confusing change of field size when entering title

I am always a bit puzzled when entering data, because many of the fields to enter data change their size when entering. Specifically the title field changes from a single line to a huge empty white field of several lines when I click it, which is unnecessary. On the other hand, the field for book title when entering a book chapter changes from a several line block to a single line so that I cannot see the whole title anymore. This is confusing and makes it much more difficult to see the data just entered. Wouldn't it be possible that the windows are always the same format and always display all the data that they contain?
this is on ff 3, OSX 10.5
  • In display mode, the fields take up the amount of space they need.

    In edit mode, the title field expands to a few lines because long titles are not uncommon and people requested a larger text area. Abstract and Extra expand to larger textboxes for obvious reasons. All other fields take up only one line, even if, in display mode, they take up more, which is why you're seeing the book title shrink to one line.

    Possible solutions to this would be 1) using a larger text area by default for certain other fields, such as the book title, 2) basing the size of the text area on the content of the field at edit time, 3) dynamically expanding and contracting the field as text is entered or deleted. I think we've played with #3 in the past with unsatisfactory results, though it might be possible to get it right.
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