Re: checkbox problem

[Manish <mailtomanish.sharma@gmail.com>]

  On Wed, Jun 17, 2009 at 12:24 AM, Thomas S. Dye wrote:
  > Aloha all,
  > First, org-mode is really useful. The more I use it, the more useful it
  > gets and the more I appreciate its flexibility. I've been using it for
  > several months but still feel like a newbie. Perhaps the problem I'm having
  > stems from this.
  > I use the checkbox feature a lot, with good effect, like this:
  > *** Task 1 [/]
  > - [ ] Step 1
  > - [ ] Step 2
  > - [ ] Step 3
  >
  > Recently, I received via email comments from 4 reviewers on a paper I'd
  > submitted for publication. The editor asked me to keep track of how I'd
  > responded to all of the comments, so I tried this:
  > *** Reviewer 1 [/]
  > - [ ] Comment 1
  > - [ ] Comment 2
  > etc.
  > I cut the comments out of the email message and pasted them directly into
  > the org file in Aquamacs Emacs. Some of the comments are quite lengthy,
  > others are short.
  > My problem is that midway down a list of comments org-mode ceases to
  > recognize that the comment checkboxes are associated with the heading. In
  > each case, the last comment checkbox that is correctly associated with the
  > heading formats differently (with Esc-Q) than the comments above it. The
  > comment checkboxes that are associated correctly format as indented blocks
  > with the second and subsequent lines of text left justified on the "[" of
  > the first line. The last associated checkbox justifies the second and
  > subsequent lines two characters left of the "-" of the first line.
  > Subsequent, unassociated checkboxes align the "-" of the first line with
  > last line of the item above it. Here is an example:
  >
  > *** Reviewer 3 [2/6]
  > ... (Several items omitted)
  >  - [X] p. 7 In 1779, Kamehameha was a young man on his way up as a
  >   favored nephew of Kalaniopu`u, but isn't it a little early to
  >   refer to his dynasty?
  >  - [X] p. 7 It is true Kamehameha benefited greatly from Western
  > advice and weapons, but the tradition of conquest was well
  > established by the time he embarked on his career as a conqueror by
  > chiefs including Kalaniopu`u, and especially Kahekili.
  > - [X] p. 7 According to traditions 'Umi's father had been recognized
  >  as paramount of the island. `Umi regained his father's status by
  >  putting down a rebellion of the five districts other than Hamakua
  >  and reunited the polity. I think of this as a civil war rather
  >  than the capture of territory to which he had no previous claim.
  > In this case the first two items are counted in the headline, but the last
  > one isn't.

It behaves as expected if you keep the lines below checkboxes indented
at least one character right to the "-" above them.  I find it
unsettling when lines/checkboxes are formatted with indentation jutting
to the left, so I never use it personally.  Moreover, if you paste a
long time against a checkbox and format it with Esc-Q (I find ALT-q
easier), it is formatted correctly so as not to cause the problem you
described.

Following example behaves fine.

,----
| *** Reviewer 3 [4/5]
|
| ... (Several items omitted)
|
|     - [X] p. 7 In 1779, Kamehameha was a young man on his way up as a
|       favored nephew of Kalaniopu`u, but isn't it a little early to
|       refer to his dynasty?
|     - [X] p. 7 It is true Kamehameha benefited greatly from Western
|           advice and weapons, but the tradition of conquest was well
|           established by the time he embarked on his career as a
|           conqueror by chiefs including Kalaniopu`u, and especially
|           Kahekili.
|     - [ ] kjsvhkjshvjk slv lsk jvjlk jvlks jvlkj slkvj slkv jlksj
|      fvkls jlvkj flkjv lksjf vlksj vlks jlkv jslkvj lksv jlks jvls jv
|      lksfjvlksjvlkdjskl
|     - [X] p. 7 According to traditions 'Umi's father had been
|       recognized as paramount of the island.  `Umi regained his
|       father's status by putting down a rebellion of the five
|       districts other than Hamakua and reunited the polity.  I think
|       of this as a civil war rather than the capture of territory to
|       which he had no previous claim.
|     - [X] jkhfkuwhkfh wkrh fkjwehtkjherkgh woe ghoi2h giw htig hil2
|       hgowttwhet tgh rltig hl4 ghl2 h5li hlti h245t hil h4wlg h42ot
|       h54 htou h5
`----

There must be a technical requirement for indentation to behave as it
does since Org uses indentation extensively to determine appropriate
behavior.  May be someone knowledgeable about Org internals can shed more
light.

HTH
-- 
Manish