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List:       koffice-devel
Subject:    Re: Tables in KWord? (was: MS filters)
From:       Boudewijn Rempt <boud () valdyas ! org>
Date:       2008-03-17 8:12:49
Message-ID: Pine.LNX.4.64.0803170904180.30354 () calcifer ! valdyas ! org
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On Mon, 17 Mar 2008, Karl-Heinz Zimmer wrote:

> What is the priority of "Find a good way to have tables in KWord"?

I started a table shape earlier this year. For me, it's got some 
priority: I don't think I've ever seen a business document that 
doesn't have tables. The authors of the KWord 1.x table feature has
helped me a lot discussing things.

Right now, I'm stuck waiting for ODF text support to improve enough that
I can make a couple of decisions:

* Make it possible to have any shape as cell contents (so a text cell will
  be a text shape)?
* Use QTextTable as the basis for the table model, or not (I'm veering towards the latter)
* Integrate the table shape as an embedded object in a text shape's QTextDocument by:
    * using a Unicode text object (QChar::ObjectReplacementCharacter)
    * a QTextObject derived class (QTextTable is a QTextObject already)
* Make it possible for cells to have different widths in differnt rows (MS Word supports that,
  ODF doesn't)
* Implement multi-page tables as linked shapes or as one multi-page shape (I think the former,
  as that's what ordinary running text seems to do).

My plan of attack was to first make loading and saving loss-free: i.e, a complete roundtrip,
and only then worry about display, and after display worry about editing. The big problem with
1.6 tables was that they were hard to edit because of the way every cell was a frame and that
multi-page tables were very badly supported, so that's what I keep in mind when working
on this.

> Probably this needs brain work of two or three people discussing,
> and of course most of us have very few time left (if at all) so
> what is the future of tables' design?
> Is discussion going on, input or contribution wanted/needed?

Inge was going to help with the implementation of loading/saving, and I sure could use help
with implementing display/editing. First we need to arrive at a clear idea of the answers
to the problems I enumerated above. And, of course, I'd be quite happy to delegate lots
of work to other people, I'm pretty well loaded up on work already.

Boudewijn

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