[lostcities]

Everyone else no doubt knows this, but I just figured it out and maybe I can save someone else the confusion period in the future.

When text is pasted into a row, using ordinary Paste command, not only does the pasted text appear in the style of the "clipping" or copied text, but it creates a new style for subsequently added rows at that level and its children.
When I make a new row that is to the left of the one into which I originally pasted the text, then the overall style of the doc resumes.

To avoid this behavior, use Paste with Current Style, Opt-Shift-Command-V.

Maybe it is just me, but this seems backward. I'd like to have the option of choosing how this works, with the default being that the pasted material has its own style but does not affect the style of subsequently added lower rows.

For now I will try assigning an easier key stroke to Paste with Current Style.

Also, now that I knew what to search under, I found this addressed in a 2006 forum post, where Jacob offered advice including:

As for the outline you're trying to clean up, I think the thing to do is, (1) MAKE A COPY (in case this is bad advice I'm giving), (2) select all the rows in the outline and select "Clear Style" from the Format menu. This will (I think) clear away all the formatting except what's applied to the whole document. Then you can select "All Level 1 Rows" in the styles pallette at the bottom of the utility drawer and use the Inspectors to set the formatting of your top level rows, then select "All Level 2 Rows", etc. etc.

and also in 2006 moderator Derek M responded to this question

If I paste in some text that has it's own format, what is the easiest way to change it to the style of that row in my document. I'm not sure what "Clear style" is supposed to do, but that isn't it.

with

This can depend on a couple things. If you have 'Automatic Level Styles' on under the Format menu, then the pasted styles can be promoted depending on the content of your file when you paste. If you want to know more about this, let me know.

The Clear Style command will remove any local styles. If you have the auto level styles feature off, Clear Style should remove everything that was brought in by the paste.

If Clear Style doesn't work, then you need to highlight the text and use the Style Attributes inspector. In that inspector you'll see all the styles effecting that text. Click the 'x' to the right of each entry that you want to remove.

However, you can avoid all this if you use the other paste option 'Paste With Current Style' which will paste the clipboard data without any styling so it takes on the style of the row you're pasting to.

A long thread from 2006 on handling styles in OO is at

http://forums.omnigroup.com/showthread.php?t=480

I have not read all of the 4 pages of this thread yet but I have found at least one good tip,
from bashosfrog,

I pretty much ignore Styles view for mass changes and just use the Utilities panel. ie. Select "All Level 2 Rows" in the lower window (OO clicks into Styles View), then make changes in Inspector = all Level 2 rows changed as expected.

I don't really "get" Styles View either. Not for everyday use. But I haven't needed to use it in order to set up OO documents of stunning style :-)

And this thread showed me I am far from alone in having difficulty with how OO handles styles. I love what I can do with OO, don't get me wrong, it is just hard for me to figure out this aspect of the app. I am working my way through about 20 pages of the pdf manual that deal with style. Searching for "paste" and "pasting", though, gets no hits in the manual so it is possible that this business of having inherited styles introduced by pasting, is not addressed in the manual.

[Brian]

It sounds like what you want to do is disable the "Automatic Level Styles" feature. With that active, anytime the entire text of a row is styled a certain way (say, after you paste content into a row) OmniOutliner thinks the next row should be styled the same way.

[lostcities]

Brian,

Still having a problem with this. Here is what I am seeing:

(Just FYI for others, the "Automatic Level Styles" feature is located in the Format menu.
And it is governed globally by the default template. If checked in your template, unchecking it in the menu for a specific doc will not help. Open the default template (Prefs, General> edit template) to make an overriding choice.)

Now my template has been edited and saved, new docs open with "Automatic Level Styles" feature not checked in the menu. But the unwanted behavior persists in new docs!

My template for each entire new doc is Hoefler 18 Normal. That is followed until I paste in text in another style, using regular paste. Then not only does the pasted text appear in the pasted font and size, but so do siblings created below it, and children of it and its siblings.

Example: (I don't know how to paste images in so they appear properly here in regular replies & this is a Quick Reply)

Level 1: Hoefler 18
Level 2: Hoefler 18
Level 3: paste in Verdana 12
Level 4 (child of pasted row) appears in Verdana 12
Level 3 sibling beneath it also appears in Verdana 12
A new Level 2 row, created below the Verdana rows, reverts to Hoefler 18 and all is well thereafter unless I paste again.

And, the "Automatic Level Styles" remains unchecked despite this behavior.

To get things back to Hoefler 18 in rows equal to or below the pasted row I have to delete the style chits in Inspector>Style Attriburtes, or apply menu Format> Clear Style.

[lostcities]

Originally Posted by lostcities

Brian,

the "Automatic Level Styles" feature is located in the Format menu.
And it is governed globally by the default template. If checked in your template, unchecking it in the menu for a specific doc will not help. Open the default template (Prefs, General> edit template) to make an overriding choice.)

When I said this I should have noted that it is contradictory to the OO 3 manual which says on page 21, " If you’d rather
OmniOutliner didn’t automatically create level styles for you, just deselect
the Automatic Level Styles item in the Format menu."

So maybe my experience is some isolated thing unique to my computer.

[DerekM]

What you're seeing is not unique to you and is working as expected. There are a number of automatic things related to styles that have a high probability of changing or being removed in OO4. I think you've figured out what's going on though.

The best thing to do in this case is make sure automatic level styles is off from the start and after you paste something and see that that style is carried on, is to right then use the clear format option on that row.

If there's something specific you'd like information on let me know.

[Harold_f]

I would like to be able to turn off the *application* of level styles to new rows. Reason: I have a large document that contains samples of text in many different styles. Reconstructing it in a fresh document is not an option. "Turning off level styles" does not turn off level styles: Omnioutliner has already decided that new rows must by default have (horribily inappropriate) styles. Clearing a default level style, so far as I can tell, wipes the existing styles.

I just want to keep the formatting I have, and stop the automated stuff. I can format levels as needed in the convenient-enough way that Omnioutliner provides: open to a particular level, and apply the desired styles.

Isn't this the moral equivalent of a one line patch, give or take a UI check-box?

[ablacigin]

The auto style levels is counterintuitive as it stands. And alas the styles feature is very poorly documented in manual and tutorials. Through way too much trial and error and wasted time, I now see that IF you set up your own styles and apply them, they have the effect of stabilizing the style of columns, and column style retaining precedence over row style. BUT the hierarchy is not under user control. And otherwise, pasting chits here and there does not work.

Still - No matter how I drag/drop or cut/paste I haven't been able to get it to auto format the pasted material to conform stylewise to the field I drop it into ... which means individually reformatting every field...

For OO4 - I like to be able to change styles as I work, eventually reverting back to the standard style I've set up. For example, I'm organizing a research project with a lot of interviews and contacts and web-research. (I keep my headings and main in the first column and use notes heavily. Then in subsequent columns I have Contact Name, email, URLs.) During the research the folks I have yet to talk to are in red. As I talk with them, I change them to green. The URLs and Emails are always maintained ready to click (underlined/color). As I research I do a lot of pasting in. I want that all to be formatted per the styles I've selected for the relevant row level or column.

What would be so helpful is a clear manipulable hierarchy of styles in the style window that can be moved up and down to take precedence, and each of which should be independently lockable. Also some simple way to
1) either "lock" in styles to any group of fields (ideally by being able to command-click to select any rows, columns, and cells) OR "apply" a particular style to any selection of items.
2) "revert to style hierarchy"
3) be able to deliberately override any style (as you can now)
4) make the style override anything being pasted

Am I missing some of these that are undocumented features?