Re: [tdf-discuss] Re: [Libreoffice] suggestion to improve libreoffice writer

Le 2011-03-20 15:05, Steve Edmonds a écrit :
> On 21/03/11 6:38 AM, Charles Marcus wrote:
> > > On 3/20/11 5:18 PM, Charles Marcus wrote:
> > > > Adding the ability to have multiple documents as tabs in one window
> > > > would be great - as long as there is a choice.
> > > >
> > > > Meaning, I can have multiple windows if I want, and/or drag-n-drop 
> > > > a tab
> > > > out into its own window (and vice-versa)... an option to set a default
> > > > (open new docs in tabs, or as separate windows) would be best......
> >
> > Still not really clear though...
> >
> > Just so I'm clear, the option I mentioned would only be for the
> > *default* behavior (ie, when opening a new document, does it get opened
> > into an existing window as a new tab, or as a separate window).
> >
> > You should still be able to move a tab to a separate window or
> > vice-versa on the fly whenever you want, without having to change an
> > option, just like you can with Firefox (and most other browsers now).
> Would work for me, which bit of real estate would you take up with the 
> tabs?
> I would hope that if I opted to open in a new window I would not loose 
> any real estate.

Obviously having a choice is a good thing, but I would prefer to keep 
the current form as default.

Besides that, I would like to point out that contrary to what had been 
said, people are NOT trained to use tabs.
On one hand, all browsers starting with Firefox 3, then Google and 
Internet Explorer have tabs. It is now their default behaviour to open 
new tabs rather than new windows most of the time, and I am one of those 
who prefer tabs to windows when it comes to the browser.

Adobe CS4 also uses tabs, with all documents opened into a single 
application window. For instance, all InDesign documents are in a single 
window with one tab per document.

On the other hand, Microsoft had introduced us to tabs. Office 97 had 
one single window per application. I think Office 2000 offered a choice. 
Office 2003 was very inconsistent, with one window per document in Word 
and one single window for all Excel documents. And Powerpoint was yet a 
bit different, showing only one document window at a time. In other 
words, it was impossible to show two documents side by side. Office 2010 
(and I think 2007 too) uses the multiple document interface throughout 
the platform: i.e. it's one window per document in Word, Excel and 
Powerpoint. So in that regard, the current versions of Microsoft Office 
use a system similar to what exists with the current version of LibreOffice.

Overall, for Office-type documents, I generally prefer the current 
system over tabs: I don't open too many tabs/windows at once, I 
generally want wide enough windows for each document I want to see, and 
most importantly, I use a dual-monitor setup at work and those two 
monitors aren't of the same era and therefore don't have exactly the 
same resolution. In other words, I have one document (sometimes more) on 
each monitor and it's not convenient to have a long menubar spread over 
two monitors.


Generally speaking, there are pros and cons with tabs vs one window per 
document.

One window per document:
– menu bar and toolbars are closer, because they appear within each document
– no space is lost for a tab bar
– window may be placed anywhere one wants on the monitor... or on a 
second monitor
– allows one to arrange three windows of different size (for example), 
with two LibreOffice windows and a smaller window for the browser or 
calculator. In a setting with a large window and documents in tabs, it 
is impossible to show the calculator through the unused grey space of 
the application window.

One window per application and documents in tabs:
– some space is lost for a tab bar
– the overall window is wider, allowing one to have all toolbars in a 
single line; overall each tool appears only once (rather than once per 
document window), so toolbars and menus take less space
– if the window is huge, menus and individual toolbar items could be far 
away.
– moving the application window moves all documents at once; sometimes 
it's useful.


So as I said, I prefer the current way of doing things. That being said, 
I would improve a few points to enhance the user experience:

– In toolbars, buttons should be a bit smaller. Even the small buttons 
are a tiny bit wider and a few pixels higher than those in Microsoft 
Office 2003. The symbols on buttons are about the same size, but there 
is some space taken for actual buttons. Maybe we could cut a few pixels 
there, allowing people to keep more of their screen for useful things.
– Floating toolbars and dialogue boxes should be positioned relative to 
the window. One of the problems of LibreOffice is that if I place a 
dialogue box just to the left of my current window, LibreOffice will 
remember its absolute position rather than the relative one. So when I 
call the same dialogue box from another document, it may well hide the 
text... or be so far away that I'll desperately look for it.

Finally, one function that could be added is a quick alignment of two 
windows side by side and a way to scroll both of them at once. Microsoft 
has a bit of that in it's "compare" function, except it doesn't really 
work because it's too complex to synchronize and de-synchronize both 
windows.

--

Michel Gagnon – michel@mgagnon.net <mailto:michel@mgagnon.net>
Montréal (Québec, Canada) – mgagnon.net <http://mgagnon.net>


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