Grid, sd:number-of-rows() and Math... 😵

[Cicorione]

Hi @pgundlach

I am trying to vertically centering [1] a table inside a cell grid using the row position with <PlaceOject> and the vreference attribute but the math — and I am not good at math at all — is going crazy... 😵

I use sd:number-of-rows() to calculate the total number of the rows in a given grid:

box3A= 800

Then I create a variable that is the total number of the rows divided the row cells, in this particular case are 2 rows and therefore:

box3B= 400

If the math is correct each cell grid should "contain" 400 rows and thus if I continue to divide by 2 I get the middle point:

box3C= 200

Unfortunately this number is wrong, approximately the right position is around row 15:

The size of the page:

[...]
<Pageformat width="210mm" height="282mm" />
[...]

The current page:

[...]
<Pagetype name="left" test="sd:even(sd:current-page())">
<Margin left="15mm" right="20mm" top="20mm" bottom="20mm" />
[...]

The dynamic grid:

[...]
<SetGrid nx="{@gridx}" ny="{@gridy}" />
[...]

The group where the case below belongs to:

[...]
<Group name="unit">
	<Grid width="1cm" height="10pt" />
		<Contents>
[...]

And this is the portion of the code that produces the first two yellow boxes:

[...]
<Case test="$vertical = 'true' ">

	<!-- The variables that should give the number of rows and cols in each cell grid -->
	<SetVariable variable="nocbox" select="{sd:number-of-columns() div $xgrid}" />
	<SetVariable variable="norbox" select="{sd:number-of-rows() div $ygrid}" />					

	<!-- The variable that control maxwidth -->
	<SetVariable variable="mwbox" select="count(imgbox)" />
							
	<PlaceObject column="1" row="15" valign="middle" vreference="middle" >

		<Frame border-bottom-left-radius="8pt" border-bottom-right-radius="8pt" border-top-left-radius="8pt" border-top-right-radius="8pt" framecolor="{$extracolor}" rulewidth="1pt">
														
			<Table width="{$nocbox * 0.8}" stretch="no" balance="yes" padding="3mm">

				<Tr minheight="12" background-color="{$extracolor}">
					<Td valign="top" align="center">
						<Image file="{imgbox/@file}" stretch="yes" maxheight="{12}" maxwidth="{($nocbox * 0.7) div ($mwbox * 1.2)}" />
					</Td>
				</Tr>
				<Tr minheight="12" background-color="{$extracolor}">
					<Td valign="middle" align="left">
						<Paragraph fontfamily="features">
							<B><Value select="imgbox/@textbox" /></B>
						</Paragraph>
					</Td>
				</Tr>

			<Message select="concat('box3A= ', {sd:number-of-rows()} )" />
			<Message select="concat('box3B= ', $norbox )" />
			<Message select="concat('box3C= ', {$norbox div 2} )" />

			</Table>
	
		</Frame>

	</PlaceObject>
													
</Case>
[...]

Pebcak or bug? 🤷‍♂️

Thanks!!! 🙏

[1] <Tr valign="middle"> with a former table wrap experiment did not work.

[pgundlach]

Does something like this help?

<Layout xmlns="urn:speedata.de:2009/publisher/en"
    xmlns:sd="urn:speedata:2009/publisher/functions/en">
    <SetGrid ny="3" nx="10" />
    <Trace objects="yes" grid="yes" />
    <Record element="data">
        <PlaceObject>
            <Table>
                <Tr minheight="1">
                    <Td>
                        <VSpace />
                        <Image file="_samplea.pdf" width="5" />
                        <VSpace />
                    </Td>
                </Tr>
            </Table>
        </PlaceObject>
    </Record>
</Layout>

(a fixed height, vspace, content, vspace)

[Cicorione]

Hi Patrick, I already tried out something similar, using a Table as wrapper and forcing the frame/table inside to X/Y axis centered, it looks like the wrapper table doesn't fill in height the grid cell:

This is the code the produces that screenshot:

<PlaceObject column="1" row="1">

	<!-- This table is meant to center the object inside that is another table -->

	<Table width="{$nocbox * 0.83}" stretch="max">
		<Tr minheight="1">
			<Td >
				<VSpace />
				<!-- Real Content -->

				<Frame border-bottom-left-radius="8pt" border-bottom-right-radius="8pt" border-top-left-radius="8pt" border-top-right-radius="8pt" framecolor="{$extracolor}" rulewidth="1pt">
					<Table width="{$nocbox * 0.8}" stretch="no" balance="yes" padding="3mm">
						<Tr minheight="2" background-color="{$extracolor}">
							<Td valign="top" align="center">
								<Image file="{imgbox/@file}" stretch="yes" maxheight="{12}" maxwidth="{($nocbox * 0.7) div ($mwbox * 1.2)}" />
							</Td>
						</Tr>
						<Tr minheight="2" background-color="{$extracolor}">
							<Td valign="middle" align="left">
								<Paragraph fontfamily="features">
									<B><Value select="imgbox/@textbox" /></B>
								</Paragraph>
							</Td>
						</Tr>
						
						<Message select="concat('box3A= ', {sd:number-of-rows()} )" />
						<Message select="concat('box3B= ', $norbox )" />
						<Message select="concat('box3C= ', {$norbox div 2} )" />
						<Message select="concat('box4= ', $ygrid )" />

					</Table>
				</Frame>
				<VSpace />

			<!-- Ends Table Wrapper -->

			</Td>
		</Tr>
	</Table>
</PlaceObject>

And this is why I though I could trick it using the cell grid row to find the median point where anchoring the <PlaceObject> but the rows in the grid are exceeding in my empiric tests... 🤔

I would like to see the traced grid inside the group, I don't know if you can implement a switch so you can type in <Trace> something like gridswitch="group" or gridfocus="group" (default is page) and see what is happening into each group... 🤷

Thanks 🙏

[pgundlach]

In the outer table you have minheight = 1, in the inner table you have minheight=4 (2 * 2), what happens if you remove the inner minheight?

This works for me here:

<Layout xmlns="urn:speedata.de:2009/publisher/en"
    xmlns:sd="urn:speedata:2009/publisher/functions/en">
    <SetGrid ny="3" nx="10" />
    <Trace objects="yes" grid="yes" />
    <Record element="data">
        <PlaceObject>
            <Table>
                <Tr minheight="1">
                    <Td>
                        <VSpace />
                        <Frame background-color="orange">
                            <Table width="4" stretch="max">
                                <Tr>
                                    <Td>
                                        <Paragraph>
                                            <Value>AA</Value>
                                            <HSpace />
                                            <Value>BB</Value>
                                        </Paragraph>
                                    </Td>
                                </Tr>
                            </Table>
                        </Frame>
                        <VSpace />
                    </Td>
                </Tr>
            </Table>
        </PlaceObject>
    </Record>
</Layout>

[Cicorione]

Your code works on my ends too... 🤷‍♂️

Thus I tried to simplify my code as much as you did, but I still get the same result... 😩

<PlaceObject>
<!-- This table is meant to center the object inside that is another table -->
<Table >
  <Tr minheight="1">
    <Td >
      <VSpace />
      <Frame border-bottom-left-radius="8pt" 
        border-bottom-right-radius="8pt" border-top-left-radius="8pt" 
        border-top-right-radius="8pt" framecolor="{$extracolor}" 
        rulewidth="1pt" background-color="{$extracolor}">
        <Table width="{$nocbox * 0.7}" stretch="max" padding="3mm">
          <Tr >
            <!-- <ForAll select="imgbox"> -->
            <Td  align="center">
              <Image file="{@file}" stretch="yes" maxheight="{12}" maxwidth="{($nocbox * 0.7) div ($mwbox * 1.2)}" />
            </Td>
            <Td align="left" padding-left="3mm" padding-right="3mm">
              <Paragraph fontfamily="features">
                <B>
                  <Value select="@textbox" />
                </B>
              </Paragraph>
            </Td>
            <!-- </ForAll> -->
          </Tr>
        </Table>
      </Frame>
      <VSpace />
    </Td>
  </Tr>
</Table>
</PlaceObject>

[Cicorione]

And this is why I tried with finding the median point of the grid cell using the rows, but I am having issues/pebcak with it either... 😩

[pgundlach]

Your code above works here:

<Layout xmlns="urn:speedata.de:2009/publisher/en"
    xmlns:sd="urn:speedata:2009/publisher/functions/en">
    <SetGrid ny="2" nx="10" />
    <Trace objects="yes" grid="yes" />
    <Record element="data">
        <PlaceObject>
            <!-- This table is meant to center the object inside that is another table -->
            <Table>
                <Tr minheight="1">
                    <Td>
                        <VSpace />
                        <Frame border-bottom-left-radius="8pt"
                            border-bottom-right-radius="8pt" border-top-left-radius="8pt"
                            border-top-right-radius="8pt" framecolor="green"
                            rulewidth="1pt" background-color="green">
                            <Table width="4" stretch="max" padding="3mm">
                                <Tr>
                                    <!-- <ForAll select="imgbox"> -->
                                    <Td align="center">
                                        <Image file="_samplea.pdf" stretch="yes" maxheight="12" maxwidth="6" />
                                    </Td>
                                    <Td align="left" padding-left="3mm" padding-right="3mm">
                                        <Paragraph >
                                            <B>
                                                <Value select="'textbox'" />
                                            </B>
                                        </Paragraph>
                                    </Td>
                                    <!-- </ForAll> -->
                                </Tr>
                            </Table>
                        </Frame>
                        <VSpace />
                    </Td>
                </Tr>
            </Table>
        </PlaceObject>
    </Record>
</Layout>

[Cicorione]

This has been fixed (by @pgundlach) with version: 4.17.19 calculating the height of the group* earlier:

		<Group name="getgridheight">
			<Contents>
				<PlaceObject>
					<Box height="1" width="1" />
				</PlaceObject>
			</Contents>
		</Group>
		<SetVariable variable="gridheight" select="sd:group-height('getgridheight','mm')" />

And then applying it to the table wrapper:

<PlaceObject column="1" row="1">

	<!-- This table is meant to center the object inside that is another table -->

	<Table  stretch="max">
		<Tr minheight="1">
			<Td >
				<VSpace />
				<!-- Real Content -->

				[...]

				<VSpace />

			<!-- Ends Table Wrapper -->

			</Td>
		</Tr>
	</Table>
</PlaceObject>

Thanks! 🙏

• the height is based on a variable grid layout.

[pgundlach]

I'll eventually introduce a function sd:gridheight() for that, but I am not sure yet what will be the default behavior and arguments.

[Cicorione]

This is cool and actually pretty useful, but also displaying the inner grid of a group would be really helpful as well!

[pgundlach]

but also displaying the inner grid of a group would be really helpful as well!

yes, I know, but not trivial to do...

[pgundlach]

I have added an issue #569, let me see what I can do.