Subject: Re: PATCH request: edit headers
From: Martin Sevior (msevior@mccubbin.ph.unimelb.edu.au)
Date: Sun Dec 30 2001 - 17:16:32 CST
On Sun, 30 Dec 2001, Bryce Nesbitt wrote:
>
> If you have to explain it, it's not clear enough.
>
Whoops! Clearly a bug mistake has been made somewhere. Before I
implemented "Normal Mode" this was not a problem at all.
> It works OK if you follow your instructions. But there are lots of
> little confusing things about how it works now.
>
> Try AbiWord's defaults (extra toolbar off, normal mode) and turn on
> "show paragraphs". Now try to use headers. All the header controls
> are ghosted.
Clearly this is the problem. Normal Mode should not be a default and edit
headers/toolbar buttons should get you out of Normal mode. I don't know
how noraml mode got made default. It wasn't originally.
This isa classic example of why Modes Suck. Thanks for the UI hints. I'll
do this.
If you figure out how to add a header you have a bad
> situation where (in normal mode) body text appears in the clearly
> marked header area. If you figure out to switch to print layout
> and type, the first character of the header is trashed. If you
> remove a header garbage appears on screen.
>
Right. All bad bugs. This SHOULD NOT HAPPEN. I'll make sure pressing
these buttons gets the user out of Normal Mode.
>
> How about this:
>
> Add a new menu item "insert->header". That's where
> I expected to find it anyway.
>
> In "normal" mode zoom the page past the header. Don't
> show body text in the header!!!
>
> Eliminate menu items relating to headers from the edit menu.
> Eliminate the toolbar icons.
>
> Add a header enable checkbox in the page setup dialog.
> Add a context menu to delete a header.
>
> Same for footers. The user will need to learn about page layout mode,
> but won't be mislead at any point.
>
>
>
> Making "edit header" switch to print layout mode is OK also, but at
> that point you've switched modes out from under the user, which is
> bad.
>
Maybe we should elminate "Normal Mode" altogether.
Cheers
Martin
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