Devs: Split View Prognosis Please

Everything related to our flagship word processor.
Post Reply
pbasswil
Posts: 18
Joined: 2015-09-21 08:44:00

Devs: Split View Prognosis Please

Post by pbasswil »

Split View (where changes in one panel auto-updates in the other one) is a terrifically useful feature for many, many editing, planning and tinkering purposes. It's a thing that keeps some people using the big suite word processors.
It's an almost indispensable tool for me. It's the major thing that keeps NWP from being my complete writing solution.

Split View has been requested many, many times over the years. I'm not here to annoy the Nisus developers with another request! I'm simply asking for an answer to this question:

Is Split View a feature we can hope to have in Nisus Writer Pro in the foreseeable future?

Thank you very much, in advance, for your frank answer.

- pbasswil (Peter from Montreal)
adryan
Posts: 561
Joined: 2014-02-08 12:57:03
Location: Australia

Re: Devs: Split View Prognosis Please

Post by adryan »

G’day, Peter et al

I agree. Split View has been my Number One feature wish ever since its demise with the advent of OS X. Number Two would be the ability to choose how text should flow between columns across (soft) page breaks. In my opinion, attending to this sort of functionality is far more important than tinkering with the interface.

It occurs to me now, though, that it may be possible to emulate Split View by creating a duplicate of a file that is then synchronized with the original file via a Toolbar button that invokes a synchronizing macro. The two documents would have identical content but appear in different windows which could be sized and positioned as desired (possibly by the macro). The two windows would provide different views into the same content. Clicking the Toolbar button would synchronize the content and (if desired) make the other window active. Not quite so convenient as a true Split View, but probably not all that inconvenient either.

Cheers,
Adrian
MacBook Pro (M1 Pro, 2021)
macOS Ventura
Nisus Writer user since 1996
ptram
Posts: 280
Joined: 2007-10-21 14:59:09

Re: Devs: Split View Prognosis Please

Post by ptram »

I use the Open Copy macro very often, to keep a reference to a different part of the document open while writing a different section. Actually, I find it more convenient that a split widows, since with the copy open in a different window I'm free to place the reference where I prefer. Updating the copy is just a matter of closing it, and choosing the Open Copy macro again.

http://nisus.com/forum/viewtopic.php?f= ... py+#p15903

It is funny that there are lot of Word users asking how to see the same document in two separate Windows!

Paolo
pbasswil
Posts: 18
Joined: 2015-09-21 08:44:00

Re: Devs: Split View Prognosis Please

Post by pbasswil »

Opening a copy of the document certainly is the available work-around. Still a work-around, though: 2nd copy needs to be opened separately (by macro or not), & its window arranged on screen. And if you've added text to one window and then accidentally saved the wrong window, there goes your added text. :^/ No doubt you can get the hang of it, but it's not exactly convenient.

Split view must be a real challenge to program, considering the devs know that it's a popularly requested feature, but still haven't implemented after years and years.

I'd love to hear their side of it.

- pbass
pbasswil
Posts: 18
Joined: 2015-09-21 08:44:00

Re: Devs: Split View Prognosis Please

Post by pbasswil »

Hey Nisus Developers,

I'd still love a word from you:

Is a live-synced Split View feature
a) a possibility; or is it
b) off the table??

Thanks in advance for your response,

- pbass
User avatar
martin
Official Nisus Person
Posts: 5227
Joined: 2002-07-11 17:14:10
Location: San Diego, CA
Contact:

Re: Devs: Split View Prognosis Please

Post by martin »

Hello pbass: a split view feature is still "on the table" as you said. It's something we will consider adding to a future version of Nisus Writer. Thanks for letting us know that it's important to you.
pbasswil
Posts: 18
Joined: 2015-09-21 08:44:00

Re: Devs: Split View Prognosis Please

Post by pbasswil »

Hello Martin Official Nisus Person!

I sure appreciate your response. My faith in active interest from your company is all shored up now. :^)

In case this feature request would benefit from 'seconds', you need only go back through forum archives for many more inquiries about Split View.

What's more, I believe your having it would put you into competitive advantage over most other Mac word processors (beside The Unwieldy Behemoth We Seek to Avoid).

Thanks again,

- pbass

P.S.: Although a choice of vertically stacked, or side-by-side split view would be great,
if only one were available I'd personally favour side-by-side.
martin wrote:Hello pbass: a split view feature is still "on the table" as you said. It's something we will consider adding to a future version of Nisus Writer. Thanks for letting us know that it's important to you.
User avatar
martin
Official Nisus Person
Posts: 5227
Joined: 2002-07-11 17:14:10
Location: San Diego, CA
Contact:

Re: Devs: Split View Prognosis Please

Post by martin »

pbasswil wrote:I sure appreciate your response. My faith in active interest from your company is all shored up now. :^)
Thank you for saying so, it's great to have enthusiastic users!
In case this feature request would benefit from 'seconds', you need only go back through forum archives for many more inquiries about Split View.
Absolutely. We've seen that split view is indeed a very popular feature request, and understand it would be appreciated by many users.
Vanceone
Posts: 211
Joined: 2013-05-03 07:06:31

Re: Devs: Split View Prognosis Please

Post by Vanceone »

This doesn't seem like it would be terribly hard to implement if you are using standard cocoa views. As long as you keep track of which one is the "active" one, and I think Cocoa enforces a "which window is active" scheme anyway, it's just a series of views all tied to the same controller and model.

What would be nice is multiple cursors in each of these split views, so that you can keep track of where you are editing if need be in each of these views.
User avatar
martin
Official Nisus Person
Posts: 5227
Joined: 2002-07-11 17:14:10
Location: San Diego, CA
Contact:

Re: Devs: Split View Prognosis Please

Post by martin »

Vanceone wrote:This doesn't seem like it would be terribly hard to implement if you are using standard cocoa views. As long as you keep track of which one is the "active" one, and I think Cocoa enforces a "which window is active" scheme anyway, it's just a series of views all tied to the same controller and model.
You're right that under a standard model-view-controller (MVC) architecture it's conceptually quite simple: just create a second view that's showing the same model/data as the first view. Of course in practice there can be additional complications.
What would be nice is multiple cursors in each of these split views, so that you can keep track of where you are editing if need be in each of these views.
Assuming by "cursor" you mean a text selection or insertion point, then yes, absolutely. I would expect each split view to keep track of its selection(s) independently.
Post Reply