minimum page/document size?

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mnawij

Anyone get a chance to view my video of the problem? (see previous post)

mnawij

solaero

Saw it. Haven't been able to view on a larger screen however. That is the same behavior I have seen, just not in a way I could reproduce :-(

a.l.e

#17
ok, i can reproduce: it happens when you type a size < 1 in the default unit.

can you please add a ticket to the bug tracker?

https://bugs.scribus.net

ciao
a.l.e

(in 1.5.1)

GarryP

a.l.e, I've just set the default units to inches and it's allowed me to set the sizes smaller than an inch - see attached images - so I don't think that's the problem here.

I don't know what the problem is exactly as I've not been able to replicate it, no matter how many different ways I've tried to, but I don't think that's it.

(BTW: I'm using Scribus Version 1.4.6, 03 January 2016, Build ID: C-*-T-*-C1.8.6-Windows-64bit, Using Ghostscript version 9.18)

[attachment deleted by admin]

a.l.e

i can replicate in both 1.4.x and 1.5x (as released for mac).
i cannot type .5 in the default unit, but i can other units (the default being pt in 1.4.x and mm in 1.5.x)

GarryP

Ah ha... I think I've found the problem.

If your default units are set to inches in Preferences, and you try and create a new document with dimensions of less than a single unit, Scribus will force them back to a single unit.

However, if your Preferences default units is set to something smaller (pts for example), and you create a new document - after setting the default units to inches in the New Document dialog - you can then set dimensions that are less than a single unit.

It looks like it's the default units setting in Preferences that is forcing the change, not the default units in the New Document dialog.

a.l.e

exactly!
my explanation was a bit too short :-)

GarryP

So, a quick fix for mnawij would be to change the Preferences default units to points and then set the document units to inches. Not a real fix but it works.

I'll let other people argue whether Scribus should allow document dimensions of less than one unit in size and how that would affect what the user can type in those fields depending on what UOM is checked against.

Just as an aside: I think the "Default Unit" field in "New Document / Options" is badly named.

The "default" part is misleading as there's no "default" to it, it's just the current unit of measure for the document. There's nothing to "default" to as the user always uses what it is currently set to (except for text which is handled differently). I think it should be renamed to "Unit of Measure", or "Document Units", or just "Units". That way there would be less confusion.

a.l.e

mmm... about default or not:

you can type anything in a field and -- as long as scribus can recognize it -- it will be converted.

so you can choose inches as the default unit for the document and then type 12 cm in the width of a frame.

or, a more realistic case: you can choose mm as the default unit and then type 12 cm in the width... you'll get 120 mm.

so it's the default for the document you are creating (which is a similar thing as the document settings and the scribus preferences...).

personally, i'm not sure if we need to have the drop down at all.
one can type the unit she wishes if for a specific document she wants a different unit than what she has set in the preferences.
and she can always switch the current default unit on the right side of the status bar.

who dares to propose removing it? :-)

ps.: by removing little or never used option we make it easier for the user, to spot the important settings... of course...

GarryP

I understand what you're saying about being able to specify a different UOM in a field and it makes sense to allow it but I would call that "overriding" the current UOM.

It's mainly a matter of semantics though; you call it one thing and I call it another, they both have the same effect.

My purpose for proposing a different name was to divorce the preferences default units from the document default units. Having two things named the same but with different uses - one is a general setting for new documents and the other is the setting for the current document - can be confusing.

I'd say this was probably a discussion that has no real ending though - just going round in circles - so I'm happy to drop it if you are.

I'd much prefer to see the drop-down in the dialog than having the user type in a different UOM. It's way easier for beginners to know what's going on. How would they know what to type in? 'in' vs. 'inches' vs. 'ins', etc. (Also, the average beginner won't have used Preferences much, if at all.)

a.l.e

the other way round: the absolute beginner should get the correct default and won't ever want to use a different unit than what is common in her place.

being able to set a different unit is something for advanced users...

anyway, as you said, not much use discussing this and the team is happy to add things, removing them is much harder...

mnawij

Thank you all for your assistance.

mnawij