Wanted: Background image while typing

[davidcochran]

This is for ease on the eyes, pure enjoyment, for us who spend hours writing.

I wonder, if it would not be too difficult, to add the ability to select for the screen a background *image* (not just a color) -- much like OS X lets you do for the Desktop or a Finder window.

I spend hours typing, and I crave some visual stimulation …

What I have in mind is a simplified version of what I have done with my homepage --
http://cochranspages.com/

-- not necessarily the ability to have an image on top of an image (though that'd be fun!) -- just the main background image for the entire document --nothing fancy, just a large image, capable of covering the entire screen, and it remains fixed in the background, so the text scrolls across and the image remains static -- again, just like the Desktop or a Finder Winder.

The CSS I used:

body {
background: url('http://cochranspages.com/images/bg1.jpg') 0px 0px no-repeat fixed;
}

I would love to be able to shop for my image on free stock photo sites, then select the image from within Mellel as the new background image.

If Mellel could do this, it would ROCK.

Would it be difficult to add this feature?

[dstay]

The solid colour is a good thing, having background pictures will turn Mellel into the MySpace of word porcessors....
I wouldn't have to use it, but I really don't see it adding anything good to the experience.

[signinstranger]

I don't need visual stimulation when I'm typing, but this could be useful for watermarks too...

[Mart°n]

It only could be used for watermarks, if this background is a printable one. As far as I understood the request, it should be a non-printable background similar to the current non printable background color.
I don’t see any need for this feature, as I think a background picture causes more distraction that inspiration but that may be limited to me. If one needs inspiration, maybe a photo of something or someone beautiful beside the computer display could help.

[rpcameron]

It only could be used for watermarks, if this background is a printable one. As far as I understood the request, it should be a non-printable background similar to the current non printable background color.
I don’t see any need for this feature, as I think a background picture causes more distraction that inspiration but that may be limited to me. If one needs inspiration, maybe a photo of something or someone beautiful beside the computer display could help.

No, I completely agree with you and the second poster : Mellel ought not include this to save itself from becoming the "MySpace of word processors".

[nicka]

Agreed. But watermarks -- ie printable background images -- would be useful.

[Stephen Still]

I think fears about this proposal turning Mellel into the Myspace of word processors are overblown - the kind of people who would produce a document with a garish background image as the final output are not exactly the kinds of users you're likely to be proud of anyway. They probably set their document in Comic Sans, for example. But giving people the choice doesn't immediately lead to bad taste.

I've got to say though - a background image strikes me as being shocking ergonomics for on screen typing. I don't know about the OP, but it would give me instant eye strain.

[davidcochran]

Before you judge the idea ...

Please see this example of the kind of image I'm talking about --

http://cochranspages.com/images/bg-image.jpg

Not a garish image. A nice, pleasing, non-distracting image. In this case, I made it a background image to the page master in Apple's Pages app, since Pages allows background images.

I could choose blue. But any color of plain blue is non-natural, and it is ugly to look at for hours at a time. As is white, or the color of your choice.

By contrast, choose the right portion of a nice, non-garish photograph, and you've got natural and pleasing variations and textures. It's a big difference.

For the record, I hate myspace, and I promise not to use Mellel for any such purposes.

P.S. -- My desire to have the image fixed isn't really that big of an issue. It'd be nice, but if it were merely the abiliity to put a background image in the page style template for every page of a document, that would work ... So I'd vote for the ability to include watermark images, especially if I could then use it for this purpose I have in mind, too.

P.P.S. -- By the way, I don't intend to use the background image for printing. I intend to write with the pleasing background image, and then change the style-set for sharing and printing. That doesn't really matter to you. Just to clarify my intent.

[Timotheus]

In my opinion, this is typically a feature Mellel should not include. It reminds me of the letter templates Apple has decided to include in the Leopard version of Mail. A move in a completely wrong direction.