Re: Conveniently Restarting Notebooks
- To: mathgroup at smc.vnet.net
- Subject: [mg51153] Re: [mg51114] Conveniently Restarting Notebooks
- From: DrBob <drbob at bigfoot.com>
- Date: Wed, 6 Oct 2004 04:34:43 -0400 (EDT)
- References: <NDBBJGNHKLMPLILOIPPOOEEPEDAA.djmp@earthlink.net>
- Reply-to: drbob at bigfoot.com
- Sender: owner-wri-mathgroup at wolfram.com
>> What about Ctrl+{, Ctrl+} and Ctrl+'. That goes part way to what you want.
No, it doesn't; not even close.
I want to push a button that says "1" if I only want to see only top-level outline cells, "2" if I want to see two levels, etc. That would allow me to close all low-level groups with one click or instantly see an outline to whatever detail I want. That's what Word's outline view has done for about fifteen years.
When I write anything complex in Word, I start in outline view and fill in the details later. If I could, I'd write Notebooks the same way.
I don't think input/output groups should collapse the same way as other groups, and I think closed cells with visible output really should be handled better. They shouldn't take up white space, yet it should be easier to see that they are there, and what their purpose is. I'm not certain what that would look like, but the way it looks now is not very useful.
Most of all, WRI needs to get pagination under some semblance of control.
Bobby
On Tue, 5 Oct 2004 14:16:19 -0400, David Park <djmp at earthlink.net> wrote:
> What about Ctrl+{, Ctrl+} and Ctrl+'. That goes part way to what you want.
>
> It would also be nice if the Default notebook style had
> ShowGroupOpenCloseIcon -> True for Sections, Subsections and
> Subsubsections - but NOT for Input/Output groups. I think it is excessive to
> put them on Input statements. The OpenClose icons are much more convenient
> than double clicking the brackets. I've several times have found very
> intelligent beginners get all confused when I sent them a notebook because
> they couldn't figure out how to open sections. Everybody, even super
> geniuses, seems to be able to figure out the icons.
>
> Another thing I would like to see for notebooks, but this isn't so easy, is
> something that operated like a side box in textbooks. It could be opened for
> a side discussion of some topic or point and then closed. And when it is
> closed the rest of a Section or Subsection would just flow around it. The
> problem is for the FrontEnd to know that when the side box is closed any new
> Text or Input cells after it are not to go into the side box.
>
> Still, overall, I think that Mathematica notebooks are the best technical
> communication device there has ever been. I can't understand why anyone
> would prefer a static printed paper or pdf document.
>
> David Park
> djmp at earthlink.net
> http://home.earthlink.net/~djmp/
>
>
>
> From: DrBob [mailto:drbob at bigfoot.com]
To: mathgroup at smc.vnet.net
>
>
> I'd really like it if WRI added toolbar buttons to control how many levels
> of organization are visible, like an Outline view in Word. It's rather
> annoying opening several levels one at a time, then closing them behind me
> again. If I don't close them, the benefit David speaks of is lost.
>
> Bobby
>
> On Tue, 5 Oct 2004 04:36:58 -0400 (EDT), David Park <djmp at earthlink.net>
> wrote:
>
>> I'm restarting this as a new thread.
>>
>> I wonder if you use Sections to organize your notebooks. Although the
>> ability to evaluate all cells down to a given selected cell might be
> useful,
>> I think that taking advantage of existing notebook features will work as
>> well and even better.
>>
>> I personally find the following method convenient. I organize my notebooks
>> by Sections. At the top of the notebook I have an Initialization Section
>> that loads all necessary packages and does other routine initialization.
>> Then I have a Routines Section where I place any general definitions and
>> routines I develop along the way. I make both the Initialization and
>> Routines Sections initialization cells. (When you first save such a
> notebook
>> say NO to Create AutoSavePackage.)
>>
>> With that organization one can usually go to any subsequent Section and
>> start evaluating. The initializations will automatically be performed.
>> Suppose you have a long Section you have been working on but it is
>> incomplete. When you restart the notebook all you have to do is select
> that
>> Section and evaluate. All initializations will be performed and all
> existing
>> cells in that Section will be evaluated and then you can continue with
> your
>> development.
>>
>> Sometimes, but hopefully rarely, some Section might depend upon previous
>> noninitialization Sections. Then just select the previous Sections along
>> with the Section you are working on and evaluate.
>>
>> This does leave out the case where you might want to evaluate all cells in
> a
>> Section down to a given cell. But if the Sections are not too long it's
> not
>> that difficult to select the cells you want, or to just evaluate all cells
>> in the Section but start reworking at an intermediate point.
>>
>> Also, if you use Sectional Grouping I recommend that you always stay with
>> the default Automatic Grouping. I have never seen a Manual Grouping
> notebook
>> that was convenient to work with.
>>
>> David Park
>> djmp at earthlink.net
>> http://home.earthlink.net/~djmp/
>>
>>
>> From: AES/newspost [mailto:siegman at stanford.edu]
To: mathgroup at smc.vnet.net
>> To: mathgroup at smc.vnet.net
>>
>> Could also provide a way to select and evaluate all cells from
>> current working point to top of a notebook (my personal hobby horse)
>>
>>
>>
>>
>>
>
>
>
> --
> DrBob at bigfoot.com
> www.eclecticdreams.net
>
>
>
>
>
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>
--
DrBob at bigfoot.com
www.eclecticdreams.net