[be] [task #8019] export stylesheet to paratext format

[Teus Benschop]

Follow-up Comment #5, task #8019 (project bibledit):

I assume you've heard from someone about the USFM specs file, but just in
case you haven't, it's here: http://confluence.ubs-icap.org/display/USFM/Home

You may download the file, usfm.sty, which is the PT standard stylesheet, and
also reference materials which explain each usfm marker (I guess you probably
already have this, since the sfms in BE do follow usfm.

The format of usfm.sty is simply SF text, with a section for each marker. The
key to PT's usage is the Marker Names. 

I, too, was surprised that exporting the stylesheet in BE results in an
sqlite database. I'm sure there's an easy way to edit the database to modify
formatting, but I couldn't easily figure it out-- most of the expat or
national translators I know would never know where to begin... If BE could
present its stylesheets in a more easily-read format it would be great. 

What seems to me more necessary to BE is not *export* of the stylesheet in PT
format, but rather the ability to modify the style definitions for each marker
when you want to print. What is missing in both BE and PT, rightly so--because
they are Bible editing programs, not publishing programs, is a quick-and-easy
way to print two different types of Scripture portions: booklets for village
testing purposes and prepublication stuff, and full-sheet printouts with
double-spacing or wide margins for writing in revisions.

Jim Henderson and I have developed a Word template for easily formatting
these draft printouts. We started with RTF export from PT, which attaches the
Name of each marker as the stylename. Open this RTF file in Word, attach the
Silas template, and the styles take on Silas' styledefs, which are built up
from base styles such as "vernacular_text", vernacular_base, heading_base,
notes_base, etc. So you can click on a menu item or button and run macros to
quickly customize the look of your Scripture portion printout.

Jim has expanded Silas to handle USFM files, by attaching stylenames to each
marker as PT does, and also files based on any of the older SF Scripture
standards, and AdaptIt files as well.

If you have a Windows computer and Word, please take a look at the Silas Word
template that a colleague and I wrote for SF Scripture. You can find it here:
http://code.google.com/p/silas. The current v of Silas always tries to stay
current with the latest v of USFM.STY, as posted at UBS above. The key to
smooth RTF style modification is that Silas' stylenames MUST be exactly the
same as the Name fields in USFM.STY.

I've been wanting to develop something similar for OO Writer, but I haven't
been able to sit down and learn its macro language yet. 

I'm thinking that if BE used these same stylenames it might smooth
transitions between it and PT. I don't know how much of a burden this would be
for you; seems like it'd be fairly easy to add the USFM.STY Name fields to a
database, but I'm sure there's more to it than this.

"Export stylesheet to paratext format," along with "Import PT stylesheet,"
would be most useful if the marker names (stylenames) matched the standard
PT/USFM names, I think.

Kim

PS-- No one answered your BE usergroup posting to the group. Please feel free
to forward this to anyone you feel would be interested, or to post it to the
group if you want.

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