Please be aware that StoryBox requires the latest version (3.5) of Microsoft .Net Framework to run. You can download them from Windows Update if you do not have them already.

I live in fear that one of these updates will devour someones project. Please, before installing a new version, back up your existing project files, just in case. I do everything I can to make sure nothing goes wrong, but I'm human, and mistakes are possible.

CAUTION!

If you are currently running a build prior to 0.2.60 (0.1.59 or less), back up your projects before running this build for the first time! It creates backups of them when it adjusts the file format, but it's better to be safe, if you know what I mean.

Latest Version

Version 0.5.66
07/29/2010

- Added the Outline Builder tool (if you can think of a better name, please send it to me!). Read the help file for a description of how to use it.
- Darkened the outline grid lines a bit[270]
- Outline grid row resizing works correctly for rows that are offscreen when loading
- Index card size is stored across a restart of StoryBox [270]
- Index card size bar now adjusts all cards for all open documents
- Non-document windows (Help, bug report, tools docked as tabbed document) are no longer closed when opening or closing a project, or when switching documents in single document mode
- StoryBox may appear to load a bit faster as project loading is now delayed until after the splash screen has disappeared
- Documents may load slightly faster and should be cleaner looking while loading

Previous Versions

Version 0.4.65
07/27/2010

- A toggle for grid lines in the outline view has been added (right click on the outline view)[254]
- Typing the name of a font in the textbox on the font dialog now searches the font list for the text that is typed[259]
- If you close a project and exit StoryBox, it start up in the state you left it in (no project open)[255]
- Rename item added to File Drawer context menu [267]
- The way the file drawer clicks work has changed, yet again. Now, clicking once on any document will open it. If you want to expand a node, you must click the expand icon to the left of it. Clicking twice in succession (without clicking fast enough for a double click) will cause a rename. Double clicking will open the document and expand any children. Trying to make this work any other way results in either the need to not open documents except on a double click - or just plain bizarre and complicated behavoir, neither of which I want. [258]
- Exporting via the File Drawer context menu now automatically checks the box "Include Unmarked Documents" if the root exported document is not a story, chapter or scene type. [269]
- When opening the font dialog, if it can't determine the font currently being used (mostly when a section of text is selected has multiple fonts) it now defaults to the default font.
- No longer inserts a blank page at the front of the exported rtf document when exporting a single chapter. [263]
- Fixed a problem where some sql commands weren't being reset when a project was closed that could cause errors when switching between projects
- Fixed a crash when importing as a sibling of a chapter when the parent story node had not been opened [262]
- Fixed a bug where titles, when changed in the File Drawer without opening the document would not be saved [262]

Version 0.4.64
07/23/2010

- The font button now just changes the font of the currently selected text
- An button has been added to the Font window to set the font as the "Default Font"
- The default font is now ONLY applied when opening a document for the first time that is not using a template. Templates have their font settings in them
- The default font can be set in the preferences->format tab
- Fixed font selection box not displaying some fonts
- Fixed font size not changing when font size is typed into size textbox
- Added some font options to the normal mode document context menu (these will be coming to full screen later)
- Modified the crash reporting - now, instead of the big message box, it puts that information into the clipboard and directs you to send the info to the support email address, or to use the bug report tool
- Spellchecking has been added. For now, only a US english dictionary. Right click the document in the normal view and select Check Spelling at the bottom of the context menu. You can add words to a global dictionary as well as a project specific dictionary.

Version 0.3.63
07/21/2010

- Fixed text color in Preferences->View->Icon Style box for blue theme[250]
- Modified colors of word count progress bars in blue theme [251]
- Modified colors of the node selector for the File Drawer in the blue theme[251]
- Window position is saved on exit and restored when restarting.[249]
- Word counts are now immediately updated when the "Include In Manuscript" box is toggled.
- Gave the storyboard a themed scrollbar
- When moving an index card (either by using the buttons or by dragging) it will be scrolled into view correctly now [248]

Version 0.3.62
07/18/2010

- Made the status bar in Full Screen mode capable of auto hiding. Right click the status bar and select "Auto Hide" from the popup
- Replaced the scrollbar for the main text area with one that is styled based on the theme [119]
- Replaced the text scrollbar in full screen mode with one that is themed similar to the status bar [119]
- Removed some extra files that weren't in use
- Modified the registration of themes, now, only the active one is registered at startup - may decrease loading time VERY slightly
- Center Typing option now available in full screen mode (when you type, the input is automatically centered vertically). There is a menu option under the view menu on the status bar to turn this on and off
- Fixed various focus issues on the full screen mode to elminate the need for clicking back into the text area after adjusting settings
- Full screen mode edit area now receives the focus immediately upon entering full screen mode
- Delete option has been added to the Restore/Manage versions dialog
- Fixed visibility of information on the register tab of the Nag screen when using the Black theme
- Added scene separation selection option to Export dialog. There are four default options, plus you can type into it whatever you want. It will remember the last selection.[236]

Version 0.2.61 07/16/2010

Please note - when installing this version - uninstall the previous versions of StoryBox that are earlier than 0.1.58. If you don't, you may see some weird display issues.

CAUTION!

If your previous version was less than 0.2.60, back up your projects before running this build for the first time! It creates backups of them when it adjusts the file format, but it's better to be safe, if you know what I mean.

- Em-Dashes, when strung together, no longer revert to markup when toggling between normal and full screen modes[245]
- Em-Dashes no longer are replaced with hyphens when toggling between normal and full screen modes (this was caused by turning scroll bars on and off, believe it or not)[247]
- Fixed documents not being able to be emptied from the trash. Some documents - (Trash, Items, Characters, Locations, Box of Notes) cannot be deleted, and a message now is displayed when it's attempted[243]
- < Ctrl - > shortcut now works to place em-dashes in full screen mode and the notes as well
- Fixed pasting of text that contains an emdash character[247]
- Improved performance of applying various styles (bold, italics, underline, etc...)
- Fixed an issue with dates that could cause issues with daily word counts if the system culture is not US English (I'm so provincial, I know)[215]
- Dated entries now use local culture info to define the look/feel of the date that is used for their title
- Keyboard shortcuts for italics, bold, underline and strikethrough now work in ALL RTF capable text areas (main document area, notes, and full screen view).
- Added Strikethrough option to the context menu in full screen mode

Version 0.2.60 07/15/2010

CAUTION!

Back up your projects before running this build for the first time! It creates backups of them when it adjusts the file format, but it's better to be safe, if you know what I mean.

- RTF Importing! See the added section in the help file for details on formatting it (similar to .txt import - it's not large)[97]
- Fixed import as child option on context menu - now it actually does something
- Fixed search form - I managed to break it totally in the previous build
- Modified the word count algorithm slightly. It will probably come in slightly under MS Word and Open Office as I don't count a single punctuation mark surrounded by spaces as a word. For example, ' - ' [207]
- Added some whitespace on the left hand side of the main text area to help with readability
- Fixed issues with word count progress bars not getting themed correctly if they were not visible when StoryBox was opened[237]
- Changed numbering system of scenes on import to reflect the numbering system when scenes are added individually
- Document tab tooltips now show the full path to the document as it's listed in the File Drawer
- Added document types for the root folders (Story, Characters, Locations, Items, Box of Notes and Trash[238]
- StoryBox now makes a backup of the .box (filename.box.bak) before trying to upgrade the file to the latest version. Note that not all builds upgrade the file format, so won't always generate a .bak file
- Added the ability to create additional story nodes for those that like like to keep similar stories or novels in the same project.[238]
- Clicking on an unexpanded document in the File Drawer that has children (like a chapter with scenes) will not open that document, but will instead expand the node. It will open the document if it is already expanded.
- Clicking on an already selected node after working in a scene or closing a document will not go immediately to the title edit mode, but will instead, open the document again or expand the node if it wasn't expanded and has children. Clicking on it a second time will enter title edit mode for the node.
- Double clicking an item in the outline will open that document[240]
- Fixed an occaisional crash when using the eye icon on the the first index card in the Storyboard to open a document

Version 0.1.59 07/14/2010

- Fixed Ctrl Key shortcuts that were broken in 0.1.58 (Ctrl + B, Ctrl + I, Ctrl + U)
- Fixed outline changes not being stored (introduced in 0.1.58) [ 234]
- Emdashes no longer get converted to hyphens when a document is reloaded or exported[235]
- Emdashes can be inserted using Ctrl - (Control + minus)
- Added options to set the Outline View Chapter Title font style (size and bold)[234]
- Fixed the Preferences->Format tab so that it is stylistically similar to the other tabs (you can read it in the black theme)
- Various items no longer cause updates when exiting the Preferences form if their values weren't changed (should be a speedier return)

Version 0.1.58 07/13/2010

- Added Whole Word and Case Sensitive to search options
- Added Strikethrough formatting toggle to the context menu (also Ctrl-K) [198]
- Added the ability to set spacing between paragraphs to the Format tab in Preferences [223]
- Fixed who/whom issue in character interview (I never get these right) [220]
- Updated to a newer version of the control library. Supposedly there is a speed increase with regard to load times (I'm not sure I see it), but there were some bug fixes and dragging documents from one place to another in the tree seems slightly less fiddly.
- Increased the height of and the distance between the items in the file drawer to help improve dragging documents around (made it even less fiddly)
- Switched out the control I was using for the Outline view for a different one that is less broken.
- Removed an extraneous spacer item on the Edit Menu
- Made some changes to the information bar at the bottom of the full screen view.
- Tasklist '-' button is now enabled correctly when adding and removing the first/last task
- Added tooltips for task and search buttons
- Added Icon Style menu items under themes so you don't have to go into Preferences to change them
- Chapter titles get a larger, bold font in the outline view (the document must be marked as a Chapter in the document settings).
- Context menus for the document editor and the File Drawer are now themed appropriately.

Version 0.1.57 07/11/2010

- Zoom state is restored correctly when returning from full screen. [232] - The "Document" tab to the left of the document view is now labeled with the type of document it is instead of saying "Document". I'm not entirely sure that this won't be confusing to some people - so if you're confused, let me know and I'll revert it. If you like it, let me know, too.
- Added a "Forum" menu item under help that will take you to the support forums.

Version 0.1.56 07/09/2010

- The state of the toolbar is now saved when exiting if it's turned off via the View->Toolbars menu. [227]
- "Trash Document" item added to the Binder context menu [230]
- Added Next/Previous Search bar that displays during a search that allows finding the next and previous instance of search text in a document [217]
- Ctrl-F now brings up the search pane instead of F3
- F3 Searches next in the current document. Shift-F3 searches previous. The document must be active (click in it) for this to work.
- Toggles added for searching notes, synopsis, tags and title. The default had been to always search everything [130]
- The notes field now accepts the tab key [225]
- Search/Replace added. You can show the replace tools by selecting "Show Replace" from the menu that decends from the "Search Options" button next to the search box. [231]
- Fixed an issue with controls in the Project->Manuscript Info pane not resizing properly when the Project pane windows is resized horizontally

Version 0.1.55 07/06/2010

- Export to RTF is much better now. General formatting settings are preserved. More esoteric settings may not be. If you see something that's really not right, file a bug and send me the project so I can figure out how to fix it.
- Importing existing books via the Import feature now places the default chapter template in the chapter documents
- Pasting images larger than 1024 pixels in any direction now resizes them so that they are no larger than 1024 pixels in any dimension so that they shouldn't cause an out of memory error in the rtf control on some operations. You should take care when pasting multiple images into a single document, however, as that may still cause an out of memory error when trying to view that document
- Added [doctitle] macro that will be replaced on export with the title of the document

Version 0.0.54 05/23/2010

- Preview no longer includes files that do not have the "Include In Manuscript" checkbox checked.
- Fixed an issue where text from the clipboard was being copied into an rtf export in place of an "excluded" document

Version 0.0.53 05/22/2010

- Fixed crash when using the search functionality
- Fixed font color in full screen mode when typing into an empty document
- Fixed additional monitors not being blanked when fullscreen mode is entered (if anyone doesn't like this, file a bug and I'll add an option)
- Fixed some issues with the Notes field. It can now accept images that are copied and pasted from web browers and graphic software. Currently, dragging a file in directly will not convert it to an image. Paste usincg Ctrl-V.
- Fixed an issue with pasting into a document while "Preserve Format" is checked that would cause the document to be reformatted.

Version 0.0.52 03/15/2010

- Added "Import as Child" to the file drawer context menu
- Added "Import as Sibling" to the file drawer context menu
- Fixed unhandled exception when right clicking in the file drawer when the pointer is not hovering over an item
- Changed the description of the "Import" in the file menu to make it more clear that it's importing to a new project
- Importing a document that is not split into chapters will no longer create chapter folders
- Fixed an unhandled exception when clicking in the file drawer while a project is not open
- Clicking on and index card synopsis area and typing will now work without having to double click
- Using the tab key to go from an index card title area to the synopsis area now allows you to type without having to click or hit enter
- The unusable storyboard and outline tabs have been removed from leaf nodes
- The titlebar and outer frame should now be skinned to match the rest of StoryBox

Version 0.0.51 01/05/2010

- Empty trash by right clicking on the Trash entry in the File Drawer and selecting "Empty Trash"

Version 0.0.50 12/06/2009

- Tab key now works in Full Screen view to insert tabs into the document
- You can now right click on a document in the File Drawer to export that document (and it's children if you wish)
- Document export options allowing to include all documents, or only the specific document when exporting

Version 0.0.49 11/13/2009

- Fixed an unhandled exception when reloading toolbar settings
- Fixed an unhandled exception when loading the last wordcount date from the project when it was (for some as yet unknown reason) not in the proper format
- The selected item in the File Drawer now matches the active document when the document tabs are clicked in the main window, if the document is not a browser window or a preview window

Version 0.0.48 11/9/2009

- Changed session word count to Daily word count. It will remain the same day until you close the project, either from Project->Close, or by exiting the app.
- You can now drag index cards around in the storyboard. Drag the index card to the position you want it to be. Dragging to empty space will result in the card not moving
- Open documents now are restored to their state when the project is reopened. Option can be toggled from the Preferences->General tab
- Fixed a bug that was wiping project properties whenever the project file needed to be upgraded
- Pressing F3 will bring up the search box and put the focus to the input area so you can type the text you want to search on
- Session time now shows on the status bar in full screen view. Can be toggled of in view->preferences

Version 0.0.47 11/6/2009

- Fixed crash when wordcount is triggered while browser or preview windows are active (can be triggered by changing word count goals)
- Fixed a problem related to the scrollbars issue in 0.0.46 where toggling the scrollbars the first time makes it impossible to type in the text area or even select it.

Version 0.0.46 11/6/2009

- Timers now pause when StoryBox is minimized
- Fixed disabling scrollbars in fullscreen makes text disappear

Version 0.0.45 11/1/2009

- Improved handling of large DPI settings should solve the problem of not being able to close the nag screen

Version 0.0.44 10/31/2009

- Fixed the indented "Name:" in the Character template
- The indent change dialog now accepts the value entered and closes when [Enter] is hit
- Made checkbox labels easier to read in the black theme
- Added a "Dated Entry" document - this is just a regular document where the title defaults to the date
- Moved the related document types to the top of the context menu for the File Drawer - so if you right click on a chapter, new scene will display first in the list of available options on the context menu
- Added Recent Projects list to the file menu
- Preferences menu will remember which tab was last selected during a session and bring you back to that tab the next time it opens
- Preferences menu will now always open to the general tab the first time during a session

Version 0.0.43 10/30/2009

- Added a global line spacing option (Preferences menu - Format tab)
- Added basic bullets and numbering from right click menu

Version 0.0.42 10/28/2009

- Fixed a bug that caused the Preview menu item to always be disabled
- Fixed a bug that caused newly typed text to be white when switching to full screen while the cursor was at the end of the document
- Fixed a bug that would cause the document area to not have focus when returning from fullscreen
- Removed some unused .dlls from the installer
- Changed the default button icons for the Black theme from "Black" to "Plain"

Version 0.0.41 10/26/2009

- Selected text in the regular document view is no longer hidden when clicking buttons or menu items
- New option to set the default indent in Preferences menu. This will not affect existing documents that have Preserve Formatting checked
- New menu items for setting indentation and alignment on a paragraph basis in the document right click popup menus
- Full screen right click popup now has most of the same options as the normal document view right click popup menu
- All document types except "New Document" and "Scene" now default Preserve Format to on

Version 0.0.40 10/25/2009

- Fixed a bug that would cause a crash on startup if 0.0.38 or later was uninstalled and then reinstalled
- New button icons that change with the themes
- Cleanup on some of the themes to (hopefully) make them a little nicer

Version 0.0.39 10/22/2009

- Fixed a bug I introduced in 0.0.38 that caused the last project not to reload even if the reload setting was checked in preferences

Version 0.0.38 10/22/2009

- Trash button is no longer enabled when there is not a document selected
- Script errors from web pages are now suppressed
- Made the Nag screen autoscale based on the font. Will hopefully solve a problem with people having large fonts enabled not being able to close that window
- New option for Projects - Remember Document Views will cause StoryBox to remember the last view a document was (Document, Storyboard, or Outline). Unchecking this setting will revert to previous behavior of always opening to the default view
- Default views can now be set for all document types in View->Preferences->Views
- Most StoryBox settings are no longer being stored in the registry, and are instead in a settings file in the user/appdata directory in preparation for allowing them to be stored anywhere (on a thumb drive or in a DropBox folder)

Version 0.0.37 10/20/2009

- Added view, left, and right buttons to the index cards. They appear when you move your mouse over the uppper right corner of each card. View will take you to the document for that card.
- Made some changes to the background on the storyboard for each theme
- Imroved performance of StoryBoard view
- Fixed bug that was causing document to save if nothing in it had changed
- Fixed a bug that was causing an unnecessary save after loading a document

Version 0.0.36 10/18/2009

- Added a preview (or combined document view) that allows you to see and read how a document and it's children will be when exported.
- Fixed a bug that would cause any document opened in full screen view to have a white highlight in combined doc view. A couple notes about this. To remove highlighting from any existing documents that have this problem, open the document in full screen view and close it. The highlighting will be stripped. The stripping of highlights will change in the future as I add the ability to highlight passages for various reasons (search, interdocument links, tags).
- Fixed a bug where scrollbars would not automatically appear in the main editor window if a large portion of text was pasted into the document
- Added scrollbars to the synopsis window and the index cards
- Fixed a bug where pasting into the main document window would cause a white highlight to be added to the text which would display in the preview and fullscreen modes
- Fixed default templates to remove highlighting that was in some of them

Version 0.0.35 10/16/2009

- Fixed background of dropdowns on options menu when using the Silver theme.
- Split Fullscreen, Theme, and Font buttons onto their own toolbar
- Toolbar settings are now saved when closing
- Fixed a bug that allowed you to click the search button with no project open, which caused an exception
- Fixed a bug that allowed you to click a search result after a project had been closed, which caused an exception
- Tags are now cleared from the Tags window when a project is closed
- Version field is now pre-filled in the bug report form
- Clicking the search button in the tags window will now make the Search window visible if it wasn't already

Version 0.0.34 10/14/2009

- Added default document templates. You can change the defaults in Preferences.
- Cleaned up preferences menu somewhat

Version 0.0.33 10/8/2009

- Fixed an exception when alpha values were set in the color dialogs in full screen that would cause it to not go to full screen.

Version 0.0.32 10/7/2009

- Modified the Theme and New Document buttons so that they're not quite so ugly (they no longer have the square box around them
- Fixed a problem that could cause newly typed text to be black when first entering full screen
- Fixed the really hard to read View button on the full screen status bar
- Fixed undo and redo menu items. They weren't working at all
- Added undo and redo buttons
- Added versioning support. See the Project Menu and the help file

Version 0.0.31 10/6/2009

- Fixed an issue with import that would cause imported text to not have any paragraph indents
- Added template loading and saving. Can be accessed from the Document menu.
- Added a typewriter sound to full screen mode. It can be disabled from the View->Prefences menu on the status bar in full screen mode
- Made a change that may help a crash on some systems when starting up and loading some items from the registry

Version 0.0.30 10/4/2009

- Moved registration of the document type to the installer, which makes it so you only have to have admin rights to install, not to run it.
- Disabled project settings options when a project is not loaded
- Binder window pops up now when a new document is added
- Outline works somewhat more like an outline. Still WIP, though.
- Synopsis text box now accepts the return key
- Added ToDo List item to the View menu

Version 0.0.29 10/4/2009

- Fixed a bug that would cause it to throw an exception when trying to register the document type when not logged in as an administrator. It will still require being an admin, I think, in order to register the document type. I'll fix that later.

Version 0.0.28 10/3/2009

- Fixed a bug that caused new projects to not create correctly...

Version 0.0.27 10/3/2009

- Fixed Bold/Italic/Underline so that they toggle on and off when no text is selected
- Added a ToDo/Task list

Version 0.0.26 9/25/2009

- Scrollbar visibility setting in full screen is now remembered across restarts
- Fixed an exception/crash that could happen when Opening a project without closing a currently open project
- Load Last Project On Startup option added to Preferences
- Added code to register .box as the filetype for StoryBox
- Added ability to start StoryBox by double clicking a .box file

Version 0.0.25 9/24/2009

- Added tooltip text to all the buttons
- Fixed menu items getting out of position on Documents menu
- Added option to hide the session timer
- Fixed new document options enabled when there is no project open
- Added some keywords that get replaced in exports [chnum],[author],[title] - Root node of tree ("Story") now added to export correctly

Version 0.0.24 9/23/2009

- Added Session and Project timers
- Fixed a bug where Move Next would be enabled on the context menu if there was only one index card
- Made new chapters have Page Break Before set to on by default
- Added right click menu option to the tags tool window for searching the project for the selected tag
- Moved import progress bar off of the main screen status bar

Version 0.0.23 9/22/2009

- Added Move Previous/Next context menu to index cards in storyboard
- Fixed bold/italic/underline buttons being enabled when no document is active
- Fixed various menu items being enabled when their button counterparts were not
- Added Export Dialog
- Fixed Text Export so that newlines also get a carriage return. Makes it easier when loading the exported file into Open Office or Microsoft Word
- Added basic RTF export

Version 0.0.22 9/21/2009

- Fixed Search finds characters in the RTF code
- Fixed Trashing an already trashed item causes an exception
- Added a bug report button to the toolbar

Version 0.0.21 9/21/2009

- Fixed reordering of documents so that they aren't reset on close if they are visible in the outline view when reordering
- Fixed outline view not updating order of documents when reordered
- Fixed storyboard view not updating order of documents when reordered
- Added a "Report Bug" menu item to the help menu
- Added a "Check Case Status" menu item to the help menu

Version 0.0.20 9/21/2009

- Fixed a hang when clicking the verify registration button when no text had been entered in the email or reg key boxes
- Added a menu item under help to allow entering registration data without having to restart

Download You can download the latest version of the software here.

Support The only support that I can guarantee right now is that I'll be doing fairly frequent updates for awhile. You can use our support site to enter any bugs or issues or feature requests you find. You'll be able to track the progress of your issues there, too.

Buy If you find that you love StoryBox, but hate all the not quite subliminal "Buy StoryBox!" hints all throughout the application, go here and buy it now while it's only $25!