GNU bug report logs - #18606
25.0.50; SES: Copy&Paste row doesn't keep attributes

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Message #5 received at submit <at> debbugs.gnu.org (full text, mbox):

From: oscarfv <at> telefonica.net (Óscar Fuentes)
To: bug-gnu-emacs <at> gnu.org
Subject: 25.0.50; SES: Copy&Paste row doesn't keep attributes
Date: Thu, 02 Oct 2014 14:50:24 +0200

[Message part 1 (text/plain, inline)]

emacs -Q

Visit the attached SES file

Go to the last row that contains data.

Mark and copy the row to the kill ring (C-Spc Down Meta-w)

Press C-y to yank a new row. SES asks "Yank will insert 1 rows.
Continue? (y or n)". Press y.

The first cell of the new row is left-aligned. The cell it was copied
from is right-aligned.

Until recently, alignment was copied too.

[conta14.ses (application/octet-stream, attachment)]

[Message part 3 (text/plain, inline)]

In GNU Emacs 25.0.50.1 (x86_64-unknown-linux-gnu, X toolkit)
 of 2014-10-01 on qcore
Windowing system distributor `The X.Org Foundation', version 11.0.11501000
System Description:	Ubuntu 14.04.1 LTS

Configured using:
 `configure --without-toolkit-scroll-bars --with-x-toolkit=lucid'

Configured features:
XAW3D XPM JPEG TIFF GIF PNG SOUND GSETTINGS NOTIFY LIBXML2 FREETYPE XFT
ZLIB

Important settings:
  value of $LANG: en_US.UTF-8
  locale-coding-system: utf-8-unix

Major mode: SES

Message #8 received at 18606 <at> debbugs.gnu.org (full text, mbox):

From: Stefan Monnier <monnier <at> IRO.UMontreal.CA>
To: oscarfv <at> telefonica.net (Óscar Fuentes)
Cc: 18606 <at> debbugs.gnu.org
Subject: Re: bug#18606: 25.0.50; SES: Copy&Paste row doesn't keep attributes
Date: Thu, 30 Oct 2014 13:37:41 -0400

> Until recently, alignment was copied too.

Actually, the alignment has simply changed in the new code (it was
never copied/preserved).  You can see it if you create a new .ses file
and insert "test" in the first field: in 24.4 it is right aligned, and
in 25.0.50 it's left aligned.

More specifically, you can now control whether the text is left-aligned
or right-aligned by choosing between using a string (left-aligned) or
a symbol (right aligned).


        Stefan

Message #11 received at 18606 <at> debbugs.gnu.org (full text, mbox):

From: oscarfv <at> telefonica.net (Óscar Fuentes)
To: 18606 <at> debbugs.gnu.org, Stefan Monnier <monnier <at> IRO.UMontreal.CA>
Subject: Re: bug#18606: 25.0.50; SES: Copy&Paste row doesn't keep attributes
Date: Thu, 30 Oct 2014 20:15:35 +0100

Stefan Monnier <monnier <at> IRO.UMontreal.CA> writes:

>> Until recently, alignment was copied too.
>
> Actually, the alignment has simply changed in the new code (it was
> never copied/preserved).  You can see it if you create a new .ses file
> and insert "test" in the first field: in 24.4 it is right aligned, and
> in 25.0.50 it's left aligned.
>
> More specifically, you can now control whether the text is left-aligned
> or right-aligned by choosing between using a string (left-aligned) or
> a symbol (right aligned).

Ok, now I understand what happens a bit better. The printer for the A
colunm on the attached file is `nil', the default one. So you changed
what that means for strings from right-aligned to left-aligned. Now, ses
files show the previously existing string cells right-aligned, but the
new ones left-aligned. That is, if visited with future emacs versions,
but not if visited with existing versions.

And I do not see an easy way of setting a column/cell/default printer
that right-aligns strings: ("%s") left-aligns, as advertised, and "%s"
does the default for strings, which is to left-align too.

So we have two issues here: a change on default behavior that alters
apparience depending on the Emacs version used to visit the ses file,
and missing an easy method for achieving what the user originally
intended (right-aligned strings.)

I understand that, most often, the user will like to see strings
left-aligned, so your change makes sense. You force existing users to
adapt their ses files, if they used right-aligned strings. That's ok
with me personally, and you are the one entitled to decide when it is
worth to take that type of decissions. So I'll not argue here. But we
absolutely need a way to implement the previous behavior, providing a
printer that right-aligns strings. And one that does not break backwards
compatibility, preferably.

Message #14 received at 18606 <at> debbugs.gnu.org (full text, mbox):

From: Stefan Monnier <monnier <at> IRO.UMontreal.CA>
To: oscarfv <at> telefonica.net (Óscar Fuentes)
Cc: 18606 <at> debbugs.gnu.org
Subject: Re: bug#18606: 25.0.50; SES: Copy&Paste row doesn't keep attributes
Date: Thu, 30 Oct 2014 15:31:13 -0400

> Now, ses files show the previously existing string cells
> right-aligned, but the new ones left-aligned.

Yes, when you open an SES file, the cells aren't e-computed nor
re-printed, so you get the appearance from the last time you visited
that file.

> But we absolutely need a way to implement the previous behavior,
> providing a printer that right-aligns strings.

The idea was to replace the strings with symbols.  But indeed, it might
be inconvenient.  Hmmm...


        Stefan

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