PDF preview in .mellel package

Feature requests, and in-depth discussions of features and the way Mellel works

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Would you be interested in a preview.pdf file being included in the .mellel package

Yes
15
75%
No
5
25%
 
Total votes: 20

kjmatthews
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PDF preview in .mellel package

Post by kjmatthews »

This feature request has more to do with convenient interoperability with DEVONthink than with Mellel as such. As you may know, the most recent betas of DT utilize QuickLook to show "previews" of Mellel files. DT is also capable of turning these "previews" into text that the user can copy/paste, though the text version loses all of its structural formatting, doesn't display page variables, and displays textual citations in their expanded forms. The most unfortunate limitation, though, is the inability of DT to highlight search strings in Mellel documents; it is limited to merely listing them as files in which search strings appear somewhere.

I was recently given to understand that if DT spots a preview.pdf or preview.html file in the .mellel package (or any other file package), it will display those files rather than opting for the QuickLook preview. This would solve all of the limitations I've listed above, most importantly the last one.

So my question: Would it be possible & practical for the Redlers to include a preview.pdf in a future iteration of the .mellel package? As I'm also curious to know how many people would be interested in such a development, I have included the above poll.
rpcameron
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Re: PDF preview in .mellel package

Post by rpcameron »

It may make sense to make it an option. However, but making it the default behavior, users working on large texts would have great delays when saving documents, since the save process would be extended by whatever length of time your machine takes to export a Mellel file to PDF. This process of exporting to PDF, then inserting that exported PDF into its bundle as preview.pdf, can be quite lengthy.
— Robert Cameron
Mart°n
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Re: PDF preview in .mellel package

Post by Mart°n »

I also would like to see this as an option because of the same reasons rpcameron already mentioned. Maybe the PDF generation could be moved to a background thread (so it doesn’t block your interface) or the pdf will only be generated if you actually close a document or perform a save as… operation. So it’s there when you need it but it won’t be generated every time you hit comand+s. Maybe an invisible Mellel watchdog process could watch for saved Mellel files and genereate the PDFs completely invisible for the user in a background process so it doesn’t interrupt your work at all.
Just a few thoughts.
rpcameron
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Re: PDF preview in .mellel package

Post by rpcameron »

Mart°n wrote:Maybe an invisible Mellel watchdog process could watch for saved Mellel files and genereate the PDFs completely invisible for the user in a background process so it doesn’t interrupt your work at all.
Something that only re-rendered the changed pages and replaced those in the PDF. Of course, this type of PDF work happening the background at the behest of Mellel would indicate some better PDF support within Mellel itself. I propose this as a feature addition only after Mellel has improved its PDF export, such as TOC and link support. The overhead by using a third-party PDF solution (as is the current situation) I feel is too great to make this smooth at present.

The first step should be improved PDF features. Then we can hope for PDF preview within Mellel files (since this is such a niche feature, but improved PDF export would be welcomed by all). Of course, while we're hoping for new save-related features, perhaps storing the undo database for a document within its bundle will happen as well, that way we don't lose undo across saves.
— Robert Cameron
Simon
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Re: PDF preview in .mellel package

Post by Simon »

I'd like to bring this thread to the attention of the Redlers again… I'm with kjmatthews in needing a much better integration of mellel documents with DEVONthink, via a pdf preview bundled in each document's package. (I suspect this may be of benefit to other file managers as well?)
An implementation of the "Include preview in document" option as found in the iWork apps' save dialogues would be ideal in making this option a per-file preference.
DanZac
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Re: PDF preview in .mellel package

Post by DanZac »

Simon wrote:I'd like to bring this thread to the attention of the Redlers again… I'm with kjmatthews in needing a much better integration of mellel documents with DEVONthink, via a pdf preview bundled in each document's package. (I suspect this may be of benefit to other file managers as well?)
An implementation of the "Include preview in document" option as found in the iWork apps' save dialogues would be ideal in making this option a per-file preference.
I need to add my hearty support for this suggestion. Better integration with DEVONthink is always tops in my priority list.
laup
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Re: PDF preview in .mellel package

Post by laup »

Yes. As I read the exchange I become aware of annoyances in using DT with Mellel that I didn't understand.
Paul
wtmonroe
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Re: PDF preview in .mellel package

Post by wtmonroe »

I just began using Mellel and DEVONthink for my academic writing. I'd really love to see this feature implemented.
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