Sonny Software

OK, this is admittedly a minor problem, but I'm OC, so what can I say?

I cannot seem to adjust the final column in List View in such a way that the horizontal scroll bar easily disappears. I've got a huge monitor, so I don't need the bar, but when I drag the right edge of the rightmost column, there's some strange behavior. If I drag it far enough to the left, the scrollbar stops functioning as a scrollbar and just becomes just some static blue graphic (an artifact?). Resizing the window makes it disappear, but the behavior makes me think it's a bug.

Perhaps something to look into?

Hehe, I have also tried to get rid of this from time to time

I'm afraid that the only way to get the scrollbar to disappear is to increase the horizontal dimension of the window. It's not a bug, it's the way that the scrollbar-enabling code works. Being able to drag the right-most edge of the last column would be a bug, although I can't reproduce it. Please contact tech support off-forum and tell me how you have configured your list view columns.

Jon
Sonny Software

I'll get a support request to you soon, but I understand you to be saying that Bookends determines how wide the last column on the right should be, not me? This would be extremely problematic, as the title colum (my 3rd, and rightmost column) insists on being 2-3x wider than needed. I was glad to be able to resize it to something more reasonable. Moving the right most edge of the rightmost column is functionality enabled in any number of programs. In fact, Bookends is the only program I can think of where increasing the horizontal width of the window is required to make a blue bar disappear. Most program allow shrinking of the various columns. In other words, how exactly would I increase the horizontal width of a window if the window was already at the max width of the monitor? To not have the (by design) choice to insist that column fit within the given window is a rather "unfair" requirement for users.

A quick follow-up. I just added the "User1" field as my rightmost column. It is quote possibly 100x too wide for the data displayed within. How exactly am i supposed to size this column down to a reasonable width? Currently, it is so wide that the up/down arrow showing sorting is off the screen!

The last column should be used for the field with the most amount of text (i.e. Title). Put the other fields before the Title. This isn't unfair or by choice, it's a programming limitation I have to deal with.

Jon
Sonny Software

Well, I found a way to "cheat" around it. Apparently if I can increase the width of the window beyond the width of the columns, I'm then give the ability to resize the rightmost column.

Please, please, please do not "fix" this "bug." The blue scroll bar drives me absolutely nuts, especially when it's completely unnecessary in my context (I would need a title that spans 40 words to max out the title width). I'd hate to search elsewhere for bibliographic software, but if the design interface sets off my sense of "feng shui" everytime I look at it, well...

I seem to recall you're still programming in Carbon (since this limitation does not appear to exist in Cocoa). Since Carbon looks to be on its way out, perhaps it's time to move to Cocoa?

Actually, you're the first person this has complained about this, but if it drives you nuts, it does. I can of course eliminate the horizontal scrollbar altogether. Would people like that?

As for Cocoa vs. Carbon, this has nothing to do with that. But of course we'll move to Cocoa at some point.

Jon
Sonny Software

Oh, one more thing. This issue may become moot with a new reference list display option in an upcoming upgrade.

Jon
Sonny Software

Well, I'm defintely an OC kinda guy, lol.

I doubt many people would want to do away with the scrollbar, since I'm sure many have multple columns they'd like to access. I wonder if a simple colution would be to give us control over the column width (perhaps in pixels, or something). It could go to the right of the "Fields to display" dropdowns for the various columns. OR maybe the could be a checkmark for each column that says "fit to width" or something.

I want to be able to see all the data I need to see in the list view without scrolling. I rarely display all 8 columns and prefer to keep the "Summary" window on the right up. I figure "Author, year, title" are the only columns I need to be effective. When I see a blue scrollbar, it makes me think something's missing (which it isn't) and I can't tell at a glance which direction that column is sorting (since the arrow is off-screen). While it may be a bit nitpicky, but Ozean above seems to have a similar craving.

TXCiclista wrote:Well, I'm defintely an OC kinda guy, lol.

I doubt many people would want to do away with the scrollbar, since I'm sure many have multple columns they'd like to access. I wonder if a simple colution would be to give us control over the column width (perhaps in pixels, or something). It could go to the right of the "Fields to display" dropdowns for the various columns. OR maybe the could be a checkmark for each column that says "fit to width" or something.

Just to be clear, you can adjust any column width you want by dragging the line between the headers. And Bookends will remember the positions between launches. Or do you know this and I'm misunderstanding you?

Jon
Sonny Software

No, I understand that (thanks for checking). It's the far right line that's the trick. If I have three columns, I can resize 1 & 2, no sweat. It's #3 I want to resize as well, so it fits within the window. I can only do it with the "bug" I mentioned above. Otherwise, scrolling all the way to the right and trying to access the right "border" of the third column's title doesn't work. My comment about column width in pixels was a way to get around this limitation, since it appears I'm accessing a bug to resize the rightmost column.

I thought I would return to this thread only to explain why I now realize the horizontal scroll bar is driving me nuts: I'm on an 11" Macbook Air and a horizontal scroll means "data is off-screen." When no data is off-screen, it is an annoyance to have a visual representation of a state that does not exist. I find myself scrolling right once or twice a week out of habit to see what's off-screen, only to find nothing's there.

I'm looking forward to the new feature you mentioned. Hopefully it will do away with this!

I think you'll like the new view option coming in Bookends 11.2. If you'd like a preview, take a look at the second screen snap of Reference Miner (available on the Mac App Store):

http://www.sonnysoftware.com/referencem ... miner.html

(only default coloring will be a bit different in Bookends, though).

Jon
Sonny Software