It builds on ideas arising from Wish List Request "Edit Text Scheme: Block Operations".
Context:
- I try to maintain several text schemes for different purposes, including a verbose version for everyday use (gives me a comprehensive view in my habitual navigation via diagrams - zoomed out for a broader view when necessary). A minimal scheme works for full-tree views, and intermediate detail is possible with further scheme versions.
- Maintaining consistency between these is more than just "desirable", but a lot of work (making parallel changes to a set of 3 or 4 variants) that could be avoided in an ideal world.
- While text scheme files can be edited manually, this is not only clumsy (I think schemes need to be exported and re-imported?) but also a very dangerous process. The file structure is much more "decomposed" than the compact view displayed by the scheme editor proper.
- By analogy with the philosophy of distinguishing/separating style from content, would it be possible to maintain a single Text Scheme for "style" and find another way to select "content"?
- I do not mean to suggest that one single text scheme could be "adapted" for all purposes!
- The present Text Scheme editor works so well, there is a big disincentive to any major change.
- The same applies to scheme file structure.
- To extract the full value from content customisation, almost the entire set of properties in the various Diagram Options tabs would need to be associated to individual Text Schemes, rather than depending on a diagram-level setting (or the effectively global current default).
- Of course, this is no small task.
(the first two obstacles would be circumvented by this approach; the third avoided in a phased implementation that delays the last two suggested features)
- Provide for begin/end labels serving as Block delimiters where applicable.
- Add Conditional "Execution" for labelled blocks.
- Add a new Text Scheme property, (e.g. "Variant"), to serve as the flag for conditional "execution".
- Provide a method for changing the "Variant" value to any of those already defined in the scheme.
- Permit that property change from the Diagram Window (a context (right-click) menu from blank area of the diagram would be far the most convenient).
- Provide a limited set of sub-properties from amongst those elsewhere in the Diagram Options dialogue (even just the Dimensions tab property "Maximum box width" to start with).
- Extend the above to more Diagram Options properties.
- where related variants of a text scheme are created, a major improvement in maintaining consistency while avoiding repetitive edits and chances of error.
- the opportunity to rapidly modify a diagram view to suit the task in hand (e.g. changing between a global view and detail for individuals).
- extending the feature to have control over maximum box width would greatly improve the appearance of "smaller" formats and allow denser packing within the diagram.