Story Editor Interface

Reading time ~4 minutes

The following Story Editor window appears after a new Story object has been created:

Story_Editor_interface

Toolbar

The main toolbar of the Story Editor window contains buttons that perform the most frequently used commands. Here is their quick overview:

Button Action

Storyline_button_active

Press the "Active" button to unlock Story Editor and enable the editing functions. This will lock the Story for other users.

Note
 The Story is activated automatically when a media file is added via drag-and-drop.
Note
 When activating a Story previously created via Story Editor within Cinegy Desktop 10 version, the program will suggest converting it to the new format. Simply press the "Ok" button and the story will be automatically converted and enabled for editing.

Storyline_button_save

Press the "Save" button to save all the changes made to the Story.

Storyline_copy_commands

The buttons for copying, pasting, and deleting.

Storyline_button_create_objects

The buttons for creating Presenter, Transcript, Voice-over, Graphics blocks, and adding a Live Input item.

Storyline_button_split_move_blocks

The buttons for splitting blocks and moving them up or down.

Storyline_formatting_commands

The formatting commands buttons.

Storyline_comment_commands

The comment commands buttons.

Storyline_buttons_view

The buttons for changing the Story Editor window layout: horizontal or vertical.

Storyline_button_MRU

Gives access to the list of previously opened Stories.

Storyline_button_menu

Story Editor Menu

Storyline_button_menu

Press this button to get the full list of available commands. You can also get access to this menu by right-clicking anywhere except the script panel.
Story_Editor_context_menu

Window Arrangement

The "Window" group contains the plug-in window arrangement commands:

  • Pinned – fixes the size and position of the window on the screen.

  • Restore – restores the original size of the window.

  • Maximize – opens the window in full-screen mode.

  • Hide – closes the Story Editor window.

Note
 These commands are also available as toolbar buttons.

Story Commands

The "Story" submenu contains commands for working with Story objects:

Story_Editor_Story_submenu

  • Create new – launches the dialog for creating a new Story object.

  • Close – closes and deactivates the Story.

  • Active – activates/deactivates the Story for editing.

  • Save as Template – saves the data of a certain Story as a template.

    Having selected this command, define the template name:

    Story_save_template

    You will be notified about template creation with the corresponding message.

  • Edit Story Templates – launches the dialog for managing Story templates:

    edit_story_templates

    Here you can rename and delete previously created Story templates.

  • Highlight in explorer – shows the location of the Story in the explorer tree.

    Once a Story from the explorer is added to the Rundown, all the modifications are saved in News Program Manager without affecting the original Story. Thus, when it is opened from News Program Manager, the "Highlight in explorer" command is replaced by "Find Rundown":

    find_rundown_command

    When this command is selected, News Program Manager will load the Rundown containing the Story.

    Important
    		 Refer to the News Program Manager chapter to learn how to work with News Program Manager.

Story Properties

To set up the Story properties, choose the "Properties" command from the Story Editor menu. The following dialog box appears:

story_properties
Note
 You have to activate the Story to be able to edit its properties.

  • TV Format – define this setting at the stage of the Story object creation (for an empty Story). Otherwise, this field will be read-only.

  • Description – enter some information describing your Story.

Story Editor View

Storyline_buttons_view

Story Editor can work in two different layouts: horizontal view and vertical view. To switch between layouts, use the "Vertical view" and "Horizontal view" buttons on the window toolbar. The horizontal view is selected by default.

Horizontal View

Story_Editor_horizontal_view

The Story Editor interface in the horizontal view consists of the following panels:

  • data panel (at the top);

  • script panel (on the left);

  • assets panel (on the right);

  • timeline (at the bottom).

Vertical View

In the vertical view, the timeline is represented as vertical bars for different types of media material included in the Story: script, graphics, and video. The time scale ranges from top to bottom.

Story_Editor_vertical_view

Vertical view mode allows you to see how all the components of the Story are synchronized. During the Story playback, the words of the script are highlighted according to the defined reading rate as they should be spoken by the presenter. It makes this mode convenient for previewing ready Stories and making final editing.

To add, delete and move blocks, select them within the script column and use the corresponding button on the toolbar. Double-click the text block to be able to edit the text, change its formatting or split the block.

Note
 It is not possible to merge text blocks in the vertical view. Merging blocks is explained in the Working with Scripts article.
Note
 The Story Editor description further in this manual represents the workflow in horizontal view mode.