Hello:
Quote:
Originally Posted by DavidMcCann
That's not a bug, it's a feature!
|
Hmmm ....
With all due respect, I beg to differ.
Quote:
Originally Posted by DavidMcCann
The print option is for printing a formated document: it would be a bit odd if you could change ...
|
It's not about
changing the format of the document.
It's about
how I choose to print a formatted document. ie: page size and orientation.
The format stays the same.
Please bear with me while I illustrate this with a practical example:
There's a large and complex *.xls file I have in which the data to be printed (a 14 column wide selection by an X number of rows) will take up a certain number of size A4 pages in
portrait mode.
The data is aranged on the worksheet in a manner that updating it and printing the result of the update is easy and straightforward. ie: select an area and print the selection.
Now, the data at the end of the file (a summary of sorts) which needs to go at the end of the print job ie: it's the
last page, happens to have a
different format due to the fact that it is compounded data and thus arranged in a different manner.
Because of how it is arranged on the sheet, the area selected is roughly 40% wider but encompasses only 35 rows. ie: it
must be printed in landscape mode, otherwise it is practically illegible.
The way I have
always done this is by selecting the area to be printed (the 14 columns by the amount of rows that would confortably (readable) fit in a size A4 page and print it in the
default parameters set for the file. ie: A4 portrait mode.
Once I finish printing all the pages I need, I then have to print the last page I've mentioned above.
But if I print it using the default setting for file ie: A4 portrait mode, it would end up being a waste of paper and toner.
So, once I select the area to be printed, I choose to override the default setting and print it in a different mode. ie: A4 landscape mode.
I have done it in this exact manner in
every incarnation of Office/Word/Excel I have come across, for over 20 years, from W95 onwards. And IIRC, early stand alone versions of Word/Excel worked the same way.
I'm not here to make a case for MSOffice or anything of the sort as I stand firmly in support of FOSS.
But I'm sure you can agree that there are very sound reasons behind the argument
"That is the behavior users expect". (see citation above)
That said, please note that with
the sole exception of LO and Leafpad (there may be others), I can also print in this manner in all the applications I have listed in my previous post.
I'm sure you get the idea of how it works and may concurr with me in that what
is a feature is being able to print in this manner, on the fly and without having to jump through any hoops to do it.
Thanks a lot for your input.
Cheers,
A.