Text won't wrap around object at top of page
Posted: Sun Feb 04, 2024 4:13 pm
H,
I'm trying to use OO Writer as a tool to design the layout of electric underfloor heating wire (bear with me, here...!). If you just want to go to the OO Writer-specifc problem, cut to the the paragraph beginning with an asterisk ('*')...
The kits you can buy for UFH often consist of a reel of heating wire (the main other type is the wire pre-attached to a mesh backing - but it is the plain wire type I am using). The length of the wire is quoted in the kit instructions (and at time of ordering) and the optimal spacing between the runs of wire is also provided for a specific heat output per unit area.
The problem is deciding on the precise amount of spacing (to within a mm or 2) to use up all the wire within the area you want to heat without having any significant amount left over because you *cannot* cut the wire. The other main issue is that consistent heating wire spacing is key to even floor temperature.
To design something on paper is a nightmare if you have more than one regular shaped object occupying floor space where you do not want heat as you have to calculate the run lengths and add them up to find your cable is not long enough or too long. So, you have to start again with slightly wider or narrower spacing. Likewise if you don't bother with a paper plan and just start attaching the wire to the floor you will run into the same 'too short' or 'too long' problem.
So, the thrust of my idea is that the spacing between the wire is analogous to text line spacing in a Writer document and the page can have objects inserted to represent bathroom (typically) furniture; ie bath, sink, WC, etc. Repeated use of a fixed width font (eg Courier) hyphen character ('-' - without any spaces) is used to represent the wire (see pic). The total number of hyphens can thus be inserted (using the 'Word Count' tool - which also counts characters) to represent the total wire length. You would have to use Word Count to find the number of hyphens a full 'page' width has and divide that into the actual room width to find out what length of wire one hyphen represents but I have found that using 8 point 'Courier New' font gives a wire spacing of about 80mm and a character width of 48mm (9 pt gives 91mm and 54mm, resp).
Next: The clever bit... Using the Wrap tool, and for a given font size, you can simply flow the lines of hyphens (wire) around the objects, adjusting the size of the unheated areas (objects) until all the wire is used up.
* So, the problem I have (and it is only a minor one) is that for some reason when you align any furniture object's upper edge with the top of the page, the text does not start until after the bottom of the lowest object edge (see pic A). This isn't a cosmic issue because the unwanted length of wire above the objects will be used up when the wire is actually laid below the correctly positioned (real) object (see pic B).
Can anyone explain why the wrap does not flow correctly at the top of the page and a solution to make it do so...?
Regards, MW.
Pic A:
ibb.co/XtQkXBc
Pic B:
ibb.co/Xj32zWG
I'm trying to use OO Writer as a tool to design the layout of electric underfloor heating wire (bear with me, here...!). If you just want to go to the OO Writer-specifc problem, cut to the the paragraph beginning with an asterisk ('*')...
The kits you can buy for UFH often consist of a reel of heating wire (the main other type is the wire pre-attached to a mesh backing - but it is the plain wire type I am using). The length of the wire is quoted in the kit instructions (and at time of ordering) and the optimal spacing between the runs of wire is also provided for a specific heat output per unit area.
The problem is deciding on the precise amount of spacing (to within a mm or 2) to use up all the wire within the area you want to heat without having any significant amount left over because you *cannot* cut the wire. The other main issue is that consistent heating wire spacing is key to even floor temperature.
To design something on paper is a nightmare if you have more than one regular shaped object occupying floor space where you do not want heat as you have to calculate the run lengths and add them up to find your cable is not long enough or too long. So, you have to start again with slightly wider or narrower spacing. Likewise if you don't bother with a paper plan and just start attaching the wire to the floor you will run into the same 'too short' or 'too long' problem.
So, the thrust of my idea is that the spacing between the wire is analogous to text line spacing in a Writer document and the page can have objects inserted to represent bathroom (typically) furniture; ie bath, sink, WC, etc. Repeated use of a fixed width font (eg Courier) hyphen character ('-' - without any spaces) is used to represent the wire (see pic). The total number of hyphens can thus be inserted (using the 'Word Count' tool - which also counts characters) to represent the total wire length. You would have to use Word Count to find the number of hyphens a full 'page' width has and divide that into the actual room width to find out what length of wire one hyphen represents but I have found that using 8 point 'Courier New' font gives a wire spacing of about 80mm and a character width of 48mm (9 pt gives 91mm and 54mm, resp).
Next: The clever bit... Using the Wrap tool, and for a given font size, you can simply flow the lines of hyphens (wire) around the objects, adjusting the size of the unheated areas (objects) until all the wire is used up.
* So, the problem I have (and it is only a minor one) is that for some reason when you align any furniture object's upper edge with the top of the page, the text does not start until after the bottom of the lowest object edge (see pic A). This isn't a cosmic issue because the unwanted length of wire above the objects will be used up when the wire is actually laid below the correctly positioned (real) object (see pic B).
Can anyone explain why the wrap does not flow correctly at the top of the page and a solution to make it do so...?
Regards, MW.
Pic A:
ibb.co/XtQkXBc
Pic B:
ibb.co/Xj32zWG