Flag problems with custom font

Spliff · #1 04-08-2021, 10:10 AM

There are 7 flags (flag formats/codes, and an 8th command to delete any flag code, i.e. to reset the flag column of the database to NULL) where it is possible to change the text and/or background color, without having to change the (default) font; this works as expected.

In order to get the font attributes bold, italics and underlined though, you must use a "custom font" first, for which you can use the default font, with default size, etc. (which I do), or some other.

Assigning, or changing the assignment, with such "custom font" flags, presents a problem though, since often, the correct formatting of the "custom font" will not be displayed, or it will be displayed just for some seconds after leaving the item, after assignment of the flag, then it reverts to default (non-formatted) in the tree, whilst retaining the correct flag attribute though in the attributes pane, and even a "Compact and repair" will not show the correct formatting in the tree, just closing and reopening the database will do.

Sometimes, in order to retain/show the correct formatting (bolding or italicizing in my case) in the tree (the internal flag code is always retained, the problem is just in the tree), it helps to quickly delete the flag just after assigning it, then to reassign it again, but that often works and often doesn't.

The phenomenon of "custom font" not being correctly formatted in the tree, occurs independently of the way of assigning the flag, be it by (assigned) shortcut or by selecting the flag in the Item Attributes panes and then pressing Enter; it occurs independently of your also renaming the flag or to leave the original name (see below).

The phenomenon occured with several original flags I had reassigned to other formats, but I have not tried every possible combination; in order to better identify the problem, I have reassigned the "Yellow" flag in the following way, tried several times, also with just one database open, and without the problem disappearing:

Yellow flag, not renamed, is called Yellow, not "Hide", text black, background default (i.e. white), custom font Verdana Bold 12 point (which had to be specified here to get the "bold" but which corresponds, without the "bold", to my default tree format). No "hide", no "custom icon". I do not show the flags themselves, just use them as a means to format the item title in the tree, but I also tried with displaying the flags, and the problem didn't go away.

I could try specific settings to better identify what causes the problem.

kinook · #2 04-10-2021, 04:24 PM

Fixed in the latest download (6.2.0.2).

Spliff · #3 04-25-2021, 11:05 AM

Thank you, Kyle! I was ill, so could not look into this - I'm just on my legs again for 2 days now, sorry for being so late to this! -, will download this latest version now. Please see hereunder a suggestion.
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Beyond what I said above, all the "custom font" flags being correctly formatted after closing the database, then reopening it, and the new formatting of a single "custom font" flag being persistent even for the current session after (often needed to do this several times for the same flag, before it works) deleting the flag and assigning it anew, it seems that opening the dialogue "Tools-Flags", then closing that dialogue again, without doing anything in it, often resolves the problem for a group or all (!) newly assigned "custom font" flags, but it would be highly preferable indeed to have those "custom font" flags persistently display the correct formatting after the user assigns the flag.

On the other hand, I had forgot to mention that "View - Refresh" does NOT help.

From the respective database encodings of the flags, I fully understand that the flags cannot be combined; writing the necessary code for this being possible would be very heavy work. On the other hand, just 7 or 8 flags is a very tiny number, considered that the user on their side would have the need to "combine" them though, in order to combine different KINDS of categories. Let me give an example: In a text-format-based system, the user would use black for the general category, and then some colors (red, blue...) for specific item categories, just as they do in UR. Then, when they want to designate some black, red or blue item as important, they would bold it (similar for italics, underline), so we have got here one range (color) for categorization A (black, blue...), and a second range, superimposed on the first range, for another way (regular, bold...).

In UR, this is not possible this way; here, the user has to create new flags for these combinations: They will have red, blue, green, etc. flags, they would perhaps need 5 or 6 (all "regular" to begin with). Then, for the other categorization, they would need to create black-bold, red-bold, and so on, and at the very least black-italics, red-italics..., and it's obvious that the combination bold-italics also would be really useful, so in the UR system, it seems that we would need more than 20 flags, perhaps 32. The current ones are coded from 994 to 999 and then 1000 for "Completed", which is handled, upon option, slightly differently (none = NULL); why not make it 978-1000 instead, 979-999 being 32 regular ones, with the "1000" unchanged, and just the current ones - if not possible otherwise, or perhaps just a few more? - being assignable to shortkeys?

I understand I could use a combination of flag and file-symbol instead, but if I'm not mistaken, only the flag allows for formatting of the item title text in the tree, and I'm probably not alone in having problems with fast discerning multiple symbols, whilst a combination of text formatting and text colorizing (with a possible first level of categorization of text background color, for special use cases) is immediately discernible for most people IF the coloring doesn't go beyond 4 or 5 different colors at least.

The necessary coding work for more (NOT combineable) flags would be minimal indeed, and it would be a tremendous help!
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EDIT:

Speaking of the current version: Unfortunately, I don't see any change with the non-persistent formatting. To be even more precise than I had been above: When leaving the "formatted" item, the formatting does not persist, and also, a manual SAVE (^s) does not bring it back (as said before, in the "Item Attributes" pane, the flag is correct). Then, when I first open the dialogue Tools-Flags (does not nothing), but then CLOSE that dialogue (I tried several times for different flags, and every time with success), when I CLOSE that dialogue then, I hear working my HDD for some 1-2 seconds (even when the only change was that single flag assignment, ditto for several ones), and the formatting then reappears and remains persistent. So opening and then CLOSING the dialogue in question will make "formatted" flag assignments persistent, but that is needed to see them (or, as said above, closing and reopening the database). (I have several databases open at the same time, did not try with just one database open though, but it should work in both situations.)

kinook · #4 04-25-2021, 08:46 PM

Spliff · #5 04-26-2021, 04:31 AM

Thank you so much for your help, Kyle, this does it! (Even with 6.2.0.2, will install .3 now.)

My previous "Fonts" settings had been "Data Explorer and Search panes - CHANGE Font": Verdana Regular 12 points, and "Selected item: CHANGE Font: Verdana Bold (!) 12 points, with "Bold selected item" being greyed out since custom font but checked = "Yes" - so I had created the bolding - my point v) in my tree comments - myself! - my bad, sorry!

(As you said before, for being persistent, these OPTION changes have to be made when no, or just one, UR database is open; the FLAGS, on the other hand, are database-specific.)

Interesting here: In spite of "Selected item - Use default Windows tree font: YES", the selected item is then NOT really the (ugly, tiny) system default Windows tree font, but the custom font (in my case Verdana Regular 12 point) from the custom "Data Explorer and Search panes" setting: perfect!

(edited for correct version numbers)