thread tree misdisplays

thread tree misdisplays

[Karl Kleinpaste]

I've never used thread trees much before, but I've finally decided I
can use them now.  I've been using a 2-way split for some time, with
*Group* above *Summary* on the left, and the *Article* on the right,
in a very wide (200-column) Xemacs; what is intended now is the
addition of a thread tree display above the *Article*, the same size
as the corresponding *Group* buffer on its left.

	   (gnus-add-configuration
	    '(article
	      (horizontal 1.0
			  (vertical 0.4
				    (group 0.25)
				    (summary 1.0 point))
			  (vertical 1.0
				    (tree 0.25)	; <-- addition here
				    (article 1.0)))))

There are 3 problems with this that I see:

1. The use of boldface font for the names in *Tree* display entries
means that the lines defining the tree branches do not line up with
the entries themselves.  That is, the lines of display connecting
entries are plain-font [-\]* strings, but when one has scored a
subject higher, all the entries are boldfaced, and so the entries
themselves don't line up properly among those plain-font [-\]*
connectivity strings.  Can the font used in the *Tree* buffer be
forced to a plain state in all cases?

2. Again because of boldface (it appears), if the thread is very wide
in *Tree* (very tall in *Summary*), then one can find oneself looking
at an article such that no entry in the visible portion of *Tree* is
highlighted -- the would-be highlighted entry is beyond the right edge
of what the buffer displays.

3. Lastly, if a thread is very tall in *Tree* (very wide in
*Summary*), *Tree* flickers back and forth as one moves from one
article to the next, between showing an entry and then showing the top
line of the *Tree* buffer.  I would think it should move the buffer
down so that the highlighted name is remains visible.

--karl

Re: thread tree misdisplays

[Lars Magne Ingebrigtsen]

Karl Kleinpaste <karl@jprc.com> writes:

> 1. The use of boldface font for the names in *Tree* display entries
> means that the lines defining the tree branches do not line up with
> the entries themselves.  That is, the lines of display connecting
> entries are plain-font [-\]* strings, but when one has scored a
> subject higher, all the entries are boldfaced, and so the entries
> themselves don't line up properly among those plain-font [-\]*
> connectivity strings.  Can the font used in the *Tree* buffer be
> forced to a plain state in all cases?

Hm...  Perhaps you could switch to a font in the Tree buffer where the
bold chars have the same width as the unbolded ones?  

Gnus uses the same rules for highlighting the tree nodes as the thread
display, so you can get rid of the boldness by fiddling with
`gnus-summary-highlight'. 

> 2. Again because of boldface (it appears), if the thread is very wide
> in *Tree* (very tall in *Summary*), then one can find oneself looking
> at an article such that no entry in the visible portion of *Tree* is
> highlighted -- the would-be highlighted entry is beyond the right edge
> of what the buffer displays.

Hm...  Gnus tries to recenter the tree buffer vertically and
horizontally, but perhaps it gets confused when not all the chars have
the same width?

> 3. Lastly, if a thread is very tall in *Tree* (very wide in
> *Summary*), *Tree* flickers back and forth as one moves from one
> article to the next, between showing an entry and then showing the top
> line of the *Tree* buffer.  I would think it should move the buffer
> down so that the highlighted name is remains visible.

Try setting `gnus-xmas-force-redisplay' to nil...

-- 
(domestic pets only, the antidote for overdose, milk.)
  larsi@ifi.uio.no * Lars Ingebrigtsen