Re: Hanging indent

Bert Bos wrote:
> 
> The CSS working group talked about hanging indents a little, but is
> not convinced there is a strong enough case for adding a new property
> or a new type of value.
...
> 2) Fantasai pointed out the problem that 'text-indent' inherits but
> 'padding' does not and that you can therefore end up with some nested
> block that you didn't foresee and therefore didn't put a padding on.
> This can indeed not be fully solved with the current properties, but
> in practice it seems to be very rare.
> 
> If you notice an unwanted inheritance effect, you can often suppress
> it with:
> 
>     * {text-indent: 0}

You did not understand my example. Look at it again, and assume I
want a hanging indent--one that inherits, just like a regular indent.
Look at the rules--carefully, and separately. What does each one
express, and why does the combination create a problem?

(I can create more complicated examples, if you want.)

> 3) An extra property, say 'text-outdent' or 'text-hang', that would
> complement 'text-indent' by adding an indent to all lines except the
> first, would be a relatively easy to understand solution. But it would
> still be an extra property to deal with.

True.

> 4) Extending ... 'text-indent: 1em hanging'

n/a

> 5) Properties with compound values ... usability of the DOM

n/a

> 6) Both solutions, a new property and a new value for 'text-indent',
> would also have a problem with backwards compatibility, because CSS2
> implementations would not show any effect at all, neither an indent
> nor an outdent.

Not true. See my post from last July.

fantasai wrote:
 | See also:
 | fantasai. "Re: text-indent/exdent (was "suggestion")", www-style
 |     (2001-07-07).
 |      message-id: 3B47BAE2.9BD1FB5E@escape.com
 |      http://lists.w3.org/Archives/Public/www-style/2001Jul/0068.html

Please read that carefully. You have not addressed everything I wrote.


The only valid objection you have brought against text-block-indent
is that it involves a new property. I have brought up four separate
problems with the current workaround.

~fantasai

Received on Tuesday, 4 June 2002 01:21:22 UTC