[pmwiki-users] WYSIWYG is Indispensable; Moment of Truth

[Petko Yotov]

On Tuesday 24 May 2011 10:27:59, Oliver Betz wrote :
> Ever tried to insert a column in HTML or Wiki markup? It's a PITA.
> Even entering or modifying data is extremly inconvenient in markup.

I have found it easier to split the columns of large simple tables with \ and 
start them on new lines preceded by 2 spaces, something like:

|| row 1 col 1 \
  || row 1 col 2 \
  || row 1 col 3 \
  || row 1 col 4 \
  ||
|| row 2 col 1 \
  || row 2 col 2 \
  || row 2 merged cols 3 and 4 \
  ||||

This way I see where each row starts, and I see where each comumn starts -- if 
a line in the textarea does not start with || or with space-||, it is a part 
of the previous line which wrapped.


If I had to manipulate tables with even more complex or large data, I would 
probably enter the data rows into different pages as PageTextVariables. For 
example, a real estate agency could have such listings:

Type:3P Appartment
City:Sofia
Location:Gurko Street
Floor:1
Area_m2:90
Parking:0
Price:200000
etc.

Such rows (objects/elements/articles) could even be added or edited with a 
custom PmForm. The table listings can be organized and reorganized any way I 
like, at any moment -- it could omit certain columns/properties, etc. The 
pagelist can also check and display only active rows/offers (containing 
Active:1 variable for example). And it can reorder the rows on any column with 
(:pagelist request=1 req=1:) and specially created links in the table 
headings.

Oh, pagelists and PmForms are advanced topics beyond the BasicEditing page :-) 
But once you have set the pagelist and the pmform, any user can edit any field 
of any row, without reading the documentation.

Petko