As you know way back in November I joined Tess for these Wish I Knew Wednesday posts.
Today's post is my MOST favored writing aid that I have ever discovered. I blogged about it when I first learned of it and I thought it needed repeating today. If you have never used or known about document map, you are in for a nice surprise.
It is so cool, no more scrolling through your entire manuscript to find a certain page. You simply click on view, then click Document Map and your chapter numbers appear on the left side. Say you wanted to go to chapter sixty two. No scrolling through, searching for that chapter, just click on chapter sixty two and it takes you right to where you want to go. It is an amazing little thing sitting right there in your word. And it only takes a second to get to where you want to go. Mac users, there is one for you too.
I really recommend using document map. I have used it for almost a year now, and I couldn't write a novel without it.
Did you know about document map? :-)
And I wanted to link to this wonderful post from the other day. It was written by Lee over at tossing it out. It talks about blogs and asks why do we have them. Check it out. :-)
I found Document Map about four or five months ago and love it. I make sure that each of my chapters has a bookmark on the document map so I can easily find whatever I'm looking for it. It's so convenient!
ReplyDeleteMegan, isn't it wonderful? I love it. :-)
ReplyDeleteThis looks great. I wonder if it works on MAC? I def. need the help in this area. Thanks Robyn!
ReplyDeleteYes, T. Anne, it definitely works on MAC. I think it is a little different. You should be able to go in and find it easy enough. :-)
ReplyDeleteWow, thanks for sharing this, I had no idea about Document Map under View. I must try it!! Thanks so much!
ReplyDeleteThis is the kind of info that makes the blogs so useful. I have never heard of document map. I immediately went in and tried it with a saved manuscript and voila, it works great. I didn't have many chapters broken down so the device did designate certain lines as breaks for reasons for which I am unsure, but it did separate at the bold subheadings I had used for my personal reference. So cool--I will be using this in the future I am sure.
ReplyDeleteThanks for the link to my Monday post. I believe it was the largest response for a post I've gotten yet and there were some really good comments. I would welcome more comments as I think there is more that can be said on this subject.
Lee
Eileen, it is really a heaven sent feature. :0)
ReplyDeleteLee, you are welcome. It was a great post. And glad you liked document map. It IS so cool. :-)
ReplyDeleteI've heard about it, but haven't used it . . . yet. Then again, I don't # my chapters in the initially writing stages any longer, so, it'd make using the map a wee bit more difficult.
ReplyDeleteOh, and check out the brilliance on my blog today, dear friend! Ha!
Really? That sounds too good to be true. I'm excited to check it out. Anything to make the work go smoother and scrolling through the pages is a pain in the hiney!
ReplyDeletethanks for the link, Robyn. and, by chance, today's the one day I didn't do a Wish I Knew so I'm really glad you did :D
Scott, it will still work for you. You might have to tinker a bit though. And your what? Ahahaha
ReplyDeleteThanks, Robyn. You've just given me another tool for my kit!! Have a great day.
ReplyDeleteYou know how to find all the "goodies" for writers. Thanks Robyn!
ReplyDeleteGasp! I did not know about document map. Are you saying... my scrolling days could be over? Wow. I'm going to go check this out right now. Thank you, thank you, thank you!!!
ReplyDeleteTess, I noticed you posted yesterday instead of today. Scrolling through is a BIG PAIN in the ol' hiney. You're right. Check it out. :-)
ReplyDeletePaul, glad to help. You have a great day too. :-)
ReplyDeleteKelly, goodies is right. Document map is the King of computer goodies.:-)
ReplyDeleteLinda, try it you'll love it. Glad to help. Scrolling days have come to an end. Wipe those tears away. :-)
ReplyDeleteThat's so cool. I usually put my chapters in separate documents, but recently I joined them together, this tool is awesome.
ReplyDeletePatti. I think it's super cool too. Nice huh? :-)
ReplyDeleteRobyn, Thanks for this tip! I think I've stumbled across the document map on accident a few times, but I'm not familiar enough with it to use it efficiently. Word really has a lot of nice tricks that can be very helpful. :)
ReplyDeleteAwesome! I've never heard of this little jewel. I'll have to play around with it. Thanks, Robyn. :-)
ReplyDeleteDavin, it is super easy to use. If I can use it, anyone can. :-) Give it a try. You'll be gald ya did.
ReplyDeleteShannon, It is a little jewel. Perfect name for it. You are welcome. :-)
ReplyDeleteRobyn, I'll get write on that! Thanks for getting this old dog up to speed!
ReplyDeletePatti
wwwpattilacy.com/blog
Okay, Robyn, I totally learned something new today! And I'm going to go check out Document Map, right now!!
ReplyDeleteHey Patti. Usually it's me that needs getting up to speed. :-)
ReplyDeleteJill, you will love it! :-)
ReplyDeleteOMGoodness I never heard of document map! I can't wait to get home and play with it!
ReplyDeleteThanks Robyn for sharing such great tips.
I didn't know anything about this. I must go now and try it. Thanks for the info.
ReplyDeleteTamika, play away. It is so awesome. :-)
ReplyDeleteSusan, have fun. You'll love it. :-)
ReplyDeleteEeek! I heard about this a long time ago but didn't use Word at the time. I'm definitely going to play with it some. Thanks for the post!
ReplyDeleteI haven't heard of it, but thank you for pointing me to it!
ReplyDeleteJess, it's a whole lotta time-saver. :0)
ReplyDeleteKaren, welcome. Glad to be able to point you to it. :0)
ReplyDeleteI've never used it, so thanks for the headsup. It won't work for my current WIP until I start making chapters. I decided to write it just in scenes for the first draft, so they can be modular if necessary.
ReplyDeleteI had NO idea!! Thanks for sharing! You better believe I'm going to use that handy little function. I hate having to scroll for chapters!
ReplyDeletePat, it might come in handy when you add them all together. :-)
ReplyDeleteKatie, I hated scrolling too. So when I started using this, I scrolled no more! :-)
ReplyDeleteWhat???? I sat there in front of my computer forever last week trying to figure out this function and I never could. I'm not super savvy when it comes to computers. So you know what? I ended up scrolling down to find all the chapters. (Which was really annoying because all I wanted to do was make sure my chapters were numbered correctly so I had to go through each one). Thanks, Robyn! I know I'm going to have to refer back to this soon :D
ReplyDeleteCindy, oh I wish it would have been this week. Then you could have found each chapter easy-peasy. You're welcome. :-)
ReplyDeleteI've never heard of Document Map! I'll definitely have to try it out - it sounds great, especially for edits.
ReplyDeleteHey Belle. How have ya been? Yes. Definitely give it a try. It'll make your life a lot easier. :-)
ReplyDelete