Textbox Merging Algorithm

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TeitoNakagawa
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Joined: Mon Feb 24, 2020 8:34 am

Textbox Merging Algorithm

Post by TeitoNakagawa »

We have created the pdfs from our system with Python pymupdf module.
The textboxes embed to the pdf by it is merged even though they are different objects and distant.
I have attached the screen shot of the pdf X-Change editor.
screen.png
This is the "editing contents window" and merged 2 text boxes(bath room and BED ROOM-1)
Even there are textbox HALL between 2 texts, the texts has been merged.

I would like to know why they are merged and how to avoid merging by pdf X-change editor.
Willy Van Nuffel
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Posts: 2347
Joined: Wed Jan 18, 2006 12:10 pm

Re: Textbox Merging Algorithm

Post by Willy Van Nuffel »

This is a problem I already mentioned several years ago:
https://forum.pdf-xchange.com/viewtopic.php?f=62&t=27034

I think that this is the reason why there is an option in the Edit text menu "Edit Text Elements as Blocks".
Turning off this option makes that you can again select individual words or parts in text, but unfortunately, makes that editing does not work anymore. See also here:
https://forum.pdf-xchange.com/viewtopic.php?f=62&t=36934

I believe that Tracker Software Development should review this feature, because it does not exactly what we should like and expect.

Thanks for consideration.

Willy

NOTE for the people who are interested:
In case you like to (re)view the original separation of the text : turn on the Content pane and open the concerned page by clicking the tiny white triangle in front of it.
Attachments
PDF-XChange Editor - text editing.png
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Tracker Supp-Stefan
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Re: Textbox Merging Algorithm

Post by Tracker Supp-Stefan »

Hello Willy Van Nuffel,

Thanks for pointing this out!

@TeitoNakagawa - please let us know if the above was helpful!

Kind regards,
Stefan
Willy Van Nuffel
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Joined: Wed Jan 18, 2006 12:10 pm

Re: Textbox Merging Algorithm

Post by Willy Van Nuffel »

Hello Stefan,

Can I please ask you to re-read my previous post ?

Don't you think that turning off the "Edit Text Elements as Blocks"-option should still make it possible to edit the text elements individually ? At this moment, when you turn this option OFF, it is NOT possible to modify the text. However you can still delete, rotate, move the text elements, but not edit.

So, I am afraid that my answer might not really help our friend TeitoNakagawa any further. My writing was just for information.

I would be thankful if you could ask your development colleagues for their opinion about this:
"Can editing of base-content-text be made possible when "Edit Text Elements as Blocks" is turned OFF ?"

Kind regards.

Willy
Willy Van Nuffel
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Posts: 2347
Joined: Wed Jan 18, 2006 12:10 pm

Re: Textbox Merging Algorithm

Post by Willy Van Nuffel »

In the referenced topic below, I can read that "allowing editing in this mode could cause complications in the document unless implemented very carefully". However, deleting, moving and rotating elements is still possible when "Edit Text Elements as Blocks" is turned off. So, I do not immediately see where the problem could be for editing the text. To me it seems like the treatment of the different elements as one block is applicated at the moment itself, when the option is turned on. I do not see this result stored in the file. The elements are still individually visible in the Content pane.

https://forum.pdf-xchange.com/viewtopic.php?f=62&t=36934
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TrackerSupp-Daniel
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Re: Textbox Merging Algorithm

Post by TrackerSupp-Daniel »

Hello, Willy Van Nuffel

Sorry for the delay here, I will be quite honest, my understanding of why we cannot offer this is not much farther along that yours. I do not have much more to offer than the Dev team has told me personally, and I trust their knowledge. Moving and rotating content items, like these is an entirely different beast from changing the actual content within each item. If it helps to envision the problem with an example:

Imagine that you are writing a letter with magazine clippings, "text as blocks" is what you see before you have glued anything down, you can easily pull out, rearrange, and manipulate everything on the page and swap out individual letters or words because you have a bucket beside you filled with yet more clippings.
Disabling "text as blocks" is similar to throwing away the bucket full of spare clippings. You can still move the content you have not glued down to the page yet, and with some effort you could rearrange a word.
Now imagine that you have the word "love" as a single clipping, if you wanted to change it to the word "life" the only way to do so would be to glue a new "if" into the middle of it, or cut that word into multiple pieces. Both methods would "damage" the original word, even though this whole time you could move the clipping around without any trouble.

Although this is a crude example, it is a surprisingly accurate one, yes, with a careful hand you could glue the word "love" back onto the page and have it look as good as new, but we are still not yet able to provide that careful hand. We disallow this because we know our own limitations, and do not want to cause damage to your files by allowing something that seems simple on the surface, and it far more complex underneath.

Kind regards,
Dan McIntyre - Support Technician
Tracker Software Products (Canada) LTD

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