Take a baseline
A baseline is Colophon's starting point: how every chapter looks right now. Changes are measured from it.
Take your first baseline
After you attach your manuscript folder, do one of the following:
- Click Take baseline on the Manuscript screen.
- Choose Manuscript ▸ Take Baseline Snapshot (⇧⌘B).
Colophon remembers every chapter in the folder. Until you take a baseline, nothing is being tracked.
Take a fresh baseline later
You'll usually take a fresh baseline only after changing the format, or when you want to start measuring from a new point without recording what came before.
If any chapter has changed since its baseline, Colophon asks Record these changes first? before going ahead:
- Click Record revision instead to keep those changes in your history. See Record a revision.
- Click Take baseline anyway to start again from the chapters as they stand. The changes won't appear in your history at all.
- Click Cancel to leave everything as it is.
New chapters
When you add a new chapter file to your folder, it shows as not tracked yet. It starts being tracked the next time you take a baseline or record a revision — you don't need to do anything else.