2. Main Window
The main window of the RitmInMe program in the maximum number of elements indication mode looks like this:
Let's list the largest elements:
• Program name with the name of the open file.
• Main menu.
• Button panels (up to four).
• Text editing window with horizontal and vertical scroll bars, a column of line numbers and a status line - indicators of the cursor position, the "Insert/Replace" mode, a hint for the purpose of the buttons and the current dictionary of the work (goes under the fields on the right).
• Line characteristics panel, which can contain the poetic size of the fragment (for prose lines) and the number of syllables, the rhythmic scheme, its name and degree of conformity, the rhyme scheme.
• Rhythm indication window with a syllable line (the current syllable is framed in red).
• Review window.
The right border of the editing window, the left and right borders of the rhythm indicator window, the left border of the review window can be used to proportionally change their sizes (with some restrictions - as well as the entire main program window). The indicator, review windows and the line number column can be disabled; the button panels (completely or partially) - too (as well as the details of the line characteristic field panel).
The window controls are represented by the main menu, which is partly duplicated by buttons, and partly by the context menu. When writing the program, I tried to adhere to the general Windows ideology: if you want to do something with something, right-click on this object and look at the context menu options; if it is not clear what it is for, move the mouse, maybe a hint will appear...
Actually, the editing window is more or less a complete analogue of "Notepad". Information in other windows is tied to its lines and displayed in accordance with their type.
If the screen is too narrow, you can turn off the display of the rhythm display window. Then the panel partially takes over its functions:
The line of prose above the verse fragment displays a ruler of the size, the symbol of the scheme corresponding to the current syllable is outlined, and at the bottom of the panel the current word is displayed broken down into syllables.
However, the context menu remains the same, and the actions typical for the menu of the rhythm display window have to be performed using buttons (the space for which is limited), or through the main menu.
2.1. Working with the Program
2.1.1. General Scheme
Using the program is simple: enter the poetic text, analyze it (possibly correct the rhythm/rhyme) and save it in any acceptable format (preferably htm).
The source text can be
• entered into the editing window from the keyboard;
• pasted from the clipboard (using the button
or Ctrl-V keys);
• read from a file of the htm, txt, rtf, doc, docx (type (the last three - if the corresponding version of MS Office is available in the system); in any case (except for htm files created by this program) only the text is taken from the file.
But you should not start working immediately after installation. Move the mouse over the elements, expand the context menus... Have you seen enough? For the first time, the scheme of further actions is as follows:
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• Clear the input window (new file).
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• Take your (or someone else's) poems and enter them (via the clipboard, from a file or using the keyboard) into the left window of the program.
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• Using the context menu, hung on the panel to the right of the text, mark the lines that are prose (titles, notes...). In the case of poetry, the panel to the right of the line has a white background, prose - gray. If the work is complex (there are fragments clearly written in different poetic meters), then it makes sense to indicate their boundaries at the same time (put a sign of the end of the fragment in the line of prose after this fragment). The numbering of poetic lines is affected by the presence of the symbols "//" at the beginning of the line of prose, which allows you to store several poems in one file. After "//" you can specify the initial line number, which can also be used to indicate variants of some lines after the text of the poem.
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• Having finished with the prose of life, give the command to reformat the text - by discarding the prose, the program will understand it better, and (possibly) even change the background of some stressed syllables to brick or yellow, noting possible rhythm errors.
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• Perhaps the "Wizard" will help you, it is designed to perform preparatory actions before analyzing a poem. Try it too.
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• Be safe! It takes so long to do the work, and it's so easy to lose the results! Save the file with a name that suits it and the "htm" extension. After that, even if something terrible happens (for example, a child turns off the computer's power supply), something will remain on the disk.
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• Look fastidiously to the right: has the program placed the stresses correctly? Double-click on the incorrectly colored syllables to correct the errors (how could we do without them?) and analyze what you have obtained.
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So, the user corrects the contents of the program windows that interest him and saves this data as an htm file, which can be used both as a final product for demonstrating the results of the analysis and as a storage for further editing of this data.
While in the source text window, the user can (by double-clicking on the word of interest) access the rhyme book (see p.3), and double-click on the line type panel to change its status. For example, a line of poetry can become a line of prose and back again. If you need to indicate that a line has a continuation (a "ladder" poem) or the end of a fragment, it's easier to do so through the menu. For a full list of actions, see
Appendix 2. Features of Using the Keyboard and Mouse.
Manual editing of the rhythm display window is necessary, since the program cannot give an unambiguous conclusion about the placement of stresses and, consequently, about the rhythm of the proposed text based on dictionaries alone. This is due to the fact that
• some word forms in the English language can be homographs - with the same spelling, have different stresses ('present/pre'sent);
• identical sounding function words may or may not have stress depending on their function in the sentence.
The most convenient way to make such edits is to double-click on the incorrectly colored square of the syllable in the rhythm display window or use the buttons
. However, if the screen size is insufficient, the rhythm indication window can be turned off, making do with the compressed rhythm indication in the end-of-line panel and the rhythm correction buttons, menu, or
"hot keys". Three other buttons of a similar type
(
) are used when reviewing works (although the coloring corresponding to the latter is used to indicate alternative stresses).
To facilitate the placement of stress in words that have several stress variants or to determine the stress of function words, the program uses a statistical algorithm for determining the poetic meter. If desired, the user can set the meter manually or select from a set of classic poetic meters.
Statistics greatly facilitate the placement of stresses in homographs. Therefore, it is strongly recommended to make this work easier for it, namely, to mark the titles of poems and other auxiliary information with prose (via the context menu of the panel or with the hot keys Alt-Arrow up/down). If you place more than one work in the file, then adding lines of prose with the type "End of fragment" between them is mandatory, otherwise the statistics of different works will be mixed.
Here we have to introduce the concept of a
fragment
of a poetic text as its section with an unchanging rhythmic structure. In simple verses there is one fragment, but it is still recommended to format it - to have at least one line of prose before the poetic lines, in which the program places
the header of the fragment
- the marking of syllables in accordance with the poetic meter, which can be adjusted with mouse clicks. And this is not done just for beauty - the work of formatting new lines or the button
"Update formatting of the current fragment"
()
will be much more effective if the size in the fragment title corresponds to the actual one.
Words that are not in the dictionaries of all word forms are underlined and displayed unstressed in the rhythm display window. If this is not a typo and the word contains stress, which the user sets in the rhythm display window, then with the default settings the word simply replenishes the user dictionary of all word forms (analogous to Normal.Dot in MS Word), as a result of which the user does not have to edit it repeatedly. With a certain amount of fanaticism (and knowledge of the rules of word inflection), you can maintain your own spelling dictionaries (see p.4.1). This is more difficult, but the benefit is that all word forms of a given word are added to the dictionary in one replenishment. However, for English this is not very efficient, so it is easier to add single untyped words to the dictionary.
When exporting to в txt, rtf, doc, docx formats, the data necessary for further editing of the rhythm display and review are lost. Therefore, those wishing to have this opportunity should store the source for editing in htm format.
Most program elements are provided with context menus, through which you can perform a number of actions (or get help on
"hot keys").
Items unavailable with a given combination of settings are displayed in gray. For clarity, some items are provided with marks of the current status of the corresponding options ("ticks"). For example, the menu view in the figure says that at the time of its call, the review and rhythm windows are set to display, and in the latter, the poetic meter of the current fragment of the poetic text is displayed in the lines of prose. When you select such a menu item, the state of the option corresponding to it will be changed to the opposite
2.1.2. Protection of the "Imperishable"
As is well known, manuscripts do not burn only in a figurative sense. And to lose the contents of a disk file, one careless click of the mouse is enough. Therefore, copies are our everything. It is recommended to store them on a separate medium (for example, on a flash drive) and update them in a timely manner. The following measures can be taken to protect information using the program:
1) The ability to cancel the last actions
(
button, menu item or
Ctrl-Z keys) and undo undo
(
button, menu item or
Ctrl-Y keys).
2) Warnings about replacing an existing file, as well as about not saving a modified file when opening another file or when exiting the program.
3) Creating a copy of a file when overwriting it (BAK files).
4) Automatic saving of the file at a certain interval (naturally, if the file name is specified, otherwise the program shows a persistent desire to recognize it).
5) 
The ability to restore the state of the last edited file after an emergency situation - program freezing or power outage (however, the edit made at the last minute may be lost). The next time the program is launched, this state will be restored after diagnostics of the type duplicated in the program title. The file name "new" appears in the diagnostics, if you did not bother to assign it something else when editing (the path in this case is taken from the last processed file).
For those curious. The mechanism of this protection is as follows:
• every minute the state of the current file is saved in \RitmInMe\tmp\#err.htm;
• if the file \RitmInMe\tmp\#err.htm exists when entering the program, then the above diagnostics about the failure is issued, and the file #err.htm is renamed to #error.htm;
• further - at your discretion (but these files exist in this state until the first successful exit/entry of the program - then the device for creating "invisible" copies resumes work with #err.htm).
But the most effective means is
to assign a new name to the file with the next verse, and on the first page of the settings
set autosave with some reasonable interval. At least something in this file will be saved in case of something unexpected...
Of course, everyone determines the extent of their paranoia and forgetfulness themselves, as well as the degree of care of the program (see settings - p.
5.1.3 - Saving and Relevance Mode).
2.2. Purpose of Individual Controls
It is quite difficult to decide which part of the screen to start with. Let's start from the top - especially since the sections of the main menu largely duplicate the button panels. The description is conducted in parallel.
2.2.1. Панель кнопок "Файл"
The buttons
have a standard meaning -
"New" (Ctrl-N),
"Open" (Ctrl-O),
"Save" (Ctrl-S) and
"Print" (Ctrl-P).
Some deviation from the standard is the strict regulation of the input/output file type.
The "File" main menu item contains, in addition to the above-mentioned options (and brief help on "hot keys"), a list of recently opened files - up to 10 by default (configurable). By selecting from this list, you can not only open a file in this program, but also view it using the tools provided by the settings of your operating system.
Note: The list stores names only for files with the
"htm" extension, since
only in them (and saved
specifically using the
HTM button) the results of your work are completely saved. If you want to analyze poems, and not just type a few rhymed lines, work with files with the
"htm" extension, saved using the
HTM button. And quickly call the files somehow, do not type too much text in the
"New" state. If autosave is enabled in the settings, the program will remind you about it in a few minutes.
The "Save" button can be colored differently:
• gray –
he file has not been changed (there is no need to save, but when pressed,
you will be prompted to
"Save As");
• blue –
the file has been changed; when pressed, it is saved without asking for a name;
• purple –
a new file: when pressed, a dialog similar to
"Save As" is displayed.
In the settings, it is possible to set the parameters for autosaving the edited file, as well as the export and print format. This button has its own context menu. In addition to the
"Save As"
command itself, it offers a modification that instantly adjusts the new file name based on its first lines. Exporting for review and saving the screen are performed immediately.
Although this program is just a specialized replica of "Notepad", you can export the result (as well as the list of rhymes and dictionary fragments) in different formats. The standard
"Save As"
request is divided into two steps: a request for the type of file being exported (with the ability to form a file name based on the first lines of the file and adjust the name) and a request for confirmation (and adjustment) of the name and location of the file.
But, if export in the
txt, htm, mht, html
formats is possible on any computer with Windows (or Linux/Wine - as long as there are dlls implementing Internet Explorer), then the
rtf and doc
formats require the installation of Microsoft Office, and
docx -
also a version of at least 2007. In addition, export to these formats occurs through an intermediate file of the mht type.
Such a combination can generate errors, expressed in complaints from the program about the
mht
file being busy or the impossibility of working with MS Office at all. Usually these problems are solved by killing the hung process associated with MS Word. In particular, because of this, dictionary fragments are limited to 1000 lines, counting from the current one - larger files significantly hang the program.
At the first step, a form is displayed, the full set of parameters of which has the following form:
It consists of the following parts:
• quick file type selection panel (closed by default);
• file name entry field with confirmation button
(
);
• file type selection field from the list (
"HTM – RitmInMe document"
does not mean that files with htm extension will not be able to be opened by browsers – they will simply contain some additional information needed only by the
RitmInMe
program for subsequent work with these poems);
• file name generation parameters configuration panel with buttons for reformatting
() and restoring the file name
(), as well as
a fine-tuning export button
(
).
The panels are equipped with buttons for collapsing/expanding them (
−/+
on the left). The state of these buttons, export settings in
txt
format, as well as file name generation parameters, are saved. Availability of selection of the exported file type (by buttons or from the list) is determined by both the license status (minimum is available for "demo") and whether MS Word is installed in the system and what its version is. There is also a help button on the form
(
).
The appearance of the result, assigned during export or printing, can be somewhat refined using the
"Print and Export" settings tab (see
p.5.4),
which can be quickly called up from this form using the settings button.
Since this program is oriented towards working with poems, usually at the beginning of the file there are lines with the author's name and the title of the work (and sometimes - the cycle of poems, which includes this work). Naturally, I don't want to retype these lines, and therefore, being lazy, I expanded the standard
"Save as" form with the ability to use these lines (accessible via the triangle located to the right of the file name). True, there is an inconvenience here: you can only form a file name
before selecting the export type (then the standard Windows file output dialog is launched).
Sometimes, instead of bothering with export formats, it is easier to save a copy of the screen. I have slightly improved this function: under the main menu item
"Save screen - Print Screen"
("Ctrl-G")
the size of the program window is reduced as much as possible without losing information. The result can be obtained either in the buffer or in a PNG file (in the latter case, a standard file save dialog is displayed). The format for saving a screen copy can be fixed in the
"Print and Export" settings tab (see
p.5.4.)
By
"Alt-G" (the
"File-Show"
main menu item), you can display a "snapshot" of the entire file in the browser as a table (taking into account the
"Printing and Exporting"
settings for tables). If MS Word is installed in the system, then this option will also be offered. Word is more convenient if you need the "snapshot" in this form for further work. But if the browser does not "hold" the file, then Word will "cling" to it. Therefore, it is better to "let go" of the file as soon as possible: transfer the file contents through the buffer and close the file in Word or save it as an MS Word document. However, the program will warn you if you need this temporary file again during your work, so you can "let go" of it at any time.
If you press the quick file type selection buttons or the confirmation button, we proceed to the second step - a standard file saving form of the following type opens:
Here you can select the folder to save the file, adjust the name and even the file name extension (but not the export type, which is determined in the previous step). The icons displayed next to the file names depend on the Windows settings.
After saving the file with an extension other than
"htm", the program offers to view the resulting file and, if you agree, opens it in the application according to the current file name extension association settings.
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The "Built-in Dictionaries" function is not required to be used, but you can say a lot about it. So this information is in a separate section (see p.4).
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The
"Clear Current File" function
(Alt-V) is convenient when you take different texts from the Internet, but you don't want to constantly answer under what name to save it. In addition, if there is text in the buffer at this moment, it can be pasted (depending on the option in the general settings).
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The
"Print" function
(Ctrl-P) in this program is implemented through the corresponding standard Internet Explorer function.
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The
"Read" function
(Alt-P, F7)
allows to reproduce poems with a machine voice. In order not to overload the main text of the manual, I moved the description of this function to
Appendix 4. Reading Poetry Using Computer Voices.
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2.2.2. The "Edit" Button Panel
The buttons on this panel are also not particularly original, but the corresponding tab in the main menu has absorbed many additional functions.
The first three buttons implement work with the clipboard:
"Copy"
(Ctrl-C),
"Cut"
(Ctrl-X) and
"Paste"
(Ctrl-V or with file clearing
Alt-V). In the main menu, this group is supplemented by the item
"Select all"
(Ctrl-A) and
"Paste from file".
A feature of working with the clipboard in the RitmInMe program is the need to copy not only the text of the work, but also the corresponding lines of the rhythm indicator window and the review window. Therefore, only the text (which can be used in other programs in the usual way) is copied to the Windows clipboard, and the rest is copied to a special internal buffer of the program.
The next two buttons implement the commands
"Undo"
(Ctrl-Z) and
"Undo undo"
(Ctrl-Y). Undo actions concern
only
the text editing window and do not extend to the panel of line characteristics fields, the rhythm window and the review window. That is, if you delete and then restore a text fragment, the corresponding edits in the rhythm and review windows will be lost. For simple texts this is not significant, but the more the file is broken into fragments, the more time you will lose as a result of thoughtless actions. Sorry for the inconvenience - most likely,
not temporary.
Some commands (there are few of them, they implement rarely used functions, but still ...) are provided in the description with a note
"the undo list is then cleared".
Sorry for this too - the implementation of the undo seemed to me a sheepskin, not worth the candle.
The last two buttons implement the search commands:
"Find"
(Ctrl-F) and
"Replace"
(Ctrl-R).
The search bar becomes visible
which can be moved to a convenient place for you by "grabbing" the area marked with blue triangles with the left mouse button. Fields, settings and buttons are minimal and traditional. If you finish entering the search (or replacement) field by pressing the Enter key, the search occurs immediately, without pressing the
"Find"
button; you can also move between active fields by pressing the
"Tab"
button; by pressing
"Esc"
the search panel is closed. In case of failure, the
"Find"
button is deactivated, and the search sample field turns red. After a successful search, the editing window switches to the found text, which is marked. In the replace mode, the
"Replace"
and
"Replace All"
buttons are activated, and you are given the opportunity to choose further actions.
You can continue the search by pressing the
"Find"
button or
F3.
If in the latter case the search panel is invisible (which is achieved by pressing the
"Close"
button), then if the search is successful, a normal transition occurs, and if unsuccessful, the corresponding diagnostics are issued. In the main menu, non-standard functions that are somewhat convenient are separated from the usual editing actions. They are described in
p.2.2.7.1. (Context Menu of the Editing Window)
as items.
2.2.3. The "Rhythm" Button Panel
The buttons on this panel are used to adjust the contents of the rhythm indication window by changing the types of syllable display and the general appearance. Most of them repeat the appearance and coloring of the rhythm display using conventional symbols. Some of the main menu items are duplicated in the context menu of the text editing window.
The image shows one of the main menu section contents, the appearance of which depends on the type of the current syllable, the current foot settings and the presence of caesura. The title of the main menu section when in a line of poetry contains the current word broken down into syllables, indicating the stressed and current syllable with its type. For the contents of the
"Update formatting" submenu,
see p.2.2.8.2 (Rhythm Formatting).
Below are tables with an approximate correspondence of main menu items and buttons (if any), as well as their brief purpose and hot keys (if any).
Changing the type of the current syllable in a line of poetry
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Stressed syllable |
Alt-↑ |
Standard type. |
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Unstressed syllable |
Alt-↓ |
-"- |
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Stressed syllable out of place |
Alt-PgUp |
Reviewer's comment. |
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Stressed syllable - competition |
Alt-K |
-"- |
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Set the syllable unstressed |
Alt-PgDn |
-"- |
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Poetic license
(author's stress, irregular stress). |
Alt-A |
Additional design. |
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Second stressed syllable in a word |
Alt-D |
-"- |
Standard syllable types are set by the program itself and can be changed either by buttons (main menu items) or by double-clicking (on the opposite one). Reviewer's comments are used to indicate erroneous or questionable places and are entered manually or using the meter error analysis tools (see
Appendix 1. Size Error Analysis).
Additional design is used for special places in the rhythmic scheme.
Changing the rhythm of a fragment
Stressed syllable in the rhythm of a fragment.
Unstressed syllable in the rhythm of a fragment.
Poetic meter according to the list.
Poetic meter according to statistics. |
You can change the entire rhythm pattern of a fragment - from the list or based on the fragment statistics, and then adjust (fix manually) the syllable types at your own discretion - either using the main menu items or by double-clicking (on the opposite one).
Changing the line type
|
Completed line
Unfinished line
Prose
End of fragment
|
Ctrl-↑/↓
Ctrl-↑/↓
Ctrl-Shift-↑/↓
|
An unfinished line is rare, since "ladders" poems are not written very often.
Basically, the file consists of either complete lines (poetry) or prose lines. The state of the lines is changed either by hot keys
Ctrl-↑/↓,
or by double-clicking on the desired line on the panel, or by the main menu item
(see p2.2.3, The "Rhythm" Button Panel),
or by the context menu item of the panel.
It makes sense to indicate the end of a fragment in a line of prose if the file contains several verses (then at the beginning of the prose line before the beginning of each verse it is recommended to add the symbols
"//"
to number the lines from
"1")
or the verse uses different poetic meters in different parts (for example, a verse of a song and a chorus).
Working with caesura
| Pairwise merging of fragment lines | | More compact. |
| Split fragment lines by caesura | | The reverse operation. |
| Caesura after the current word | | In the fragment. |
| Delete all caesuras | | In the file. |
| Delete caesura in the fragment | | |
| Move the caesura to the right | Alt-→ | In the current line. |
| Move the caesura to the left | Alt-← | -"- |
| Add caesura | | -"- |
| Delete caesura | | -"- |
Pairwise merging of lines of a fragment is used for a more compact presentation of poems. With long lines, readability is worse, but the poem fits on the screen. This also allows you to rhyme odd lines less carefully (or not at all). A special case is writing beautiful poems with caesura, when in the initial version the lines are written intentionally short. If the caesura is defined, then the reverse operation is also possible.
Note 1. Operations with caesura are not provided with a rollback. In addition, when merging, capital letters at the beginning of even lines are recoded (on request) into lowercase, which can cause errors. So it is recommended to make a copy of the file or at least save it before merging/cutting lines.
Note 2. Sorry for the inconvenience: in the title of the fragment (the first line of prose before the poem) caesura is not provided yet. Therefore, the poetic meter is determined for the entire line, and not for its parts, and the name of the meter in the title (if there is a caesura in the fragment) is most often unreliable.
Working with foot marking
| Foot marking | The indication flag of foot marking. |
| Expand foot | Operation with foot in the current line (the item is visible if the flag is set). |
| Narrow foot | -"- |
| Add foot | -"- |
| Delete foot | -"- |
| Re-marking feet of the current fragment | The item is visible if the flag is set. |
| Initial foot marking of the entire file | |
It makes sense to turn off foot marking for free verse or for complex situations when it is only annoying. The indication flag of foot marking is also duplicated in the context menu of the panel.
The buttons are also related to working with rhythm:
 |
Redraw the screen. |
| |
Update the formatting of the current fragment. |
 |
Analysis of size errors. |
| |
Stress Wizard. |
Screen redrawing
is used if there is a suspicion that the information is displayed incorrectly or artifacts have appeared. Sometimes the same effect can be achieved by clicking the mouse on the text window - losing focus can lead to desynchronization of the text and the rhythmic scheme.
Formatting update
is a more significant operation. As a result, all previous data on the rhythmic scheme and stresses in words are erased, after which new data is created. Mandatory after you manually correct the meter or turn on/off the analysis of rhythm errors. For more details,
see p.2.2.8.2 (Rhythm Formatting).
Note.
The program is being finalized, so not all errors have been caught. In a situation where after the diagnostics
"Range check error"
and pressing
"OK"
something is displayed incorrectly, clicking somewhere in the text area and pressing the
button
(or sometimes
just )
helps.
In the main menu, this operation is somewhat detailed - it is possible to update the formatting of the current fragment, as well as a separate line or the entire file. Fixing the rhythm means disabling its statistical formation. It can also be done manually - by double-clicking on the rhythm line of the fragment or by items in the upper part of the menu that become available in this line of prose.
The function
"Analysis of size errors"
is related to the above, since it only works for canonical sizes. That is, you can expect brick and yellow rectangles corresponding to failures and "roughness" of the rhythm (and the
"?" and
"¿" icons on the panel) to appear in the rhythm indicator window after pressing the
button
only if the canonical size of the fragment is determined statistically by the program or you recorded it manually.
However, in most cases you can do without manual rhythm marking by using the
"Quick Rhythm Analysis"
function
(Alt-A), which sets the size error analysis flag, records the rhythm statistically and updates the formatting of the current fragment
(). For more details,
see Appendix 1 (Size Error Analysis).
You can manually "color" the rhythm using the
buttons
.
The
"Stress Wizard" button
(Clrl-Shift-W) appeared as a result of the desire to deal with stresses less. Otherwise, with each new fragment of poetic text, you need to, moving down the screen:
• mark the lines of prose
(Clrl-↓ or
Clrl-↑);
• click the
"Update formatting of the current fragment" button
();
• if the poetic meter has obviously changed (for example, in the chorus of a song), in the prose line after the fragment with a constant poetic meter (if there is none, then you should create a couple), put a fragment end sign
(Clrl-Shift-↓ or
Clrl-Shift-↑),
clarify the poetic meter of the fragment (by clicking on the syllables in the fragment title line) and check the poetic meter of the fragment lines for errors by clicking again
;
• and so on for each fragment.
Of course, in simple verse there is usually only one fragment, but tracking the formatting is tiring. This is what the
"stress wizard" called up for you does (to the best of his ability), which visually affects the appearance of prose marks where there were none, an improvement in the appearance of lines in which the poetic meter of the fragment is indicated and the appearance of marks of erroneous stresses (if any are found). And the "wizard" also brings order to its taste: normalizes spaces and dashes (presses the
Alt-- keys
for you), recodes accidentally crept-in Cyrillic characters into Latin
(Alt-2) and aligns the width of the editing window
(Alt-W).
The "magic" will not cope with all the design features of a specific text, but it will help with some things and leave others for you.
In addition, the buttons of this panel are provided with a context menu, which, as a component, is accessible from most context menus of the main window of the RitmInMe program. For the contents of the
"Update formatting" submenu,
see p.2.2.8.2 (Rhythm Formatting)
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2.2.4. The "View" Button Panel
There are only two buttons related to this panel:
|
Setting (see p.5). |
 |
Language selection. |
The main menu tab is more extensive (see fig.)
Setting is a separate topic, it is given a whole
section in the description.
The language selection button is combined with the current language indication. There are only two of them in the program
(v6.3-), and the change is carried out with a single click without the menu indication. However, the button does have a context menu. In it, in addition to the actual language switching, there is another item -
"Detect by text".
This mode is automatically enabled when pasting from the buffer into an empty file.
In
v6.4+
(with the appearance of the English language in the program), and by clicking on the menu, a form of language settings is displayed (see fig.), in which a combination of the program design language (interface) and the database language (DB, dictionary, according to which work with poems is carried out) can be set.
By default, they coincide, but the interface language can be fixed. In this case, when you change the database language, the interface language does not change. A sign that the
"Fixed" option is working in the settings is the appearance of the designation of two languages on the language switching button (if the database and interface languages are the same, then the inscription is still one). In this example, the language of the poems is English, and the interface language is Ukrainian.
The chain of switchable languages determines which languages can be changed by simply clicking on the language switching button. The switching order is from right to left according to the proposed list. If you mark only one language (or do not mark any), then the language settings form is displayed on click. The context menu of the language switching button contains a full set of languages.
The picture shows the
default
configuration. If you use only one language, you can configure it once and make the button invisible. In special cases, you can get to the language settings through the
Main menu - View - Language,
and when you paste text into a new file in a language familiar to the program, it will be determined automatically (the
"Detect by text"
item in the context menu of the button - for those curious about the basis for this).
The
"Apply"
button should be used to complete the language setup - the changes do not take effect until it is pressed. If you change something and try to sneak away with a "cross", you will be asked for confirmation.
The
"Line Numbering"
item enables/disables the display of line numbers before the text window. The
"Numbering of Poetic Lines Only"
item specifies whether you want to see continuous numbering of file lines or numbering of only poetic lines (not marked with prose and containing at least one poetic foot).
Note.
Sometimes a file contains several poems that require separate line numbering. Then, in one of the prose lines preceding the poem, insert two "slash" symbols
(//).
By default, the numbering continues from one, but you can insert a set line number after
//.
Personally, I use this to move unused but interesting versions of poetic lines to the end of a poem that I would not like to lose, for which I use the
Alt-/ key combination.
The
"Editing window width" item
(Alt-W)
is designed to adjust the editing window width to the poetic text. For the especially lazy (like me), you can assign it to each file opening in the general settings.
The appearance of the
line characteristics panel
is configured by enabling/disabling
• double rhythm with symbols (displaying the rhythmic scheme on the panel);
• rhyme scheme;
• poetic meter of fragments (in the prose line preceding the fragment);
• poetic meter of lines (in each line); if it is displayed, then you can also display the percentage of coincidence of the real rhythm of the line with the ideal meter.
The
rhythm display window
is disabled only on very narrow displays (then its functions are partially taken over by the line characteristics panel).
Almost no one uses the
review window.
The
sensitivity regulator
of the statistics analyzer is used only by curious students. The regulator (see fig.) affects the statistical verse size of those fragments in which the user has not fixed the verse size manually. The level set by the regulator can also be set in the
settings (the
"Editing" tab –
"Line characteristics panel" –
"Level"). Formatting inside the lines is oriented towards a fixed or statistical verse size. By default, the level corresponds to
50%.
The next time you enter the program, the visibility of the controller is not restored.
2.2.5. The "Dictionaries" Button Panel
There are only two buttons corresponding to this tab. One in the
"File"
group, and the other in the
"Rhythm"
group:
 |
All built-in dictionaries. |
 |
Finding rhymes for the current word (see p.3.) |
2.2.5.1. Built-in and Online Dictionaries
All built-in dictionaries can be viewed at any time, regardless of whether they are linked to a specific word.
If the cursor is on a line of poetry in the editing window, the available actions are linked to the current word. For example, rhyme matching is possible (the current word is indicated).
The built-in dictionaries are displayed only for those that contain the current word. Six of them are reserved: the base dictionary, the user dictionary, the work dictionary, and the corresponding proper names (3).
Since the built-in dictionaries are not sufficiently proofread (and the user and work dictionary are generally maintained by the user), it is sometimes necessary to check words against online sources—a spelling dictionary, an explanatory dictionary, and a dictionary of synonyms. The "Pronunciation" dictionary is more relevant for English, since the program uses a specific algorithm for breaking down syllables and generating transcriptions for Eastern European languages. It is not perfect, but it is sufficient for the program's needs. However, if anyone is interested in Google's AI's take on the pronunciation of a particular word, be my guest...
For English, the spelling dictionary is combined with the explanatory dictionary, and therefore the corresponding line is used for the translation's dictionary.
If the program determines that the current word can belong to different parts of speech, they are listed below the online dictionary lines.
If the cursor is on a line of prose in the editing window, linking to a specific word does not work.
2.2.5.2. Poetry Dictionary Statistics
Information is provided on the number of occurrences of words in various forms: without decoding, with partial decoding by lines, with full decoding and sorted by frequency of occurrence of the word or alphabetically. The statistics form is equipped with buttons for exiting, saving to file, printing and updating (used after reconfiguring the mode).
The function is useful for finding excessive repetitions or close repetitions of words.
2.2.5.3. Statistics of the Poetic Size of the Fragment
Information is given about the number of lines of classical poetic sizes.
2.2.5.4. Justification of the Poetic Meter of the Line
Information is given about the number of syllables (both stressed and unstressed) that are in their places when the line is divided in accordance with classical poetic meters.
It should be borne in mind that statistics provide information for a decision, but do not make a final verdict. There are situations (especially with short poetic lines), when it is difficult to make a conclusion purely statistically. By default, when determining the poetic meter of each line, the program first checks two-syllable words, and then longer feet. If the result is unsatisfactory, then perhaps the setting
"Editing - Prefer longer feet"
will help you, which changes the order of analysis to the opposite.
2.2.6. The "Help" Button Panel
The
"Language" and
"Settings" buttons, visually related to one panel, in the main menu belong to the
"View" tab. Here, only two are left. The
"Help" tab in the main menu is more extensive.
 |
Help. |
 |
Updating the program and databases. |
The "About the program" item informs about the program version and the developer. Depending on the type of program installation
(see p.1),
the information about its location varies:
The
help
button opens a page with a full description of the program through the default browser. The main menu provides a little more information. Most of the menu items simply activate viewing a specific page on the internet through the default browser - brief help, full help, the start page of the program's website, a list of links to friendly resources. However, the latter now comes with a list of programs without which
RitmInMe
is sometimes not quite comfortable:
MS Edge WebView2,
MS Word and
installed voices.
If some program is not on this list, then it makes sense to think about installing it.
The
program update
button indicates the form of file relevance, providing information about the latest version of the program and databases on the server and their current version, as well as the license status
(see p.1.3).
It is possible to force an update, or view news through the default browser. Viewing the server status upon login and a message about exiting is the only unauthorized internet activity of the program.
The
registration code receipt point
issues diagnostics of the following type:
It is assumed that the user, in case of payment for the license (to extend the trial status or obtain the premium status), creates an email and informs the author of his name, payment information (amount and date), and also pastes the registration code from the clipboard, which the program places there when using this menu item or the
"Copy"
button of the file relevance form. In case of establishing friendly relations with the program author (which entails the friend status for the license), the payment information is usually absent from the letter. In case of repeated renewal, it is enough to simply inform about the transfer, indicating your name.
Note. After this diagnostics, the code is
already
in the clipboard. Trying to copy it from the screen manually is not worth it - it is fraught with
errors.
2.2.7. The Text Editing Window and the Line Characteristics Panel
The text editing window is designed to display the text of the work available for editing. The lines of this window correspond to the lines on the line characteristics panel and in the rhythm display window:
The lines of the text editing window can be poetic
(c
is an uncomplete line,
d is
a uncomplete line) and prose
(a, b, e).
Poetic lines have a syllabic breakdown in the rhythm display window. A complete line (the main type) has a white background in the line characteristics panel, an uncomplete line has a light blue background (this type of lines is intended for writing poems in "ladders").
Prose lines (their background in the line characteristics panel is light gray) perform auxiliary functions: in a prose line immediately preceding or following a poetry line, the poetic meter of the fragment is displayed in the line characteristics panel, and the rhythm display window provides a syllabic display of this meter with the ability to adjust it, with the gray background corresponding to a regular prose line
(b), and the brick background to the end of the fragment
(e); dark gray markings mean that the meter was obtained statistically, blue means that manual adjustment took place. The remaining lines of prose do not carry any additional technical load (unless line numbering or an internet link is explicitly specified).
The text editing window is equipped with horizontal and vertical scroll bars (used if the text does not fit in the window) and a column of line numbers. The numbers can be disabled, apply to all lines, or only to non-empty poetic lines. If a line of prose begins with the symbols
"//", then subsequent poetic lines are numbered from
1 (or from the number specified after
"//"). This is used if there are several poems in one file, or at the end of a poem there are variants of some of its lines, as well as for navigation: on the symbols
"//" starting a line, the menu (or
Alt-/, DblClick, Ctrl-Click -
as you like) moves back through the text to the poetic line that has the same number as the one following the prose. Similarly, if a line of prose contains a sequence of characters starting with
http:// or
https://,
it is interpreted as a link and opened in the default browser.
The status line at the bottom of the window displays the cursor position in the line and the number of the current line (the corresponding syllable is displayed in the rhythm display window in a red frame), the total number of lines of text, as well as the editing mode
("Insert/Replace")
and the status window, which contains either a hint for the current button or the name of the work's dictionary (if one is used). Usually it is empty. The status window has a context menu that allows you to enable or disable the work's dictionary.
Behind the vertical scroll bar is a panel of line characteristics (naturally, with its own context menu). Its main purpose is to indicate (in color) the type of lines: finished line/unfinished line/prose/end of fragment. These fields can also contain information about
1) the number of syllables in a line;
2) rhythm (in the form of conventional symbols divided into feet);
3) rhyme scheme (approximately; small letters are masculine endings, large letters are feminine and dactylic);
4) hypothetical poetic meter of the line and (optionally) the percentage of compliance with the ideal for this meter.
Note: The contents of items 3 and 4 may disappear during editing of one line, since at this time it is unreliable. These fields are filled after changing the line or when redrawing the screen (which is sometimes required during editing).
If you double-click on the field of this panel with the left mouse button, the line type will change to the opposite:
"poetry completed line<->prose",
"poetry uncompleted line->poetry complete line" (v6.4+).
By default (according to the original idea), the line characteristics panel is devoid of all these frills and carries only information about line types. But over time it turned out to be convenient to add additional functions there, which was reflected in the context menu called by clicking the right mouse button. I made some of these functions purely for myself during debugging of the program, but I am in no hurry to remove them.
Note 1.
Since the rhythm display window was supposed to be a mandatory element when designing this program, its disabling is implemented only partially: in this mode, its filling is not indicated. Thus, when typing quickly, the blinking in this window does not distract the user, and the space of this window can be redistributed between the text editing window and the review window.
Note 2.
If the menu items
"Rhythm display window" and
"Review window"
are intended to turn them on/off (and display the state), then the line
"Line characteristics panel"
is deprived of these functions. By clicking on it, the user can either turn on all disabled options of this panel, or (if there are no disabled ones) turn them off (but not the entire panel).
2.2.7.1. Context Menu of the Editing Window
The context menu
(long),
consisting of blocks of various purposes, is also available from the text of the editing window. These blocks are not always displayed.
Working with the clipboard
is implemented by three standard items -
"Cut",
"Copy",
"Paste".
The first two are displayed if there is a marked area in the editing window, the third one - if the clipboard is not empty.
The file handling items
are disabled by default and can be enabled in the settings in the
"Editing" tab, the
«Menu "File"» option. They duplicate similar items of the main menu and are included in this context menu for reasons of unification - suddenly someone finds it inconvenient to work without them.
The next group of items depends on the word on which the cursor is located in the editing window (these items are not relevant for prose lines).
If the cursor is on an unrecognized word (usually it is underlined with a wavy line in the editing window), the
spelling error correction item
is visible. When you select it, a list of error correction options opens. Sometimes they are useful, sometimes not...
The spelling error is also underlined in the rhythm display window. If this is a correctly written word that is not in the program's dictionaries, you can add it to the dictionary or simply specify the stress position by double-clicking, after which the program will not have any complaints about it (if it gets into the dictionary - forever, otherwise - until the next reformatting)
If this is really an error, the RitmInMe program provides you with a standard tool for working with errors - underlining with a wavy line in the editing window. If this irritates you, you can turn it off; if you are not satisfied with the color - set a more pleasant combination
(see p.5.3).
You can
find a rhyme
for the current word (in this picture "abandoned") -
see p.3 (The Rhymer).
The current word can
be added to the dictionary
(regardless of whether the word is in any dictionary or not). I do this by setting "Spelling dictionary" mode in
Settings - Dictionaries - Dictionary,
but "Dictionary of all forms".
People live in Word in such a mode...
The word can be looked up in the
local dictionary
(in which it is - in the basic, in the user, in the dictionary of the work or in one of the dictionaries of names), as well as in
online dictionaries -
spelling, general or dictionary of synonyms. There are many online dictionaries, and which one to look up can be
customized.
If the word is found in local dictionaries, then its main form is determined (nominative singular for nouns, infinitive for verbs), by which this word is available for searching in external dictionaries (if not found - by the current word). Sometimes ambiguities arise - one word form can correspond to several main forms of the word. For example, the word form
"abandoned"
may match to regular verb or adjective, but the choice of the main form is up to the user..
The next group of menu items is designed to control the
screen view:
turns on/off the rhythm display window, the review window, display of spelling errors and sonority errors. For the rhythm display window, the menu duplicates the formatting update function, and for the review window, it is possible to review the current line (only the marked block is transferred to the window - if available) or the current word.
This also includes the item
"Quick rhythm analysis"
(Ctrl-Shift-R),
which sets the sign of meter error analysis, records the rhythm statistically and updates the formatting of the current fragment
(,
Clrl-I),
which in most cases is enough for work. In more complex cases, you have to edit manually or turn to the "wizard"
(,
Clrl-Shift-W).
When the rhythm display window is turned off, its functions are partially transferred to the panel: if the cursor is on a poetic line, the frame of the current syllable is displayed on the panel, the current word is displayed at the bottom of the panel, broken down into syllables and indicating the current one, and in the prose lines immediately preceding the poetry lines, a size ruler for the current fragment and its name are displayed.
The last group of menu items is designed to perform some more or less frequently encountered operations with text:
• saving the screen
(Ctrl-G) -
an improved analogue of the Print Screen button; in this case, the program screen is first "compressed" as much as possible (without changing the number of lines and fonts), it is copied and restored to its original form, and then - depending on the settings
(Print and export - Output format in graphic form)
In the
"With requests"
case, you will be asked each time how to save the screen.
The
"To clipboard"
option - after a request or immediately (with the appropriate setting) is similar to the usual pressing of the Print Screen button (except with minimization of the image size).
The
"To the PNG file" option
("To PNG format" by settings) causes the standard file saving form to appear.
• normalize apostrophes
(Alt- ~) - replace all apostrophes
(« ` ′ ‘ ’ ʼ »)
in the text that have a Latin letter next to them with the symbol
« ' »;
• normalize dashes
(Alt- -) -
replace all dashes in the text with the selected one (defined in the editing settings
«- – —»);
normalizing spaces
means not allowing several spaces in a row (except at the beginning of a line), a space before a period and some other punctuation marks, extra spaces at the end of a line; a dash must be framed by spaces (unless there is another punctuation mark before it);
• remove blanc lines
(Alt- 0) -
clear the text of empty lines (sometimes this is necessary when copying from the internet); the undo list (for
Ctrl-Z) is then cleared;
• remove indentation from lines
(Alt- 1) -
clear the text of extra spaces at the beginning of lines;
• similar in style
(Alt- 2) -
replace in the selected block (if it is not selected – in the entire text),
similar Cyrillic letters are replaced with Latin ones
(Cyrillic `a` ->
Latin `a`) –
sometimes this is necessary when copying text from the internet with deliberate replacement of letters (why this was done is a separate question); similar are Latin letters
aAoOpPeExXcCHyYBM;
a separate similar Cyrillic letter or one that has Latin on the right or left is replaced;
• typing errors
(Alt- 3) -
replace the characters typed in Cyrillic are recoded as if the Latin input language was enabled (keyboard switching error,
Cyrillic `ф` ->
Latin `a`);
works only in the selected block - if there is no selected block, then this menu item is inactive;
• split into 4-verses
(Alt- 4) - adds empty lines after every 4th line (if they are not there); the undo list (for
Ctrl-Z) is then cleared;
• combine "ladders"
(Alt- 5) - combines poetic lines that have been split into parts; the undo list (for
Ctrl-Z) is then cleared;
• repeat lines
(Alt-/) -
for those who like to store line options that were not included in the final version of the poem, but are interesting for something. I've done a lot of tinkering here, so it's easier to press
Alt-/
on a separate line or marked block and see what happens, and if you're unclear, read the instructions.
If the text
hasn't been marked,
then after entering the menu item, the current line is marked, the panel and rhythm window are shaded, and a line repeat form is displayed:
It has line numbers (in the windows - typographic, under them (if the indication is set) - poetic), confirmation buttons (with or without switching to duplicated lines), hints and refusals.
Line numbers can only be adjusted using the buttons (to the right of the input windows). The number of the first line can also be changed by moving along the text
(↑ | ↓),
and the second - by moving with the
Shift
button pressed.
Exit with confirmation and transition to duplicated lines can be done by pressing
Enter or
Alt-/ (which allows you to quickly duplicate single lines), cancellation -
Esc, click the mouse on the button with a cross or just outside this form.
When confirming, a line of prose with the initial symbols
//
and the number of the first line is placed before the duplicated lines (to change the numbering of poetic lines - if their indication is set). If there are several blocks of duplicated lines, then the new one is placed in relation to the previously created ones according to the line numbers.
If you repeat lines in the presence of a marked block starting with a poetic line, then without asking for confirmation, the corresponding poetic lines are duplicated with a transition to them.
If you try to repeat lines in a prose line with the initial symbols
//,
then a transition to the poetic line with the specified number will occur. If there are no
//
symbols in the prose line, then the program will express bewilderment.
Duplicated lines are placed at the end of the work. If something else is required, then their location should be marked with a line of prose with a mark for the end of the fragment and the presence of
//
symbols at the beginning of the line. The end of the fragment without
//
symbols at the beginning of the line does not affect the location of the duplicated lines.
2.2.7.2. The Context Menu of the Line Characteristics Panel
Using this menu, you can
• change the line type (upper menu items); the current type is marked with a check mark and is shaded; there is a submenu for working with prose
but it is unlikely that anyone will need it very often; it is much easier to change the line type by double-clicking on the panel or using the
Ctrl-↑/↓
arrow keys
(see Appendix 2 (Features of Using the Keyboard and Mouse));
• customize the view
by turning on/off line numbering, double rhythm symbols, rhyme scheme, foot marking and hypothetical meter (both for each line and for the fragment as a whole);
• for the meter, it is possible to inquire on what basis such a hypothesis is built or to get
statistics
of the meter (or poetic dictionary) for the file;
• turn on/off the
rhythm display window
and also update the formatting
(see p.2.2.8.2, Rhythm Formatting);
the set of items in this submenu is also quite large; for the most popular of them, special buttons are allocated:
"Redraw screen" and
"Update formatting of the current fragment" ;
updating statistics is required if the rhythm definition is spoiled by manual adjustments; fixation usually occurs automatically during manual correction of the rhythm of the fragment;
• enable/disable the
review window.
| |
|
2.2.8. The Rhythm Display Window
The rhythm display window is designed to display information about stressed and unstressed syllables and to correct it.
Of course, it would be possible to get by with the buttons of the
"Rhythm" panel
(or the corresponding menu items and "hot" keys) and a brief display of rhythm on the line characteristics panel. But, as for me, it is more convenient to catch machine (and poetic) errors with the rhythm indication by syllables, and then analyze poems - having before your eyes a more compact representation placed on the line endings panel.
You can change the syllable type for the most used states (stressed / unstressed) here by double-clicking the left mouse button. By clicking the right mouse button, a context menu is available (different for different types of lines.)
2.2.8.1. Line Types
Text lines from the editing window are displayed in the rhythm display window differently. To indicate and adjust their type, the program has a special panel with line type fields, equipped with a context menu. The following line types are provided:
Completed line
In the rhythm display window, the line is displayed as a sequence of syllables or conventional symbols. Does not affect other lines. Self-sufficient - when writing poetry, you can get by with this type alone (but I still strongly recommend adding lines of prose that carry, in addition to the text, an additional useful load).
In the context menu of the display window associated with the finished poetic line, there are three groups of items. Some of them are displayed depending on the context (for example, items that allow you to make a syllable unstressed - for a stressed one, and vice versa; items for working with caesura or feet - if there is something to work with).
The items of the first group allow you to change the syllable type:
• Stressed syllable - make the syllable stressed. If the word contains other syllables marked as stressed, then they are considered unstressed.
• Unstressed syllable - make the syllable unstressed.
• Stressed syllable out of place – mark the syllable as stressed, but with a flag indicating doubt about its correctness. If the word contains other syllables marked as stressed, they are considered unstressed.
• Consider syllable unstressed – mark the syllable as unstressed, not having much influence on rhythm (but with a flag indicating that in another situation this word may influence rhythm).
• Poetic license (author's stress, irregular stress) – make the syllable stressed with a flag indicating whether this stress will be displayed when exporting; makes sense if the reader for some reason can put the stress in the word differently.
• Second stressed syllable – make the syllable stressed in the presence of other stressed syllables.
Note: if the syllable consists of one vowel, the cursor should be positioned before it (otherwise the type of the next syllable will change).
The items in the second group are related to the concept of caesura – a pause after a certain word:
• Merge lines of a fragment in pairs – connects lines in pairs, the undo list
(for Ctrl-Z)
is then cleared. Before starting work, you are asked whether to make the initial letters of lines lowercase. In any case, subsequent proofreading is recommended.
• Split lines of a fragment by caesura – splits lines by caesura (which may need to be corrected beforehand); the undo list (for Ctrl-Z) is then cleared. Before starting work, you are asked whether to make the initial letters of lines uppercase. In any case, subsequent proofreading is recommended.
Other items affect display only.
• Delete all caesura – deletes all caesuras in the file.
The item is visible if the file contains at least one caesura.
• Caesura after current word – displays in the current fragment a caesura after the word to which the current syllable belongs.
• Caesura right/left – shifts the caesura line in the poetic line by one word to the right/left. It is used for manual correction of the caesura suggested by the program.
These items affect the display of the caesura in one line and are visible if this line contains a caesura.
• Add caesura – arbitrarily add a caesura line in the line after the current syllable.
• Delete caesura – arbitrarily delete a caesura line in the line after the current syllable.
The items of the third group are related to foot marking (do not affect the file contents):
• Foot marking – enable/disable foot marking in the file (and indication of subsequent items).
• Initial foot marking – foot marking based on the statistics of verse fragments.
• Expand foot – expand the current foot by one syllable.
• Narrow foot - narrow the current foot by one syllable (but to a minimum of two).
• Add foot - add a foot two syllables after the current one.
• Delete foot - delete the markup related to the current foot, from the current syllable to the end of the foot.
Unfinished line (break in a poetic line)
Indicated in the same way, but affects the next line, shifting its content in the rhythm display window to the right. Intended for those who like to write poetry in a
"ladder".
The context menu here is the same as for a finished line. If there are unfinished lines, the caesura shift operations left/right affect the entire poetic line, regardless of the number of breaks (however, it is recommended to place the cursor on the line where there are words in the required direction - otherwise the caesura shift will be performed by one syllable, without taking into account word boundaries).
Prose
If the
"Poetic size of fragments"
option is not set, then an empty line is displayed in the rhythm display window, otherwise - a line of fields that allow you to see and adjust the current poetic size of the next poetic text. If there are several prose lines in a row, then the line is displayed only at the bottom. It also (on the panel) displays the name of the closest poetic size of the fragment.
If a line of prose does not carry information about the rhythm of the fragment, then the context menu is reduced to a minimum - you can only turn on/off the foot marking (as for an empty line).
If the prose line immediately precedes the poetic text, then the appearance of the context menu changes. The menu structure is similar to the option for a complete poetic line, only the section for working with stresses is reduced to one item, allowing you to set a stressed or unstressed syllable in the rhythm of the fragment
The rhythm (meter) of a fragment is a very important parameter: it is what the program uses when trying to resolve stress collisions (the presence of several stress variants in one word or stress/unstress in a monosyllabic word).
In automatic mode, the rhythm is determined based on statistics and can be changed either manually (using the first menu item or by double-clicking the mouse) or by selecting from standard meters.
The
"Meter by list" item can also be used as a reference book of foot names. Iamb, trochee, dactyl are common in English, anapaest is less common, amphibrach is not typical. Other meters are experimental.
The
"Meter by statistics" item provides the ability to reset the rhythm of a fragment to its original state after unsuccessful adjustments.
Note. If the line of prose immediately preceding the poetic text for some reason does not carry information about the rhythm of the fragment (or this information is clearly unreliable), it is recommended to update it - double-click on this line in the central panel to remove the prose flag, and then double-click (or through the context menu, if the line is not empty) to return the prose flag back.
End of fragment
This is the same line of prose, supplied with a flag separating fragments of the work with different poetic meters. In the rhythm display window (with default settings), unstressed syllables in prose lines are gray, and in lines at the end of the fragment - orange. The color of stressed syllables varies depending on whether the given poetic meter was obtained statistically (dark gray) or set (fixed) manually (blue).
The most obvious use of end of fragment flags is to separate verses and chorus in a song (they usually have different poetic meters). It is highly desirable to break up the text into fragments if you store several poems in one file. Do not spare empty lines of prose to format the fragments - then their rhythmic structure is better visible.
Lines with the end of fragment sign correspond to the ends of tables when exporting the file.
2.2.8.2. Rhythm Formatting
As the text appears in the editing window, it is formatted and displayed in the rhythm display window
(see p.2.2.8.)
If the text is entered at the end of the line, these actions are performed after the word is ple, at the beginning of a work, the statistical algorithm for placing stresses is ineffective due to insufficient information. In addition, the user can set the poetic meter manually.
The context menu item
"Update formatting"
includes eight subitems, divided into groups:
Items
(1-3) allow you to update the formatting (of the current line, the current fragment, or the entire text). Updating the formatting of the current fragment seemed to me
to be the most in demand,
and therefore a separate button is assigned to
it - (Clrl-I.)
Item
(4) is designed to combat the imperfection of the information display in this program. Sometimes the ability to simply redraw the screen allows you to get rid of incomprehensible and unpleasant artifacts. A separate button is also assigned to
it - .
Items (5, 6) allow you to update the statistics of the current fragment (if the poetic rhythm in it is not fixed manually) or the entire text.
Items
(7, 8) allow you to set or cancel the fixation of the poetic rhythm of the current fragment or the entire text. The fact of fixation is displayed by a "bird" to the left of the corresponding item (and the availability of items
5 or
6).
The poetic rhythm of the current fragment is a very important parameter for the program to work. Based on it, the stress or unstress of monosyllabic pronouns is determined (according to their dual nature, they are stressed only in the positions of ictuses of the poetic line; for settings,
see
p.5.1.2, Stress in monosyllabic words,
and rhythm errors are analyzed.
The statistical algorithm for placing stresses works by default for all text fragments. The poetic meter can be fixed manually by the user - by clicking on the ruler in the prose line or through context menus (which also allow you to perform reverse operations). The action (fixing the rhythm / unfixing) is determined by the presence of a checkmark next to the corresponding menu item. In any case, when you access the last two menu items, the statistics are updated.
2.2.8.3. Examples
The examples of poetic text below demonstrate how, during analysis, you can apply division into fragments, use caesura and disable (as unnecessary) some panel parameters.
{For now, examples have been selected only for the
Ukrainian and
Russian
languages}
2.2.9. The Review Window
The review window is designed to insert notes regarding the form and content of the work - if you are analyzing someone else's poems. When writing your own, it makes sense to use it if there is a need for "notes in the margins". Working with this window is simple: double-clicking the mouse on a line that does not have a comment opens a text input field. You can finish working with it by pressing
"Enter" (normal completion) or
"Esc" (cancel editing.)
To change an existing comment, simply click on it with the mouse.
The context menu of the window and input field is minimal and allows you to edit the current line of reviews (while in the window), delete all reviews, or disable the review window.
From the context menu of the editing window, you can enable/disable the review window, as well as review the current word (with copying to the input field) or line. By default, this window is disabled.
