Wishlist for version 2.6

[fastmiso]

Thanks a lot for this, Hans-Reinhard.

My (apparently eccentric) preferences are:

Most urgent: *39 (Conditional text), *40 (Change tracking OR svn compat), 3 (Two-page View, side by side)
Second choice: 4 (Undo after saving), *17 (Start chapter...), 1 (Indexing)
Third choice: 7 (Better footnote handling), 14 (Improved Table implementation), 16 (Line numbering)

Additional Feature request:

*39 (or so). Conditional text. See http://forum.redlers.com/viewtopic.php?f=2&t=1572 and http://forum.redlers.com/viewtopic.php? ... 9188#p9188 and http://forum.redlers.com/viewtopic.php?f=2&t=923&p=5255. I see this (given Mellel-esque highlighting) as a viable (inline) alternative to “10. Column for side notes (marginalia)” and one with more broader implications.

*40 (or so). Change tracking OR svn compatibility. See http://forum.redlers.com/viewtopic.php?f=2&t=901 on the handling of .svn files, in context of request for a poor impl of this feature. SVN of course requires ‘tidy’ and even that has problem of granularity of paragraphs in XML rep, etc. I have avoided the .svn file problem with git, but there’s no nice Versions.app-like viewer that I feel like using with git.

Notes:

*17. To add to the description a bit: Framemaker had/has great options for getting a good look for the first page of a new chapter.

Thanks again.

[DanZac]

Most urgent:
15. Improved image handling (text float around images [and tables] and anchoring of images [and tables] to text)
12. OpenType (large and) small caps, as well as sub- and superscripts
11. Improved style system (the Mellel concept of styles aside, the style system in general could be a bit more flexible [i.e. more style variations] and more intuitive to work with [i.e. visual feedback in the set-up UI])

Very urgent:
4. Undo after saving
25. True live-updating of WYSIWYG references when using Bookends (And also Sente).
2. Split window or open two windows to display two areas of the same document at the same time

Pretty urgent:
27. Quicklook integration
19. Improved WORD integration: Conversion to and from MS WORD (.rtf/.doc/.docx), import/export of style definitions and names
36. Multiple bibliographies in one document (or a least the ability to specific the placement with a placeholder tag).

Digimarkus and I agree in all of this, and it is good he added "Sente" with the live-updating of references.

Just one note to make regarding the "master list". Number 20 (DEVONthink integration) will not need to be worked on, assuming I am understanding DEVONthink's forum correctly. DEVONthink 2.0 (coming in the next few months) will utilize spotlight importers AND quicklook for viewing files. This means that when Mellel adds quicklook integration, we will have DEVONThink 2.0 integration.

[JimmyMonkey]

Most urgent: 15

[verma]

I suggest you answer by a post in this thread, entering the item numbers of the feature requests below in three catagories in the following way:

• 1. Most urgent: nrs. 7-9, 11, 16
  2. Second choice: 1, 5, 6, 22
  3. Third choice: 19, 21, 27, 30

And if the Redler code wizards could design Mellel to continue writing my texts while I'm having a day off, that would be nice too.

[aechallu]

Here's my ranking in the three groups:

19: export/import RTF styles
4/40: undo/versioning
41(my addition): GUI revision, I think current GUI needs major change (menu structure, palettes, make look more similar to rest of OS, improved full screen)
---
14: table styles
27: quicklook
--
21: clickable PDF
25: live biblio references
11+: revise style system

I wish 2.6 is the sort of snow leopard of Mellel: work more on refinements and improvements than in adding new features. I think GUI, import/export, undo, PDF, tables and biblio should be the priorities.

[bluesdance]

I would add that the program could stand to become a little bit "Mac-like." For example, command-= should increase the text size rather than the zoom level.

[Marco]

1. Most urgent: 1, 5, 12
2. Second choice: 7, 9, 11
3. Third choice: 19, 20, 27

Marco

[fastmiso]

41(my addition): GUI revision, I think current GUI needs major change (menu structure, palettes, make look more similar to rest of OS, improved full screen)

I don't care about appearance so much [1], would much rather functional changes, but I haven't seen mentioned the bit about full-screen improvement, which I would partly second. Specifically (and really solely), I wish there were foreground-text/background color options (as in Scrivener or WriteRoom, for example). I reach for sunglasses when I work in Mellel's full screen with the white background. (Of course, there will be less white when two-pages-side-by-side is impl'd!) Again, within the full screen request, I only care about the fg/bg colors; I'd probably consider Scrivener's full-screen mode too feature-laden, even if its menu does hide.

[1] Though, yes, the non-matching palette header bars always catch my eye.

[jannuss]

I reach for sunglasses when I work in Mellel's full screen with the white background.

There is an entire section of the Mellel Guide that deals with this issue. It's on pages 38-40 on my copy [I'm not sure I have the most up-to-date version].

Janet

[bluesdance]

OK I have something even more esoteric to add to the wishlist:
A more extended version of "Ignore Diacritics" in the find box that would recognize certain letter variants like ḥ as the letter h. Not sure how this would be implemented.

[signinstranger]

That already works for ḥ and h

[moineau]

Most urgent : 1.
Second choice : 19.
Third choice : 6, 16.

Something that is not mentioned : a tutorial "switching from Word to Mellel" à la "The Missing Manual : switching to the Mac".

[verma]

Something that is not mentioned : a tutorial "switching from Word to Mellel" à la "The Missing Manual : switching to the Mac".

I'd suggest that item on the list should be made by the users of Mellel, not by the makers of Mellel.
And Don's tutorial (http://www.redlers.com/download/tips/me ... inners.pdf) is actually a wonderful guide to start with.

[Hendrix]

I'd suggest that item on the list should be made by the users of Mellel, not by the makers of Mellel.
And Don's tutorial (http://www.redlers.com/download/tips/me ... inners.pdf) is actually a wonderful guide to start with.

What about setting up a wiki so we could do it collaboratively?
Of course, some basic structure should be set up first.

[ozean]

Am I confused or did you feature list not include an automatic link between style sets and auto-title setups? If not, then this would actually be one of my “most urgent” requests.

Make this be No. 42

I have also remembered a (for my highly important and also oft-requested in this forum):

43. Borders (and drop shadows?) around text blocks. The workarounds using table cells (e.g. for headers) are really awkward. This is a feature that many switchers expect and that (from a user perspective) should be easily accessible. Maybe this can be implemented along with text-flow around images, as both seem to affect the definition of content blocks with certain characteristics…