…
Perhaps adding some macros to the UI won’t be as confusing to the user as I
think, and would make the tool less low level but equally usable. The idea
that we should present fewer options to the user up front (i.e. simplify the
UI) and allow them to dig deeper I think is sound advice. Any specific ideas
about what to show/hide or add/remove (and upon what users actions), and how
to present potentially confusing sorting options will be much appreciated.
I think sorting is a perfect example of the parameter-based selection
approach. I’d expect a “sorting” select list in both the citation and
bibliography panels. The latter would have, for example, options like
“author-date-title” and “as cited,” with default and options dependent
on the type of style (the latter option only makes sense in a
“numeric” style). Behind the scenes the options would be used to
construct the cs:sort element by referring to the macros.
One could then have a “customize” option which disclosed an ordered
list where, again, one chooses among the macros selected in the macro
(or call it “general”) panel. I would expect this to seldom be needed,
though, so doesn’t even need to be in a first release.
Bruce