Customised report prose should 'flow'

[carlhiggs]

Our reports are based on fixed templates that specify the locations of specific content (e.g. headers, and the text that goes beneath these).

When translated to different languages, or customised using alternative prose, those locations do not change --- except in a few circumstances where basic rules are worked into the code to achieve this in a programmatic way.

Ideally however, layout would 'flow' to fit the fluctuations in prose length. If text represented in a certain language, or customised in a certain way, is shorter or longer, the subsequent text would ideally be positioned to retain the natural gap between elements. This doesn't happen though, so in some sections (particulary the 'context' section on p3) there are unnatural gaps, despite efforts to minimise these.

For example, for the example region, if its set to publication ready and the demographics and health equity section isn't customised, there remains a large gap where that section would go, due to the fixed placement of elements:

Were this issue addressed, the prose would flow normally and there wouldn't be gaps like in the above image between the text sections on that page.

This may not be achievable using the current template approach with FPDF, but broadly could be achievable using text flow regions.

I don't think this is something we can necessarily achieve any time soon; but it would be a nice improvement on our current reports, improving the layout when customised by users for different settings.