To comment on the following update, log in, then open the issue: http://www.openoffice.org/issues/show_bug.cgi?id=109247 Issue #|109247 Summary|Styles/Formatting Philosophy Perhaps Too Restrictive Component|Word processor Version|OOo 3.2 RC5 Platform|All URL| OS/Version|All Status|UNCONFIRMED Status whiteboard| Keywords| Resolution| Issue type|FEATURE Priority|P3 Subcomponent|ui Assigned to|writerneedsconfirm Reported by|exhodus202
------- Additional comments from exhodus...@openoffice.org Sun Feb 14 06:42:57 +0000 2010 ------- Upfront caveats: this is my first issue to submit, so am not entirely sure I'm "doing it right". I am frustrated by the limits the current method of creating/applying styles places upon my creative process. What I want: the ability to fiddle with granular formatting details (e.g., paragraph indent styles, numbering and bullet styles) - quickly access these controls and see instant results. What software already achieves this, more or less: * MS Word's (since about 2003 for Windows and 2004 for Mac) floating formatting palette. Its disclosure triangles allows me to quickly drill down to the features I want to access the most and keep them available with the flick of my wrist (flick of the cursor to where the palette was last placed). It then fades out of the way so it doesn't distract my writing. * Apple's Pages.app. Its Inspector feature is similar to and perhaps superior to MS Word's implementation. I can submit screenshots of both of these features in action if anybody wants. What I don't like about OOo in its current incarnation (3.2.0 - I couldn't find this listed in the "Found in version" list when submitting this issue): * Format>Paragraph or Format>Bullets and Numbering gives me pretty good access to controls, but they don't allow me to see results instantly. I have to close the dialog box first. So I find myself making a change, not liking it, and then having to mouse over to Format, then Paragraph, etc. Very tedious. I want at least an "Apply" button available so I can check the results before closing the dialog box. * The Styles and Formatting floating window does produce instant results. However, it seems to be dominated by a document creating/editing philosophy that favors "logical styles" over "physical attributes" (see http://www.openoffice.org/issues/showattachment.cgi?attach_id=25685, p. 2) or what I've also heard referred to as "ad hoc" editing. The problem I have with this approach (implicit in the Styles and Formatting floating window) is that in my way of thinking I am constantly testing for myself the interaction between the text itself and the way that text is presented (i.e., formatting). Remember Marshall McLuhan: "The medium is the message"? I don't like these really abstract styles like "Headline 1". What the heck is that? That means nothing. That communicates nothing. It's gibberish. It's code. I don't want code; I want instantaneous, intuitive, transparent understanding. I shouldn't have to think. I should just be able to do. (I should reserve my thinking for my content and how I want that content shaped to best impact my audience. Don't ask me to think like a programmer when I'm thinking about how to communicate, communicate beautifully, to people.) I realize that some writers may be actually very quick and productive with the Styles and Formatting window as is. I also realize that I can copy, edit and create new styles from scratch. What I don't like is that this means I am being told how to work without asking my permission. I want OOo to work the way I already work, which I like and am good at. I don't want to work the way OOo wants me to work. I am open to persuasion. But I'd rather have software do what I want it to do the way I want it to do it first. Then I'll listen. That's why I'm frustrated. Okay, sorry for the rant. But that's the price, I suppose, of being passionate about my creative process, and I hope that the devs I hope are reading this appreciate how passionate creative types like me are their passionate evangelists outside their circle of FLOSS or IT specialists/fans. I do have some hopefully specific and hopefully not-so-hard to implement suggestions: * Format>Paragraph et al: Could you put in an "Apply" button so I could see the results of my changes right away and not have to go back and forth from the dialog box to the document and then back again to get the results I want? * Styles and Formatting floating window: ** I'd like to be able to mouse over a style and have some lorem ipsum text with that style applied pop up to give me an instant visual idea of what that style would actually do to my selected text in my real document. That pop-up would have to be big enough to enable me to distinguish it from other styles at a glance (probably something along the lines of 3x5 inches or 7x12 cm). ** Further, I'd like that pop-up window to have a summary of the actual values of that style (e.g., "Times New Roman, 12 pt, left-justified, single space, first line indented .25"...). That way, if I wanted to edit that style, I'd have an instant idea of where to start (e.g., "Oh, yeah, I need to change that to a hanging indent..."). I don't mind that lots of people use "logical styles". Nor am I disputing that that way of working holds certain clear advantages. Nor that I should seriously give that way a try. But in the meantime I want a sort of middle-road that accommodates me. --------------------------------------------------------------------- Please do not reply to this automatically generated notification from Issue Tracker. 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