[Libreoffice-ux-advise] How to provide horizontal rule paragraph separators

[V Stuart Foote]

Cedric,

Yes but although -- Apply Border -- from the Tools --> Auto Correct Options
panel, is enabled  by default and functions to set a bottom edge border with
direct paragraph formatting, there is no corresponding fixed style that can
be applied (or modified for each triplet). Meaning the user can't control
what bottom edge style gets applied with the respective triplet.

So in writer, while completing a paragraph, the immediate entry of a triplet
of: - (dash),   _  (underscore),   =  (equal),  *  (asterisk)  ,  ~  (tilde)
or  #  (hash)  each will apply direct formatting creating a bottom edge
border for the paragraph. 

But aside from no control over what style for the border is applied,  even
the autocorrect/autoformat it is a little wonky,  for example if using three
dashes, auto replace disrupts it after the second replacing with an em dash 
(so you have to ctl-Z to clear).   And with Default paragraph style (a
current master 4.2.0.0alpha+)  the three equals places a double line style
that is so thin it appears as a single line.

In any case the triplet autoformat does apply and the active paragraph style
is updated with the hard-coded equivalent line style (I believe using just a
position from the default numerical list of line style).

However,  if you look at the resulting direct formatting from Format -->
Paragraph --> Borders panel (or alt-o+a) for each autoformat, the border
"Line arrangement" is always in the "User-defined" area,  showing the bottom
edge selected, while "Line" --> "Style" drop down and "Width" and "Color"
have all been associated with the direct styling action. So again no user
control over the style applied with the triplet.

The same "User-defined" bottom edge is  also present when applying the
default "Horizontal Line" paragraph format style, from the Styles and
Formatting panel ( <F11>). And while it or any of the default paragraph
styles could be modified to include an edit to the Border tab--creating a
bottom edge paragraph separator using the border--there is no way to
establish a paragraph separator using something else--e..g text, svg object,
or an image.

In other words, the only thing that has been available to function as a
paragraph separator since the 4.0 release has been the bottom edge paragraph
border, using either direct formatting or modifying and using a paragraph
style. Something more is needed, and we still have the issue of backward
compatibility with documents that were prepared with "Horizontal ruler"
images inserted from gallery that break because the images were dropped.

Stuart 



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