On Sun, Jan 24, 1999 at 01:10:35AM +0100, Lars Gullik Bjønnes wrote:
> *Larry S Marso writes:
> | Two practical suggestions for 1.0, with new users in mind.
> |
> | (i) We ought to at least offer new users a "template" for a
> | standard blank page which takes the liberty of setting margins of:
> |
> | 1in/1in/1in/1in -- top/bottom/left/right.
> |
> | I remember first using LyX (before Edit->Paper even existed) and
> | needing a *manual* to set these margins. Ouch.
>
> Why is a template like this needed?
> And why the "weird" margins?
This goes to the issue of introducing new users to LyX, and the oddity of
hitting them in the head too quickly with a brick.
Report, article and book all set defaults that reserve space for headers,
margin pars and footers, and pagestyle default creating headers based on
sectioning.
Brand new users should have a template available, call it "Blank, Auto
Features Off", to get new users the LyX feel --- setting headers, margin
pars and footers to zero, and pagestyle "empty", yielding true
1in/1in/1in/1in.
This would address a source of enormous confusion the first time around.
The standard "newfile" for a virgin installation confines text to
approximately 55% of the printed page. Leave these defaults alone, but
provide a template that let's users begin with familiar settings.
By the way, how does our Edit->Page work, when you set all margins to
1in? What happens to \marginparsep and \marginparwidth? Why are these
two variables omitted? Other than that, we have a pretty full variable
set. I have to custom set these two variables in most of my documents.
Thus, for me, the current Edit->Page menu is extremely confusing.
Because of these omissions, I never use it, setting the actual LaTeX
variables in Preambles. Why not an ExtOpt page, and adding in \hoffset
and voffset, \marginparset and \marginparwidth?
> | (ii) One of the very first questions new users ask is: how can I
> | indent a paragraph? This is another feature that shouldn't require
> | a manual. The current LyX interface is confusing and should be
> | changed.
>
> I am not sure if I agree: Why does the user need that feature? More
> ofthen that not (AFAIK) it is because of quoting etc. Then the proper
> layout should be used. And since LyX tries to use a logical structure
> use of hardcoded formatting should be a bit hard to get to.
No, no, no. It's used frequently in writing Memos and Letters. Remember,
paragraph #1 of our PR says something like "writing short memos and
letters is a snap".
Your argument presents no justification for making vertical spacing an easy
and intuitive change, verses horizontal indentation which is basically
impossible for new users to decipher. The current interface for is
counterintuitive, has no justification as conforming to LaTeX, and is
generally horrendus. It should be changed *pre* 1.0.
> | This feature is buried in Edit->Paragraph->ExtOpt.
> |
> | But we've mixed
> | Indentation with Minipage. In fact, if you click "Indentated
> | Paragraph", then you specify the indentation value in the "Width"
> | field, which makes no sense. Width of Minipage -- that makes sense.
> | "Width" of indentation? No one will guess that.
>
> | There *is* an Indent item, with a "No Indent" check box. Kind of
> | reminds me of M$'s "Start->Shutdown". In fact, this is a "don't
> | indent *first line* feature", and should be labeled thus.
Best regards
--
Larry S. Marso
[EMAIL PROTECTED]
