Print Ranges

Specification Status
Author	Regina Henschel
Last Change
Status (Help)	Preliminary

Abstract

Describes details for the sub-item Print Ranges… in the menu Format and the corresponding field in the status bar in Calc.

References

Reference Document	Check	Location (URL)
Prerequisites	[passed/failed]	n/a
Product Requirement, RFE, Issue ID (required)	[available/not available]	<PLEASE ENTER LOCATION HERE>
Accessibility Check (required)		See accessibility section for check list
Test case specification (required)	[available/not available]	<PLEASE ENTER LOCATION HERE>
IDL Specification	[available/not available]	<PLEASE ENTER LOCATION HERE>
Software Specification Rules	n/a	n/a
OASIS OpenDocument Specification v1.1		http://www.oasis-open.org/specs/#opendocumentv1.1

Contacts

Role	Name	E-Mail Address
Developer	<First Name, Last Name>	<User@openoffice.org>
Quality Assurance	<First Name, Last Name>	<User@openoffice.org>
Documentation	<First Name, Last Name>	<User@openoffice.org>
User Experience	<First Name, Last Name>	<User@openoffice.org>

Acronyms and Abbreviations

Acronym / Abbreviation	Definition
<WYSIWYG>	<What You See Is What You Get>

Detailed Specification

Motivation

The OpenDocument specification defines the attributes table:print and table:print-ranges, which need an appropriate UI in Calc.

Three settings are possible

table:print=”false”

The worksheet is not printed.

table:print=”true” and no print ranges defined

The smallest rectangle cell range is printed, that contains all used cells.

table:print=”true” and print ranges are defined.

The print ranges are printed.

These attributes are not visible to the user, but used in the file format.

The current UI has a lot of short comings:

The current item Print Range does not only lead to defining and altering print ranges, but it contains managing of repeat column and repeat row too. The user has no hint, that this settings are inside the edit dialog of print ranges and do not find them. Therefore they should be moved away and get an own dialog.
The edit dialog of print ranges shows the list of ranges in one long line. The user cannot see the ranges all at once and editing is inconvenient. If the user wants to remove or alter a range, he has to move horizontally in the input field.
The user cannot set the variant table:print=”true” and no print ranges defined in the first level of the current sub-menu, but has to open the edit dialog.
The user cannot remove one single print range with the item Remove, but has to open the edit dialog.
The user does not know, which setting is used, when he removes all print ranges. It should be the setting table:print=”true” and no print ranges defined but today it is the setting table:print=”false”.
The value entire sheet is misleading, because not the entire worksheet is printed, but only the area of the used cells.
The user has no information about the current setting unless he opens the edit dialog.

Format > Print Ranges

The item Print Ranges opens a sub-menu. It contains

No Print
Automatic
User-defined…
--------------
Define
Add
Remove

No Print: Sets table:print=”false”. The worksheet is not printed. If any print ranges exist, they are not deleted but only disabled. They can be reused via dialog. Clicking this item effects all selected worksheets.

Automatic: Sets table:print=”true”. If any print ranges exist, they are deleted. The list has then the only entry - Automatic -. The smallest rectangle cell range is printed, that contains all used cells. Clicking this item effects all selected worksheets.

User-defined…: Opens a dialog to manage print ranges.

Define: Sets the current selection as print ranges. If the worksheet has print ranges defined before, they are deleted. If the worksheet was set to No Print the attribute table:print is set to true automatically. Clicking this item effects all selected worksheets.

Add: Adds the current selection to the list of print ranges. If the worksheet was set to No Print the current selection becomes the first items in the list and the attribute table:print is set to true automatically. Clicking this item effects all selected worksheets.

Remove: If a print range exists, that contains all currently selected cells or—if nothing is selected—the currently active cell, then this print range is deleted. If no print range meets the condition nothing is done. If the only print range is deleted, the print range list is set to - Automatic -. Clicking this item effects all selected worksheets.

Status bar

The status bar shows the current state of print ranges. The field has the possible entries No Print / Automatic / User.

Double-Click on the field opens the dialog to manage print ranges.

Dialog to manage print ranges

Main purpose of the dialog is to control the print ranges and correct errors directly.

Title

Manage Print Ranges

List of print ranges

If no print ranges are defined but the worksheet is set to print, then the list contains the item - Automatic -. If the worksheet is set to No Print the list is disabled, but contains the previous defined ranges if any exist and is empty otherwise.

The list allows multiple selection via Shift and Ctrl, but no direct editing. The cell ranges or cells are shown one below the other.

Drop down list of worksheets

The list allows only single selection. The currently via tab selected worksheets are emphasized in bold. The active worksheet is preselected.

Multi selection is senseless, because the worksheets might have different ranges and different print state. So a list of print ranges would not be possible and the print enable button would have an undefined state. The user can set a couple of worksheets to No Print or Automatic in the menu, no need to do it here.

Combo-list of ranges

The list shows all named print ranges, each with name and cell range. It allows one additional entry. The default for this entry is - type or select -. The user can overwrite this entry directly or via selection. If the user has selected a cell range before he opens the dialog, this selection is preentered. The user can minimize the dialog and select a range on the worksheet. This selection is shown in the input line when he maximizes the dialog. Instead of a cell range also a single cell and multiple cell ranges are possible. Multiple cell ranges are shown as list with ; as delimiter.

The cell ranges are entered without worksheet name and are always connected to the selected worksheet, even if the range was selected on a different worksheet or the print range name was defined with a different worksheet.

The list is disabled when the selected sheet is set to No Print.

Buttons

The Buttons Add/Remove/Modify are disabled, if the worksheet is set to No Print.

Add: The content in the input field is added to the print range list of the selected worksheet. The change is immediately visible in the list. If the input line contains a list, the list items are shown one below the other. If the input line contains the default item - type or select - nothing is done.

Modify: If more than one entry is selected the Modify button is disabled. The selected item in the list is replaced with the content of the input field. If the input line contains a list, the list items are shown one below the other. If the input line contains the default item - type or select - nothing is done.

Remove: The items, which are selected in the list, are removed from the selected worksheet. The change is immediately visible in the list. If the user removes all print ranges the item - Automatic - is entered in the list.

There is no button Remove all because the list allows multiple selection via Shift and Ctrl.

Close: The dialog is closed. If a new entry in the input line is not applied yet, it is lost.

The entry is not applied automatically when closing, because the user might have called the dialog only for controlling. Otherwise the current selection would be entered as print range which was then not intended.

Enable/Disable Printing: If the worksheet is set to No Print the button label is Enable Printing. If the worksheet is set to print then the label is Disable Printing. Clicking the button toggles the state.

When printing is enabled via this button, the range list and the input line is enabled. If the range list has been empty, it gets the entry - Automatic -. If the worksheet is set to No Print the range list and the input line are disabled, but nothing is erased. This enabling and disabling behavior allows to temporarily exclude a worksheet from printing without loosing the print ranges.

Help: Calls the help page of the dialog.

Help | User Interface Element Templates | Example Spec

Accessibility

Accessibility is the responsibility of the I-Team, beginning with UX, DEV and QA, to ensure that the following requirements are fulfilled:

Is the feature fully keyboard accessible?
(Ex: "I can go everywhere and use every function using the keyboard only"
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Are text alternatives for all icons and graphics available?
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Don't provide important information in colors alone
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Does the specified feature respect system settings for font, size, and color for all windows and user interface elements?
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Have I ensured that flash rates do not exceed 2 hertz for blinking text, objects, or other elements? In any case, try to avoid flashing UI elements
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Ensure that assistive technology (AT) (like ZoomText or Orca) is able to read everything.
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QUESTIONS?

If you need help while designing, implementing or testing the accessibility of the UI, ask/visit:

The accessibility check list at the OpenOffice.org Wiki
accessibility@ui.openoffice.org (The accessibility mailing lists, preferred)
For specific implementation details, architecture: mt@openoffice.org (Malte Timmermann)
For specific UX and testing questions: es@openoffice.org (Éric Savary)

Migration

Configuration

Help | Configuration Table Template

File Format

<START TYPING HERE --- If this part is irrelevant state a reason for its absence.> Help

Help | File Format Table Template

Open Issues

User:Regina/MYDrafts2