Hello all !
I'm struggling to craft a screenplay system that will allow an author to
write a screenplay using an extremely lightweight markup, in a text editor.
I'm developing a script to transform that markup to html, with css, that
will conform to established "Hollywood" formatting conventions.
So far, the screen output is looking OK, but I'm a bit stumped when it
comes to page break logic. the css for Printout is even more problematic.

I have started a sourceforge project at;
http://sourceforge.net/projects/scr2css/

and the css that im working on is based on;
http://s92415866.onlinehome.us/file...nplayCSSv2.html

and I'm hoping to find a css expert who thinks this is worth developing.
thanks,
djp

*David J Patrick* <davidjpatrick@sympatico.ca>:
>
> I'm developing a script to transform that markup to html, with css, that
> will conform to established "Hollywood" formatting conventions.
> So far, the screen output is looking OK, but I'm a bit stumped when it
> comes to page break logic. the css for Printout is even more problematic.

.header {page-break-before: always}

or probably better:

.main {page-break-after: always}

> http://s92415866.onlinehome.us/file...nplayCSSv2.html

You're invalidly using multiple IDs instead of classes and should probably
abbreviate them. I don't understand the 'br' after the page number headers
(use a margin).

<div id="action">Trens (...)<p>Sumbloat (...)</p></div>

may be valid (except the mentioned multiple 'id'), but

<div class="action"><p>Trens (...)</p><p>Sumbloat (...)</p></div>

or

<p class="action">Trens (...)</p><p class="action">Sumbloat (...)</p>

is better style.

As you're trying to rebuild a design, which has very rigid rules, in CSS you
should keep as close as possible to the source's values, i.e. use points
('pt') and inches ('in'), not pixels ('px'). Furthermore this strict
resemblance is IMO only required for media="print"; for "screen" you should
use a readable stylesheet.

Instead of

font: 12pt "Courier 10 Pitch BT", "Courier New"; line-height: 1;

use e.g.

font: 12pt/1 "Courier 10 Pitch BT", "Courier New", Courier, monospace;

This:

letter-spacing: -1pt;

doesn't look like a good idea to me.

--
The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy:
"He was a dreamer, a thinker, a speculative philosopher,
or, as his wife would have it, an idiot."

On Fri, 18 Jun 2004 22:22:40 +0200, Christoph Paeper wrote:

>   .header {page-break-before: always}
>
> or probably better:
>
>   .main {page-break-after: always}

will these have to be entered manually ?
is that a stupid question ..
I'm struggling with page break concepts..
> 
>
> You're invalidly using multiple IDs instead of classes and should probably
> abbreviate them. I don't understand the 'br' after the page number headers
> (use a margin).

First of all, the original ScreenplayCSS was put out by one David C.
Daniel. Sadly, I know even less than this poor chap, but boy am I learning
fast !


>   <p class="action">Trens (...)</p><p class="action">Sumbloat (...)</p>
>
> is better style.

That makes sense, so I'll convert to
paragraph class="element"
>
> As you're trying to rebuild a design, which has very rigid rules, in CSS
> you should keep as close as possible to the source's values, i.e. use
> points ('pt') and inches ('in'), not pixels ('px').

Again, yes !This will work for various screen resolutions too, won't it ?


Furthermore this strict resemblance is IMO only required for
media="print"; for "screen" you should use a readable stylesheet.

I tend to agree with you here, too. OTOH, when a reader says
to the writer "The action on page 47 was stilted" consistent pagination
would be a boon. Perhaps I should make a (psudo media?) screen-rigid, and
one that flows.

> Instead of
>   font: 12pt "Courier 10 Pitch BT", "Courier New"; line-height: 1;
>
> use e.g.
>   font: 12pt/1 "Courier 10 Pitch BT", "Courier New", Courier, monospace;
>
Yes !

> This:
>  letter-spacing: -1pt;
> doesn't look like a good idea to me.

No ? I can't say that I understand it, D.C.D. noted it's use was to
re-enforce letter or line spacing.. perhaps this is "important" ?

Should I go with internal or external css .. or optional ?

And lastly, do you thing the "screen" page setup should be tottally
reworked ala @page ? Or should I just tweak the units and move on ?

Thanks for the help,
djp

On Fri, 18 Jun 2004 18:47:46 -0400, David J Patrick
<davidjpatrick@sympatico.ca> wrote:
>
>I tend to agree with you here, too. OTOH, when a reader says
>to the writer "The action on page 47 was stilted" consistent pagination
>would be a boon. Perhaps I should make a (psudo media?) screen-rigid, and
>one that flows.

In this case, it would be a good idea to retain an exact image of what
the printed page looked like. You can do this by "printing" to PDF
using the same settings as your hard-copy, or even better printing to
a postscript document and using that same postscript document both for
printing and optionally conversion to PDF for storage.

Trying to recreate the printed document as a continuous on-screen
document will be very hard and also very fragile.

-Claire