[scribus-dev] state of the art of table, from a tester pov

[JLuc]

Hello

Following previous year GSOC, tables have been refactored into 1.5svn.

This mail is a global "how it is now" report from a tester point of view.

Some of it has to be considered as a bug description, some other part might be considered as an incent to improve how 
things work, and some other parts might be used so as to start a documentation.

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Change size of column or arrow :
- insert carret inside one of the cells in edit mode (double click)
- bring mouse over one of the lines inside or border outside (except left or top borders) of the table: it changes into 
a double arrow. Then : click and drag enables to move that border or line and change width or height of that cell / column

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Cell selection :
is uncommon and takes some time to understand.
- insert carret into one of the cell in edit mode (double click)
- bring mouse over external LEFT border or TOP border of the table : it changes into an single arrow
- click and gently drag : all cells betwen insert carret and the line where you have clicked get selected.
- go on moving the mouse : the selection changes according to mouse position. It is thus possible to select any 
rectangular group of cells, including single cells.
However this behaviour is uncommon. Expected = usual behaviour would have been to select the whole arrow / column when 
singleclicking.

Another way to select a set of cells is :
- go out of edit mode and select the table frame, or place the edit carret in one of the cells you dont want to select
- double-click-and-drag until you select the desired set of cells

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Table & frame adjust

- adjusting the table is possible without changing the frame. It is thus possible to make the table smaller or wider 
than the frame (if wider it is partly hiden). So the User Experience is that both frame and table size are independant.
- BUT changing the frame automatically resizes the table to fit the new frame size, even if the table previous size was 
very different to the frame's size.
This contradicts the user's previous experience of having tables and frames independant sizes.

I suggest that this 2nd behavious should be changed to either :
- frame size changes do not change table size
or :
- frame size changes do change table size ONLY IF table size is full frame size.
or :
- This behavious could maybe be altered using a new option in the style of a table (and thus in the edit style window 
AND in the PP or context menu), with a checkbox for : "allways adjust frame to table and table to frame"


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Table split :

i could merge 2 cells but could never have the "split cells" option active in the context menu (its allways greyed).
(even on a previously merged cell).

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Action on a set of selected cells

Once a set of cells is selected it is possible through the PP to change the width and color of the borders of the cell 
and to change the fill color
BUT
- only the first (top left) cell is affected (the other selected cells dont change at all)
- when selecting another cell, it seems the PP doesnt allways update its display as for the cell style

- it seems that : when the shape of the frame has been changed into something not rectangle, the lines that are totally 
outside the shape of the frame are displayed when coloured (but not the parts outside frame of lines that are only 
partly inside frame).

- i understood that each cell can define its borders. since an inside line has 2 bording cells, it can be defined in 2 
different ways. When conflicting, it is the widest border definition that wins and totally overwrite the other.

- the cursor keeps being an insert carret when moved to the PP. that is troubling.

I posted this too in http://bugs.scribus.net/view.php?id=10784

JLuc