https://bugs.documentfoundation.org/show_bug.cgi?id=156109
Bug ID: 156109
Summary: Mutual exclusion of split-preventing options in Text
Flow is confusing.
Product: LibreOffice
Version: 7.5.4.2 release
Hardware: All
OS: All
Status: UNCONFIRMED
Severity: enhancement
Priority: medium
Component: Writer
Assignee: [email protected]
Reporter: [email protected]
In bug #89714, the comments discussed some improvements to the UI.
The UI is confusing. When you create a new Style or try to edit an existing
one, the Widow and Orphan controls are checked, which causes the "Do not split
paragraph" to be grayed out. Users not paying attention to the semantics of the
Widow and Orphan controls (or who just don't understand the metaphor and are
simply looking to protect the paragraph from breaking) cannot instantly figure
out why that checkbox is disabled.
Since there are mutual exlusions in the UI, it should use radio buttons. To
apply radio buttons to complex mutual exlusions, we must identify the
situations that are exclusive, rather than specific flags:
The situations that are exclusive is that we have three ways of controlling
paragraph splitting: (1) None, (2) Do not split and (2) Widow + Orphan settings
with parameters. Thus:
Split prevention:
(*) None
( ) Do not split
( ) [ ] Widow Control [ ] Lines
[ ] Orphan Control [ ] Lines
Nothing is confusingly disabled in the UI. You can activate the radio button at
any time. If you select None or Do not split, the checkboxes for Widow and
Orphan will clear. If you select the third radio button, the behavior might
be that the checkboxes get checked. You then clear the one you don't want. If
you clear them both, then the radio button jumps to None. The user should
never see an invalid combination like None or Do Not Split, together with the
Widow/Orphan boxes being checked.
Another possibility: don't show the Widow/Orphan checks and list boxes unless
the radio is on the third choice:
Split prevention:
(*) None
( ) Do not split
( ) Limited split
Then:
Split prevention:
( ) None
( ) Do not split
(*) Limited split:
[X] Minimum "Widow" [2 ] Lines
[X] Minimum "Orphan" [2 ] Lines
If you uncheck the two, radio goes to None, and the Orphan/Widow controls
disappear.
Orphan and Widow are some kind of typesetting jargon whose metaphor not
everyone might understand:
(*) Limited split:
[X] Minimum top to keep together: [2 ] Lines
[X] Minimum bottom to keep together: [2 ] Lines
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