Printing of diagrams including the element comments would be welcome

[codemanyak]

I received this enhancement proposal by Hubert Klöser via mail today:

"2. Ein Ausdruck der Kommentare zu den einzelnen Elementen wäre
wünschenswert, eventuell als nummerierte Fußnote oder kleingedruckt im
Element."

The proposed variants are: either to add them as footnotes or to integrate them in the respective element with a smaller font.

[codemanyak]

The proposal isn't bad, the question is just, what kinds of output are to be involved? As there are:

• Printing?
• Export as PNG (and EMF, WMF, PDF, SVG)?
• Display (as kind of preview)?

The easiest-to-implement and most consistent way would of course be to introduce a new display setting that automatically affects all drawing and export to whatever format. This would be a third comment-related display option next to "Show comments?" and "Switch text/comment", though none of the latter ones make sense while the comment integration mode as proposed here is active.
The footnote variant would not be very sensible for diagram display or graphics export and is difficult to layout, and to read as well.

[codemanyak]

Hubert Klöser wrote:
"Wenn Sie mich so fragen, dann wäre natürlich in beiden Ausgabedrucken die Möglichkeit toll. Mir persönlich würde die Druckenfunktion aber reichen."
(If you ask me this way then of course it would be great to have that possibility [to integrate the comments] in both export and printing. But for me personally the printing function would be sufficient.)
Again, the easest way would be a general option to include the comments in all diagram drawing independent of the target device or file.
Will be scheduled for a later development version.

[reks99]

Hi.

I do it with two exports one with the shown texts and one with the shown comments (after switching betweent text and comments). So I get the identical structure with different texts.

Fine regards
Rolf

[codemanyak]

Solution prepared for next dawning release.

[codemanyak]

Some remarks:
In Alternatives and Case selections only the first line of the respective comment will be drawn lest the layout should be compromised due to the lacking space.
The new mode "Comments plus text" overrides mode "Switch text/comments". Even the menu item for the latter will be disabled while mode "Comments plus text" is selected, though the previous setting remains preserved.
Here are some previews:

[codemanyak]

The presentation of comments within the triangular parts of Alternatives and Case selections induces enormous enlargement of these elements (even though only the first comment line is drawn) as shown in the following example:


It would be more sensible if the comment were positioned in a small rectangular extra space on top of the triangle but without separating line (the same should apply for Case Selections):

In this case, the comment may even be presented completely again (whithout cutting off lines 2 .. n).