Apache OpenOffice (AOO) Bugzilla – Issue 18127
page preview shows right pages on the left and vice versa
Last modified: 2004-12-08 13:50:04 UTC
In the OOo Help I found: 'Page Preview: Two Pages Displays two pages in the Page Preview window. Uneven numbers will always appear on the right side, even numbers on the left.' But using Page Preview, left and right sides actually are mixed up. This results in Right Pages (with an odd number) appearing on the left and Left Pages (with an even number) appearing on the right. I think what OOo shows is not what a user expects. Let's say we are editing a book, magazine or similar. When previewing the document we should get a display of how it will look like in the end, i.e. left pages on the left and right ones on the right.
The preview is correct but the help is not. It was intended to dump the book-like preview.
Yeah, we're dumping useful features. We'll update the help for Q. But hopefully, we'll have that feature back by then. The current solution is inadequate.
I think, a button to toggle the behavior could solve the problem. See the discussion in issue 16993
After reading the discussion in issue 16993, I think the best solution (as always) is: let the user decide. I like Regina's suggestion to add a toggle button. A book-like preview is a very useful feature that should be back as soon as possible.
One easy solution would be to allow going to page "-1". Current behavior Starting point: pg 1 | pg 2 Browse back: pg 1 | pg 2 (no change) Browse fwd: pg 3 | pg 4 ... If you allow to browse back one page at the beginning: Starting point: pg 1 | pg 2 Browse back: | pg 1 Browse fwd: pg 2 | pg 3 ... Another easy solution would be to allow page-by-page browsing. For example, Cursor Up/Down browses screenwise Cursor Left/Right browses pagewise: Starting point: pg 1 | pg 2 Cursor Right: pg 2 | pg 3 (browses 1 page) Cursor Down: pg 4 | pg 5 (browses 1 screen = 2 pages) ...or... Starting point: pg 1 | pg 2 Cursor Left: | pg 1 (browses 1 page) Cursor Down: pg 2 | pg 3 (browses 1 screen = 2 pages) I really don't see the use of the current implementation. All we gained is that the users no longer see an "empty first page". But we lost a way to check the layout of books.
Suggestion: Just show the first page _centered_ horizontically and the following ones side-by-side: 2-3, 4-5, ... This leaves no "empty" page on the left when viewing page one (and it would not leave an "empty" page on the right when viewing a document with only one page as it is in OOo 1.1 -- a bug?) and does not need any special button or mode switch or complicated browsing logic. I suggest this as a simple yet complete solution to the problem.
*** Issue 26624 has been marked as a duplicate of this issue. ***
FPE->UFI: Do you know the current behaviour of the page preview and whether there is something planned? Pls update the help accordingly.
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There is a new button "Book Preview" in the Page Preview Toolbar. This toggles the display from first page left to first page right and back. Help will be changed accordingly.
Can you point me to the issue that dealt with the "book preview" button. And when was this introduced? It doesn't appear to be there in OOo1.1.1
Book Preview is here: http://qa.openoffice.org/issues/show_bug.cgi?id=26117
The specification document was only distributed by email. There is no "path to the spec doc" included within the spec doc, so I cannot give you a URL. You may ask Gunnar Timm, the spec owner.
Update: The Book Preview button was there, then got lost, now waits for issue #i32676# to be revived.
FPE: What's the status of this one? Why is it on WONTFIX?
Now in 680m65 the Book Preview button is there. Will be documented in next CWS. This issue 18127 can be closed now