K1200 Posted May 10, 2011 Share Posted May 10, 2011 I think the answer is probably "no", but I thought I would ask. The application I have in mind would mainly need to display the pilcrow for returns and the small right arrow for tabs. It would be a special-purpose, display-only field to show "literal text". IOW, the field would not need to print. I suppose parsing and replacing individual characters with WingDing symbols would work. But is there something easier? A setting or a special font? Thanks for any advice. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
comment Posted May 10, 2011 Share Posted May 10, 2011 Easier than substituting 2 characters? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
K1200 Posted May 10, 2011 Author Share Posted May 10, 2011 Easier than substituting 2 characters? Expressed like that, I guess is does sound silly. But the "environmentals" of the actual problem make it a bit more complicated. The contents of the field can't actually be changed because it has other uses. So it means having a calculated parallel field which precludes direct edits — which is why I was hoping for something simpler ( e.g., interpreted on the fly, leaving the underlying content "as is".) Anyway, thanks for giving it thought. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
comment Posted May 10, 2011 Share Posted May 10, 2011 So it means having a calculated parallel field which precludes direct edits Isn't that what you wanted - "a special-purpose, display-only field"? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
K1200 Posted May 11, 2011 Author Share Posted May 11, 2011 Isn't that what you wanted - "a special-purpose, display-only field"? Yep, you've got me on a technicality: It is what I said. But I guess what I meant (was hoping to find) was a way to display the same text "differently" — like in a special font — but still have it editable. ("have cake; eat, also") I'll work with the replacement approach. Maybe I can fashion something close to what I've (re)described. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
comment Posted May 11, 2011 Share Posted May 11, 2011 a way to display the same text "differently" — like in a special font — but still have it editable. I don't know of a font that would display non-printing characters. I don't even know if it's possible to construct such font without totally messing up the display (if carriage returns are being displayed, then what breaks a line?). Perhaps you could use script triggers or auto-entered calcs to convert from one form to another. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Raybaudi Posted May 11, 2011 Share Posted May 11, 2011 I'll work with the replacement approach. Maybe I can fashion something close to what I've (re)described. I do not see any difficulty... control chars.zip Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
comment Posted May 11, 2011 Share Posted May 11, 2011 I don't think it's that easy. In your demo, the edits are not saved - but that's not the point. There are many things to manage when you edit the 'display' field: if you add a carriage return, it should also add a ¶ marker and show it immediately. If you delete one, the ¶ marker should also disappear - and your cursor should move 2 places to the left. Those are just two examples of the many scenarios that need to be handled. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
K1200 Posted May 11, 2011 Author Share Posted May 11, 2011 Raybaudi, that is an excellent solution. In only a couple of minutes, I was able to adapt it to give the editable result I was after. Although I appreciate Comment's points about directly editing the interpreted field, the 5-starResult I'm attaching is a straightforward implementation that is 1) adaptable for many purposes and 2) easy to understand by the end user. Thank you very much. 5-starResult.zip Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
comment Posted May 11, 2011 Share Posted May 11, 2011 Well, it is very simple (could be even simpler if you used a calculation field). But it is also very limited. For one thing, the two fields will not scroll in sync - so it won't work as well for longer texts. The other problem - which IMHO is more critical - is that the number of characters in a line is not necessarily the same in both fields; this can cause lines to break at different words - so that when you click into the "field" you'll see the text re-arranged and the cursor jumping to another position. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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