[Libreoffice-bugs] [Bug 143197] New: Writer: hidden link between list and chapter numbering

[bugzilla-daemon at bugs.documentfoundation.org]

https://bugs.documentfoundation.org/show_bug.cgi?id=143197

            Bug ID: 143197
           Summary: Writer: hidden link between list and chapter numbering
           Product: LibreOffice
           Version: 7.1.4.2 release
          Hardware: All
                OS: All
            Status: UNCONFIRMED
          Severity: minor
          Priority: medium
         Component: Writer
          Assignee: libreoffice-bugs at lists.freedesktop.org
          Reporter: page74010-sf at yahoo.fr

Created attachment 173363
  --> https://bugs.documentfoundation.org/attachment.cgi?id=173363&action=edit
TOC discrepancy caused by list numbering

While answering
https://ask.libreoffice.org/en/question/316962/two-methods-of-chapter-numbering/?comment=317018#post-id-317018,
Mike Kaganski and myself discovered an unsuspected "interference" between list
numbering and chapter numbering.

When you click on the "numbered list" drop-down menu and select any numbering,
the choice you make here not only results in numbering the current paragraph
but also modifies Tools>Chapter Numbering configuration if the current
paragraph is styled Heading n.

I understand this is a convenience for newbies not reading the Writer Guide and
not taking the time to study how styles work. Indeed, numbering is one of the
most complex feature in Writer because it involves two different style
categories, but this behaviour adds to the confusion.

Also, there is no one-to-one correspondence between list numbering and chapter
numbering.

Format>Bullets & Numbering, Customize tab

The "Number" menu offers Bullet, Graphics and Linked graphics items.

Tools>Chapter Numbering, Customize tab

The Bullet, Graphics and Linked graphics choices are impossible.

Many of the list configuration in the toolbar drop-down menu, including those
in the `Outline` tab, show layouts with bullets. These do not translate to
chapter numbering.

When you generate the TOC, this results in a discrepancy between the heading
and the TOC entry.

When users mix list and chapter numbering, this always results in unmanageable
mess because Writer gets confused about which numbering to apply. Here the
confusion is created by the Writer implementation itself.

Though I understand the rationale for offering the feature to newbies in order
to reduce the "access cost", I suggest to remove it because it causes difficult
to diagnose errors.

List and chapter numbering should be separate and have been kept so for long.
We here have a dubious feature which tries to mitigate the interaction by
modifying Chapter Numbering without make users aware of it.

If list numbering a heading was a mistake, already numbered headings are
modified. If chapter numbering was heavily customised, everything must be
reconfigured manually!

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