Text wrap interaction with indents and tabs

[garrettm30]

I would like to suggest that indents and tabs can optionally take text wraps into account. Here is a quick example to illustrate:

Example 1:

Example 1 shows current behavior. Please draw your attention to the text wrapping on the right side of the gray rectangle. In the paragraph "Morbi pellenteesque…", notice that the first line indent  is calculated based on the location of the text wrap, which is I I desire it. Now look at the numbered list items 1 through 4. They are formatted identically, yet the left indent of the numbered list items 3 and 4 is not respected as it is in numbers 1. and 2. Notice also that the tab spacing between the automatic number and the start of the words is not kept consistent, as it is added as a multiple of the tab value beginning from the text frame margin and not from the wrap.

To explain it another way, the starting x position of each line is not calculated consistently. The left indent and tab spacing is calculated relative to the text frame margin, regardless of any text wrap, whereas the the first line indent is calculated relative to the effective margin caused by the text wrap. I would rather that the left indent and the tab position are treated as the first line indent, so that they all take the text wrap into account.

Below is a screenshot where I have faked the behavior that I would prefer. Notice number list items 3 and 4 have the same kind of apparent indenting as 1 and 2. It is as though the image causing wrap is temporarily moving the margin.

Example 2

 

This would also be important in cases such as block quotes that are indicated by left indent. Here is an example:

Example 3

In this example, please focus on the right column of text. You see that the two paragraphs beginning "In eget sapien" and "Morbi pellentesque" have a left indent, as they are representing two paragraphs in a block quotation. The last paragraph ("Nulla adipiscing") is not, as you can tell by the portion of the paragraph that extends below the gray rectangle. What about the paragraph "Maecenas eu diam"? Is it a third parargraph in the block quotation, or is it the first body paragraph following the end of the quotation? You cannot tell by looking, as the left indent is not respected since the text wrap extends beyond the level of indent.

Summary: I suggest that the text wrap should effectively move the margin at each line, and that things like indents and tabs positions are calculated based on that temporary margin location. I suggest this proposal be implemented optionally, either as part of the text wrapping settings or as part of the indent and tab settings.