Presently LO uses .79" (2cm) margins on all 4 sides in its default page style and i wonder if this topic was ever discussed. Here are the page margins used by other word processors. MS Word 2003: 1.25" (left and right), 1.00" (top and bottom) MS Word 2010: 1.00" (all sides) WordPerfect X7: 1.00" (all sides) WPS Writer: 1.25" (left and right), 1.00" (top and bottom) Calligra Words: 1.25" (left and right), 1.00" (top and bottom) Google Docs: 1.00" (all sides) Abiword: 1.00" (all sides)
iWork Pages: 0.79" (all sides)
(In reply to Jay Philips from comment #0) > Presently LO uses .79" (2cm) margins on all 4 sides in its default page > style and i wonder if this topic was ever discussed. Yes, in the past is was 2.54 cm IIRC. Changed on purpose.
(In reply to Cor Nouws from comment #2) > Yes, in the past is was 2.54 cm IIRC. Changed on purpose. When you say past, i'm assuming you mean OOo time, as its been the same since LO was created.
Can anyone identify where/why this change was discussed in the OOo days?
(In reply to Yousuf (Jay) Philips from comment #4) > Can anyone identify where/why this change was discussed in the OOo days? Use the metric system ? Best regards. JBF
(In reply to Cor Nouws from comment #2) > Yes, in the past is was 2.54 cm IIRC. Changed on purpose. I tested now with OOo 1.1.5, and it has the same 2cm as default.
@Heiko, @Stuart, @Regina, @Sophie: Do you guys have an opinion on this issue?
(In reply to Maxim Monastirsky from comment #6) > (In reply to Cor Nouws from comment #2) > > Yes, in the past is was 2.54 cm IIRC. Changed on purpose. > I tested now with OOo 1.1.5, and it has the same 2cm as default. So what I remembered was seen in a different word processor :) Apologies!
Bugs in OOo about changing the defaults were closed with the hint, that users can easily set their own default document template. You have to consider e.g. * If you will use a loose-leaf binder, you need a larger left margin. * If you will use a coil binding, you need a smaller left margin. * If you will follow any of the typographical rules (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Canons_of_page_construction) you will need different values on all four edges. * If you will give readers the optimal line width of 40-60 characters, it requires a much larger (right) margin. I think, this demonstrates, that there does not exist a "correct" margin. So 2cm is a neutral start value.
First idea: yes, second: but with caution, third: keep it. Additional to Regina's comment there is https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Margin_(typography), which states "By default, LaTeX uses 1.5 inches margin sizes for 12pt documents, 1.75 inches for 11pt, and 1.875 inches for 10pt". I like the idea of a more or less constant number of letters per line, and since we cannot know how the user formats his or her text we should go with a conservative setting. Of course, we could make the left margin smaller even in case of the default page style (not sure how it is defined for left and right pages) but that wouldn't solve the consistency question. -> WONTFIX
Hi, I agree with Heiko here, and I recall that during the discussion we already had, 2cm was the standard for legal letters in most countries. Sophie
(In reply to Regina Henschel from comment #9) > Bugs in OOo about changing the defaults were closed with the hint, that > users can easily set their own default document template. > > I think, this demonstrates, that there does not exist a "correct" margin. So > 2cm is a neutral start value. Yes there definitely isnt a "correct" margin that will suit everyones needs, just like there is no "correct" page size or font size that will suit everyones needs, but we are looking for a good default that is very common so most users dont have to change this default, especially novice users (e.g. benjamin) who wont know how to modify their default template. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/APA_style http://www.apastyle.org/learn/quick-guide-on-formatting.aspx APA style is a format for academic documents such as journal articles and books. ... Set uniform margins of at least 1 in. (2.54 cm) on the top, bottom, left, and right of every page. http://practicaltypography.com/page-margins.html https://www.reference.com/education/standard-margins-dd752171075eac9d Most word processors default to page margins of one inch. On standard 8.5"× 11" paper, that produces a line length of 6.5 inches. That’s fine for typewriter-style monospaced fonts, which use a lot of horizontal space. But for proportional fonts, one-inch margins are too small. ... At 12 point, left and right page margins of 1.5–2.0 inches will usually give you a comfortable line length. Maybe it would be useful to do a poll to see what margins users use in their documents, and whether their profession dictates these margins.
(In reply to Yousuf (Jay) Philips from comment #12) > Maybe it would be useful to do a poll to see what margins users use in their > documents, and whether their profession dictates these margins. Good idea
(In reply to Heiko Tietze from comment #13) > (In reply to Yousuf (Jay) Philips from comment #12) > > Maybe it would be useful to do a poll to see what margins users use in their > > documents, and whether their profession dictates these margins. > > Good idea then add some questions that make clear if they use the margins in 'blank' documents or from templates
For those that didnt already know, we ran a survey about this. https://design.blog.documentfoundation.org/2017/05/21/please-participate-survey-page-margins/
*** Bug 49529 has been marked as a duplicate of this bug. ***
From dupe bug 49529, very different issues when setting a single page (e.g. non-bound) electronic document compared to something intended to be edge bound. Frankly in modern use, most of the moveable type "cannons" [1] are nonsense, but can be implemented with document templates if needed/preferred for bound layouts. The "Double-Circle" single-page cannon [2] has merit for preparing new defaults based on locale. But as most publication styles (i.e. CSL) specify specific page size and corresponding margins for submission--our existing defaults--A4/2cm and Letter/.79in--are acceptable to vast majority of LO users. Others with more specialized needs should be preparing templates. =-ref-= [1] https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Canons_of_page_construction [2] https://eegg.wordpress.com/2010/01/25/page-margins-in-principle-and-practice
Since I wasn't in the survey, let me give an opinion. Current margins look OK for general use. Personally, for the sake of saving space or Mottainai, I use even smaller margins top and bottom but there's a memo template. Saying because who needs different will create template. Related to issue in Bug 33304. In this bug, I didn't see there will be change, so I can't see why it's still open. WFM.
Results are available at https://design.blog.documentfoundation.org/2017/09/26/default-margins-users-apply-libreoffice-writer/ In a nutshell, most users are happy with 2cm, some change it to smaller margins, the US people prefer inch (1"), and it would be a good solution to have templates for the few standards. Closing this ticket as WFM.