Macro for setting paragraph space after/before
Posted: 2013-11-12 13:19:42
Hi,
New to Nisus Writer (giving up on Pages and cannot stand MS Word) and trying to create the work environment that I need, with keyboard shortcuts and macros if necessary. (I also use Keyboard Maestro.) I have been able to do a number of things, but there is a particular one that might pose more of a challenge. I often need to adjust space after and space before for paragraphs and I need macros with keyboard shortcuts for the following
set space after to 12 pt
set space after to 0 pt
set space before to 12 pt
set space before to 0 pt
add 6 pt to space after
subtract 6 pt from space after
add 6 pt to space before
subtract 6 pt from space before
I have done this in the past in both MS Word (with VBA) and in Pages (with AppleScript), but obviously it looks like I am going to have to learn a new scripting language in Nisus Writer. I don't mind learning, but the macros above are a more immediate need.
I cannot use paragraph styles for this, because these are manual adjustments that I need to make on a regular basis to paragraphs that are in various existing styles.
The "Spacing" palette in Nisus Writer is not ideal, since it requires manual number input or the use of arrows with 1-pt increments only.
I have found references to ".paragraphSpacingBefore" and ".paragraphSpacingAfter" in the Nisus Macro Reference, but what worries me is that they labelled "read-only", which would suggest that they cannot be set via a macro.
I basically need to know whether this is true or not. If I can set these properties via a macro, I'd appreciate some quick pointers about how to do it. I just need macros that would set the value of the Before and After spacing for the current selection in the ways listed above.
Thanks in advance.
New to Nisus Writer (giving up on Pages and cannot stand MS Word) and trying to create the work environment that I need, with keyboard shortcuts and macros if necessary. (I also use Keyboard Maestro.) I have been able to do a number of things, but there is a particular one that might pose more of a challenge. I often need to adjust space after and space before for paragraphs and I need macros with keyboard shortcuts for the following
set space after to 12 pt
set space after to 0 pt
set space before to 12 pt
set space before to 0 pt
add 6 pt to space after
subtract 6 pt from space after
add 6 pt to space before
subtract 6 pt from space before
I have done this in the past in both MS Word (with VBA) and in Pages (with AppleScript), but obviously it looks like I am going to have to learn a new scripting language in Nisus Writer. I don't mind learning, but the macros above are a more immediate need.
I cannot use paragraph styles for this, because these are manual adjustments that I need to make on a regular basis to paragraphs that are in various existing styles.
The "Spacing" palette in Nisus Writer is not ideal, since it requires manual number input or the use of arrows with 1-pt increments only.
I have found references to ".paragraphSpacingBefore" and ".paragraphSpacingAfter" in the Nisus Macro Reference, but what worries me is that they labelled "read-only", which would suggest that they cannot be set via a macro.
I basically need to know whether this is true or not. If I can set these properties via a macro, I'd appreciate some quick pointers about how to do it. I just need macros that would set the value of the Before and After spacing for the current selection in the ways listed above.
Thanks in advance.