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IDProjectCategoryView StatusLast Update
0000162ScribusStory Editor / Text Framespublic2016-02-13 23:12
Reporterestebandido Assigned To 
PrioritylowSeverityfeatureReproducibilityhave not tried
Status acknowledgedResolutionopen 
Product Version1.6 milestone 
Summary0000162: unequal columns in a textframe
DescriptionI'd love to see a way create columns of unequal width in a single textframe.
Additional InformationI realize there's no elegant way to regulate widths (and gaps) individually. After all, OOo couldn't come up with a tidy way to do it. All I can think of is making the Properties palette extremely context-sensitive (knowing which column it's in, in a textframe), and binding the gap to the column on its left. In other words, one column and its gap appear at a time on the palette for changes (except the last column, which has no gap). Changes would then ripple to the right (which would mean the last column width would not be editable, because there is no place to pass the change to).

If this is implemented - and I consider it a low priority - making the gaps of equal width should also be optional.

A further problem would be how to recalculate the column widths if the textframe is resized.
TagsNo tags attached.
Patch

Relationships

related to 0002098 acknowledged Metabug: New File Format 
related to 0000212 acknowledged Ability to create initial vertical space at the beginning of a column 

Activities

cbradney

2004-01-14 11:38

administrator   ~0000216

Marking this as low priority and 1.3+ because of above issues. May change if Franz gets a brilliant idea.

louisdesjardins

2005-02-19 16:35

developer   ~0003746

The unequal columns could be set as percentage of the text frame width minus the (total) column gap(s).

The columns would then keep their relative widths as text frame gets changed.

Add'nl note : Could set the gap *or* the column width to change when frame is modified.

If this feature is implemented, we'd have to make sure the option is there throughout ["New" dialog, Settings>Prefs>Tools, Properties]. Also consider the option of mirroring the effect in facing pages.

ringerc

2005-06-16 03:37

reporter   ~0005051

What about supporting two different ways to set up columns? We could either put the number of columns in the columns field (like normal) or let the user do the layout manually by grabbing column positioning grips on the text frame on the canvas. Maybe, similar to "edit shape", we could have these only available in a "change columns" mode to avoid accidental movement of columns.

The column position data could be initially displayed in the properties palette as a series of column sizes and gaps, eg:

5cm;1cm;4cm;0.5cm;5cm

and some sort of "layout columns" widget could then be grafted on later. Sound reasonable?

louisdesjardins

2005-06-16 12:31

developer   ~0005053

I agree this approach would allow more precision than the "percentage" approach I suggested. But what happens when a text frame is resized in width? We'd have to find a way to establish which value has precedence? Which value will remain the same, which will not.

Anyway, the idea is appealing. I can imagine being able to simply grab the column gap and displace it...

Instead of putting these values in the Properties palette which is quite full imo, could we consider:
1. Adding this to the "New document" dialog (maybe as an option tab or a check box option: "Unequal columns")
2. Using a tab-kind slider (would save space I think) to set the column values (either fixed values or percentages - still to be discussed!)
3. Add this to the guide management dialog???

More thoughts?

ringerc

2005-06-16 13:08

reporter   ~0005054

Something like a tab slider is probably a sensible way to do the UI in the properties dialog (or it could be added to the rulers), yes.

As for scaling, probably a toggle defaulting to proportional scaling, maybe with an option of just expanding the last column instead ("manual").

Issue History

Date Modified Username Field Change
2004-01-14 04:25 estebandido New Issue
2004-01-14 11:38 cbradney Note Added: 0000216
2004-01-14 11:38 cbradney Priority normal => low
2004-01-14 11:38 cbradney Product Version => 1.3
2004-01-14 11:38 cbradney Additional Information Updated
2005-02-19 13:33 plinnell Product Version 1.3 => 1.6 milestone
2005-02-19 16:35 louisdesjardins Note Added: 0003746
2005-06-15 14:12 ringerc Relationship added related to 0002098
2005-06-16 03:37 ringerc Note Added: 0005051
2005-06-16 03:37 ringerc Status new => acknowledged
2005-06-16 12:31 louisdesjardins Note Added: 0005053
2005-06-16 13:08 ringerc Note Added: 0005054
2015-09-17 20:08 Kunda Category Story Editor / Text Frames => Story Ed/Txt Frames
2015-09-17 20:12 Kunda Category Story Ed/Txt Frames => Story Editor / Text Frames
2016-02-13 23:12 Kunda Relationship added related to 0000212