# Dramatica Theory Manual **URL:** \ **Category:** Dramatica Theory\ **Created:** [April 9, 2018, 4:29pm UTC](https://discuss.dramatica.com/t/dramatica-theory-manual/1623 "2018-04-09T16:29:42Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 8\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![GetSchwifty](https://yyz2.discourse-cdn.com/flex010/user_avatar/discuss.dramatica.com/getschwifty/32/2581_2.png) [@GetSchwifty](https://discuss.dramatica.com/u/GetSchwifty)\ **Post date:** [April 9, 2018, 4:29pm UTC](https://discuss.dramatica.com/t/dramatica-theory-manual/1623/1 "2018-04-09T16:29:42Z")
I find the manual very useful, the PDF format, not so much. There’s so much data in there that’s useful, I get lost and find it hard to drill down on what I really need at the moment. So I did this. 1 I converted the PDF to Word using [convertio.net](http://convertio.net) 2 I painstakingly pulled the outlines points into a Word outline 3 I used the universal document converter online to turn that into OPML 4 then I brought the OPML into OmniOutliner (or any outlining tool). 5 then I saved the OPML file to a .oo3 file on my iPad, converting it to real OmniOutliner document. 6. Finally I did a search and replace of the _strong_ and _em_ tags to get rid of them, then selected all the notes and converted them from italics to non italic text. Now I have a version I can use on my iPad. I’m having a lot of fun playing with it. I think we’d have to ask permission to make that work available, though. I didn’t change any content, just turned it into a different media format. here’s the video. switch it to full screen and 1080 hd to read the text. [![](https://canada1.discourse-cdn.com/flex010/uploads/dramatica/original/2X/f/ff6af0fb707fd4e1898047f05ecd82bbf14d78b6.jpeg "dramatica manual opml") ](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ww_k2w36r6E) …and here at day end is the Storyforming book [![](https://canada1.discourse-cdn.com/flex010/uploads/dramatica/original/2X/d/d99943dd951bd0a6e2ed5955072515c0398c14d3.jpeg "Dramatica storyform outline") ](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xZsFhK_cY5w) and here’s how it looks on the iPad Pro 10.5 [![](https://canada1.discourse-cdn.com/flex010/uploads/dramatica/original/2X/1/1bf42951289cdb4d3712e820c39dfff9dc25a250.jpeg "Dramatica outlined in OmniOutliner on iPad Pro 10.5") ](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PR8JjSvFQvo) I also split the manual up. First, I moved the technical material for the software into its own book. Then I split the Theory book into several parts, the most important being - Character and Theme - Plot and Genre - StoryForming so that I could get a better handle on the material because…there’s a LOT of material. This theory book is the product of two brilliant minds and YEARS of their work. Only these five sections were nested enough that it merited turning them into outlines. I also put each of the following chapters in its own separate book ![](https://canada1.discourse-cdn.com/flex010/uploads/dramatica/original/1X/7634823c93d0b1a6ed9900c69958b6e53ba3e9f6.png) so that they would be easier to ‘dive into’ from my iPad version of Word without having to search through a Tome. Also, of course, I can add my notes, diagrams and so on into the material to help my own understanding, although I keep a pristine copy also. It’s just, in the tool-rich year of 2018, a way to work with the text that makes more sense. This is the kind of material you’re supposed to get dirty and leave your imprint on. It’s scholarly, thinky stuff. I wanna see oil smudges on your face and grease stains on your shirt, the one with your name written in red cursive on the pocket, when you come up for air. ---
**Author:** ![bentraje](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/3ec8ea/32.png) [@bentraje](https://discuss.dramatica.com/u/bentraje)\ **Post date:** [April 9, 2018, 4:32pm UTC](https://discuss.dramatica.com/t/dramatica-theory-manual/1623/2 "2018-04-09T16:32:28Z")
That would be fantastic! I just use the search command when sifting through the content. It was a bit of pain specially if there are several hits. The outline would be a nice addition. ---
**Author:** ![GetSchwifty](https://yyz2.discourse-cdn.com/flex010/user_avatar/discuss.dramatica.com/getschwifty/32/2581_2.png) [@GetSchwifty](https://discuss.dramatica.com/u/GetSchwifty)\ **Post date:** [April 9, 2018, 5:04pm UTC](https://discuss.dramatica.com/t/dramatica-theory-manual/1623/3 "2018-04-09T17:04:15Z")
It’s pretty neat. I’m not sure who we ask. @jhull ? ---
**Author:** ![Khodu](https://yyz2.discourse-cdn.com/flex010/user_avatar/discuss.dramatica.com/khodu/32/2795_2.png) [@Khodu](https://discuss.dramatica.com/u/Khodu)\ **Post date:** [April 9, 2018, 9:07pm UTC](https://discuss.dramatica.com/t/dramatica-theory-manual/1623/4 "2018-04-09T21:07:13Z")
Great work @GetSchwifty! ---
**Author:** ![GetSchwifty](https://yyz2.discourse-cdn.com/flex010/user_avatar/discuss.dramatica.com/getschwifty/32/2581_2.png) [@GetSchwifty](https://discuss.dramatica.com/u/GetSchwifty)\ **Post date:** [April 9, 2018, 11:50pm UTC](https://discuss.dramatica.com/t/dramatica-theory-manual/1623/5 "2018-04-09T23:50:31Z")
Also, I have to confess, I cheat: I have two iPads open, one with the Character book and one with the Plot book, open, and the Storyform book is open in a window on one of the three monitors I have, while I have Dramatica open on another window, so I can look up a key word in all three docs at the same time. ---
**Author:** ![jhull](https://yyz2.discourse-cdn.com/flex010/user_avatar/discuss.dramatica.com/jhull/32/3_2.png) [@jhull](https://discuss.dramatica.com/u/jhull)\ **Post date:** [April 10, 2018, 1:52am UTC](https://discuss.dramatica.com/t/dramatica-theory-manual/1623/6 "2018-04-10T01:52:48Z")
Ask @chuntley. He’ll be able to help you out with this. ---
**Author:** ![jhull](https://yyz2.discourse-cdn.com/flex010/user_avatar/discuss.dramatica.com/jhull/32/3_2.png) [@jhull](https://discuss.dramatica.com/u/jhull)\ **Post date:** [April 10, 2018, 4:31pm UTC](https://discuss.dramatica.com/t/dramatica-theory-manual/1623/7 "2018-04-10T16:31:25Z")
6 posts were split to a new topic: [Dramatica and the Torah](https://discuss.dramatica.com/t/dramatica-and-the-torah/1632) ---
**Author:** ![GetSchwifty](https://yyz2.discourse-cdn.com/flex010/user_avatar/discuss.dramatica.com/getschwifty/32/2581_2.png) [@GetSchwifty](https://discuss.dramatica.com/u/GetSchwifty)\ **Post date:** [April 10, 2018, 8:20pm UTC](https://discuss.dramatica.com/t/dramatica-theory-manual/1623/9 "2018-04-10T20:20:56Z")
sounds good. @chuntley, waddya think?