Line numbering can be placed either on the left or right side of the text area. However - there is no possibility of choosing how to _align_ the line numbers relative to each other. Currently, if we place the numbers on the left - they are right-aligned; and if we place them on the right - they are left-aligned. Many (most?) users would like right-side line numbers to still be left-aligned, but cannot achieve this (see also bug 152552); while some like the current arrangement. It should not be difficult to add an alignment selection to the Line Numbering dialog; and we should have at least Left and Right. (But see also bug 152549; it may make sense to offer Start and End respecting the page direction.)
Regina, does ODF support setting an alignment for line numbering numbers? I don't see it as part of the configuration; it could be in a paragraph style, but I don't understand whether the text:style-name attribute for line numbering can refer to a paragraph style or not. Or maybe I'm misunderstanding the whole thing...
Line numbering is controlled by the element <text:linenumbering-configuration> (16.31.1, ODF 1.3). Line numbers do not have a fixed width, so alignment within a certain width is not possible. Alignment relative to other line number occurrences is not supported in ODF. I see the same way of aligning line numbers as implemented in LibreOffice in Word, TextMaker and Google Docs. I don't think it's worth the effort to extend the implementation in LibreOffice and the standard to allow additional ways of aligning the numbers.
(In reply to Eyal Rozenberg from comment #0) > Many (most?) users would like right-side line numbers to still > be left-aligned, but cannot achieve this (see also bug 152552) Do you have proof for this? As a LTR person I would never want to left-align numbers on the left side, and thought it was the same for RTL yet mirrored. > It should not be difficult to add an alignment selection... Each control complicates the application. (In reply to Regina Henschel from comment #2) > I don't think it's worth the effort to extend the implementation... +1
(In reply to Eyal Rozenberg from comment #0) > ...(see also bug 152552) Forgot to mention: This is your own bug report with a few basic questions only but no agreement to the use case. So essentially this new ticket is a duplicate.
We discussed the topic in the design meeting. Although line numbers do not have a fixed width, which contradicts an alignment, any relative dependency to other line numbers is not supported in ODF, and the same way of aligning is known from other apps, the majority of participants believe this addition would be beneficial for users.
A few more words following the design meeting: 1. A bit more on motivation: Think about Hebrew numbering for example. After 10, we start using a second letter for the tens. So, א ב ג ד ה ו ז ח ט י יא (LibreOffice doesn't support the use of apostrophes as part of the number, so I didn't include them.) Now, as this comment is rendered LTR and left-aligned, you'll see what happens when the numbers are left-aligned. That is typically not desirable in Hebrew, whether you're on the right or the left side of a page. But - if the line numbering is on the right, that is exactly what we get. This becomes even more obvious when you add the apostrophes: א' ב' ג' ד' ה' ו' ז' ח' ט' י' י"א (I've used RLMs to force the apostrophes to appear as they would with RTL direction and Left alignment) 2. About defining the edge of the area for line numbers: * A silly option is the edge of the page; we don't want that. * A second option is introducing a margin for line numbers, relative to the edge of the page * We could define a width relative to the text area for line numbers * And finally, we could take the longest line number in the document, and use its point of horizontal reach as the edge.