Text Editing and Formatting

Text Editing and Formatting

Text Formatting and the Format Menu

The Format Menu provides essential tools to apply typographic styles to text in the Main Text area. This formatting is reflected in the editor view, print preview, printed output, and PDF exports.

Applying Formatting

Command	Shortcut	Description	Exported Output
Bold	Ctrl/⌘+B	Applies bold style	✅ Yes
Italic	Ctrl/⌘+I	Applies italic style	✅ Yes
Underline	Ctrl/⌘+U	Underlines selected text	✅ Yes

To apply formatting:

1. Select the desired text in the main body
2. Use one of: Format > [Style], keyboard shortcut, or toolbar button

To remove formatting: Reselect the text and reapply the same formatting command (toggle behavior)

	Note: Multiple styles can be combined (e.g., bold + italic). Formatting applies only to the Main Text, not apparatus notes or metadata.

Advanced Text Formatting: Lists and Layout

Creating and Managing Lists

Users can apply several types of lists to document text

	Note Important: Bulleted and numbered lists cannot be applied inside document notes.

Numbered Lists:

Arabic numerals (1, 2, 3, …)
Roman numerals (I, II, III, … or i, ii, iii, …)
Alphabetical sequences (A, B, C, … or a, b, c, …)

Bulleted Lists:

Standard bullet (•), Hollow bullet (◦), Solid square (▪)
Styles cycle automatically with each level of indentation

How to apply a list:

1. Select text or place cursor where list should begin
2. Use the List button in toolbar or Format > List
3. Choose desired list type from dropdown

Automatic Behavior

Pressing Enter creates a new list item with auto-incremented numbering
Pressing Tab increases indentation and creates a nested sub-list
Multiple levels of nesting are supported

Modifying or Removing Lists

Convert list types via Format > List menu
Remove list formatting by clicking the active list button again or pressing Shift+Tab

Resume or Continue Numbering

For numbered and alphabetical lists, you can:

Resume Numbering: Start a new list from the last number/letter used previously
Continue Previous Numbering: Automatically continue numbering after intervening content

Indentation Control

Use indentation to create hierarchy in lists or structure plain paragraphs:

Action	Toolbar	Menu	Shortcut (Win/Linux)	Shortcut (macOS)
Increase Indent	Button	Format > Text > Increase Indent Level	Ctrl+_	⌘+_
Decrease Indent	Button	Format > Text > Decrease Indent Level	Ctrl+-	⌘+-

	Note Important: Indentation affects only the text portion of a paragraph or list item—the list marker (number, letter, or bullet) remains aligned with the list's base level.

Text Alignment

Each paragraph or list item can be aligned independently:

Left (default), Center, Right, Justified

To change alignment:

1. Select text or place cursor in the line
2. Use alignment buttons in toolbar or Format > Text menu

Managing Unprintable Characters

Unprintable (or “non-printing”) characters are formatting symbols used to structure your text:

Character	Symbol	Description
Space	· (middle dot)	Marks each space between words
Tab	→ (right arrow)	Shows tab indentation
Paragraph Break	¶ (pilcrow)	Indicates end of paragraph and Enter key press

How to show/hide unprintable characters:

Keyboard: Press F7
Menu: Format > Font > Nonprinting Characters
Toolbar: Click the ¶ icon

	Note Important: When enabled, unprintable characters appear inline with subtle light gray styling that doesn't interfere with readability.

Copy, Cut, and Paste Operations

Operation	Description
Cut	Removes selected text and places it in clipboard
Copy	Copies selected text and formatting to clipboard
Copy Style	Copies only the text style (not content)
Paste	Inserts copied/cut content at cursor position
Paste Style	Applies previously copied style to selected text
Paste Without Formatting	Pastes text content using destination formatting

Keyboard Shortcuts:

Operation	Windows/Linux	macOS
Cut	Ctrl+X	⌘X
Copy	Ctrl+C	⌘C
Paste	Ctrl+V	⌘V
Copy Style	Ctrl+Alt+C	⌥⌘C
Paste Style	Ctrl+Alt+V	⌥⌘V
Paste Without Formatting	Ctrl+⇧+V	⇧⌘V

	Bookmarks and Comments: Copy does not transfer associated objects (bookmarks, comments, links). Cut+Paste retains or reassigns them appropriately.

Undo and Redo Operations

What Can You Undo/Redo:

Standard Editing Actions:

Typing, deleting, or editing text
Applying formatting (bold, italic, underline, font size, color, alignment)
Cutting or pasting content

Custom Workflow Actions:

Adding, editing, or removing comments and annotations
Managing bookmarks for quick navigation
Inserting or editing bibliographic references
Working with footnotes, marginal notes, and apparatus entries

How to Use:

Toolbar: Click ↶ Undo or ↷ Redo icon
Menu: Edit > Undo or Edit > Redo
Keyboard: Ctrl+Z (undo), Ctrl+⇧+Z (redo) / ⌘Z, ⇧⌘Z

	Warning: Apparatus Entries Limitation: Apparatus entries can only be created from the main text. Once deleted, they cannot be restored via Undo because the system cannot determine which text they should link to.

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