Wishlist for version 2.6

[cvc]

1. Most urgent: 1 (indexing), 16, 27
2. Second choice: 2, 3, 4
3. Third choice: 14, 15, page break before paragraph

Additional choice: full and transparent documentation of Mellel xml format; some sample stylesheets for transformations would be even better.

Charles

[katjan]

thx for the encyclopaedic wishlist.

The most urgent an absolutly indispensable feature ist 19.
There must be compatibility with the standardsetting wordformats. Not just the possibility to open rtfs but full compatibility, including features as the annotationthing. Otherwise this little paradiseisland will be awashed, because there is no serious writing without communication.

bst rgrds ktjn

[soliphint]

I've asked about this over on the other Mellel forum - and this is minor, but seems to be extremely useful - I'd like the Redlers to give us the option of what color is used to highlight words in a search. Currently, the highlight is the same color as the background I use. Orange or something would be nice, since it's the Apple default.

[Platonist]

1. Most urgent: 3, 19, 20
2. Second Choice: 7, 1, 15
3. Third Choice: 28, 30

I would like to also throw another item into the mix: a freshened interface. As of 2.5, one has the option of Aqua or 'Brushed Metal' -- neither of which match the rest of Leopard's interface. Granted, this is a minor issue, but as someone who has to stare at their word processor for hours each day the aesthetic aspects of interface do mean something....

[Sascha Erni]

One more vote for number 19, WORD compatibility. That’s the one thing that made me switch to Nisus Writer Pro for short-stories and review work from editors. Otherwise, Mellel all the way.

Cheers,
-Sascha

[Hans-Reinhard Koch]

Dear All, Thanks for voting. I have made some interim statistics and I am going to post them so that you know where we stand.
I have given 3 points to "most urgent", 2 points for "second choice", and 1 point for "third choice". Extra wishes were also given 3 points.
We had 33 voters. I ordered the features of the wish list according to points given. These are our interim results:

1. Indexing : 52 points
15. Improved image handling (text float around images, etc.) : 37 points
7. Better footnote handling : 29 points
19. Improved WORD integration : 26 points
8. Better endnote handling : 22 points
4. Undo after saving : 21 points
14. Improved Table implementation : 21 points
11. Improved style variations (variable number of style variations) : 18 points
17. Start chapter on odd page & suppress header/footer on empty last page : 18 points
27. Quicklook integration : 16 points
3. Two-page View, side by side : 15 points
6. Landscape and portrait oriented pages : 15 points
10. Side notes (marginalia), with notes anchored to text : 15 points
12. OpenType (large and) small caps, & sub- and superscripts : 15 points
5. Improved language options: spellchecking, hyphenation and quotes : 14 points
2. Split window or open two windows of same document : 11 points
9. Better column handling : 11 points
16. Line numbering; paragraph numbering : 11 points
40. Change tracking OR svn compatibility - versioning : 9 points
21. Clickable hyperlinks in PDF output : 7 points
25. True live-updating of referenceswith Bookends. : 7 points
36. Multiple bibliographies in one document : 7 points
13. Fuller implementation of Opentype features : 6 points
22. Improved numbered lists : 6 points
41. GUI needs major change; a little bit "Mac-like." : 6 points
20. Improved DevonTHINK integration : 5 points
23. TextEdit-like font handling : 5 points
28. Grammar-checking options : 5 points
29. Resizable dialogue boxes : 5 points
24. Font menu with font names written in actual font : 4 points
44. watermarks for printouts : 4 points
33. automatic updates : 3 points
34. "Replace Styles..." with Auto-Titles : 3 points
35. Auto-Titles and Footnotes as elements : 3 points
42. automatic link between style sets and auto-title setups : 3 points
37. Comments! Compatible with Word : 3 points
38. multiple file documents (master doc with various "parts") : 3 points
39. Conditional text : 3 points
42. A more extended version of "Ignore Diacritics" : 3 points
43. Borders (and drop shadows?) around text blocks : 3 points
45: Mellel integration with BibDesk : 3 points
43. More than one secondary font : 3 points
44. scripting and/or macros : 3 points
45. Selectable highlight colors : 3 points
31. center justified : 2 points
32. ability to enter vertical texts : 2 points
18. Different Symbols for space and direction-breaking space : 2 points
26. True live-updating of TOC : 1 point
30. Suppress paragraph spacing below at bottom of page : 1 point

Continue voting
Regards
Hans-Reinhard

[TomEck]

My votes:

Most urgent:

7. Better footnote handling
19. Improved WORD integration
1. Indexing

Second choice:

5. Improved language options: spellchecking, hyphenation and quotes
25. True live-updating of referenceswith Bookends and Sente
4. Undo after saving

Third choice:

28. Grammar-checking options
35. Auto-Titles and Footnotes as elements
23. TextEdit-like font handling

[TomEck]

41. GUI needs major change; a little bit "Mac-like." : 6 points

NOTE: This effects the aqua themes of the whole system! You will lose the brush metal theme! Read the instructions before using the theme at your own risk!


If you are working with OS X.5 (leopard) and if you are interested to brush up the (Mellel) aqua theme a little bit check:

http://macthemes2.net/forum/viewtopic.p ... 87#p271487:

The result looks like this:

New-Mellel-Look.gif

NOTE: This effects the aqua themes of the whole system! You will lose the brush metal theme! Read the instructions before using the theme at your own risk!

[DanZac]

Dear All, Thanks for voting. I have made some interim statistics and I am going to post them so that you know where we stand.
Regards
Hans-Reinhard

Only because It is on my "urgent" list, I recounted a bit regarding 25. True live updating of references with Bookends & Sente

The count for it is actually at 11.

[Ori Redler]

A very interesting list. Updating what Hans-Reinhard Koch counted (just one voter update) it seems that there are several "stars" on the list. Our implementation order may not follow this fully.

One thing that may change our ranking is, quite simply, standards. QuickLook will be part of the next update anyway. Apple upped the ante here, and all there is to say is that perhaps we'll try to up the ante on our end, making QuickLook something more than a 'quick' peep.

The high ranking of indexing and image handling is not at all surprising. With the next major release, we'll attend to at least one of them.

The need for improved undo mechanism, better styles (I consider 17 and 18 one thing, really) and better tables is not surprising either. Here, too, improvements, sometimes major, are planned for the very near future.

More surprising, at least to me, is the requirement for improved footnotes and endnotes (which, combined, would have made this a contender for first place in the list). That's food for thought and perhaps for changing our implementation order.

Last, but perhaps important for understanding how things will unfold -- though many of the options are separate and independent from a user's point of view, many of them are combined from a programming point of view. For example, flowing text around images will almost surely entail watermark images and different size pages in one document and a host of other options.

[digimarkus]

better styles (I consider 17 and 18 one thing, really)

Ori, Did you mean to say "I consider 11 and 12 one thing, really" in connection to better styles, or am I just reading your intent incorrectly?

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)

or

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

Thanks for the clarification!

[jbq]

1. Most urgent: 10, 14
2. Second choice: 4, 9, 1
3. Third choice: 2, 3
Improvement: page margins handling as part of page styles (!)
JBQ

[dmgoldman]

Just registered on the forum, a few weeks after purchasing Mellel, to add my 2¢.

Exactly 2¢: I give equal and urgent priority to just two requests: #4, undo after saving, and #19, better WORD integration.

I haven't seen it after looking quickly over the previous comments, but being able to work with others using WORD's comments and revision-tracking features would be good. Wonderful. Scream-worthy.

Overall, I'm really loving the software. Especially the outlining and the reference handling/integration with Bookends.

Thanks—and keep up the good work!
David

[moineau]

For French users :

Integration of non-breaking spaces.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Non-breaking_space

This is even more important than indexing.

[TomEck]

For French users :

Integration of non-breaking spaces.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Non-breaking_space

This is even more important than indexing.

Even if it seems--after my experience in another thread--that you don't like that I show you solutions for your problems it might be helpful for other French users to know: -> Insert -> Special characters -> Space -> No-break space (and more) or just Alt+Shift-Space