on the chapters / sections root folder, or any item inside it.

	Explore	Explore your novel. Switches the workspace over to explorer mode, where you explore all of your chapters, diagrams, events, characters, places and things. To switch back again, click the explore button / select the explore menu item again.
	Create folder	Creates a folder within the chapters folder. You can subsequently drag the folder around within the confines of the chapters folder and you can drag chapters / sections into it.
	Delete folder	Deletes the folder. You can only do this if the folder does not contain any chapters or sections. You will need to drag chapters and sections out of the folder before deleting it
	Rename folder	Rename the selected folder
	Show relationships	Shows or hides all of the relationships in the tree
	Generate title page	Creates a new title page section within your novel. For more information see the generate title topic.
	Generate synopsis	Creates a new synopsis section within your novel. For more information see the generate synopsis topic.
	Generate cover letter	Creates a new cover letter section within your novel. For more information see the generate cover letter topic.
	Generate glossary	Creates a new glossary section within your novel. For more information see the generate glossary topic.
	Add chapter	Shows the add chapter wizard to add another chapter to your novel.
	Get inspiration for a new chapter	Navigates to the MyNovel website in order to get inspiration for a new chapter.
	Remove chapter / section	Removes this chapter / section from your novel. You will be asked whether you really want to do this before the chapter / section is removed.
	Import chapter / section from ...	Loads the text for this chapter from an external file. Any other text currently in the chapter is removed. The file formats available are: Rich Text File (*.rtf), Text File (*.txt), HyperText Markup Language File (*.aspxl,*.aspx), Web Archive File (*.mht), and Word 2007 Document (*.docx)
	Export chapter / section as ...	Exports the text for this chapter to an external file. The file formats available for export are: Rich Text File (*.rtf), Text File (*.txt), HyperText Markup Language File (*.aspxl,*.aspx), Web Archive File (*.mht), and Word 2007 Document (*.docx)

Diagrams context menu

You can show this context menu by right clicking on the diagrams root folder, or any item inside it.

	Explore	Explore your novel. Switches the workspace over to explorer mode, where you explore all of your chapters, diagrams, events, characters, places and things. To switch back again, click the explore button / select the explore menu item again.
	Create folder	Creates a folder within the diagrams folder. You can subsequently drag the folder around within the confines of the diagrams folder and you can drag diagrams into it.
	Delete folder	Deletes the folder. You can only do this if the folder does not contain any diagrams. You will need to drag diagrams out of the folder before deleting it
	Rename folder	Rename the selected folder
	Show relationships	Shows or hides all of the relationships in the tree
	Add diagram or corkboard	Shows the add diagram wizard to add another diagram or corkboard to your novel.
	Remove diagram or corkboard	Removes this diagram or corkboard from your novel. You will be asked whether you really want to do this before the diagram or corkboard is removed.

Events context menu

You can show this context menu by right clicking on the events root folder, or any item inside it.

	Explore	Explore your novel. Switches the workspace over to explorer mode, where you explore all of your chapters, diagrams, events, characters, places and things. To switch back again, click the explore button / select the explore menu item again.
	Create folder	Creates a folder within the events folder. You can subsequently drag the folder around within the confines of the events folder and you can drag events into it.
	Delete folder	Deletes the folder. You can only do this if the folder does not contain any events. You will need to drag events out of the folder before deleting it
	Rename folder	Rename the selected folder
	Show relationships	Shows or hides all of the relationships in the tree
	Add event	Shows the add event wizard to add another event to your novel.
	Get inspiration for a new event	Navigates to the MyNovel website in order to get inspiration for a new event.
	Remove event	Removes this event from your novel. You will be asked whether you really want to do this before event is removed.

Characters context menu

You can show this context menu by right clicking on the characters root folder, or any item inside it.

	Explore	Explore your novel. Switches the workspace over to explorer mode, where you explore all of your chapters, diagrams, events, characters, places and things. To switch back again, click the explore button / select the explore menu item again.
	Create folder	Creates a folder within the characters folder. You can subsequently drag the folder around within the confines of the characters folder and you can drag characters into it.
	Delete folder	Deletes the folder. You can only do this if the folder does not contain any characters. You will need to drag characters out of the folder before deleting it
	Rename folder	Rename the selected folder
	Show relationships	Shows or hides all of the relationships in the tree
	Add character	Shows the add character wizard to add another character to your novel.
	Get inspiration for a new character	Navigates to the MyNovel website in order to get inspiration for a new character.
	Remove character	Removes this character from your novel. You will be asked whether you really want to do this before the character is removed.

Places context menu

You can show this context menu by right clicking on the places root folder, or any item inside it.

	Explore	Explore your novel. Switches the workspace over to explorer mode, where you explore all of your chapters, diagrams, events, characters, places and things. To switch back again, click the explore button / select the explore menu item again.
	Create folder	Creates a folder within the places folder. You can subsequently drag the folder around within the confines of the places folder and you can drag places into it.
	Delete folder	Deletes the folder. You can only do this if the folder does not contain any places. You will need to drag places out of the folder before deleting it
	Rename folder	Rename the selected folder
	Show relationships	Shows or hides all of the relationships in the tree
	Add place	Shows the add place wizard to add another place to your novel.
	Get inspiration for a new place	Navigates to the MyNovel website in order to get inspiration for a new place.
	Remove place	Removes this place from your novel. You will be asked whether you really want to do this before the place is removed.

Things context menu

You can show this context menu by right clicking on the things root folder, or any item inside it.

	Explore	Explore your novel. Switches the workspace over to explorer mode, where you explore all of your chapters, diagrams, events, characters, places and things. To switch back again, click the explore button / select the explore menu item again.
	Create folder	Creates a folder within the things folder. You can subsequently drag the folder around within the confines of the things folder and you can drag things into it.
	Delete folder	Deletes the folder. You can only do this if the folder does not contain any things. You will need to drag things out of the folder before deleting it
	Rename folder	Rename the selected folder
	Show relationships	Shows or hides all of the relationships in the tree
	Add thing	Shows the add thing wizard to add another thing to your novel.
	Get inspiration for a new thing	Navigates to the MyNovel website in order to get inspiration for a new thing.
	Remove thing	Removes this thing from your novel. You will be asked whether you really want to do this before the thing is removed.