OpenOffice.org OpenOffice - 1.0 User Manual download pdf (Page 32)

Using character styles

Character styles are a complement to paragraph styles. Like paragraph styles, they define text

properties (font, weight, size), but they are applied to smaller blocks of text than a paragraph.

For example, you can use the Emphasis character style to emphasize a word. A couple of

character styles used in this document include:

• Key strokes use the KeyStroke style. For example, “to set OOo to full screen, press

Control+Shift+J”.

• Menu paths use the MenuPath style. For example, “you can turn field shadings on and

off through View > Field Shadings”.

Why use character styles?

Beginning users often wonder, “why use character styles?”, “how is this different from

pressing the bold button?”. The following real life event illustrates the difference.

Real life situation

Jean is an technical writer from Australia. She learned the value

of character styles after her publisher told her to unbold menu

paths from her 200 page book. Jean had not used character

styles. She had to edit all 200 pages by hand, with some help

from Find and Replace.

This was the last time Jean failed to used character styles.

Character styles don’t have as many options as paragraph styles or page styles. Their benefits

are of a different nature:

• Formatting changes.

As Jean’s story illustrates, the ability to make formatting changes throughout a

document can be important. Character styles provide this.

• Consistency.

Character styles help ensure that typesetting guidelines are applied consistently.

• Focus on content.

“Was I supposed to bold keystrokes? How about menus?”

A writer shouldn’t have to remember the answers to these questions. Typesetting

details distract you from the real content of your work. A properly named character

style (such as KeyStroke or MenuPath) will remove this burden from you.

Other ways of using character styles are described elsewhere in the Writer Guide. These uses

include making chapter numbers, page numbers, or list numbers larger than the surrounding

text and formatting hyperlinks.

Introduction to Styles 26

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OpenOffice.org OpenOffice - 1.0 User Manual Page 32