TABS/TAB SETTINS in XPRO?

[jclements]

I find when I formating/reformatting tabsettings, be it in graphics program or a wordprocessor, there are 3 basic functions essential for efficient editing:

1. The ability to change the alignment property of an existing tab stop(s).
2. The abilty to reuse a set of tab stops elsewhere in the text stream.
3. The ability to quickly erase all or to reset all tabs stops to get back to a default setting.


Without these it is very time consuming to achieve a consistent format (that is a consistent appearance) throughout a document.

So my question is this. I didn't find a means to any of the above. Am I overlooking something?

If NOT, then are there plans in implement any of the above?

I would, of course, expect Xara LTD to come up with a unique, simple and logical way to achieve this. :-} A possible solution would to be to have a copy, a paste, and a reset icon in the text Info Bar or in the ruler itself (similar to what they have for the Mould Tool Info Bar). Also, allow the user to right-click on a tab stop and choose a different alignment property from a dropdown list or submenu. Copy and paste would work lke this: user clicks the text cursor in a line of text which contains the tab layout they want to reproduce, they click on the copy icon, then click the text cursor in a line of text the want to reformat, and then they click on the paste icon (if the cursor is not in the first sentence of a paragarph, then a hard-return is placed at the beginning of the "current sentence".

[Charles Moir]

Good suggestions.

The ability to change the alignment property of an existing tab stop(s).

That was not on any wish list. I can see it could sometimes be useful. But right now you just drag the tab off and put a new one of the desired type in it's place. Less nice, but not too hard. I will add the request to the wish list however.

The ability to reuse a set of tab stops elsewhere in the text stream.

That we already have with copy / paste attributes (which is not a LOT better in Pro when dealing with text). Just select some text with the desired tabs - which can just be a word in the region. Copy, go to the paragraph you want to apply these settings (or select the region to which you want to apply them), and Ctrl+Shift+A (Paste Attributes).

The ability to quickly erase all or to reset all tabs stops to get back to a default setting.

No direct way, but using the above technique it's very easy. Just copy a word that's in a style with no margins or tabs (i.e. the default style) and Paste Attributes onto the destination - that will remove all margins and settings.

Paste attribute works in two ways depending on whether you have a selection to apply to or have just placed the cursor in some text. If you select a region and Paste Attributes it pastes all the visual attributes of the source. If you just place a the cursor in a paragraph Paste Attribute pastes only the paragraph attributes - margins, and tabs.

The ability to copy / paste text styles this way is really quite powerful.

[jclements]

Awesome.... copy and paste formatting is possible.

I am thinking I will set up a template(s) with different text formatting "styles" and put them on a non-printable layer. That way it will be easy to recall tried and true standards.

Thanks, for clarifiying this, Charles.

[gwpriester]

What would be useful is a set of tab icons on the Infobar such as the ones we now have for column justification. This would make selecting the appropriate tab stop faster and you could change a right align tab to a decimal tab with a single click.

Gary