Bug 134403 - SECTIONS - OPTIONS DIALOG: Columns tab does not recognize changes of Indents tab (steps in comment 7)
Summary: SECTIONS - OPTIONS DIALOG: Columns tab does not recognize changes of Indents ...
Status: NEW
Alias: None
Product: LibreOffice
Classification: Unclassified
Component: Writer (show other bugs)
Version:
(earliest affected)
6.4.5.2 release
Hardware: x86-64 (AMD64) Windows (All)
: medium normal
Assignee: Not Assigned
URL:
Whiteboard:
Keywords:
Depends on:
Blocks: Dialog Section
  Show dependency treegraph
 
Reported: 2020-06-29 20:35 UTC by John Kaufmann
Modified: 2022-07-25 08:06 UTC (History)
3 users (show)

See Also:
Crash report or crash signature:


Attachments
3-column section, table, frame - different methods for object width. (26.53 KB, application/vnd.oasis.opendocument.text)
2020-07-14 15:19 UTC, John Kaufmann
Details

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Description John Kaufmann 2020-06-29 20:35:41 UTC
This bug is confirmed under Writer 6.4.4.2 and 7.0beta2.

When configuring Options for a Section (Context menu: Edit Section... Options...), the first two tabs are Columns and Indents, which are interrelated for the section just as the Columns and Table (Width) tabs are interrelated when configuring a Table.  

For a Table, the configuration recognizes the connection between the two tabs: Table > Width is specified under the Table tab, and constrains the sum of the Column widths, unless one checks "Adapt table width" to column width changes.

However, for the Section Options, where Section width is specified indirectly,
the Columns tab does not recognize changes made to the Indents tab, so the final Section configuration is not known until the user exits the configuration tab and sees the result (which is then reflected on the /next/ "Edit Section...").

Note that the calculation of Section width:

   Section_width = Page_width - (L_margin+R_margin) - (L_indent+R_indent)

is already done on /entering/ Section configuration.  What prevents that simple calculation from being done whenever the Indents are changed, so that the Columns tab reflects any changes to the Section width?  

Should Section width treated differently from Table width?


[Note: the third such object type, a Frame, is handled again slightly differently: The Frame Width (Edit Frame: Type > Width) can be specified in either absolute units or relative (%) to either page width or page text width (page_width - margins). Regardless how the Frame width is specified, column widths are always specified under Columns relative (%) to the Frame width, and the Frame width never adapts to the sum of column widths. I doubt that this model offers anything to help fix this bug, but want to mention it for completeness if we begin to try to normalize methods.]
Comment 1 Xisco Faulí 2020-07-14 11:08:06 UTC
Thank you for reporting the bug. Please attach a sample document, as this makes it easier for us to verify the bug. 
I have set the bug's status to 'NEEDINFO'. Please change it back to 'UNCONFIRMED' once the requested document is provided.
(Please note that the attachment will be public, remove any sensitive information before attaching it. 
See https://wiki.documentfoundation.org/QA/FAQ#How_can_I_eliminate_confidential_data_from_a_sample_document.3F for help on how to do so.)
Comment 2 John Kaufmann 2020-07-14 15:19:42 UTC
Created attachment 163021 [details]
3-column section, table, frame - different methods for object width.

This just takes the initial report and inserts examples for the object types.
Comment 3 QA Administrators 2020-07-15 04:04:20 UTC Comment hidden (obsolete)
Comment 4 Dieter 2020-07-21 02:49:05 UTC
Just for clarification: Is your idea
a) Section option should be an option to set section width directly (and not indirectly with indent)
b) Change of indent should also cause direct and visible change in column width in column tab of options dialog

=> NEEDINFO
Comment 5 John Kaufmann 2020-07-21 05:34:03 UTC
(In reply to Dieter from comment #4)
> Just for clarification: Is your idea
> a) Section option should be an option to set section width directly (and not
> indirectly with indent)
> b) Change of indent should also cause direct and visible change in column
> width in column tab of options dialog
> 
> => NEEDINFO

More (b) than (a). Setting width directly would still require a second "offset" setting to accomplish what Left- and Right-indents accomplish. But however this is done, column widths should reflect any change in total indents or margins.
Comment 6 John Kaufmann 2020-07-21 05:36:16 UTC
(In reply to Dieter from comment #4)
> Just for clarification: Is your idea
> a) Section option should be an option to set section width directly (and not
> indirectly with indent)
> b) Change of indent should also cause direct and visible change in column
> width in column tab of options dialog

More (b) than (a). Setting width directly would still require a second "offset" setting to accomplish what Left- and Right-indents accomplish. But however this is done, column widths should reflect any change in total indents or margins.
Comment 7 Dieter 2020-07-21 06:07:38 UTC
(In reply to John Kaufmann from comment #6)
> More (b)

=> I confirm it with

Version: 6.4.5.2 (x64)
Build-ID: a726b36747cf2001e06b58ad5db1aa3a9a1872d6
CPU-Threads: 4; BS: Windows 10.0 Build 19041; UI-Render: GL; VCL: win; 
Gebietsschema: de-DE (de_DE); UI-Sprache: de-DE
Calc: threaded


Steps to reproduce
1. Open attachment from comment 2
2. Put cursor into first section and open context menu
3. Edit Section => Option
4. Column tab: See settings in column width
5. Indent tab: Change settings to 0 cm
6. Back to column tab

Actual result:
Same column width as in step 4 is shown

Expected result:
Column width should respect changes of indent
Comment 8 QA Administrators 2022-07-22 03:43:54 UTC Comment hidden (obsolete)
Comment 9 Dieter 2022-07-24 10:21:01 UTC
Still present in

Version: 7.3.5.2 (x64) / LibreOffice Community
Build ID: 184fe81b8c8c30d8b5082578aee2fed2ea847c01
CPU threads: 4; OS: Windows 10.0 Build 19044; UI render: Skia/Raster; VCL: win
Locale: de-DE (de_DE); UI: en-GB
Calc: CL

Additional informations
Lo freezes, if you deselect and reselect Auto Width in column tab after step 6.
Comment 10 John Kaufmann 2022-07-25 08:06:28 UTC
(In reply to QA Administrators from comment #8)
> Test to see if the bug is still present with the latest version of
> LibreOffice from https://www.libreoffice.org/download/

Sorry to need a couple days to reply. As Dieter said in Comment 9, using 7.3.5.2,  I confirmed under 7.3.4.2 that issue remains: A change in Section indents is not reflected in the section's column widths until the indent(s) change is executed.


Something similar happens in Frames. A frame width may be specified in absolute units or as a percentage of either:
  (a) the full page width or
  (b) the paragraph area = full page width minus (left + right) margins.

If the frame width is absolute, then the column widths are also specified in absolute units. [I believe this may be a change from LO 6.4.4.2 to LO 7.3.4.2, but can no longer check 6.4.4.2.] However, once established, the column percentages remain the same, so changes in frame width affect the columns proportionately.

If frame width is specified as a relative percentage (either a or b), then column widths are specified as percentages of the frame width, and of course those percentages remain unchanged with changes in frame width.

However, if frame width is absolute, and then changed to relative, and then the relative reference changed between (a) and (b), the relative percentage does NOT change with the reference basis, as it should. So the relative percentage does NOT reflect the absolute measurement until the frame width change is executed.