LibreOffice Writer has 2 view options: 1. Normal View and 2. Web View In my experience, normal view has the following problems: 1. The top and botten margins each take an inordinate amount of space, making it hard to cross-check a list which goes over the edge. 2. The top of a standard letter-sized page doesn't fit on the screen at the same time as the bottom. Even using a giant 22" monitor, if I zoom standard 9-pt text to 200% to read it. This can make it hard to cross-check the text and the footnotes. One workaround is to change the paper size... And web view has the following problems: 1. Text gets shoved against the left edge of the window, making it much harder to read, and making attempts to scroll into migaine triggers. 2. Footnotes get converted into endnotes. This will make it impossible to cross-check the text and the footnotes. I think alternative view options would be useful, such as 1. keeping side margins, but hiding top and bottom margins. 2. splitting pages to bring footnotes into view.
(In reply to MarjaE from comment #0) > 1. The top and botten margins each take an inordinate amount of space, > making it hard to cross-check a list which goes over the edge. There's View->Show Whitespace menu (uncheck to not show top/bottom margins and headers/footers); > 2. The top of a standard letter-sized page doesn't fit on the screen at the > same time as the bottom. Even using a giant 22" monitor, if I zoom standard > 9-pt text to 200% to read it. This can make it hard to cross-check the text > and the footnotes. One workaround is to change the paper size... Just use 170%, or whatever fits; but - well, you can always create an example of a sixe/scale combination that would not fit any given monitor ;) > 1. Text gets shoved against the left edge of the window, making it much > harder to read, and making attempts to scroll into migaine triggers. Just don't expand the Writer's window to the whole screen. Attach it to any side of the screen, so that it takes 100% height, but 50% (or more) width. > 2. Footnotes get converted into endnotes. This will make it impossible to > cross-check the text and the footnotes. Anyway, the footnotes/endnotes content (or part of it) is shown as tooltips when you hover your mouse over it...
(In reply to Mike Kaganski from comment #1) > (In reply to MarjaE from comment #0) > > 1. The top and botten margins each take an inordinate amount of space, > > making it hard to cross-check a list which goes over the edge. > > There's View->Show Whitespace menu (uncheck to not show top/bottom margins > and headers/footers); It does nothing. > > > 2. The top of a standard letter-sized page doesn't fit on the screen at the > > same time as the bottom. Even using a giant 22" monitor, if I zoom standard > > 9-pt text to 200% to read it. This can make it hard to cross-check the text > > and the footnotes. One workaround is to change the paper size... > > Just use 170%, or whatever fits; but - well, you can always create an > example of a sixe/scale combination that would not fit any given monitor ;) To fit a standard latter-sized sheet, I have to zoom out to 75% or less. To read standard 9-pt text, I have to zoom in to 180% or more. > > > 1. Text gets shoved against the left edge of the window, making it much > > harder to read, and making attempts to scroll into migaine triggers. > > Just don't expand the Writer's window to the whole screen. Attach it to any > side of the screen, so that it takes 100% height, but 50% (or more) width. Still making it much harder to read, because the text is jammed against the edge of the window, and still making attempts to scroll into migraine triggers for people with visually-induced dizziness, or "supermarket syndrome," because there's a horizontal element, the lines of text, jammed against the edge of the scrolling section, the window. > > > 2. Footnotes get converted into endnotes. This will make it impossible to > > cross-check the text and the footnotes. > > Anyway, the footnotes/endnotes content (or part of it) is shown as tooltips > when you hover your mouse over it... Can't use tooltips.
Related: bug 146315.
Created attachment 177113 [details] Partian Screenshow with Show Whitespace turned off
(In reply to MarjaE from comment #2) > (In reply to Mike Kaganski from comment #1) > > (In reply to MarjaE from comment #0) > > > 1. The top and botten margins each take an inordinate amount of space, > > > making it hard to cross-check a list which goes over the edge. > > > > There's View->Show Whitespace menu (uncheck to not show top/bottom margins > > and headers/footers); > > It does nothing. You must select Single-page view for to hide the Whitespace.
Web View is supposed to show HTML content. We have plenty of features to adjust the UI: different types of UI, the mentioned continuous reading mode, the full screen mode... In the end, 22" is not giant. DIN A4 comes with 21 x 29.7 cm and you need this space for 100% (plus some pixels for the UI). The 22" are 17.6 x 13.6 in case of 4:3 or 19.2 x 10.8 for 16:9. Besides I struggle a bit with the actual request and the use case. If you want to get rid of the whitespace all tips have been given.
Single-Page View is hidden in the lower right corner and sometimes seems unresponsible. I had to select it 4 times before I could get LibreOffice to hide the whitespace. I don't see any other changes because I don't have the space. Although 22" looks and feels giant to me-- I can't focus on more than a small part of the monitor at a time. I suggest adding Single, Double, etc. Page View to the View Menu. Possibly listing Single Page Without Whitespace, to replace Hide Whitespace.
(In reply to MarjaE from comment #7) > I suggest adding Single, Double, etc. Page View to the View Menu. It's already there: View->Zoom->Zoom...; the dialog has the View Layout section with the Single Page radio button.
It's hidden in a separate dialogue when I try that. It keeps reverting. So I have to go into this hidden dialogue every time I open every Writer document. If there is an option under Preferences, I can't find it, because I can't enlarge the "perfectly readable" text in that interface to read it.
(In reply to MarjaE from comment #9) > It's hidden in a separate dialogue when I try that. You are telling puzzles. What's hidden where? Indeed, the menu 'View->Zoom->Zoom...' opens a dialog, as indicated in comment 8. Are you talking about that? > It keeps reverting. What keeps reverting, and at which moment? When you set the setting, and press OK? Or when you close a document and open another? (Which would be OK, since this option is saved per document, and when you have that setting already saved in a document to multi-page view, it must open that way.) > So I have to go into this hidden dialogue every time I open every Writer > document. This seems to confirm my idea that "it reverts" for other documents. > If there is an option under Preferences, I can't find it, because I can't > enlarge the "perfectly readable" text in that interface to read it. Which option you are talking about? We already discussed the option in the View menu. And what "I can't find it, because I can't enlarge the "perfectly readable" text in that interface to read it" might mean? Generally, you seem to fight with the interface, and try to find answers here; but this is not a user support resource - this is a bug tracking site, where issues need to be described clearly, with steps to reproduce, screenshots, problematic documents, etc. - not to help user to workaround or to learn, but to reproduce the issue, confirm it, and then hopefully fix.
1. I don't understand the logic of reverting Show Whitespace, View Layout, and Zoom every time people open a file. I think a persistent user preference would be appropriate. 2. I suggest either adding all the options to the View menu itself, or renaming "Zoom..." to "Zoom and View Layout." 3. I suggest adding the Show Whitespace option to that dialogue. 4. I suggest highlighting the current View Layout in the lower right corner, so people can see what layout they have, since depending on screen size and zoom, there may not be any other indication. 5. I suggest adding the Show Whitespace option there. 6. I don't know if this would cause anyone trouble, but I wonder if it would help if unchecking Show Whitespace automatically chanced the View Layout to Single.
(In reply to Mike Kaganski from comment #10) > (In reply to MarjaE from comment #9) > > It's hidden in a separate dialogue when I try that. > > You are telling puzzles. What's hidden where? The View Layout options are hidden in a separate dialogue in View > Zoom > Zoom... Why would a user expect to find them under Zoom, or under Zoom > Zoom...? > > > It keeps reverting. > > What keeps reverting, and at which moment? Each time I open the document, I find that all these settings have reverted. > > > So I have to go into this hidden dialogue every time I open every Writer > > document. > > This seems to confirm my idea that "it reverts" for other documents. > > > If there is an option under Preferences, I can't find it, because I can't > > enlarge the "perfectly readable" text in that interface to read it. > > Which option you are talking about? We already discussed the option in the > View menu. And what "I can't find it, because I can't enlarge the "perfectly > readable" text in that interface to read it" might mean? An option to set the View Layout, instead of having it always revert to Auto, and to turn off Show Whitespace, instead of havuing it always revert to on. > > Generally, you seem to fight with the interface, and try to find answers > here; but this is not a user support resource - this is a bug tracking site, > where issues need to be described clearly, with steps to reproduce, > screenshots, problematic documents, etc. - not to help user to workaround or > to learn, but to reproduce the issue, confirm it, and then hopefully fix. And this interface is a bug.
As for the preferences interface, that's bug 144075.
(In reply to MarjaE from comment #11) > 1. I don't understand the logic of reverting Show Whitespace, View Layout, > and Zoom every time people open a file. I think a persistent user preference > would be appropriate. This is per-document setting. So when you create a document, and set it to two-page view, and save it, this document will open two-page next time, both for you, and for other people. But other documents, having a different layout setting, will use their own setting. Thus, if you had created lots of documents in two-page layout, all they will have that setting individually. When used *normally*, this feature allows you to have some documents in book view, some in single page view, and that would be defined by your preference for them. You may have different kinds of documents, with multiple page sizes, orientations, some for reading/reference, some for day-to-day editing ... and using same layout for all is not OK. But of course, if the feature was used incorrectly - e.g., when you've set it without clear understanding, then created tens of documents, and now want all of them to look single-page, you might feel like "give me an option to undo my previous mistake for all at once". Still, that is not a use case that needs such an option - it's a user mistake. Note also, that if you created a template with such a setting, new documents created from that template will all have that setting applied. Hope that helps.
When I change the settings, LibreOffice doesn't note that the document has been edited. So it lacks an important clue that these are savable document-by-document settings instead of LibreOffice preferences. I still think some or all of the interface changes in comment 11 would make it easier to find and apply these settings.
(In reply to MarjaE from comment #11) > 2. I suggest ... renaming "Zoom..." to "Zoom and View Layout." Possibly that would make sense. > 3. I suggest adding the Show Whitespace option to that dialogue. I have no preference here. Heiko? > 4. I suggest highlighting the current View Layout in the lower right corner, > so people can see what layout they have, since depending on screen size and > zoom, there may not be any other indication. And maybe add a crystal ball to the program, to guess what should be highlighted for another user who needs another item highlighted? ;-) I strongly disagree, that we need to "highlight" UI elements (that BTW were put to *front*, available directly on the main window, instead of having user to look in some menu/dialog - so it *already* *is* highlighted), when someone had a feeling that they could find it easier if it was highlighted. Every user has own preference for "this could be highlighted" - so it would end up highlighting everything. > 5. I suggest adding the Show Whitespace option there. No. That is not a feature that most users need. It is explained in help, in guide, and is discoverable in the logical View menu. > 6. I don't know if this would cause anyone trouble, but I wonder if it would > help if unchecking Show Whitespace automatically chanced the View Layout to > Single. This is bug 98446. (In reply to MarjaE from comment #15) > When I change the settings, LibreOffice doesn't note that the document has > been edited. So it lacks an important clue that these are savable > document-by-document settings instead of LibreOffice preferences. Possibly; but OTOH, marking documents changed just because of changing its view is a bit too much. There's some balance here; I don't know if it would make more problems to most, than would solve problems to minority ...
> And maybe add a crystal ball to the program, to guess what should be highlighted for another user who needs another item highlighted? Maybe "Highlight" is too strong a word. But LibreOffice already shows 3 View Layout options in the corner. If I open a new document, and click one layout, and then click another, and then click back, I don't see any indication of the current View Layout. Why not show which one it is? This would make it easier for users to figure out if they're in Single, Double, or Auto, and figure out whether LibreOffice has detected their choice.
(In reply to MarjaE from comment #17) > But LibreOffice already shows 3 View > Layout options in the corner. If I open a new document, and click one > layout, and then click another, and then click back, I don't see any > indication of the current View Layout. Why not show which one it is? Do you say that you do not see the current layout being shown in a different color in the status bar? The attachment 174749 [details] from your bug 144075 shows the two-page layout in blue, while the two other options are in black. The current layout *is* highlighted.
Having the whitespace option persistent was requested in bug 142450 - and the patch is IMO ready for submission. Guess this will also resolve your problem. *** This bug has been marked as a duplicate of bug 142450 ***
I forked the indistinguishability of the View Layout options to bug 146579, since my initial bug report here was mistaken, and so each issue can be considered on its own.