Table Cell size lockable?

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Level 1

1 points

Table Cell size lockable?

Hey guys,

I guess that I'm maybe to dumb to use the search engine but as I didn't get any good hits on my question I'd like to present it to you:

I've just been working on an invoice template that includes quite a lot of tables (address, header etc.) to fit German norms.
Now it would be great if I could lock the cell sizes against accidental manipulation while entering data (automatic resizing and word wraps not being affected). Is there any chance to do that?
The point is, that, as they're quite small in size, with a 20%-chance the user/mouse will hit one of the cell borders instead of the content itself... a bit of a PITA.

Greets from Germany

FM

MBP 15" 2010 model, Mac OS X (10.6.4), none

Posted on Oct 7, 2010 12:43 AM

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Answer 1

KOENIG Yvan

Level 8

41,825 points

Oct 7, 2010 2:11 AM in response to f.mueller

Feature unavailable.
We may lock a table but we can't insert datas in a locked table so it's not a valid soluce.

Yvan KOENIG (VALLAURIS, France) jeudi 7 octobre 2010 11:11:49

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Answer 2

f.mueller Author

Level 1

1 points

Oct 7, 2010 4:57 AM in response to f.mueller

That is sad - and would be a real nice feature for an update/upgrade 😉

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Answer 3

Oct 7, 2010 4:58 PM in response to f.mueller

f,

With the Table active, go to the Table Inspector, Table Tab, and UnCheck the "Automatically Resize to Fit Contents" box.

Jerry

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Answer 4

f.mueller Author

Level 1

1 points

Oct 8, 2010 12:42 AM in response to Jerrold Green1

Hi Jerrold,

I think you've got me wrong. The problem isn't the automatic resize feat - thats pretty much wanted - but the fact that you can't protect a tables/cells border from being "clicked on" and moved/sized accidentally.

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Answer 5

KOENIG Yvan

Level 8

41,825 points

Oct 8, 2010 3:22 AM in response to f.mueller

_Go to "Provide Pages Feedback" in the "Pages" menu_, describe what you wish.
Then, cross your fingers, and wait _at least_ for iWork'11 😉

But don't forget an important point : iWork isn't designed to become a 'catch every asked features tool'.

The rule is the well known :

+Apple Human Interface Guidelines:+
+Apply the 80 Percent Solution+
+During the design process, if you discover problems with your product design, you might consider applying the 80 percent solution‚ that is, designing your software to meet the needs of at least 80 percent of your users. This type of design typically favors simpler, more elegant approaches to problems.+
+If you try to design for the 20 percent of your target audience who are power users, your design may not be usable by the other 80 percent of users. Even though that smaller group of power users is likely to have good ideas for features, the majority of your user base may not think in the same way. Involving a broad range of users in your design process can help you find the 80 percent solution.+

Yvan KOENIG (VALLAURIS, France) vendredi 8 octobre 2010 12:20:18

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Answer 6

f.mueller Author

Level 1

1 points

Oct 8, 2010 4:33 AM in response to KOENIG Yvan

Good point.

Applying the 80%-solution usually is more than enough or you'll end up with a complex product like InDesign or Photoshop (which address mainly power users and are way more expensive). E.g. I wouldn't ask for a feature like extensive layer support in Pages.

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Answer 7

KOENIG Yvan

Level 8

41,825 points

Oct 8, 2010 6:27 AM in response to f.mueller

Feel free to ask what you wish.

The engineers are intelligent enough to sort among requests.

I posted the 80% rule to explain how is made the choice of embedded features.
If many requests are posted for a feature, the engineers will know that it's a feature interesting many users so they will perhaps add it in the to-do list.
If we auto-censored our requests, it's quite sure that the feature will not be added.

About layers, at this time, in Word Processors documents, we have one global (main) text layer and we may add hundreds of layers . Every floating object : text, shape, picture, multimedia object… is in a single layer.

Yvan KOENIG (VALLAURIS, France) vendredi 8 octobre 2010 15:27:14

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