[scribus] unlinking text frames not always responding - solved

Sat May 13 09:37:10 UTC 2017

Le 12/05/2017 à 12:01, ZASKE Martin a écrit :
 > Dear Craig and helpful list members:
 > mea culpa!! all my fault, apologies, read excuses below...

I reckon UI for unlinking is uncommon and not discovery-friendly.
One can try and err long before understanding.

When UI doesnt change, IMO some stronger 'state' or 'status' feedback would improve UX.

JL
> Craig, I had never known about insert "just frame" so I did not
> understand your first response, I did look even, but only seeing insert
> text-frame; my bad.
>
> When you kindly insisted on your solution in your second response, I had
> another look and finally found insert "frame" - and I like it. Thank you
> for pointing this out to a user who is too busy and too thick to
> discover useful new tools by himself.
>
>
>
> It gets even worse: I did my tests on "your" text-frames and was muchly
> frustrated that even with this "new species of text-frames" my unlinking
> would still be erratic: same worked, some did not.
>
> I made several test documents. Test-series-of-linked-text-frames.
> Studied the XML in my editor. Created a manual work-around involving
> NEXTITEM="-1" and wasted a lot of time. Almost got ready to file a bug
> report.
>
>
>
> Then I finally "read the effing manual". I am using Scribus for many
> years and have used Corel Draw for even more years and sadly I had
> (wrongly) assumed that I could un-link two text-frames from each other
> whenever the need would present itself (rarely). How wrong I was... :
>
> In Scribus I fist need to select a text frame; otherwise the
> unlink-button is not even available. Fine; I did that all the time.
>
> Then I need to click the button. Fine. But nothing happens (sometimes)
> except that (supposedly the link-chain-arrows become visible (but they
> are ALWAYS visible in my defaults so this never gave me any clues that
> there is more to come...)).
>
> Then I am supposed to click the text frame UNDERNEATH the desired break.
> (This step I had always missed. So of course, imagine that I believed
> having already unlinked by my click on the icon, I normally would
> continue my work. And by selecting just any text-frame for my next job,
> would then unknowingly unlink that one...)
>
>
> ---
>
> So now having finally read the instructions I have to grovel and confirm
> that Scribus is not broken: indeed it properly unlinks any text-frame
> from its feeding-frame when the magic sequence is properly respected.
>
> ---
>
> Then my mind invented a rant about the stupid GUI needing first a
> useless selection of any text frame, then a click on a tool-icon, then
> another click on the frame to be severed from its umbilical-arrow.
>
> (I had always assumed this: select the text you want to drop its
> dependant and then click the unlink-icon.)
>
>
> I had never actively noticed that there are two sets of Scribus-tools:
>
> Series A: Select the tool first and then "do-the-action"
>
> examples: make a selection (arrow), make a text-frame (text-frame-tool),
> make a fancy new name for any colour in my document (eye dropper)
>
>
> Series B: Select any item in your document and then "do-the-action" by
> clicking the tool afterwards
>
> examples: make a cut (as in cut&paste), make a text-property-choice
> (like centred or pick a font), copy item properties
>
>
>
> For unlinking I have a mix of both sets A and B:
>
> First select the story (chain of text-frames) then activate the tool
> (click on unlink-icon) and then "do the unlink".
>
>
>
>
> I am not complaining; I am relieved that I have found the solution for
> rather erratic Scribus behaviour in the last few days.
>
>
>
> I repeat: I am sorry; my bad; Scribus is awesome; grovel grovel grovel;
> read the manual before you trouble the e-mail-list-members; apologies.
>
>
> So far for today, greetings and thanks, please forgive,
>
> Martin
>
>
>
>
>
>
>
>
>
>
> On 09.05.2017 09:54, Craig Bradney wrote:
>> Hi
>>
>>
>>> On 8 May 2017, at 10:23, ZASKE Martin <zm at revue-gugu.org> wrote:
>>>
>>>> On 05.05.2017 23:49, Craig Bradney wrote:
>>>> I think for me, the biggest issue her his the use of automatic text
>>>> frames. I know there will be code that does not deal with automatic
>>>> text frames that well. My suggestion would be to just create your
>>>> pages, then use Insert->Frame and select the right options.
>>>>
>>>> thanks Craig
>>>
>>> Hello Craig,
>>>
>>> thank you for picking up on my observation.
>>>
>>> Now I am worried: Are you saying that "automatic text frames" (as
>>> created via New Document dialogue-window) are
>>> different from text frames which I manually create via
>>>
>>>> menu > insert > Text Frame
>>> or via
>>>> Text Frame icon plus mouse-drag
>>>
>>> ?
>>
>> Yes there are some very basic differences but some behaviour around unlinking and relinking might be different.
>>
>>>
>>> Maybe I am making wrong assumptions? Why would certain code "not deal
>>> well" with automatic text-frames, unless they are different from
>>> "normal" text-frames?
>>>
>>>
>>>
>>> Anyway, if I wanted to use your suggestion, it would mean creating a
>>> blank document with 300 empty pages. And then selecting each page and
>>> then inserting a text frame by some clicks and then a mouse drag (with
>>> snap to guides) within the guides.
>>>
>>> And then linking some 294 pages manually by selecting each text,
>>> clicking the link-icon and then clicking the text-frame on the next page.
>>>
>>> This feels like a job which I would not even want to dump on an intern.
>>> It is bound to lead to clicking errors and then to miss-sized
>>> text-frames and to errors in the link-chain. (That would be my human
>>> errors, not Scribus errors of course.)
>>
>> I'm not sure about guide limitation however please check the function I mentioned above. It allows you to insert frames over a range of pages, linking them etc and sizing them within page or margin boundaries. Check it out. It's fast.
>>
>>>  If we
>>> are having such very helpful features in Scribus like creating
>>> multi-page blank documents with ready prepared and linked text-frames
>>> then we should all help to make or keep those as bugs-free as possible.
>>
>> Actually I prefer to get rid of automatic text frame function but it could still be updated. No plans to yet.
>>
>> The frame insert code I wrote more than likely does what you need.
>>
>> Craig
>>
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