Export Text Style settings to a human-readable text file for diagnostic/support purposes

[GarryP]

The Text Style settings are many and complicated with sub-settings, sub-sub-settings, and so forth.

In order to help with problem diagnosis and support, especially if someone can't/won't share the actual document, it might be nice if we can export all of the settings of a particular Text Style, down to the smallest detail, to a human-readable text file.

This will allow us to see all of the settings in one place rather than ask a user to provide many screenshots, each showing different areas of the style, in increasing detail, until we can find where the problem is.

An example usage would be as follows:
OP: I’m having <this trouble> with my text style.
US: Okay, right-click on the text style in the Text Styles Panel, choose “Produce support report”, save the report to your desktop, and then attach the report to your post and we can have a look.

Just a thought.

Edited December 31, 2022 by GarryP
Added more details.

[loukash]

In general, everything that can be saved as a preset or style should be exportable.

[GarryP]

Do you mean exportable to be shared with another application/installation, or exportable in human-readable form, or both, or something else?

[loukash]

Whatever works, just so that I can save a preset to a directory of my choice and reload it when needed.

That's slightly off topic, but I just realized it yesterday while I was developing a *.cr2 photo in APh v1, and noticed that while I can save the settings as presets, there's no way to even edit the preset name, let alone export it. I only assume these presets are stored in ~/Library/Containers/com.seriflabs.affinityphoto/Data/Library/Application Support/user/develop.propcol for the MAS version.

But yes, I support your human readable Text Styles export proposal.

[Old Bruce]

On 12/31/2022 at 4:51 AM, GarryP said:

The Text Style settings are many and complicated with sub-settings, sub-sub-settings, and so forth.

In order to help with problem diagnosis and support, especially if someone can't/won't share the actual document, it might be nice if we can export all of the settings of a particular Text Style, down to the smallest detail, to a human-readable text file.

We almost have that. If you open the Text Styles panel you'll see that there are overrides applied in the part with the name, a + after the name indicates overrides. Then there is a disclosure triangle just before the name. Click on it and you can then select all the text and copy it then paste it into any text file, this is the name of the Paragraph/Character style + the overrides. You can open the Definition of the Paragraph/Character style and get everything that is applied in the bottom of the window. again copy and paste. You may have to open several Text Styles and do the copy and paste if the style is based on something that is based on something etc.

[loukash]

6 hours ago, Old Bruce said:

We almost have that. If you open the Text Styles panel […] You may have to open several Text Styles and do the copy and paste if the style is based on something that is based on something etc.

Yes. What a jolly good way how to spend half an afternoon if you have two dozens of nested styles…  

[Martyn Folkes]

On 1/1/2023 at 5:41 PM, Old Bruce said:

Click on it and you can then select all the text and copy it

Not possible in Windows.