One of the largest changes (and improvements) with the new version of the PERRLA Add-in is how it works with your Word documents.
PERRLA lives inside your Word file and will always be there: no matter where you save it, move it, or copy it.
To dive into this a bit more, let's look at the three places this change is most evident.
There isn't a separate PERRLA application on your computer
Unlike older versions of PERRLA for Word (pre-2019), the new PERRLA Add-in doesn't have a stand-alone application that you use on your desktop.
In both the Windows and Mac versions of PERRLA for Word, you have to open the PERRLA for Word desktop application to create a new PERRLA paper. In the new version, PERRLA lives completely inside of Word in the PERRLA ribbon tab.
Save your papers like a normal Word document
By removing the desktop application, you can now organize your papers however and wherever you'd like.
Instead of having to store your papers inside a PERRLA Papers folder, you can save them wherever you want on your computer or in the cloud. That also means you can use Save As... to create as many copies of your paper as you need while still being able to use PERRLA with any of them.
You can use Microsoft Word's built-in Save and Save As features with PERRLA just like you would with any normal Word document.
In addition, PERRLA will keep a back-up copy of your papers for you (just in case calamity strikes your laptop). We save a back-up of your paper each time you perform a PERRLA action, but you can manually save a back-up as well using the Save to PERRLA panel in the PERRLA ribbon bar.
Open & work with your papers directly
In addition to changing how your papers are saved and organized, you can also work with your papers directly on your computer instead of having to use a PERRLA start-up application.
To open a paper and keep working on it, just open it from your computer's file browser (Finder on Mac or File Explorer on Windows). Your papers are always normal Word documents so you don't have to do anything special.
When you open the paper, the PERRLA ribbon tab will be there waiting for you. If it isn't, you can add it back using the Add-ins button in the Insert ribbon tab.
Remember, your papers are always normal Word documents and PERRLA will work inside them no matter how you save and organize them.