Add origin options to FormSpec labels #8658

v-rob · 2019-07-07T02:34:36Z

Note: This PR is closed due to bad implementation. A new one will be worked on after #9755 is merged (or rejected for some reason).

This PR allows the label and vertlabel elements in FormSpecs to have origin set and custom newline spacing. This closes #7613. It adds three new styling options to label and vertlabel:

From `lua_api.txt`:

label, vertlabel
- horigin - Sets horizontal origin in relation to label text. Possible values:
  - left: Left side of the bounding box
  - center: Center of the bounding box
  - right: Right side of the bounding box
  - leftline (vertlabel only): Left end of first column
  - centerline (vertlabel only): Center of first column
  - rightline (vertlabel only): Right end of first column
    Default left for label and centerline for vertlabel.
- vorigin - Sets vertical origin in relation to label text. Possible values:
  - top: Top of the bounding box
  - center: Center of the bounding box
  - bottom: Bottom of the bounding box
  - topline (label only): Top of first line
  - centerline (label only): Center of first line
  - bottomline (label only): Bottom of first line
    Default centerline for label and top for vertlabel.
- newline_spacing - number, sets space between lines/columns of text. If
  the number is prefixed with *, the spacing is set to a multiple of the
  label's font height or width, otherwise it's in coordinates. Default 0.5.

In addition to these styling options, newlines have been added to vertlabel since it didn't previously support this. Each newline moves the text to the right, unless, of course, it's negative.

A nice side effect of how it is implemented is that the label and vertlabel rects are as tall as the text height as opposed to a full coordinate as it is currently. This also makes it so that it will work with really gigantic fonts as well as normal ones.

Screenshot

A picture's worth a thousand words, so here you go:

The gray dots show where the label position is.

To do

This PR is Ready to Review.

How to test

It's very long

This is the above screenshot:

local function boxes(num_x, num_y)
	local boxes = ""
	for x = 0, num_x do
		for y = 0, num_y do
			if x % 2 == y % 2 then
				boxes = boxes .. "box["..x..","..y..";1,1;red]"
			end
		end
	end
	return boxes
end

local function point(x, y)
	return "box[".. x-0.05 ..",".. y-0.05 ..";0.1,0.1;gray]"
end

minetest.show_formspec("singleplayer", "formspec:test",
	"formspec_version[3]"..
	"size[20,12]"..
	boxes(19, 11)..
	---
	point(1, 1)..
	"style_type[label;horigin=left]".. -- Remove value for default label horigin: left
	"label[1,1;H-left]"..

	point(1, 2)..
	"style_type[label;horigin=center]"..
	"label[1,2;H-center]"..

	point(1, 3)..
	"style_type[label;horigin=right]"..
	"label[1,3;H-right]"..

	"box[2.95,0;0.1,12;gray]"..
	"box[0,6.95;3,0.1;gray]"..
	---
	point(1, 8)..
	"style_type[label;horigin=;newline_spacing=*1]"..
	"label[1,8;Newline 1 *1\nNewline 2 *1\nNewline 3 *1]"..
	
	point(1, 11)..
	"style_type[label;horigin=;newline_spacing=*-2]"..
	"label[1,11;Newline 1 *-2\nNewline 2 *-2\nNewline 3 *-2]"..
	---
	"style_type[label;newline_spacing=0.33]"..

	point(4, 1)..
	"style_type[label;vorigin=top]".. -- Remove value for default label vorigin: centerline
	"label[4,1;V-top\nV-top2\nV-top3]"..

	point(4, 3)..
	"style_type[label;vorigin=center]"..
	"label[4,3;V-center\nV-center2\nV-center3]"..

	point(4, 5)..
	"style_type[label;vorigin=bottom]"..
	"label[4,5;V-bottom\nV-bottom2\nV-bottom3]"..

	point(4, 6)..
	"style_type[label;vorigin=topline]"..
	"label[4,6;V-topline\nV-topline2\nV-topline3]"..

	point(4, 8)..
	"style_type[label;vorigin=centerline]"..
	"label[4,8;V-centerline\nV-centerline2\nV-centerline3]"..

	point(4, 10)..
	"style_type[label;vorigin=bottomline]"..
	"label[4,10;V-bottomline\nV-bottomline2\nV-bottomline3]"..

	"box[5.95,0;0.1,12;gray]"..
	---
	"style_type[label;newline_spacing=-0.33]"..

	point(7, 1)..
	"style_type[label;vorigin=top]"..
	"label[7,1;V-top\nV-top2\nV-top3]"..

	point(7, 3)..
	"style_type[label;vorigin=center]"..
	"label[7,3;V-center\nV-center2\nV-center3]"..

	point(7, 5)..
	"style_type[label;vorigin=bottom]"..
	"label[7,5;V-bottom\nV-bottom2\nV-bottom3]"..

	point(7, 6)..
	"style_type[label;vorigin=topline]"..
	"label[7,6;V-topline\nV-topline2\nV-topline3]"..

	point(7, 8)..
	"style_type[label;vorigin=centerline]"..
	"label[7,8;V-centerline\nV-centerline2\nV-centerline3]"..

	point(7, 10)..
	"style_type[label;vorigin=bottomline]"..
	"label[7,10;V-bottomline\nV-bottomline2\nV-bottomline3]"..

	"box[8.95,0;0.1,12;gray]"..
	---
	"style_type[label;horigin=]"..

	point(10, 2)..
	"style_type[label;vorigin=top]".. -- Remove value for default vertlabel vorigin: top
	"vertlabel[10,2;V|TOP]"..

	point(11, 2)..
	"style_type[label;vorigin=center]"..
	"vertlabel[11,2;V|CEN]"..

	point(12, 2)..
	"style_type[label;vorigin=bottom]"..
	"vertlabel[12,2;V|BTM]"..

	"box[9,3.95;11,0.1;gray]"..
	"box[15.95,0;0.1,4;gray]"..
	---
	point(17, 1)..
	"style_type[label;vorigin=;newline_spacing=*1]"..
	"vertlabel[17,1;\\\\N 1 *1\n\\\\N 2 *1\n\\\\N 3 *1]"..
	
	point(19, 1)..
	"style_type[label;vorigin=;newline_spacing=*-2]"..
	"vertlabel[19,1;\\\\N 1 *-2\n\\\\N 2 *-2\n\\\\N 3 *-2]"..
	---
	"style_type[label;newline_spacing=0.25]"..

	point(10, 5)..
	"style_type[label;horigin=left]".. -- Comment for default horigin: centerline
	"vertlabel[10,5;H|LFT\nH|LFT2\nH|LFT3]"..

	point(12, 5)..
	"style_type[label;horigin=center]"..
	"vertlabel[12,5;H|CEN\nH|CEN2\nH|CEN3]"..

	point(14, 5)..
	"style_type[label;horigin=right]"..
	"vertlabel[14,5;H|RGT\nH|RGT2\nH|RGT3]"..

	point(15, 5)..
	"style_type[label;horigin=leftline]"..
	"vertlabel[15,5;H|LFL\nH|LFL2\nH|LFL3]"..

	point(17, 5)..
	"style_type[label;horigin=centerline]"..
	"vertlabel[17,5;H|CTL\nH|CTL2\nH|CTL3]"..

	point(19, 5)..
	"style_type[label;horigin=rightline]"..
	"vertlabel[19,5;H|RTL\nH|RTL2\nH|RTL3]"..

	"box[9,7.95;11,0.1;gray]"..
	---
	"style_type[label;newline_spacing=-0.25]"..

	point(10, 9)..
	"style_type[label;horigin=left]"..
	"vertlabel[10,9;H|LFT\nH|LFT2\nH|LFT3]"..

	point(12, 9)..
	"style_type[label;horigin=center]"..
	"vertlabel[12,9;H|CEN\nH|CEN2\nH|CEN3]"..

	point(14, 9)..
	"style_type[label;horigin=right]"..
	"vertlabel[14,9;H|RGT\nH|RGT2\nH|RGT3]"..

	point(15, 9)..
	"style_type[label;horigin=leftline]"..
	"vertlabel[15,9;H|LFL\nH|LFL2\nH|LFL3]"..

	point(17, 9)..
	"style_type[label;horigin=centerline]"..
	"vertlabel[17,9;H|CTL\nH|CTL2\nH|CTL3]"..

	point(19, 9)..
	"style_type[label;horigin=rightline]"..
	"vertlabel[19,9;H|RTL\nH|RTL2\nH|RTL3]"
)

v-rob · 2019-07-14T23:54:34Z

Can this, along with #8665, #8652, and #8646 be added to the formspec merging list (https://github.com/minetest/minetest/projects/6)?

I know there are a lot of formspec PRs, but I think it's best for all formspec changes to be made in a single release since they require a client update for them to work properly. Don't worry, I don't have too many left to do ;-)

paramat · 2019-12-12T02:16:25Z

Seems to be actively worked on so removing 'possible close' label. Or was there a reason for that?

v-rob · 2020-01-16T05:03:06Z

This PR is now Ready for Review

I've added support for vertlabel. I've given them newline support as well just like label, and they can also be aligned the same way. Note that this doesn't break anything: if you use a newline in a vertlabel before now, it will cut off the text in the rect, plus the fact that this all only works with real coordinates enabled.

doc/lua_api.txt

stale

rubenwardy · 2020-05-05T18:23:17Z

There's a bit of repetition here, not necessary a bad problem

It would be good to have the test formspec in minimal. The points are also clearer when red:

sorcerykid · 2020-05-06T05:42:00Z

Hmm, this seems way too complicated for label elements. Even being an avid developer with formspecs myself, I would honestly never use 90% of the options in this PR. As I recall, #7613 just asked for basic left, centere, and right alignment, I cannot imagine many use-cases where people require more sophisticated fine-control just to position labels above or beside a field.

I get the impression the overall feature set of formspecs is very off-balance and lacks an agreed-upon vision for the future. Is there not an official roadmap posted somewhere? For example, I just saw a feature request for embedding any kind of content inside buttons. It's still not even possible to dynamically update formspecs in the client, yet apparently we'll be able to have buttons that can have entire mini-formspecs in them. That doesn't make any sense O_o

I seem to recall Rubenwardy had an issue opened awhile back for refactoring the entire formspec backend. I guess that's not happening now that the goal is just randomly adding cool and fun features.

rubenwardy · 2020-05-06T08:09:29Z

The extra features are required in order to retain compatibility and consistency. But you could remove the many *line alternatives and literally only have left/center/right/legacy. This is what I suggested, adding the rest could be considered going overboard

There's still no consensus on a refactor (#9358), I received no response to my suggestion

ghost · 2020-05-06T10:09:03Z

It's still not even possible to dynamically update formspecs in the client, yet apparently we'll be able to have buttons that can have entire mini-formspecs in them. That doesn't make any sense O_o

Sure it does. It's an easy feature that's impossible for mods to properly hack in with the current API, and the necessary backend work lays the API groundwork for a larger and more important feature--allowing tabs to have 'pages' of content instead of forcing a re-send every tab change.

Dynamically updating formspecs is super important, but it requires significant design and implementation effort to get in and is more in the 'concept phase' than anything else. Expecting people to be working on something that isn't actually hashed out fully is a great way to make bad API decisions--something that Minetest suffers greatly from as-is.

v-rob · 2020-05-06T17:36:27Z

I personally consider the *line options more useful; that's what the original PR did. I realize that some people might consider the non-line options useful though. The line for the first char isn't really that useful, but wasn't hard to implement. It can be used to line up a label and a vertlabel at the same position so that they have the same first character. I can still remove that if wanted.

v-rob · 2020-05-12T04:19:35Z

I think I should probably clarify my rationale for making the line options: Labels are primarily for putting text next to, above, or somewhere in relation to an element in order to give it more meaning. They aren't intended as large blocks of text; that's textarea's job (and see #9755, which is a much smaller PR besides), but as small descriptors. Now, let's look at the real_coordinates screenshot:

See the label with newlines over the buttons? Try aligning that without the line options. And what if each label has to be above the button with topline? I suppose that separate labels can be used, but that takes more work, and it's impossible to combine when making the labels have a newline_spacing as a multiple of font size.

I realize that non-line options are useful for making a pseudo-textarea without the scrolling, word wrap, or highlighting, which can be used for, e.g., an overlay over a button, but that doesn't discount the usefulness of the lines.

I can remove the line options if others are insistent, but I find them useful, and they add barely any more code. The non-line options use more code, actually.

The character alignment variation of the line options isn't really useful -- that's something I think I will remove. I only added that because I could, and that is a bad reason. Edit: Removed

v-rob · 2020-06-03T20:52:46Z

I was mulling over this PR a bit yesterday, and I think I've revised my position on whether or not this should be merged. It seems pretty certain that sized labels with halign and valign will be made at some point, and I suppose it would be redundant to have two similar things, even though they have subtle differences. It would probably end up as confusing for modders and not worth the extra code in the engine.

As a result, I think I will close this PR and create one for aligned sized labels after the very simple #9755 is merged to minimize conflicts. It would probably have newline_spacing as well, but it would not include vertlabels whatsoever since that can be emulated with label with a newline after every character and a newline_spacing of *1. I wouldn't include *line options because they wouldn't work in that case well anyway.

Edit: And it would be able to support the old coordinate system for, say, a textarea's units.

I won't act without feedback, though, so I would appreciate any anyone could give me.

sorcerykid · 2020-06-03T21:27:24Z

Thanks for being receptive to my feedback v-rob. And sorry if I kind of lashed out with so many criticisms before. I value the work you do, and this PR (at least in its earlier state) had the exact feature-set that I'd dreamed about for years. So it's not for lack of appreciation of the concept. It's moreso that I just feel it's important that formspecs have at least remain balanced as possible when it comes to capabilities vs. complexity. I tend to feel that a generic API that solves at least the most common use-cases, while still accommodating edge-cases via documented workarounds, is usually the most elegant solution. Hope that makes sense :)

SmallJoker added Feature ✨ PRs that add or enhance a feature Formspec labels Jul 10, 2019

SmallJoker added this to Highest priority on top in Formspec Priority List Jul 15, 2019

rubenwardy added Documentation needed WIP The PR is still being worked on by its author and not ready yet. Rebase needed The PR needs to be rebased by its author. labels Aug 8, 2019

v-rob force-pushed the formspec-label-options branch 2 times, most recently from 8bc4629 to 8987f07 Compare November 28, 2019 00:57

rubenwardy added the Possible close label Dec 6, 2019

rubenwardy removed the Possible close label Dec 12, 2019

v-rob force-pushed the formspec-label-options branch 16 times, most recently from 0fabbaf to 9027b4c Compare January 16, 2020 04:45

SmallJoker removed the Documentation needed / error label Jan 16, 2020

v-rob added 11 commits May 3, 2020 15:07

Add label alignment

6751a0f

Correct enum type

35a0500

Fix syntax and incorrect variable name

d88e79f

Fix rect height and newline spacing

f490ed8

Fix alignment

efd3248

Allow zero or negative newline spacing

917b201

Add label options to style

f8b002b

Give vertlabels styling options (newline spacing, alignment)

4be9126

Code style

ee71e26

Rename align to origin; add *line

33f3880

Add mutliplier newline_spacing

31795a0

v-rob force-pushed the formspec-label-options branch from 10ac4d6 to 31795a0 Compare May 3, 2020 22:08

rubenwardy reviewed May 5, 2020

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rubenwardy reviewed May 5, 2020

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rubenwardy requested a review from SmallJoker May 5, 2020 18:21

rubenwardy removed One approval ✅ ◻️ Rebase needed The PR needs to be rebased by its author. labels May 5, 2020

Remove character *line variants

aedc133

v-rob closed this Jun 18, 2020

v-rob deleted the formspec-label-options branch July 18, 2020 20:43

v-rob moved this from PRs: Highest priority on top to Adoption needed or rejected in Formspec Priority List Aug 19, 2020

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Add origin options to FormSpec labels #8658

Add origin options to FormSpec labels #8658

v-rob commented Jul 7, 2019 •

edited

v-rob commented Jul 14, 2019

paramat commented Dec 12, 2019 •

edited

v-rob commented Jan 16, 2020 •

edited

rubenwardy commented May 5, 2020

sorcerykid commented May 6, 2020 •

edited

rubenwardy commented May 6, 2020 •

edited

ghost commented May 6, 2020

v-rob commented May 6, 2020

v-rob commented May 12, 2020 •

edited

v-rob commented Jun 3, 2020 •

edited

sorcerykid commented Jun 3, 2020

Add origin options to FormSpec labels #8658

Add origin options to FormSpec labels #8658

Conversation

v-rob commented Jul 7, 2019 • edited

From lua_api.txt:

Screenshot

To do

How to test

v-rob commented Jul 14, 2019

paramat commented Dec 12, 2019 • edited

v-rob commented Jan 16, 2020 • edited

rubenwardy commented May 5, 2020

sorcerykid commented May 6, 2020 • edited

rubenwardy commented May 6, 2020 • edited

ghost commented May 6, 2020

v-rob commented May 6, 2020

v-rob commented May 12, 2020 • edited

v-rob commented Jun 3, 2020 • edited

sorcerykid commented Jun 3, 2020

v-rob commented Jul 7, 2019 •

edited

From `lua_api.txt`:

paramat commented Dec 12, 2019 •

edited

v-rob commented Jan 16, 2020 •

edited

sorcerykid commented May 6, 2020 •

edited

rubenwardy commented May 6, 2020 •

edited

v-rob commented May 12, 2020 •

edited

v-rob commented Jun 3, 2020 •

edited