Re: more feedback on 0.90alpha
As promised, I've done a braindump [1] to the Wiki on the topic. If anyone wants to take it from here, please do. I'll help where I can but as I said, I can't allocate a lot of time for that right now. [1] http://wiki.apache.org/xmlgraphics-fop/AutoTableLayout On 08.12.2005 17:50:54 Jeremias Maerki wrote: > Thanks a lot, Craeg. Maybe I should take some time during the weekend > and write down my ideas on auto table layout on the Wiki [1]. Maybe with > such an initial spark someone might finally sit down and take it on. I > can imagine the layout engine might look daunting at first. With a few > notes this might not look so scary anymore. > > BTW, you can add and change pages in the Wiki, too. You just have to > register. It's a great tool when users want to help users, i.e. if > someone would write down his tricks on working around the missing auto > table layout. When there's some good and stable content on the Wiki, we > can even take that over into the main FOP website. > > [1] wiki.apache.org/xmlgraphics-fop/ > > On 08.12.2005 17:32:34 Craeg Strong wrote: > > Hello: > > > > Here is some more feedback from a long time FOP user. > > > > I am ABSOLUTELY THRILLED by the new release. > > I have used it to create a number of PDF documents from Docbook/XML sources > > and the results are excellent!Thanks a million for this. > > > > While I don't agree that lack of automated table layout is a deal breaker, > > I do agree that it is probably the *most* *important* feature yet to be > > implemented, > > especially for new users. > > > > Since the auto table layout handling is based on the rules for CSS (and > > says so in the spec), > > it seems a shame there isn't a reusable library somewhere for this. > > > > Since lack of auto-table layout is a FAQ, (or FEC frequently expressed > > complaint?) > > it might be a good idea to post some XSLT workarounds.For example, > > you might > > simply divide the available space by the number of columns, or you might > > somehow > > grab the longest string, multiply times the m-width, and use that, or... > > > > Obviously it gets very complicated, which is why it isn't implemented > > yet :-) but I suspect > > several people like myself have written various workarounds in XSLT > > which could be > > posted on a wiki page or in a FAQ somewhere. Just a thought... > > > > Regards, > > > > --Craeg > > > > Jeremias Maerki Jeremias Maerki
Re: more feedback on 0.90alpha
On 08.12.2005 17:49:49 Jess Holle wrote: > Does FOP 0.90 do good text wrapping in table cells? It should. The code is the same as everywhere else. Jeremias Maerki
Re: more feedback on 0.90alpha
Thanks a lot, Craeg. Maybe I should take some time during the weekend and write down my ideas on auto table layout on the Wiki [1]. Maybe with such an initial spark someone might finally sit down and take it on. I can imagine the layout engine might look daunting at first. With a few notes this might not look so scary anymore. BTW, you can add and change pages in the Wiki, too. You just have to register. It's a great tool when users want to help users, i.e. if someone would write down his tricks on working around the missing auto table layout. When there's some good and stable content on the Wiki, we can even take that over into the main FOP website. [1] wiki.apache.org/xmlgraphics-fop/ On 08.12.2005 17:32:34 Craeg Strong wrote: > Hello: > > Here is some more feedback from a long time FOP user. > > I am ABSOLUTELY THRILLED by the new release. > I have used it to create a number of PDF documents from Docbook/XML sources > and the results are excellent!Thanks a million for this. > > While I don't agree that lack of automated table layout is a deal breaker, > I do agree that it is probably the *most* *important* feature yet to be > implemented, > especially for new users. > > Since the auto table layout handling is based on the rules for CSS (and > says so in the spec), > it seems a shame there isn't a reusable library somewhere for this. > > Since lack of auto-table layout is a FAQ, (or FEC frequently expressed > complaint?) > it might be a good idea to post some XSLT workarounds.For example, > you might > simply divide the available space by the number of columns, or you might > somehow > grab the longest string, multiply times the m-width, and use that, or... > > Obviously it gets very complicated, which is why it isn't implemented > yet :-) but I suspect > several people like myself have written various workarounds in XSLT > which could be > posted on a wiki page or in a FAQ somewhere. Just a thought... > > Regards, > > --Craeg Jeremias Maerki
Re: more feedback on 0.90alpha
Craeg Strong wrote: Hello: Here is some more feedback from a long time FOP user. I am ABSOLUTELY THRILLED by the new release. I have used it to create a number of PDF documents from Docbook/XML sources and the results are excellent!Thanks a million for this. While I don't agree that lack of automated table layout is a deal breaker, I do agree that it is probably the *most* *important* feature yet to be implemented, especially for new users. Since the auto table layout handling is based on the rules for CSS (and says so in the spec), it seems a shame there isn't a reusable library somewhere for this. Since lack of auto-table layout is a FAQ, (or FEC frequently expressed complaint?) it might be a good idea to post some XSLT workarounds.For example, you might simply divide the available space by the number of columns, or you might somehow grab the longest string, multiply times the m-width, and use that, or... I currently divide the available space by the number of columns. Does FOP 0.90 do good text wrapping in table cells? I think that there may have been issues with this in 0.20.5 as well that combined to make this problematic. Either that or it was just the fact that when you have 6 or 7 columns and one contains long textual strings (e.g. part numbers) without spaces, you quickly run into layout issues without an automatic table layout engine. Obviously it gets very complicated, which is why it isn't implemented yet :-) but I suspect several people like myself have written various workarounds in XSLT which could be posted on a wiki page or in a FAQ somewhere. Just a thought... I haven't had the time or energy to do anything more elaborate than generate equal table column widths. -- Jess Holle