In the following sub-chapters you will learn more about the options in Papyrus Author to select and edit blocks of text.

Types of Block Selections

There is a variety of ways to select pieces in your text and mark them as a text block:

• Highlighting with your mouse  : (used to highlight individual letters)
  Alternatively with + / (in Windows also + / + + )
• Double-clicking on a word  will mark the entire word, and holding down the mouse and continuing along the line of text will highlight it word for word.  This type of word for word selecting is what makes block operations more intelligent. With it, spaces and character are optimized (see also “Intelligent Cut & Paste”).
• Alternatively with  + (Windows) or + + / (Mac).
• Double-clicking on the empty space after a paragraph will select the entire paragraph.

Discontinuous Block Selections

You can select a text passage by highlighting it with your mouse , holding down (Win) or (Mac) and then making another selection in another part of your text.

By holding down either the control or the command key, you are telling Papyrus Author that the block you have already selected should not be deselected the next time you make a selection (which, without holding down this key, would otherwise happen). This allows you to continue and select more blocks of text.

All types of block selections we mentioned in the previous sub-chapter (highlighting individual letters, word for word) can be used simultaneously, also for discontinuous block selections.

Discontinuous block selections still allow you to apply all of the block operations (change the font, move text, copy, etc.)

This means you can mark five words throughout your text ( + ) and, with one click, make them all bold. Without discontinuous selections you would have to click on each word and make it bold–a lot more work.

Papyrus Author can work with logical units of text and mark them as a discontinuous block. These can be units with the same font, font size, or color. They can also be text areas with the same style template. This can be used to, for example, change the font of different text blocks at once.

In the “Font Panel” dialog as well as the “Style” dialog there is a button, with which you can select a block of text and change it according to the settings within the dialog.
In the “Font Panel” dialog you can use the button to mark all the text in your document with a certain type of font, “Swiss 12 pts” for example.

The text range for block selections can be limited, if you like. In the “Edit” menu under “Marked Area” you will find the options “Set Start Mark” and “Set End Mark.” By choosing “Enable Marked Area” (also under “Marked Area”) you have activated this range of text to be edited with the button. Only this text range will be active, the rest of your text will not be affected by changes you make.

Drag and Drop, Copy, Cut, and Paste with Text Blocks

Drag and drop parts of your text by highlighting them with your mouse and moving them to a new spot in your text. You can also drag and drop between documents or on to the Pinboard. With (Windows) or (Mac) (also with – Win and Mac) you can copy the entire block of text.

Copy and paste can also be done in the “Edit” menu or with the standard short-cut keys + (cut), + (copy), + (paste). (Mac: ).

Intelligent Cut & Paste (Intelligent Spacing)

Papyrus Author has intelligent cut and paste functions that work automatically:

This is how it works: there is a space to the left and right of your text block. Therefore, when you cut text, there will be one space left-over and when you paste it there will be one missing.

Papyrus Author, though, will optimize the spacing for you: when you cut text, only one space will remain and when you paste, an extra space will be added in.

If you paste text in front of a comma, Papyrus Author will recognize this and not insert an extra space.
Papyrus Author also recognizes when you have an extra comma from the text you have cut and will get rid of one for you. The same goes for other punctuation marks.

This all happens in the background to simplify the process of working with and editing your text.