[Bug 162200] "Text direction" in page style dialog, with Asian+RTL-CTL, is inconsistent, confusing, and doesn't always set the actual direction

[bugzilla-daemon at bugs.documentfoundation.org]

https://bugs.documentfoundation.org/show_bug.cgi?id=162200

Eyal Rozenberg <eyalroz1 at gmx.com> changed:

           What    |Removed                     |Added
----------------------------------------------------------------------------
            Summary|"Text direction" in page    |"Text direction" in page
                   |style dialog, with both     |style dialog, with
                   |Asian and RTL-CTL, is       |Asian+RTL-CTL, is
                   |inconsistent and confusing  |inconsistent, confusing,
                   |                            |and doesn't always set the
                   |                            |actual direction

--- Comment #3 from Eyal Rozenberg <eyalroz1 at gmx.com> ---
(In reply to Heiko Tietze from comment #1)
> While I can easily read and understand the options,

I believe you cannot - because, with respect - you misunderstand them:

> I understand it as
> Text Direction: ( ) Left-to-right (o) Right-to-left
>                 (o) Horizontal ( ) Vertical

It's actually not like that. With vertical layout, this box has no effect on
the text direction, only on the direction in which consecutive lines are
placed.


Now, granted, the phrasing cannot be easy to understand for the novice user,
who has not given methodical thought to text layout and the two kinds of
directions it involves; but...

> we can discuss possible improvements.

before we consider what is easier or less easy to understand, we have to apply
the criteria of:

1. Consistency.
2. Exposure of the necessary controls.
3. Minimization of clash / overlap of function other controls.

We are currently not consistent (as Regina also verifies). But we are also
missing a control: If you choose one of the Vertical options in the box, you
have no way of setting the actual text direction property of the page (which,
at the very least, applies to everything which uses "superordinate object
direction". Like Columns, and the default paragraph style.

And when we add that control - we would be clashing with its functionality for
the Horizontal writing mode.

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