When selecting a slide in the left slide list, two sidebar panels appear: "Slide" and "Layouts". When you move the cursor inside the slide to start editing, those two panels disappear. I suggest to have them still there when in editing mode, but collapsed. Use Case: You are editing your slide, then want to insert an image. You need to change the slide layout to "Title and 2 Contents". It took me some time to figure out I need to put the cursor on the slide list to do this.
It depends on where you click in the slide. If you select text you get the formatting sidebar and in case you click the empty space slide/layout remain or will be shown again. It's double contextual with decks depending on the selection and content panels shown or not regarding what is selected. I would vote against a larger number of content panels, which is what you recommend with slide/layout shown (collapsed or not) when in edit mode. Better we split them or clean-up the sidebar (who needs to change the slide format more than once that can be done in a dialog).
I would be against this change as well, as the Properties deck always shows contextual properties based on selection. If an image is selected, a user can change the slide layout with the slide layout group button in the toolbar. The argument of wanting to change page/slide level properties in the sidebar when an object is selected could have also been made in Writer, but that was resolved by creating a new Page deck, which unfortunately wouldnt be a good UX for Impress. Cor, Stuart, Thomas: What's your take?
(In reply to Samuel Mehrbrodt (CIB) from comment #0) > It took me some time to figure out I need to put the cursor on the slide > list to do this. (In reply to Heiko Tietze from comment #1) > It depends on where you click in the slide. If you select ... Well, that is why Samuel suggests this change.. If you don't notice/know, you've a hard time. What would be really against having the panels collapsed at top? Space?
Samuel, is the issue solved with slide layout being now at the right sidebar?
(In reply to Heiko Tietze from comment #4) > Samuel, is the issue solved with slide layout being now at the right sidebar? In master I still see the problem from the original description. If you don't know that you have to click in the margin of the slide, outside a (text)frame you are puzzled. Since I'm not Samuel, leaving as NeedInfo though :p
Yes the bug is still open.
Looks like there is no disagreement. But better than having many decks on the Properties tab we should place Slide and Layout into a new tab similar to Page settings at Writer. Problem with keeping Layout (and Slide) at the current tab is that the sidebar UI jumps from on/hidden to collapsed when nothing is selected. The better choice is to disable temporary unavailable controls.
I like the contextual change now but I also see the problem of finding the other decks that are not shown in the properties tab. Heiko, should change the sidebar tabs automatically (like now in the Properties deck, then between Properties and Slide/Layout deck) when clicking at a slide in the Slide Pane and when clicking on an object in the slide itself? Only if that happens the contextual benefit of two separate tabs will be a benefit for the user.