Is it possible to set a default document target, so that every new document I create already has a document target and I don’t explicitly have to define it? (All my documents must have the same word count.)
The Document Templates feature is in part designed to make it possible to override software defaults with regards to what settings a new file has. If you haven’t created them before, you’ll find a brief introduction in step 21 of the interactive tutorial (Help menu). The idea is simple:
- Document templates carry over everything about a file when you use one to create a new document somewhere. Any meta-data you add, any notes you add to the Inspector, checkboxes, word count goals, even text in the main editor, will be duplicated. This is how the character sheet boilerplates work in some of our fiction oriented pre-made project templates.
- Folders in the binder can have document templates assigned to them as the default type of file for that folder. In other words when you click the green + button, or press Cmd-N while in a folder with a default template, you won’t get an empty “Untitled” file like normal, you’ll get a copy of the template—in this case with the word count goal ready to go. This second ingredient is of course optional, without it you can create new documents from templates via the Project/New From Template/ sub-menu.
Attached is a project that demonstrates all of the working pieces in integration. The Draft folder has been modified to use the 500 word goal template as a default. Try adding a card normally to its corkboard to see it in action. Change the goal in the original template file and make a new card, the new card should use the new word count goal (but the original file will remain as it was created at 500).
16106881-Default_document_targets.zip (37.8 KB)
Thank you, Amber! That was quick – and worked like a charm 