Text manipulation API to be used with macros

[michael]

Daniel wants to write a macro that manipulates text on the document. In order to not loose the annotations he'd have to use the TextOperation API.

@oliver---- What would he need to do in order to remove a certain word from all paragraphs, leaving the annotations intact?

Should we think about creating an abstraction API that makes such things easier?

[Integral]

@oliver----, I know how to iterate through each text node, but whet it comes to updating one text string... I don't know who to do it without annotations crushing.

[obuchtala]

This is now possible using transformations. https://github.com/substance/substance/tree/master/src/document/transformations

You can use the insertText transformation like so:

var sel = doc.createSelection({
  type: 'property',
  path: ['text1', 'content'],
  startOffset: 10,
  endOffset: 15
})
insertText(doc, {selection: sel, text: 'foo'});

insertText replaces the text and takes care of annotations (the same is used when editing via UI)

[obuchtala]

... when you have a batch of changes on the same property, make sure to replace from right to left...
Then your computed offsets will still be valid after each single transformation.

[obuchtala]

Hmmm. But, probably you are not ready to switch to the new API...

Still... you can take a look at the impl of insertText to see how it works with the old API.

[obuchtala]

Annotation updates are done using https://github.com/substance/substance/blob/master/src/document/annotation_updates.js
(is also there in your version)

[Integral]

@oliver----, thanks!
Is it possible to use new api only on server side?

[obuchtala]

Yes, should be possible on server side.

[michael]

Just be aware that you don't mix different substance versions. The Archivist-Composer needs to stay on the old version until we make an upgrade iteration. So I think you should create independent command line versions of importers etc. that don't clash with the Composer implementation.

[Integral]

Great, thanks!
It's not related to composer at all, but it's related to all server side
scripts including that one which is responsible for subject
merging/deletion.

On 30 June 2015 at 13:09, Michael Aufreiter [email protected]
wrote:

Just be aware that you don't mix different substance versions. The
Archivist-Composer needs to stay on the old version until we make an
upgrade iteration. So I think you should create independent command line
versions of importers etc. that don't clash with the Composer
implementation.

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substance/substance#368 (comment)
.

[michael]

Hey can you try the following in the archivist repo:

in Package JSON create an entry

{
   "substance-new": "substance/substance#master",
}

And then in importers:

var Substance = require("substance-new");

[michael]

not sure if that works but that would be the best solution i guess.

[Integral]

Good idea! Will try soon.

On 30 June 2015 at 13:18, Michael Aufreiter [email protected]
wrote:

not sure if that works but that would be the best solution i guess.

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substance/substance#368 (comment)
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[Integral]

@michael, no it's not possible. NPM will store substance-new in the same folder inside node_modules

[Integral]

I will use this. It's combination of delete/insert updates. I could use it while document has no annotation. Next challenge would be to use this with already annotated docs somehow...

[Integral]

Hey!
I did it finally!
Look:

var changeTextNode = function(doc, path, startOffset, endOffset, replace) {
    var sel = Document.Selection.create(path, startOffset, replace.length);
        var range = sel.getRange();
    var tx = doc.startTransaction();
    tx.update(path, { 
        delete: { 
            start: startOffset, 
            end: endOffset 
        } 
    });
    Document.AnnotationUpdates.deletedText(tx, path, startOffset, endOffset);
    tx.update(path, { 
        insert: { 
            offset: startOffset, 
            value: replace
        } 
    });
    Document.AnnotationUpdates.insertedText(tx, range.start, replace.length);
    tx.save();
        tx.cleanup();
}

I most say... You really need some documentation for core library. It's very hard to trace what you need to do.

[obuchtala]

Yes. That's true. will come soon.