Apache OpenOffice (AOO) Bugzilla – Issue 29807
Preliminary view doesn't care of printing options
Last modified: 2013-08-07 15:12:27 UTC
(Sorry, I'm using the spanish localization and I'm not sure I'm writing the right menu labels in english) If you go to Tools-Options-Spreadsheet-Printing and select the option 'Print only selected sheets' what you expect is that only the printing area of the selected sheet(s) will be printed. And, actually, this is what happens if you use File-Print... and you make sure that in 'Printing area' tha value 'All' is selected. However, if you use File-Preliminary view, although the first showed page is the one selected, actually all pages of all sheets are available. And if you print from the preliminary view, all pages of all sheets are printed, regardless of the value set for the above mentioned option 'Print only selected sheets'
Hi Niklas, one for you. Frank
It's intended to be that way. The print preview is a separate view of the (whole) document, it isn't tied to any selected sheets. When printing from the preview, there are no selected sheets.
May I kindly disagree? Normally, you use preview to have a preliminary view of the info that will be actually printed. Based on what you see, you decide wether or not you want to have it printed. In sum, from my view, what users will normally be doing is: 1) Select what needs to be printed 2) Have a preview of it 3) Print it or change it (they decide this upon the preview)
I understand that, but it's not how our preview works. Our preview *is* a separate view on the document, not a modal function you start up and finish. Maybe we have to change the whole thing (including Writer) at a later time, but there is no point in tweaking single aspects, like the inclusion of all sheets, to make the function look like something it isn't.
It's ok. I just try to offer my view about how it should work. I understand you cannot change things once and again just because different people have different ways of viewing the same topic. Hopefully you get good ideas from people reporting their experiences so that OpenOffice gets better and better :-) Regards
*** Issue 33977 has been marked as a duplicate of this issue. ***
Well, I'll post my point of view (enhanced post of 33977) cause discussion goes here. As I experience, users usually want to print only from current sheet. There is the one only way to do it: select it in Options and press Print button directly. No Preview. 1, OOo has the option very far away, deep inside Options. User must check it, and other time, when he wants to print whole document, must go to Options again and uncheck.. Since user prints often and changes his print preferences, he shouldn't be forced to enter Options every time. The function of printing_from_current_sheet_only should be accessible more flexible, maybe as suboption of Print button. 2, Even in actual design it dosent't work properly. If user enables the function in Options, the print only accepts the option if he directly prints from Calc. If he opens the Preview window first, the function is broken. Yes, there are all pages from all sheets visible in Preview, so it's not big surprise that pressing Print button prints again everything from all sheets. This approach remains incorrect, however. User checked "printing_from_current_sheet_only" and deserves the OOo's respect for his choice! From user's point of view, OOo simply dosen't function correctly, dosen't obey his choice. Moreover, such a behavior damages Preview function, because user dosen't use Preview just for fun -he wants to check the overall design of document, printability, correctness of formatting etc. The actual behavior de facto disables the Preview function for him, because as soon as he opens Preview, the Print no longer does what the user wants so user is forced not to use Preview to get from OOo what he wants. The right behavior? 1, Preview shouldn't have control over user set options. The user has priority. If the user selects "printing_from_current_sheet_only", the Preview should obey that. 2, User should be explicitely acknowledged that such option is selected when he enters Preview and should have option to switch it on/off directly in Preview window. Maybe some rollup-sellect-button "Only current sheet"/"All sheets" should appear in Preview window. If there's "Only current sheet" visible in the button, user knows what's happening. If user wants change the behavior, he simply selects "All sheets" and again he knows what's going on. In the Options, the function should act like this: "By default, print from 1, All sheets 2, Current sheet only 3, Keep last setting"
It's pitty that cumulation of such "little" issues as this one, makes ovarall picture and user's perception of OpenOffice.org as "inferior product".
reopened as enhancement request
re-assigned to requirements
*** Issue 57430 has been marked as a duplicate of this issue. ***
*** Issue 67365 has been marked as a duplicate of this issue. ***
I hope that that the print preview be corrected. It really is confusing. Since Print Preview does not take consideration on the "Print Only Selected Sheet", the actual page numbering does not agree when a user would like to indicate that in the Print Dialog. Even with so simple as three sheets document can lead to confusion. http://www.openoffice.org/issues/show_bug.cgi?id=67365 The workaround for this would be to do View -> Page Break Preview But there is yet another Bug : Be sure that Sheet #1 and Sheet #3 have contents 1) Define the whole sheet #1 as your Print Range 2) Go to Sheet #3 3) Now do View -> Page Break Preview It does not properly show you the page break preview 4) Go to Sheet #1 Violah!!!! Recommendation: When Print Selected Sheet Only is enabled then Defined Print Range from other pages must be ignored. Only the print range in the current sheet must take effect. If none, then the entire sheet. 5) Now Go to Sheet#3 6) Print the Sheet. You will have a blank page. Yet the Print Dialog asks for a page you want printed. With 20 sheets it would be hard to find just exactly where you defined those "Print Range". It is common for users in the enterprise to have more than 15 sheets.
Even though I mentioned some work around, we should still fix the Print Preview feature to consider the "Print Only Selected Sheet" status. Users would like to do print preview rathen than View->Page Break Preview because it shows them the complete formatting of the document with printed i.e. Margins, Header, Footer, etc. The View->Page Break Preview also need to obey the status of "Print Only Selected Sheet". I do hope that this get attention and be fixed immediately.
*** Issue 68731 has been marked as a duplicate of this issue. ***
Hi, Problem always here in version 2.1 .... Really disturbing because many users use "Print Preview" before real printing, especially our accouting services with biiig spreadsheet with many sheets (often 12 ... one by month, and they often want to print only the current month). And accounting service is really important in the choose between OOo and MsOffice. as nbjayme said .... fixing this bug will be really a great and important thing (my 2 votes for this issue) ...
Will be fixed with 25278. *** This issue has been marked as a duplicate of 25278 ***
Closed.