C1. Using Styles in FLEx

Here is a summary of the document “Using Styles in FLEx”:

Summary: Using Styles in FLEx

This lesson teaches users how to understand, create, manage, and apply styles in FieldWorks Language Explorer (FLEx), which are formatting rules used to ensure consistent visual presentation of lexical data.

Key Concepts:

• Styles control how text appears (font, color, size, alignment, spacing, etc.) in dictionary publications and other FLEx exports.
  
  

• Types of Styles:
  
  

  • Character Styles: Apply to inline text.
    
    

  • Paragraph Styles: Apply to entire paragraphs.
    
    

Hierarchy and Inheritance:

• Styles are hierarchical. Child styles inherit attributes from their parent styles unless explicitly overridden.
  
  

• Example: “Dictionary-Headword” inherits from “Default Paragraph Characters.”
  
  

Using Styles:

• Styles are accessed and managed via the Format > Styles menu.
  
  

• Styles are applied to fields via the Configure Dictionary tool.
  
  

• Styles can be applied globally (to a field across all entries) or locally (to a specific word within a field).
  
  

Editing Styles:

• Users can create custom styles by copying, editing, or adding new ones.
  
  

• Style settings include:
  
  

  • General: Name, type, parent style
    
    

  • Font: Per writing system, with color and emphasis
    
    

  • Paragraph: Alignment, spacing, direction
    
    

  • Bullets and Numbering
    
    

  • Borders
    
    

Best Practices:

• Use default styles when possible.
  
  

• Set global defaults high in the style hierarchy.
  
  

• Only override attributes when necessary.
  
  

• Name custom styles clearly and use them consistently.
  
  

File Management:

• Styles are stored in .css files within the project’s ConfigurationSettings folder.
  
  

• Styles can be shared across projects by copying these files.
  
  

Practical Activities:

• Applying styles to fields
  
  

• Creating and editing styles
  
  

• Assigning styles to nodes
  
  

• Changing fonts for writing systems
  
  

• Troubleshooting with style inheritance
  
  

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