[Libreoffice-ux-advise] [Bug 106681] Feature Request: Ability to assign character styles to toolbar buttons...

[bugzilla-daemon at bugs.documentfoundation.org]

https://bugs.documentfoundation.org/show_bug.cgi?id=106681

--- Comment #28 from vermontpoet at gmail.com ---
Hi Jay, thanks for your detailed response. Makes much more sense. My thoughts:

//but these buttons wouldnt be toggle buttons//

Neither are the menu selections in the side-pane. For now, buttons would simply
provide quicker and easier access. The realization that I can apply shortcut
keys to character styles greatly alleviates the need for toolbar buttons. That
said, a basic Ebook toolbar (even if not functionally equivalent to direct
formatting -- and maybe it shouldn't be --see below) would be a first-rate
first step---a signal that LO recognizes (without sounding too condescending)
the 21rst century and the requirements of professional writers (who are not
apparently, named Benjamin).

//What is possible today is to add some basic paragraph and character styles as
clickable buttons to the formatting toolbar//

Yes and no. The icons don't work in Linux. And where does one find custom
character styles? 

//When i mentioned the seamless experience above, it was focused on the easy
ability with direct formatting to mix formatting attributes together//

Excellent observation and one that didn't occur to me. However, this at first
glance would seem to defeat the purpose of character styles or, to put it
another way, mixing format attributes is little more than a GUI for the
creation of *new* character styles. If a user were to add italics to a bold
character style then, presumably, he or she would be asked if she wanted to
create a new character style (for example). It's not clear why such a feature
would be necessary or desirable however... 

What this suggests to me is that, eventually, the professional writer and
Benjamin are going to have to part ways. Maybe in the next decade we'll get a
WYSIWIG paragraph and character-style based wordprocessor (or sort of WYSIWIG
Lyx) that uses soft-formatting rather than hard-formatting as its primary
formatting. Maybe a fork of LO? LO seems to be throwing in its lot with
Benjamin. Is Benjamin a baby-boomer per-chance?

//If there is interest in making this styles-focused formatting toolbar, i'd be
up to brainstorming its creation with those interested in it.//

Any input I could offer would be conceptual. I'm not a coder (not since BASIC
and PASCAL).

//It would be great if LibreOffice had a style-only mode, where all applied
direct formatting was turned into styles, iWork works in this way i believe.//

Yes it would be--but maybe that's going to have to be a fork since LO is wedded
to Benjamin. It would also be great if LO's search and replace weren't broken.
One could easily replace direct formatting with soft formatting. LO really
ought to fix this basic functionality before doing diddly-squat-else IMHO. As
it is, I just paid 49 dollars to upgrade to Softmaker 2016. The Search &
Replace feature works beautifully. I converted all my direct formatting to soft
formatting. Done. Lovely.

I'm sure Benjamin is a nice guy. Don't mean to be too snarky. Send him my
regards.

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