[Bug 160011] Hidden columns should not prevent text from preceding columns from overflowing over their cells

[bugzilla-daemon at bugs.documentfoundation.org]

https://bugs.documentfoundation.org/show_bug.cgi?id=160011

--- Comment #9 from ady <adylo811517 at gmail.com> ---
(In reply to Dan Dascalescu from comment #8)
> Thank you Heiko for confirming what to me seemed obvious.
> 
> I'm not familiar with the implementation details, but `Calc would need to
> "listen" to such changes in other columns` suggests an ongoing process.
> Columns are hidden once, and then rarely displayed again. If hiding takes a
> noticeable amount of time, I think that's quite acceptable because it's the
> direct result of a user action impacting an entire column. Is it that what
> you're worried about @ady?

Whether one user claims it is a one-time thing, or instead a frequent action,
is not relevant, as each user has its own needs and workflow. Assuming the
frequency of this kind of action would be a mistake. And then we also have the
amount of rows to consider too.

It is not an ongoing process. Just as with volatile functions (which are
"expensive"), every time you change either the content or the width or the
show/hide status of a cell (or range of cells/columns), the visually-adjacent
columns would/might need an adjustment (on both sides).

IOW, when you change one cell/column, more items (in comparison to the current
situation) in your spreadsheet would have to pay attention to what happens, and
then react accordingly.

This is why I said that having this react _automatically_ is not the same as
having the user acting on a setting _manually_. This is similar to how the
normal "wrap text" attribute acts: it is a _manual_ _one-time_ reaction to
activating the "wrap text" property, and not an automatic permanent reaction
according to all-and-every-single change surrounding the cell, nor according to
the same cell either.

I would be in favor of adding different settings to the "wrap text" mode (see
GSheets), but I am not convinced (yet) that an automatic permanent change
according to the surrounding changes is so desirable. Unfortunately, I have no
way to test on Excel these days in order to compare with it.

I am not a developer, so I have no way to know how much actual performance
impact this change would have, in case it gets implemented as an automatic
permanent revision of what happens around a cell/column. I am only pointing out
that there will be some kind of impact; it is not free.

Now let's leave this matter to actual discussion between (UX and other)
developers, until they come up with a decision.

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