Bug 138942 - In the Navigator, change the name of "Headings" tree to "Outline" tree
Summary: In the Navigator, change the name of "Headings" tree to "Outline" tree
Status: RESOLVED WONTFIX
Alias: None
Product: LibreOffice
Classification: Unclassified
Component: Writer (show other bugs)
Version:
(earliest affected)
7.1.0.0.alpha1+
Hardware: All All
: medium enhancement
Assignee: Not Assigned
URL:
Whiteboard:
Keywords:
Depends on:
Blocks: Navigator
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Reported: 2020-12-15 14:26 UTC by NarayanAras
Modified: 2023-02-19 12:14 UTC (History)
5 users (show)

See Also:
Crash report or crash signature:


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Description NarayanAras 2020-12-15 14:26:14 UTC
Description:
The Navigator window is confusing, because its "Headings" node actually does not show the text that has paragraph style of "Heading n". Instead, it actually shows whatever text is assigned with "Outline level n".

Then why don't we have BOTH nodes, called "Headings" and "Outline"?


Steps to Reproduce:
Open a document that has a good hierarchical depth of Headings (Level 1-3).
Open Navigator. Look at the node called "Headings". All the headings are shown under the Headings node. The tree shows all levels of headings correctly.

Now open the Style editor dialog, and change the outline level of all Headings to "default text".

Now look at the Navigator again. 
The node called "Headings" is grayed out, and there are no Headings visible.

This is false results, because the Headings are still there.

To overcome this false display, introduce an extra node in Navigator, called "Outline". The "Headings" node should show the actual Heading levels.

Actual Results:
(As described above)

Expected Results:
(As described above)


Reproducible: Always


User Profile Reset: No



Additional Info:
This is a design issue, not related to version of LibreOffice.
Comment 1 Heiko Tietze 2021-01-11 14:44:34 UTC
Wouldn't it make more sense (and being faster to do) to just change the label? Don't see many users creating headings without outline levels. And if so it's likely intentionally to make the heading not appear in the table of contents- and likewise not in the Navigator.

Jim, what do you think?
Comment 2 Jim Raykowski 2021-01-12 03:16:14 UTC
Hi NarayanAras,

Do you mean something like:

- Headings
   - Heading 1
      Chapter 1
      Chapter 2
      Chapter 3
   - Heading 2
      Chapter 1.1
      Chapter 1.2
      Chapter 2.1
      Chapter 3.1
   - Heading 3
      Chapter 1.1.1
      Chapter 1.1.2
      Chapter 1.2.1
      Chapter 2.1.1
      Chapter 3.1.1
      Chapter 3.1.2
Comment 3 NarayanAras 2021-01-12 04:46:34 UTC
I am not sure about how you interpret the chapters in the hierarchy. If I respond to you directly with your example, we may interpret it differently. To void that, let me describe the problem afresh:

A novel usually does not have a deep hierarchy, such as Title > Parts > Sections > Chapters > Topics > paragraph headings (H1....H5) > body text.

But this structure would be normally seen in technical documentation.

Normally, we do NOT apply heading levels to the top portion of the hierarchy.

For example, the Parts, and sections are not assigned a Heading level. We start heading levels for chapters, topics and paragraph headings.

Let us say we assigned the following:

chapters ---------------> Heading 1
topics -----------------> Heading 2
paragraph headings -----> Heading 3
Sub-paragraph headings -> Heading 4
(The paragraphs may have multiple levels, so they will occupy Heading 5, Heading 6, etc.)

As a result, the TOC (and also the "headings" node in the Navigator panel) will not show the Parts and Sections at all.

To avoid this problem, LibreOffice Writer assigns an Outline level, which is then used in TOC and Navigator panel.

This is fine, but the problem is that the node that actually shows the Outline levels is called "headings".
This is misleading.

The solution is simple: 
Let Navigatior panel show both nodes: Headings node and Outline node.


The "Outline" node will show the document's hierarchy that is based on the Outline levels assigned.
Thus it will show the intended hierarchy of the document: parts > Sections > Chapters > Topics > paragraph heading (H1....H5...) 

On the other hand, the "Headings" node will show only H1, H2, H3....
Thus it will not be able to show the Title, Parts and Sections.

The "Outline" node reflects the WYSIWYM philosophy (What you see is what you MEAN).
It shows the VIRTUAL structure of the document.

The "Headings" node reflects the WYSIWYG philosophy (What you see is what you GET).
It shows the ACTUAL structure of the document.
Comment 4 Jim Raykowski 2021-01-13 06:12:48 UTC
Sorry, I'm not quite following. An example document with a list of what is to be included in the "Outline" and "Headings" nodes may help.
Comment 5 sdc.blanco 2021-03-25 11:32:50 UTC
(In reply to NarayanAras from comment #3)
> The problem is that the node that actually shows the Outline levels is 
> called "headings". This is misleading.
Is your objection to the "label" (i.e., "Headings") or to the functionality (i.e., what is shown under the label)?
 
> The "Outline" node will show the document's hierarchy that is based on the
> Outline levels assigned.
That is how Navigator currently functions. 

> Thus it will show the intended hierarchy of the document: parts > Sections >
> Chapters > Topics > paragraph heading (H1....H5...) 
You may not be able to use the pre-defined "Heading N" paragraph styles, but you could define your own paragraph styles (with appropriate outline levels) to get this structure.

> On the other hand, the "Headings" node will show only H1, H2, H3....
> Thus it will not be able to show the Title, Parts and Sections.
What is the purpose/value/need for this mode?

In short: Is the issue (a) that you have misunderstood what is shown under "Headings" (b) that you think the label for "Headings" should be changed, or (c) that the existing "Headings" section in Navigator should be supplemented with a section that will only show paragraphs with a "Heading N" paragraph style?
Comment 6 NarayanAras 2021-03-25 14:28:04 UTC
Ok, you have only confirmed what I stated.

So here's the net proposal for actions:

1. Label the top node of the "headings" tree as "Outline".
   (In other words, this tree shows outlines, not headings.)

2. Create another tree that shows headings. 
   

That's it.
Comment 7 NarayanAras 2021-03-25 14:30:18 UTC
I have changed the title of this bug to reflect the latest asks.
Comment 8 sdc.blanco 2021-03-25 15:59:56 UTC
(In reply to NarayanAras from comment #6)
Thanks for clarifications.  Just one more clarification is needed though.

> 2. Create another tree that shows headings. 
You did not answer the question in comment 5 about why this "additional" 
"Headings" section would be needed in Navigator?

And if we assume there is a good reason, then what do you envision? 

Maybe you can give a short example of what you think should appear in the Navigator window for this proposed new tree.

For example, what kind of structure? 

And what gets included?
   Of course you want to include any paragraph that uses a predefined  "Heading N" paragraph style.  But what about a custom heading based on a predefined "heading N", will that also appear? or a paragraph style based on "Default Paragraph Style", but used like a heading?)

Thanks for your answers. Just trying to get a clear image of the proposal.
Comment 9 NarayanAras 2021-03-26 13:01:49 UTC
Actually, I cannot think of a use case where Headings are needed separately.

We may drop that part of the requirement.

That leaves just the task of renaming the top node of the current tree as "Outline".

********************************
BTW in case I was not clear, here is a short rephrased argument why we must rename this tree:

In a document, there are several elements that are ABOVE the headings:

Parts > Sections > Chapters > H1 > H2 > H3 > H4.....

So if the tree is named "Headings", we cannot expect those higher elements in this tree.
Comment 10 sdc.blanco 2021-03-26 14:00:32 UTC
(In reply to NarayanAras from comment #9)
> Actually, I cannot think of a use case where Headings are needed separately.
> We may drop that part of the requirement.
Modified summary accordingly.

@Heiko, @Jim, - over to you.
Comment 11 Heiko Tietze 2021-04-06 12:07:18 UTC
Outline and headings are exchangeable terms for me, non-native English speaker. So fine for me to use Outline. Would have the advantage of consistency with Jim's "Send Outline to Clipboard" command.
Comment 12 Jim Raykowski 2021-04-08 05:16:59 UTC
I don't see any code issues with changing "Heading(s)" to "Outline(s)".

sw/inc/strings.hrc
STR_CONTENT_TYPE_OUTLINE
STR_CONTENT_TYPE_SINGLE_OUTLINE
Comment 13 sdc.blanco 2023-02-19 12:02:05 UTC
In light of bug 152605 (eg., bug 152605 comment 12 ), I think this ticket should now be closed as WF.