Bug 114633 - Setting unevenly distributed column width is hard & cumbersome using Table properties or Size|Column Width
Summary: Setting unevenly distributed column width is hard & cumbersome using Table pr...
Status: NEW
Alias: None
Product: LibreOffice
Classification: Unclassified
Component: Writer (show other bugs)
Version:
(earliest affected)
4.4.7.2 release
Hardware: All All
: medium enhancement
Assignee: Not Assigned
URL:
Whiteboard:
Keywords:
: 139109 (view as bug list)
Depends on:
Blocks: Writer-Tables-Enhancements Writer-Table-Properties-Dialog
  Show dependency treegraph
 
Reported: 2017-12-21 19:23 UTC by Telesto
Modified: 2022-08-11 10:49 UTC (History)
4 users (show)

See Also:
Crash report or crash signature:


Attachments
Sample file (9.66 KB, application/vnd.oasis.opendocument.text)
2017-12-21 19:23 UTC, Telesto
Details

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Description Telesto 2017-12-21 19:23:18 UTC
Description:
Setting unevenly distributed columns sizes is hard and cumbersome the achieve using Table properties or set width. (It's even harder with bug 114572)

Steps to Reproduce:
Example one
1. Open the attached file
2.  Objective: Resize Column 1 to 2,4 CM and Column 5 to 5,40 using:
* Open Table Properties -> Columns
* Right Click Menu -> Size -> Column Width

Example 2
Try to create a table of exact 21 cm (which is outside right page borders) using
* Open Table Properties -> Columns
* Right Click Menu -> Size -> Column Width

Can't be done (as for I know). It's try and error to archive 21

Actual Results:  
There is cascade: The editing of Column 1 affects Column 2, editing column 2 affects 3.
Table size is limited to page size (inside the borders)

Expected Results:
* No automatic calculated of the other table sizes (only when a corresponding checkbox is checked or something like that)
* The ability create a table which exceed the page border


Reproducible: Always


User Profile Reset: No



Additional Info:
Found in
Version: 6.1.0.0.alpha0+
Build ID: ca1bcb40ea27492c0f3a452c4a318b540a9ff09c
CPU threads: 4; OS: Windows 6.3; UI render: default; 
TinderBox: Win-x86@42, Branch:master, Time: 2017-12-21_00:35:39
Locale: nl-NL (nl_NL); Calc: CL

and in
Versie: 4.4.7.2 
Build ID: f3153a8b245191196a4b6b9abd1d0da16eead600
Locale: nl_NL



User-Agent: Mozilla/5.0 (Windows NT 6.3; WOW64; rv:52.0) Gecko/20100101 Firefox/52.0
Comment 1 Telesto 2017-12-21 19:23:53 UTC
Created attachment 138579 [details]
Sample file
Comment 2 Heiko Tietze 2017-12-27 11:40:17 UTC
Surprisingly has not been a ticket regarding this workflow.
Comment 4 Telesto 2021-01-19 18:05:16 UTC
*** Bug 139109 has been marked as a duplicate of this bug. ***
Comment 5 Telesto 2021-01-19 18:29:51 UTC
Some additional comments

1. Automatic table size is the default setting.
2. With automatic table width. Adjust table width & adjust columns proportionally are disabled. Result being that everything keeps adapting.. as the table width must stay the same. 
3. Currently there is UI glitch which doesn't update fields on the fly. So typing 2, tab, 2 tab, 2, followed by enter.. will give different result compared to the dialog

Adapt table width is also not totally consequent. Assuming table width of 12 cm (on a4 page) with 2 columns with adapt table width checked.

Type 8 | 8 for columns & press OK -> Table size increase (fine to 16 cm)
Type 12| 12 for columns & press OK -> Table size is capped (to max 17). And distribution appears. Unexpected IMHO
Type 5 | 5 for columns & press OK -> Table size shrinks to specifications

The same 'cap' as by table width is applied for Adjust columns proportionally (which makes sense, as  Adapt table width is checked)

I would propose three radio buttons (see also bug 139098)
* Circular (default automatic); honoring table width. * Adapt table width (without cap) * Proportional distribution honoring table width

Where Adapt table width will also change the table size setting from automatic to Left. And would like also a label which should what the total width would be (lazy adding up the size of multiple columns)

Only a direction.. maybe someone should look the competitors?
Comment 6 Heiko Tietze 2022-04-11 13:04:20 UTC
Mockup for a solution in bug 145739 with discussion at https://design.blog.documentfoundation.org/2022/04/11/improve-the-table-configuration-in-libreoffice-writer/