Read style maps without confusing colours
Tell style identity, relative frequency, override diagnostics and typography rule colours apart.
- Goal
- The chosen visualization answers one clear question and can be cleared deliberately.
- Starting profile
- Editorial QA
- Include
- Styles
Prepare a representative pass
Tell style identity, relative frequency, override diagnostics and typography rule colours apart. Use a saved working copy, identify the intended active document, and check the inspection scope before interpreting a result. A profile is an inspection brief, not a command to repair the document.
Follow the workflow
- Open Styles and choose the catalog section that matches the question: style identity, frequency or overrides.
- For Style Map identity colours, select paragraph or character styles and the intended supported scope, then explicitly show the map.
- For a frequency heatmap, read the scale as relative usage. It is not a permanent replacement for a style’s identity colour or a severity scale.
- For Override Map, review its diagnostic classes and precedence. A colour identifies that diagnostic meaning, not the style’s identity.
- Check availability and capped/skipped counts. An unavailable count is not proof that a style is unused.
- Clear the active map with its own action. Showing issues replaces a map and showing the map replaces issue marks; inspect the intended visualization before saving.
How to recognize a finished pass
- The active view and its colour meaning are identified.
- Selected styles and range are intentional.
- The visualization is cleared appropriately before delivery.
Where judgement matters
- Changing a diagnostic palette does not rewrite style definitions.
- Colour-map transfers include style names and group paths.
Does a finding mean I must change the document?
No. Check intent, scope, current evidence and available actions. Retaining an intentional occurrence can be the correct decision. Record the supported review status when useful; it does not edit the source text.