Subject: Re: PATCH request: edit headers
From: Andrew Dunbar (hippietrail@yahoo.com)
Date: Mon Dec 31 2001 - 02:45:32 CST
--- Martin Sevior
<msevior@mccubbin.ph.unimelb.edu.au> wrote: >
>
> 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.
I disagree. I hate page layout mode as I never print
documents. But moreover I believe that everybody
should be able to choose their preferred default mode.
Abi should be fixed so that any mode as default
"just works".
> 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.
I'm pretty sure that Dom hated the idea of the mode
being switched under the user when doing certain
operations. I and others described certain MSWord
features that caused this to happen (columns) and
they were not welcomed into AbiWord.
> > 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
>
>
>
=====
http://linguaphile.sourceforge.net http://www.abisource.com
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