Re: NB...BB blocks that did break and shouldn't

[Carl Distefano CLDistefano@xxxxxxxx]

** Reply to note from "N. Sivin"  Fri, 28 Mar 97 14:57:44 +0000


> The "text" feature following the semicolon in a style (CR
> 4-165) opens all sorts of other intriguing possibilities, which
> various subscribers will no doubt convey to the list forthwith.
>
> I hope this replies to Carl di Stefano's objection. What the corrected
> procedure above does is to embed the NB command automatically and invisibly.
> Since the "NBn" command only works for a set number of lines, you would only
> want to use it in a one-line heading, where NB3 would shift it to the next
> page if it is in either of the last 2 lines on a given page.


It does, and I was grateful to be reminded of the text-after-
semicolon feature of v4 styles. As you say, it opens up
interesting possibilities. And as usual, each new feature spawns its
own wish list. For instance, in my work, the style-cum-NBn is
potentially very useful for setting up point headings in legal briefs.
Only problem is, point headings vary widely in length - some might be a
single line, others might extend to 5 lines or more. The NB block must
encompass the entire heading plus, say, two lines of text (to avoid
breaks between heading and text). How, then, to set the NB value so
that page breaks fall as desired? Setting n at some outer limit, like
7 lines, would unnecessarily push short headings to the next
page; whereas setting a lower value would cause unwanted breaks
within longer headings.

A neat solution would be to allow n to be a variable, viz, the number
of lines in the current paragraph, plus 2. One Xy-wish I've always had
was to be able to embed XPL in documents that would execute at print
time. Not "smart words" exactly; more like smart formatting.



--------------
Carl Distefano  * * *