Wishlist for version 2.6

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

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Hans-Reinhard Koch
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Wishlist for version 2.6

Post by Hans-Reinhard Koch »

Now with version 2.5 out and a beautiful solution for the most burning problem of the past, Xrefs, I have taken the liberty to re-read „wishlist 2008“ (http://forum.redlers.com/viewtopic.php?f=1&t=1449) and other feature requests on the forum, that have not yet made it into Mellel. I hope I have not overlooked a feature that one or some of you may think absolutely indispensible. This is indeed a gigantic list, it feels like the kind of wish list that we wrote for Christmas when kids, and obviously Santa Claus never fulfilled all our exaggerated whishes.

Let the Redlers have their well deserved holiday after 2.5. When they return, it would be nice, if they could figure out a ranking of what we think most urgent for the next version (v 2.6).

As it is not possible to have more then ten options in a forum poll and I identified 31 wishes in the forum, I did not create a poll. Instead, 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:
    2. Second choice:
    3. Third choice:
Please do not enter more then 3, at most 4, items for each category. And if you think I have omitted your most essential wish, add no more then one additional feature/improvement wish of your own. Dont‘t forget there will be another Christmas 2009 and keep some less urgent wishes for version 2.7 or 3. As an example, you will find my own preferences in the following post of this thread.

Your posts will give the Redlers a better understanding, what their users‘ most needed priorities are.

And here is the feature/improvement list:
  • 1. Indexing (The most tricky feature of them all to implement, I believe; you may want to re-read: http://forum.redlers.com/viewtopic.php?f=2&t=665)
    2. Split window or open two windows to display two areas of the same document at the same time, especially helpful now with X-referencing, when you can see reference and target without scrolling
    3. Two-page View, side by side
    4. Undo after saving
    5. Improved language options: spellchecking, hyphenation and quotes as part of a character style, style variation (my preference) or language style (see also http://forum.redlers.com/viewtopic.php?f=2&t=790)
    6. Landscape and portrait oriented pages (or more generally different page set-ups) in the same Document
    7. Better footnote handling (e.g. multi-column footnotes under a one-column text; footnotes either at the bottom of column or bottom of page in multi-column pages; footnotes at end of page and not at end of section. (Matthias wrote: Right now, when combining several columns text with one column text, footnotes are not put at the end of the page but at the end of the respective section. This can result in footnotes being put in the middle of a page)
    8. Better endnote handling: e.g. endnotes not necessarily at very end of text, but at specified place (like it was achieved with References, so that one can place e.g. References, TOCs, etc. after the end notes. As is, you cannot put auto-titles after the end notes); Option for endnotes at the end of chapters, sections or page ranges
    9. Better column handling: variable width columns, vertical alignment of paragraph beginnings in adjacent columns; text flow in columns across page borders (important e.g. for side by side multilingual texts; see also http://forum.redlers.com/viewtopic.php?f=2&t=1544)
    10. Column for side notes (marginalia), with notes anchored to text in an adjacent column
    11. Improved style variations (not a fixed number of 8 style variations but a variable number of style variations within each character style)
    12. OpenType (large and) small caps, as well as sub- and superscripts (This could, in my opinion, be easily handled with style variations and appropriate Opentype fonts; but then we do not have enough style variations, see item 11 above)
    13. Fuller implementation of Opentype features
    14. Improved Table implementation (see e.g. herouth and Mart°n on: http://forum.redlers.com/viewtopic.php?t=712 and Reiner at: http://forum.redlers.com/viewtopic.php?f=2&t=773): Table styles; an option to save and insert preformatted tables, vertical text orientation in table cells; navigation with arrow keys (e.g. „ctrl-arrow“ takes you to an adjacent cell, which will allow you to go also to the cells above and below), better control of width and height; an "equalize row heigth" button in the palette; better „keep with …“ options; option to or not to split cells over page borders; use of auto-titles in tables; alternating backgrounds in rows)
    15. Improved image handling (text float around images, TeX-like anchoring of images to text (see DylanMuir: http://forum.redlers.com/viewtopic.php?f=2&t=1020)
    16. Line numbering; paragraph numbering
    17. Start chapter (or page range) on odd page and an option to suppress header/footer on an empty last even page of chapter or range
    18. Invisible characters: different Symbols for space and direction-breaking space, so that you can see if you have really inserted a direction breaking space before choosing a different-direction script (for explanantion see: http://forum.redlers.com/viewtopic.php?f=2&t=1629)
    19. Improved WORD integration: Conversion to and from MS WORD (.rtf/.doc/.docx), import/export of style definitions and names
    20. Improved DevonTHINK integration
    21. Clickable hyperlinks in PDF output (which would probably mean goodbye to using Apple‘s pdf export in the print dialog and write Mellel‘s own pdf export)
    22. Improvement to numbered lists, namely, the ability to put list numbers of different levels on the same line
    23. Fonts in the way TextEdit presents them, and as they are in FontBook (see raymond at: http://forum.redlers.com/viewtopic.php?f=2&t=896)
    24. Alternatively: Font menu with font names written in their actual font and not with system font
    25. True live-updating of WYSIWYG references when using Bookends.
    26. True live-updating of tables of content
    27. Quicklook integration
    28. Grammar-checking options
    29. Resizable dialogue boxes (especially the Find Set one)
    30. Paragraph style option: Suppress paragraph spacing at bottom of page (see: http://forum.redlers.com/viewtopic.php?f=2&t=993)
    31. Text alignment option: center justified (for explanation see: http://forum.redlers.com/viewtopic.php?f=2&t=1630)
Thankyou Ori, Eyal and all the other Redlers people for 2.5. Long live Mellel!
Regards, Hans-Reinhard
Last edited by Hans-Reinhard Koch on Wed Jun 11, 2008 3:18 am, edited 3 times in total.
Hans-Reinhard Koch, Bonn, Germany
Hans-Reinhard Koch
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Re: Wishlist for version 2.6

Post by Hans-Reinhard Koch »

And here are my own preferences:
Most urgent: 1, 11, 15
Second choice: 7, 8, 14, 31
Third choice: 2, 5, 24
Additional Feature request: None
Hans-Reinhard
Hans-Reinhard Koch, Bonn, Germany
jannuss
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Re: Wishlist for version 2.6

Post by jannuss »

My own preferences:
Most urgent: 9, 10, 33 (below)
Second choice: 14, 27, 32 (below)
Third choice: 6, 23, 24
Additional Feature request:
32. ability to enter vertical texts in table [this was discussed in the past, but I don't remember when and where]
33. automatic updates http://forum.redlers.com/viewtopic.php?f=2&t=1501

Janet
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Re: Wishlist for version 2.6

Post by signinstranger »

Most urgent: 1, 4, 12-13*, 29
Second choice: 14, 16, 17
Third choice: 2, 7, 11, 3
Additional Feature request:
34. "Replace Styles..." with Auto-Titles
35. Auto-Titles and Footnotes as elements in the Find dialogue (probably technically related to No. 34)

*I hope this means proper handling of small caps (as seen in Adobe software).
simifilm
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Re: Wishlist for version 2.6

Post by simifilm »

Maybe this is overed under 17, but what I miss most is "page break before paragraph".

And something I really want:

36. Multiple bibliographies in one document. This could be done either on Mellel's side or on the side of the reference manager, but the idea is that you can define that a specific citation belongs to a specific bibliography which would, for example, allow to distinguish between primary and a secondary sources.
Hendrix
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Re: Wishlist for version 2.6

Post by Hendrix »

1. Most urgent: 6, 10, 14, 17
2. Second choice: 5, 7-8, 19, 22
3. Third choice: 20, 25, 26
Manuel Aguilar Hendrickson
Departament de Treball social i serveis socials
Universitat de Barcelona
08035 Barcelona (Spain)
manuel.aguilar.hendrickson@ub.edu
ozean
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Re: Wishlist for version 2.6

Post by ozean »

Most urgent: 1, 15, 12
very urgent: 4, 17, 21
pretty urgent: 10+19 (best in conjunction!), 16

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.
Ori Redler
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Re: Wishlist for version 2.6

Post by Ori Redler »

Hans-Reinhard Koch wrote:Now with version 2.5 out and a beautiful solution for the most burning problem of the past, Xrefs, I have taken the liberty to re-read „wishlist 2008“ (http://forum.redlers.com/viewtopic.php?f=1&t=1449) and other feature requests on the forum, that have not yet made it into Mellel. I hope I have not overlooked a feature that one or some of you may think absolutely indispensible. This is indeed a gigantic list, it feels like the kind of wish list that we wrote for Christmas when kids, and obviously Santa Claus never fulfilled all our exaggerated whishes....
And no mention of flowing text around images (or have I missed this?)
Ori Redler from RedleX
ozean
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Re: Wishlist for version 2.6

Post by ozean »

Ori Redler wrote:And no mention of flowing text around images (or have I missed this?)
you have ;) no. 15
Alex Merz
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Re: Wishlist for version 2.6

Post by Alex Merz »

Highest priority: multiple tabbed windows!

Second highest: flow text around images.
digimarkus
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Re: Wishlist for version 2.6

Post by digimarkus »

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).

Little touches:
37. ICON Update - Clean up the application logo (simply remove the "II" on the typewriter, just like the icon used in this forum above).
41 [was 38]. GUI Update - At the minimum, implement a unified Leopard look (simply remove the "Brushed Metal" chrome elements [i.e. on the palettes] so it fits the look of other leopard apps).
Last edited by digimarkus on Fri Jun 20, 2008 3:23 pm, edited 2 times in total.
macsailor
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Re: Wishlist for version 2.6

Post by macsailor »

1. Most urgent: 4, 5, 15,
2. Second choice: 6, 8, 17,
3. Third choice: 24, 25, 27
macsailor
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Re: Wishlist for version 2.6

Post by macsailor »

simifilm wrote:36. Multiple bibliographies in one document. This could be done either on Mellel's side or on the side of the reference manager, but the idea is that you can define that a specific citation belongs to a specific bibliography which would, for example, allow to distinguish between primary and a secondary sources.

Second this one. This is partly doable with Bookend by using the Biblio - Subject Bibliography menu, but it requires that you enter your references within Bookend in a certain way. You have to plan in advance how and what keyword you should apply to each one of your references. For example if you want to just use the primary sources, you have to enter the keyword "primary" beforehand to all the sources that should be regarded as primary sources. It works quite well, I have used it this way and can confirm that it works, but I would prefer to be able to do it in a more easy way than it is now. But it's doable already with the combo Mellel - Bookend.
Peter Edwardsson
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mikejt
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Re: Wishlist for version 2.6

Post by mikejt »

Gosh, I love the new cross-references ... hopefully the follow-ons will be as elegantly done!

1. Most urgent: 14 (better tables - see below), 15 (better image handling - see below), 19 (improved Word compatibility)
2. Second choice: 1 (indexing), 6 (page orientation/page setup styles within a doc), 16 (line numbering)
3. Third choice: 7 (better footnotes), 9/10 (better columns, particularly marginalia), 22 (better list numbering), 23/24 (better typeface integration with other Mac OS X apps)

On tables -- cell merge/split should follow the Framemaker style (NOT the Word style), i.e., the column/row boundaries are preserved after a merge, move boundary, split process so that boundaries stay consistent (a split does NOT split a cell evenly ... it just restores the appropriate column/row boundary so that everything lines up nicely)

On tables, marginalia, images ... this can be done by defining a frame that can have *any* content that can be placed either by position within a page OR relative to some text. The frame could be top/bottom, left/center/right within page/column, above/below paragraph, in-line. Normal kinds of text flow around/"over"/"under".

Finally, one additional feature: Comments! Compatible with Word.

Oops, one more feature: multiple file documents (master doc that points to files with various "parts") ... this will help a lot with multi-authored docs. All parts would have the same styles as the master doc, probably with the ability to override. FrameMaker does this, but clumsily ....
Matteo
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Re: Wishlist for version 2.6

Post by Matteo »

1. Most urgent: 1, 11, 17
2. Second choice: 4, 8, 15
3. Third choice: 3, 6, 27

Love the new cross reference feature. That leaves me one less thing to worry about each time I prepare to submit a paper.
Matt
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