Bug 127427 - Make it easier to clear, then re-introduce, highlight
Summary: Make it easier to clear, then re-introduce, highlight
Status: RESOLVED INVALID
Alias: None
Product: LibreOffice
Classification: Unclassified
Component: Writer (show other bugs)
Version:
(earliest affected)
6.3.0.2 rc
Hardware: All All
: medium enhancement
Assignee: Not Assigned
URL:
Whiteboard:
Keywords: needsUXEval
Depends on:
Blocks:
 
Reported: 2019-09-07 17:41 UTC by Eyal Rozenberg
Modified: 2019-09-08 08:16 UTC (History)
3 users (show)

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Description Eyal Rozenberg 2019-09-07 17:41:31 UTC
A common pattern of use for the highlighting feature is the following: 

Only one color of highlight is ever used, in addition to the no-highlight "color". As one edits, one intermittently wishes to highlight some text (e.g. for later consideration); but intermittently also to un-highlight previously-highlighted text (e.g. when deciding it no longer requires any later work).

The problem in this editing pattern is that one repeatedly needs to perform the lengthy switch of highlight color: Not just pressing a button, but also locating the appropriate color in the dialog.

It would have been easier if one could make the switch with less "cognitive effort" or "UI engagement effort". Two alternatives I can think of:

* A "clear highlight color" button, with no drop-down dialog, in addition to the existing one.
* Different behavior of the highlight color button, so that clicking it after the drop-down dialog has opened cycles between the last few chosen highlight colors.

and maybe one can conceive of other ideas.
Comment 1 Eyal Rozenberg 2019-09-07 17:50:01 UTC
+heiko.tietze : Could you confirm, at least as a feature request?
Comment 2 Maxim Monastirsky 2019-09-07 19:28:49 UTC
Isn't this use-case already covered by Bug 63438? i.e. clicking the main part of the toolbar button (not the dropdown arrow), applies the last selected color, if the currently selected text isn't highlighted (or highlighted with a different color). But it removes highlighting, if the text is highlighted with the same color. This still works for me in version 6.3.1.2.
Comment 3 Eyal Rozenberg 2019-09-07 19:37:50 UTC
(In reply to Maxim Monastirsky from comment #2)

Hmm. I actually didn't notice that, somehow.
Comment 4 Heiko Tietze 2019-09-08 08:16:57 UTC
Maybe you could also use a dedicated character style. Apply to the sections you want to come back later and purge the formatting from the style when done (or revert the character style to the default). 

Or just use comments. In fact, highlighting is rather meant for the final reader not to make notes.