Writer: object order in the Navigator

[ajlittoz]

The Navigator in Writer is a high-valued tool to quickly navigate to a named part of the document.

The Headings section is the most used one and headings are listed in document order, which is one would expect.

But, Tables, Frames, Images and Drawing Objects at least seem to list in a rather random order. It is neither alphabetic in the names nor document occurrence order.

I’m presently helping to structure a medium-size document with hundreds of tables. I took the precaution to name all tables with systematic pattern (prefix per table significance, suffix to enumerate within) and I expected the list to sort either by document order (like Headings) or alphabetically (relying on my systematic naming scheme to find the right target). Unfortunately the list is a mess (sorted by time of creation?) making rather difficult (user-unfriendly) selection of a precise object.

The Comments seem to be listed by document order like the Headings.

Can someone tell me which are the sort criteria used by the Navigator?

EDIT

I filed an enhancement request tdf#135043

[Lupp]

What about an “Orbiter” flying above the document, analysing its topography, and presenting it in a hierachical overview?
La17 is a lake inside island Iso8 which is surrounded by La3, being located in territory Te12 of country Co9?
You may replace the words I chose by some better applicable to a document’s structure.
The central question for the design of a hierarchical system is, whether a realistic view is compatible with a clear and usable associative relation in the sense of “contains”.

[ajlittoz]

What you propose might fit the Drawing objects which can be nested in very fanciful ways. For the time being, I’d like to have the object lists either in document order (like Headings and Comments) or in name alphabetical order. I let the developers choose whatever is easier for them, but above all, I can’t manage the present mess: it needs too much attention to read (not simply to grasp) the names in the list and integrate them in one’s mind to select the correct one.

Hierarchy is already present in the Headings section. At least, it satisfies me.

[keme]

IIRC:

• Headings and comments are listed in the same sequence they appear in the document.
• Graphics and tables appear in chronological order, i.e. based on the time they were inserted (like you suspected).
• Bookmarks are sorted alphabetically.

Posting from my phone. Will check and correct any mistake (unless someone else beats me to it). I suspect that there is no straightforward way to rearrange the entries in the navigator.

[johnmastell]

I have had the same issue as ajlittoz, but I now find images and tables in the Navigator are listed in document order like headings, in LO 7.2.7.2 using Windows 10. I have also confirmed this in documents unedited since 2018.

I surmise this enhancement made it into some version of LO 7.2, even though the comments in enhancement request tdf#135043 seem to state it is planned for LO 7.4.0.

I suggest anyone having an issue here check their LO version and make sure they have 7.2.7.2 or later.