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Posted to user@pivot.apache.org by Jeremy Heiler <je...@gmail.com> on 2010/11/07 04:32:02 UTC

Displaying tabs in TextArea

Hi everyone, my name is Jeremy, and I am developing a text editor with
Pivot. I have set up a basic application that loads a file into a
TextArea, and so far working with Pivot has been very nice.

My first question is, how can I display tabs in a TextArea? it seems
like they're either ignored or are simply not visual. I am also
looking how to insert tabs, but I assume that has to do with messing
with the listener for focusing. I haven't looked too much into that
yet, but any hints would be appreciated!

Thanks,
//Jeremy

Re: Displaying tabs in TextArea

Posted by Greg Brown <gk...@mac.com>.
FYI, I have committed this change. The tab width is configurable via the "tabWidth" style. The key combination is not currently configurable but this could be added in a later release. Let me know if you have any questions.
G

On Nov 16, 2010, at 7:42 PM, Greg Brown wrote:

> OK, sounds like so far there is agreement that we should preserve the existing Tab/focus transfer behavior but add (possibly configurable) support for Ctrl-Tab to insert tab spaces. Anyone else want to comment?
> 
> BTW Sandro, Shift-Tab to transfer focus backwards is already supported.
> 
> G
> 
> On Nov 16, 2010, at 7:37 PM, Roger Whitcomb wrote:
> 
>> But, having said that, I'd still like to have a way to switch it because there seems to be significant places that do it the other way around. 
>> 
>> ~Roger Whitcomb
>> 
>> Sent from my iPhone
>> 
>> On Nov 16, 2010, at 4:28 PM, Roger Whitcomb <Ro...@rbwhitcomb.com> wrote:
>> 
>>> This also agrees with the GNOME UI guidelines:
>>> 
>>> For example, do not use basic Tab keyboard navigation in a dialog to activate any actions associated with a control.
>>> 
>>> (from http://library.gnome.org/devel/hig-book/stable/input-keyboard.html.en)
>>> 
>>> ~Roger Whitcomb
>>> 
>>> Sent from my iPhone
>>> 
>>> On Nov 16, 2010, at 3:59 PM, Sandro Martini <sa...@gmail.com> wrote:
>>> 
>>>> Hi,
>>>> like Greg I'd prefer to keep Tab to transfer focus between components
>>>> (Tab forward, and maybe even <Shift>Tab to transfer focus backward),
>>>> and using other key combinations to handle special cases like inside
>>>> TextArea (so I agree even on the proposed <Ctrl>Tab to handle special
>>>> cases like those described here inside TextArea).
>>>> 
>>>> Bye,
>>>> Sandro
> 


Re: Displaying tabs in TextArea

Posted by Greg Brown <gk...@mac.com>.
OK, sounds like so far there is agreement that we should preserve the existing Tab/focus transfer behavior but add (possibly configurable) support for Ctrl-Tab to insert tab spaces. Anyone else want to comment?

BTW Sandro, Shift-Tab to transfer focus backwards is already supported.

G

On Nov 16, 2010, at 7:37 PM, Roger Whitcomb wrote:

> But, having said that, I'd still like to have a way to switch it because there seems to be significant places that do it the other way around. 
> 
> ~Roger Whitcomb
> 
> Sent from my iPhone
> 
> On Nov 16, 2010, at 4:28 PM, Roger Whitcomb <Ro...@rbwhitcomb.com> wrote:
> 
>> This also agrees with the GNOME UI guidelines:
>> 
>> For example, do not use basic Tab keyboard navigation in a dialog to activate any actions associated with a control.
>> 
>> (from http://library.gnome.org/devel/hig-book/stable/input-keyboard.html.en)
>> 
>> ~Roger Whitcomb
>> 
>> Sent from my iPhone
>> 
>> On Nov 16, 2010, at 3:59 PM, Sandro Martini <sa...@gmail.com> wrote:
>> 
>>> Hi,
>>> like Greg I'd prefer to keep Tab to transfer focus between components
>>> (Tab forward, and maybe even <Shift>Tab to transfer focus backward),
>>> and using other key combinations to handle special cases like inside
>>> TextArea (so I agree even on the proposed <Ctrl>Tab to handle special
>>> cases like those described here inside TextArea).
>>> 
>>> Bye,
>>> Sandro


Re: Displaying tabs in TextArea

Posted by Roger Whitcomb <Ro...@rbwhitcomb.com>.
But, having said that, I'd still like to have a way to switch it  
because there seems to be significant places that do it the other way  
around.

~Roger Whitcomb

Sent from my iPhone

On Nov 16, 2010, at 4:28 PM, Roger Whitcomb  
<Ro...@rbwhitcomb.com> wrote:

> This also agrees with the GNOME UI guidelines:
>
> For example, do not use basic Tab keyboard navigation in a dialog to  
> activate any actions associated with a control.
>
> (from http://library.gnome.org/devel/hig-book/stable/input-keyboard.html.en 
> )
>
> ~Roger Whitcomb
>
> Sent from my iPhone
>
> On Nov 16, 2010, at 3:59 PM, Sandro Martini  
> <sa...@gmail.com> wrote:
>
>> Hi,
>> like Greg I'd prefer to keep Tab to transfer focus between components
>> (Tab forward, and maybe even <Shift>Tab to transfer focus backward),
>> and using other key combinations to handle special cases like inside
>> TextArea (so I agree even on the proposed <Ctrl>Tab to handle special
>> cases like those described here inside TextArea).
>>
>> Bye,
>> Sandro

Re: Displaying tabs in TextArea

Posted by Roger Whitcomb <Ro...@rbwhitcomb.com>.
This also agrees with the GNOME UI guidelines:

For example, do not use basic Tab keyboard navigation in a dialog to  
activate any actions associated with a control.

(from http://library.gnome.org/devel/hig-book/stable/input-keyboard.html.en 
)

~Roger Whitcomb

Sent from my iPhone

On Nov 16, 2010, at 3:59 PM, Sandro Martini <sa...@gmail.com>  
wrote:

> Hi,
> like Greg I'd prefer to keep Tab to transfer focus between components
> (Tab forward, and maybe even <Shift>Tab to transfer focus backward),
> and using other key combinations to handle special cases like inside
> TextArea (so I agree even on the proposed <Ctrl>Tab to handle special
> cases like those described here inside TextArea).
>
> Bye,
> Sandro

Re: Displaying tabs in TextArea

Posted by Sandro Martini <sa...@gmail.com>.
Hi,
like Greg I'd prefer to keep Tab to transfer focus between components
(Tab forward, and maybe even <Shift>Tab to transfer focus backward),
and using other key combinations to handle special cases like inside
TextArea (so I agree even on the proposed <Ctrl>Tab to handle special
cases like those described here inside TextArea).

Bye,
Sandro

Re: Displaying tabs in TextArea

Posted by Greg Brown <gk...@mac.com>.
I just prototyped this and it appears to work fine, though I do find it a bit awkward. I think I'd prefer Tab continue to transfer focus and Ctrl-Tab to insert the tab spaces. However, I don't feel all that strongly about it and could go either way - what do others think?


On Nov 16, 2010, at 6:24 PM, Greg Brown wrote:

> On the Mac (at least, in Mail.app), Tab appears to insert a tab and Ctrl-Tab transfers focus to the next component. So it is probably safe to use this convention - we can always make it configurable later, if necessary.
> 
> 
> On Nov 16, 2010, at 5:29 PM, Roger L. Whitcomb wrote:
> 
>> Okay, here are *some* of the conventions, which seem to differ not just
>> by OS, but by application:
>> - Windows, Outlook 2007:  Tab always moves between major areas of the
>> screen, as does Ctrl-Tab UNTIL you get into the message area, then
>> Ctrl-Tab moves among the parts of the message circularly (i.e., it gets
>> you into a loop).  This is in reading mode.  While editing a message,
>> Tab or Ctrl-Tab always inserts a tab character (and moves to the next
>> tabstop).  This seems weird to me....  I can't find any option to change
>> it
>> - Windows, Ultraedit: Tab moves to next tabstop while editing, Ctrl-Tab
>> shifts among open files.  Tab in a dialog moves among fields, and
>> Ctrl-Tab still shifts between open files (even with a modal dialog
>> open!)
>> - Windows, Firefox: Ctrl-Tab moves among the open tabs, Tab navigates
>> around the current HTML page fields. The only option I can see is under
>> "Accessibility" where you can choose to "Always use the cursor keys to
>> navigate within pages".  Within dialogs, Tab moves among fields,
>> Ctrl-Tab shifts among tab pages in the dialog.
>> - Windows, Visual Studio 2008:  Tab in dialogs moves among fields,
>> Ctrl-Tab moves among functional areas of the dialog (tab pages).  While
>> editing a source file, Tab always inserts a tab, Ctrl-Tab moves among
>> the open documents (tab pages).  I don't see any option to change this.
>> 
>> I haven't been able to find (yet) any dialogs that have multi-line text
>> areas where Tab would be useful for editing.  Still looking...
>> 
>> So, one (fairly) reasonable approach, that would be workable, I think,
>> would be to have a single property on TextArea that says essentially:
>> "Tab does insert instead of move off field".  Then Ctrl-Tab always moves
>> out of TextArea to next field and Tab could do either that or insert
>> depending on this property.  And maybe the Ctrl-Tab could be something
>> else (automatically) on OSX (not sure what).
>> 					
>> 
>> Roger Whitcomb | Architect, Engineering | Roger.Whitcomb@ingres.com |
>> Ingres | 500 Arguello Street | Suite 200 | Redwood City | CA | 94063 |
>> USA  +1 650-587-5596 | fax: +1 650-587-5550
>> 
>> -----Original Message-----
>> From: Greg Brown [mailto:gkbrown@mac.com] 
>> Sent: Tuesday, November 16, 2010 1:31 PM
>> To: user@pivot.apache.org
>> Subject: Re: Displaying tabs in TextArea
>> 
>> Anyone know how this is typically handled by the various OSes? In other
>> words, what does Windows/OS X/Linux do in this case? We can certainly
>> make it configurable, but if there is already a standard convention we
>> can apply, that would be easier.
>> G
>> 
>> On Nov 16, 2010, at 4:26 PM, Roger L. Whitcomb wrote:
>> 
>>> Personally, I use tabs a lot, and am frustrated in the few places that
>> I
>>> can't use it when writing text to (for instance) indent the first line
>>> of a paragraph.  This would come into play with Pivot if TextArea were
>>> used (as an example) to compose an email message, to write comments in
>>> an online customer database, etc.
>>> 
>>> I have seen other apps that have a configurable setting that allows
>>> Ctrl-Tab (or equivalent) to either do the insert / tabstop operation
>> and
>>> Tab move between fields or the reverse: to have Tab do the insert and
>>> Ctrl-Tab do the field move.  I'm not sure how to do this kind of
>>> configuration thing with Pivot, other than to have a property or style
>>> specify it.
>>> 
>>> Roger Whitcomb | Architect, Engineering | Roger.Whitcomb@ingres.com |
>>> Ingres | 500 Arguello Street | Suite 200 | Redwood City | CA | 94063 |
>>> USA  +1 650-587-5596 | fax: +1 650-587-5550
>>> 
>>> -----Original Message-----
>>> From: Greg Brown [mailto:gkbrown@mac.com] 
>>> Sent: Tuesday, November 16, 2010 1:17 PM
>>> To: user@pivot.apache.org
>>> Subject: Re: Displaying tabs in TextArea
>>> 
>>> After thinking about this a bit more, I wonder if maybe the existing
>>> behavior might be preferable. In all other components, pressing Tab
>>> transfers focus to the next component. If we convert Tab key presses
>> to
>>> spaces, we'll have to come up with some other way to transfer focus
>> out
>>> of a TextArea. 
>>> 
>>> How important is Tab key support? I personally never use tabs myself
>>> unless I'm editing code, but TextArea isn't really designed for that
>>> purpose. What do others think?
>>> 
>>> 
>>> On Nov 8, 2010, at 5:13 PM, Jeremy Heiler wrote:
>>> 
>>>> Thanks Greg.
>>>> 
>>>> If you get around to it, could you send me the diff? I would really
>>>> like to see where the change was made.
>>>> 
>>>> On Sun, Nov 7, 2010 at 7:42 AM, Greg Brown <gk...@mac.com> wrote:
>>>>> Good question. TextArea doesn't currently support tab stops. It's
>>> kind of a pain and didn't seem worth the effort.
>>>>> 
>>>>> However, as you noted, the Tab key is currently ignored, which may
>> be
>>> confusing to users. It would be fairly easy to insert some number of
>>> spaces when the Tab key is pressed (I almost always configure my text
>>> editor to do this). I'll prototype it and see how it turns out.
>>>>> 
>>>>> G
>>>>> 
>>>>> On Nov 6, 2010, at 11:32 PM, Jeremy Heiler wrote:
>>>>> 
>>>>>> Hi everyone, my name is Jeremy, and I am developing a text editor
>>> with
>>>>>> Pivot. I have set up a basic application that loads a file into a
>>>>>> TextArea, and so far working with Pivot has been very nice.
>>>>>> 
>>>>>> My first question is, how can I display tabs in a TextArea? it
>> seems
>>>>>> like they're either ignored or are simply not visual. I am also
>>>>>> looking how to insert tabs, but I assume that has to do with
>> messing
>>>>>> with the listener for focusing. I haven't looked too much into that
>>>>>> yet, but any hints would be appreciated!
>>>>>> 
>>>>>> Thanks,
>>>>>> //Jeremy
>>>>> 
>>>>> 
>>> 
>> 
> 


Re: Displaying tabs in TextArea

Posted by Greg Brown <gk...@mac.com>.
On the Mac (at least, in Mail.app), Tab appears to insert a tab and Ctrl-Tab transfers focus to the next component. So it is probably safe to use this convention - we can always make it configurable later, if necessary.


On Nov 16, 2010, at 5:29 PM, Roger L. Whitcomb wrote:

> Okay, here are *some* of the conventions, which seem to differ not just
> by OS, but by application:
> - Windows, Outlook 2007:  Tab always moves between major areas of the
> screen, as does Ctrl-Tab UNTIL you get into the message area, then
> Ctrl-Tab moves among the parts of the message circularly (i.e., it gets
> you into a loop).  This is in reading mode.  While editing a message,
> Tab or Ctrl-Tab always inserts a tab character (and moves to the next
> tabstop).  This seems weird to me....  I can't find any option to change
> it
> - Windows, Ultraedit: Tab moves to next tabstop while editing, Ctrl-Tab
> shifts among open files.  Tab in a dialog moves among fields, and
> Ctrl-Tab still shifts between open files (even with a modal dialog
> open!)
> - Windows, Firefox: Ctrl-Tab moves among the open tabs, Tab navigates
> around the current HTML page fields. The only option I can see is under
> "Accessibility" where you can choose to "Always use the cursor keys to
> navigate within pages".  Within dialogs, Tab moves among fields,
> Ctrl-Tab shifts among tab pages in the dialog.
> - Windows, Visual Studio 2008:  Tab in dialogs moves among fields,
> Ctrl-Tab moves among functional areas of the dialog (tab pages).  While
> editing a source file, Tab always inserts a tab, Ctrl-Tab moves among
> the open documents (tab pages).  I don't see any option to change this.
> 
> I haven't been able to find (yet) any dialogs that have multi-line text
> areas where Tab would be useful for editing.  Still looking...
> 
> So, one (fairly) reasonable approach, that would be workable, I think,
> would be to have a single property on TextArea that says essentially:
> "Tab does insert instead of move off field".  Then Ctrl-Tab always moves
> out of TextArea to next field and Tab could do either that or insert
> depending on this property.  And maybe the Ctrl-Tab could be something
> else (automatically) on OSX (not sure what).
> 					
> 
> Roger Whitcomb | Architect, Engineering | Roger.Whitcomb@ingres.com |
> Ingres | 500 Arguello Street | Suite 200 | Redwood City | CA | 94063 |
> USA  +1 650-587-5596 | fax: +1 650-587-5550
> 
> -----Original Message-----
> From: Greg Brown [mailto:gkbrown@mac.com] 
> Sent: Tuesday, November 16, 2010 1:31 PM
> To: user@pivot.apache.org
> Subject: Re: Displaying tabs in TextArea
> 
> Anyone know how this is typically handled by the various OSes? In other
> words, what does Windows/OS X/Linux do in this case? We can certainly
> make it configurable, but if there is already a standard convention we
> can apply, that would be easier.
> G
> 
> On Nov 16, 2010, at 4:26 PM, Roger L. Whitcomb wrote:
> 
>> Personally, I use tabs a lot, and am frustrated in the few places that
> I
>> can't use it when writing text to (for instance) indent the first line
>> of a paragraph.  This would come into play with Pivot if TextArea were
>> used (as an example) to compose an email message, to write comments in
>> an online customer database, etc.
>> 
>> I have seen other apps that have a configurable setting that allows
>> Ctrl-Tab (or equivalent) to either do the insert / tabstop operation
> and
>> Tab move between fields or the reverse: to have Tab do the insert and
>> Ctrl-Tab do the field move.  I'm not sure how to do this kind of
>> configuration thing with Pivot, other than to have a property or style
>> specify it.
>> 
>> Roger Whitcomb | Architect, Engineering | Roger.Whitcomb@ingres.com |
>> Ingres | 500 Arguello Street | Suite 200 | Redwood City | CA | 94063 |
>> USA  +1 650-587-5596 | fax: +1 650-587-5550
>> 
>> -----Original Message-----
>> From: Greg Brown [mailto:gkbrown@mac.com] 
>> Sent: Tuesday, November 16, 2010 1:17 PM
>> To: user@pivot.apache.org
>> Subject: Re: Displaying tabs in TextArea
>> 
>> After thinking about this a bit more, I wonder if maybe the existing
>> behavior might be preferable. In all other components, pressing Tab
>> transfers focus to the next component. If we convert Tab key presses
> to
>> spaces, we'll have to come up with some other way to transfer focus
> out
>> of a TextArea. 
>> 
>> How important is Tab key support? I personally never use tabs myself
>> unless I'm editing code, but TextArea isn't really designed for that
>> purpose. What do others think?
>> 
>> 
>> On Nov 8, 2010, at 5:13 PM, Jeremy Heiler wrote:
>> 
>>> Thanks Greg.
>>> 
>>> If you get around to it, could you send me the diff? I would really
>>> like to see where the change was made.
>>> 
>>> On Sun, Nov 7, 2010 at 7:42 AM, Greg Brown <gk...@mac.com> wrote:
>>>> Good question. TextArea doesn't currently support tab stops. It's
>> kind of a pain and didn't seem worth the effort.
>>>> 
>>>> However, as you noted, the Tab key is currently ignored, which may
> be
>> confusing to users. It would be fairly easy to insert some number of
>> spaces when the Tab key is pressed (I almost always configure my text
>> editor to do this). I'll prototype it and see how it turns out.
>>>> 
>>>> G
>>>> 
>>>> On Nov 6, 2010, at 11:32 PM, Jeremy Heiler wrote:
>>>> 
>>>>> Hi everyone, my name is Jeremy, and I am developing a text editor
>> with
>>>>> Pivot. I have set up a basic application that loads a file into a
>>>>> TextArea, and so far working with Pivot has been very nice.
>>>>> 
>>>>> My first question is, how can I display tabs in a TextArea? it
> seems
>>>>> like they're either ignored or are simply not visual. I am also
>>>>> looking how to insert tabs, but I assume that has to do with
> messing
>>>>> with the listener for focusing. I haven't looked too much into that
>>>>> yet, but any hints would be appreciated!
>>>>> 
>>>>> Thanks,
>>>>> //Jeremy
>>>> 
>>>> 
>> 
> 


RE: Displaying tabs in TextArea

Posted by "Roger L. Whitcomb" <Ro...@ingres.com>.
Okay, here are *some* of the conventions, which seem to differ not just
by OS, but by application:
- Windows, Outlook 2007:  Tab always moves between major areas of the
screen, as does Ctrl-Tab UNTIL you get into the message area, then
Ctrl-Tab moves among the parts of the message circularly (i.e., it gets
you into a loop).  This is in reading mode.  While editing a message,
Tab or Ctrl-Tab always inserts a tab character (and moves to the next
tabstop).  This seems weird to me....  I can't find any option to change
it
- Windows, Ultraedit: Tab moves to next tabstop while editing, Ctrl-Tab
shifts among open files.  Tab in a dialog moves among fields, and
Ctrl-Tab still shifts between open files (even with a modal dialog
open!)
- Windows, Firefox: Ctrl-Tab moves among the open tabs, Tab navigates
around the current HTML page fields. The only option I can see is under
"Accessibility" where you can choose to "Always use the cursor keys to
navigate within pages".  Within dialogs, Tab moves among fields,
Ctrl-Tab shifts among tab pages in the dialog.
- Windows, Visual Studio 2008:  Tab in dialogs moves among fields,
Ctrl-Tab moves among functional areas of the dialog (tab pages).  While
editing a source file, Tab always inserts a tab, Ctrl-Tab moves among
the open documents (tab pages).  I don't see any option to change this.

I haven't been able to find (yet) any dialogs that have multi-line text
areas where Tab would be useful for editing.  Still looking...

So, one (fairly) reasonable approach, that would be workable, I think,
would be to have a single property on TextArea that says essentially:
"Tab does insert instead of move off field".  Then Ctrl-Tab always moves
out of TextArea to next field and Tab could do either that or insert
depending on this property.  And maybe the Ctrl-Tab could be something
else (automatically) on OSX (not sure what).
					

Roger Whitcomb | Architect, Engineering | Roger.Whitcomb@ingres.com |
Ingres | 500 Arguello Street | Suite 200 | Redwood City | CA | 94063 |
USA  +1 650-587-5596 | fax: +1 650-587-5550

-----Original Message-----
From: Greg Brown [mailto:gkbrown@mac.com] 
Sent: Tuesday, November 16, 2010 1:31 PM
To: user@pivot.apache.org
Subject: Re: Displaying tabs in TextArea

Anyone know how this is typically handled by the various OSes? In other
words, what does Windows/OS X/Linux do in this case? We can certainly
make it configurable, but if there is already a standard convention we
can apply, that would be easier.
G

On Nov 16, 2010, at 4:26 PM, Roger L. Whitcomb wrote:

> Personally, I use tabs a lot, and am frustrated in the few places that
I
> can't use it when writing text to (for instance) indent the first line
> of a paragraph.  This would come into play with Pivot if TextArea were
> used (as an example) to compose an email message, to write comments in
> an online customer database, etc.
> 
> I have seen other apps that have a configurable setting that allows
> Ctrl-Tab (or equivalent) to either do the insert / tabstop operation
and
> Tab move between fields or the reverse: to have Tab do the insert and
> Ctrl-Tab do the field move.  I'm not sure how to do this kind of
> configuration thing with Pivot, other than to have a property or style
> specify it.
> 
> Roger Whitcomb | Architect, Engineering | Roger.Whitcomb@ingres.com |
> Ingres | 500 Arguello Street | Suite 200 | Redwood City | CA | 94063 |
> USA  +1 650-587-5596 | fax: +1 650-587-5550
> 
> -----Original Message-----
> From: Greg Brown [mailto:gkbrown@mac.com] 
> Sent: Tuesday, November 16, 2010 1:17 PM
> To: user@pivot.apache.org
> Subject: Re: Displaying tabs in TextArea
> 
> After thinking about this a bit more, I wonder if maybe the existing
> behavior might be preferable. In all other components, pressing Tab
> transfers focus to the next component. If we convert Tab key presses
to
> spaces, we'll have to come up with some other way to transfer focus
out
> of a TextArea. 
> 
> How important is Tab key support? I personally never use tabs myself
> unless I'm editing code, but TextArea isn't really designed for that
> purpose. What do others think?
> 
> 
> On Nov 8, 2010, at 5:13 PM, Jeremy Heiler wrote:
> 
>> Thanks Greg.
>> 
>> If you get around to it, could you send me the diff? I would really
>> like to see where the change was made.
>> 
>> On Sun, Nov 7, 2010 at 7:42 AM, Greg Brown <gk...@mac.com> wrote:
>>> Good question. TextArea doesn't currently support tab stops. It's
> kind of a pain and didn't seem worth the effort.
>>> 
>>> However, as you noted, the Tab key is currently ignored, which may
be
> confusing to users. It would be fairly easy to insert some number of
> spaces when the Tab key is pressed (I almost always configure my text
> editor to do this). I'll prototype it and see how it turns out.
>>> 
>>> G
>>> 
>>> On Nov 6, 2010, at 11:32 PM, Jeremy Heiler wrote:
>>> 
>>>> Hi everyone, my name is Jeremy, and I am developing a text editor
> with
>>>> Pivot. I have set up a basic application that loads a file into a
>>>> TextArea, and so far working with Pivot has been very nice.
>>>> 
>>>> My first question is, how can I display tabs in a TextArea? it
seems
>>>> like they're either ignored or are simply not visual. I am also
>>>> looking how to insert tabs, but I assume that has to do with
messing
>>>> with the listener for focusing. I haven't looked too much into that
>>>> yet, but any hints would be appreciated!
>>>> 
>>>> Thanks,
>>>> //Jeremy
>>> 
>>> 
> 


Re: Displaying tabs in TextArea

Posted by Greg Brown <gk...@mac.com>.
Anyone know how this is typically handled by the various OSes? In other words, what does Windows/OS X/Linux do in this case? We can certainly make it configurable, but if there is already a standard convention we can apply, that would be easier.
G

On Nov 16, 2010, at 4:26 PM, Roger L. Whitcomb wrote:

> Personally, I use tabs a lot, and am frustrated in the few places that I
> can't use it when writing text to (for instance) indent the first line
> of a paragraph.  This would come into play with Pivot if TextArea were
> used (as an example) to compose an email message, to write comments in
> an online customer database, etc.
> 
> I have seen other apps that have a configurable setting that allows
> Ctrl-Tab (or equivalent) to either do the insert / tabstop operation and
> Tab move between fields or the reverse: to have Tab do the insert and
> Ctrl-Tab do the field move.  I'm not sure how to do this kind of
> configuration thing with Pivot, other than to have a property or style
> specify it.
> 
> Roger Whitcomb | Architect, Engineering | Roger.Whitcomb@ingres.com |
> Ingres | 500 Arguello Street | Suite 200 | Redwood City | CA | 94063 |
> USA  +1 650-587-5596 | fax: +1 650-587-5550
> 
> -----Original Message-----
> From: Greg Brown [mailto:gkbrown@mac.com] 
> Sent: Tuesday, November 16, 2010 1:17 PM
> To: user@pivot.apache.org
> Subject: Re: Displaying tabs in TextArea
> 
> After thinking about this a bit more, I wonder if maybe the existing
> behavior might be preferable. In all other components, pressing Tab
> transfers focus to the next component. If we convert Tab key presses to
> spaces, we'll have to come up with some other way to transfer focus out
> of a TextArea. 
> 
> How important is Tab key support? I personally never use tabs myself
> unless I'm editing code, but TextArea isn't really designed for that
> purpose. What do others think?
> 
> 
> On Nov 8, 2010, at 5:13 PM, Jeremy Heiler wrote:
> 
>> Thanks Greg.
>> 
>> If you get around to it, could you send me the diff? I would really
>> like to see where the change was made.
>> 
>> On Sun, Nov 7, 2010 at 7:42 AM, Greg Brown <gk...@mac.com> wrote:
>>> Good question. TextArea doesn't currently support tab stops. It's
> kind of a pain and didn't seem worth the effort.
>>> 
>>> However, as you noted, the Tab key is currently ignored, which may be
> confusing to users. It would be fairly easy to insert some number of
> spaces when the Tab key is pressed (I almost always configure my text
> editor to do this). I'll prototype it and see how it turns out.
>>> 
>>> G
>>> 
>>> On Nov 6, 2010, at 11:32 PM, Jeremy Heiler wrote:
>>> 
>>>> Hi everyone, my name is Jeremy, and I am developing a text editor
> with
>>>> Pivot. I have set up a basic application that loads a file into a
>>>> TextArea, and so far working with Pivot has been very nice.
>>>> 
>>>> My first question is, how can I display tabs in a TextArea? it seems
>>>> like they're either ignored or are simply not visual. I am also
>>>> looking how to insert tabs, but I assume that has to do with messing
>>>> with the listener for focusing. I haven't looked too much into that
>>>> yet, but any hints would be appreciated!
>>>> 
>>>> Thanks,
>>>> //Jeremy
>>> 
>>> 
> 


RE: Displaying tabs in TextArea

Posted by "Roger L. Whitcomb" <Ro...@ingres.com>.
Personally, I use tabs a lot, and am frustrated in the few places that I
can't use it when writing text to (for instance) indent the first line
of a paragraph.  This would come into play with Pivot if TextArea were
used (as an example) to compose an email message, to write comments in
an online customer database, etc.

I have seen other apps that have a configurable setting that allows
Ctrl-Tab (or equivalent) to either do the insert / tabstop operation and
Tab move between fields or the reverse: to have Tab do the insert and
Ctrl-Tab do the field move.  I'm not sure how to do this kind of
configuration thing with Pivot, other than to have a property or style
specify it.

Roger Whitcomb | Architect, Engineering | Roger.Whitcomb@ingres.com |
Ingres | 500 Arguello Street | Suite 200 | Redwood City | CA | 94063 |
USA  +1 650-587-5596 | fax: +1 650-587-5550

-----Original Message-----
From: Greg Brown [mailto:gkbrown@mac.com] 
Sent: Tuesday, November 16, 2010 1:17 PM
To: user@pivot.apache.org
Subject: Re: Displaying tabs in TextArea

After thinking about this a bit more, I wonder if maybe the existing
behavior might be preferable. In all other components, pressing Tab
transfers focus to the next component. If we convert Tab key presses to
spaces, we'll have to come up with some other way to transfer focus out
of a TextArea. 

How important is Tab key support? I personally never use tabs myself
unless I'm editing code, but TextArea isn't really designed for that
purpose. What do others think?


On Nov 8, 2010, at 5:13 PM, Jeremy Heiler wrote:

> Thanks Greg.
> 
> If you get around to it, could you send me the diff? I would really
> like to see where the change was made.
> 
> On Sun, Nov 7, 2010 at 7:42 AM, Greg Brown <gk...@mac.com> wrote:
>> Good question. TextArea doesn't currently support tab stops. It's
kind of a pain and didn't seem worth the effort.
>> 
>> However, as you noted, the Tab key is currently ignored, which may be
confusing to users. It would be fairly easy to insert some number of
spaces when the Tab key is pressed (I almost always configure my text
editor to do this). I'll prototype it and see how it turns out.
>> 
>> G
>> 
>> On Nov 6, 2010, at 11:32 PM, Jeremy Heiler wrote:
>> 
>>> Hi everyone, my name is Jeremy, and I am developing a text editor
with
>>> Pivot. I have set up a basic application that loads a file into a
>>> TextArea, and so far working with Pivot has been very nice.
>>> 
>>> My first question is, how can I display tabs in a TextArea? it seems
>>> like they're either ignored or are simply not visual. I am also
>>> looking how to insert tabs, but I assume that has to do with messing
>>> with the listener for focusing. I haven't looked too much into that
>>> yet, but any hints would be appreciated!
>>> 
>>> Thanks,
>>> //Jeremy
>> 
>> 


Re: Displaying tabs in TextArea

Posted by Greg Brown <gk...@mac.com>.
After thinking about this a bit more, I wonder if maybe the existing behavior might be preferable. In all other components, pressing Tab transfers focus to the next component. If we convert Tab key presses to spaces, we'll have to come up with some other way to transfer focus out of a TextArea. 

How important is Tab key support? I personally never use tabs myself unless I'm editing code, but TextArea isn't really designed for that purpose. What do others think?


On Nov 8, 2010, at 5:13 PM, Jeremy Heiler wrote:

> Thanks Greg.
> 
> If you get around to it, could you send me the diff? I would really
> like to see where the change was made.
> 
> On Sun, Nov 7, 2010 at 7:42 AM, Greg Brown <gk...@mac.com> wrote:
>> Good question. TextArea doesn't currently support tab stops. It's kind of a pain and didn't seem worth the effort.
>> 
>> However, as you noted, the Tab key is currently ignored, which may be confusing to users. It would be fairly easy to insert some number of spaces when the Tab key is pressed (I almost always configure my text editor to do this). I'll prototype it and see how it turns out.
>> 
>> G
>> 
>> On Nov 6, 2010, at 11:32 PM, Jeremy Heiler wrote:
>> 
>>> Hi everyone, my name is Jeremy, and I am developing a text editor with
>>> Pivot. I have set up a basic application that loads a file into a
>>> TextArea, and so far working with Pivot has been very nice.
>>> 
>>> My first question is, how can I display tabs in a TextArea? it seems
>>> like they're either ignored or are simply not visual. I am also
>>> looking how to insert tabs, but I assume that has to do with messing
>>> with the listener for focusing. I haven't looked too much into that
>>> yet, but any hints would be appreciated!
>>> 
>>> Thanks,
>>> //Jeremy
>> 
>> 


Re: Displaying tabs in TextArea

Posted by Jeremy Heiler <je...@gmail.com>.
Thanks Greg.

If you get around to it, could you send me the diff? I would really
like to see where the change was made.

On Sun, Nov 7, 2010 at 7:42 AM, Greg Brown <gk...@mac.com> wrote:
> Good question. TextArea doesn't currently support tab stops. It's kind of a pain and didn't seem worth the effort.
>
> However, as you noted, the Tab key is currently ignored, which may be confusing to users. It would be fairly easy to insert some number of spaces when the Tab key is pressed (I almost always configure my text editor to do this). I'll prototype it and see how it turns out.
>
> G
>
> On Nov 6, 2010, at 11:32 PM, Jeremy Heiler wrote:
>
>> Hi everyone, my name is Jeremy, and I am developing a text editor with
>> Pivot. I have set up a basic application that loads a file into a
>> TextArea, and so far working with Pivot has been very nice.
>>
>> My first question is, how can I display tabs in a TextArea? it seems
>> like they're either ignored or are simply not visual. I am also
>> looking how to insert tabs, but I assume that has to do with messing
>> with the listener for focusing. I haven't looked too much into that
>> yet, but any hints would be appreciated!
>>
>> Thanks,
>> //Jeremy
>
>

Re: Displaying tabs in TextArea

Posted by Greg Brown <gk...@mac.com>.
Good question. TextArea doesn't currently support tab stops. It's kind of a pain and didn't seem worth the effort. 

However, as you noted, the Tab key is currently ignored, which may be confusing to users. It would be fairly easy to insert some number of spaces when the Tab key is pressed (I almost always configure my text editor to do this). I'll prototype it and see how it turns out.

G

On Nov 6, 2010, at 11:32 PM, Jeremy Heiler wrote:

> Hi everyone, my name is Jeremy, and I am developing a text editor with
> Pivot. I have set up a basic application that loads a file into a
> TextArea, and so far working with Pivot has been very nice.
> 
> My first question is, how can I display tabs in a TextArea? it seems
> like they're either ignored or are simply not visual. I am also
> looking how to insert tabs, but I assume that has to do with messing
> with the listener for focusing. I haven't looked too much into that
> yet, but any hints would be appreciated!
> 
> Thanks,
> //Jeremy