Bug 129910 - Remove "Inherit from" control from "List Style" and "Page Style" dialog
Summary: Remove "Inherit from" control from "List Style" and "Page Style" dialog
Status: NEW
Alias: None
Product: LibreOffice
Classification: Unclassified
Component: LibreOffice (show other bugs)
Version:
(earliest affected)
Inherited From OOo
Hardware: All All
: medium enhancement
Assignee: Not Assigned
URL:
Whiteboard:
Keywords:
Depends on:
Blocks: Styles-Dialog
  Show dependency treegraph
 
Reported: 2020-01-09 15:31 UTC by sdc.blanco
Modified: 2022-07-01 12:08 UTC (History)
3 users (show)

See Also:
Crash report or crash signature:


Attachments

Note You need to log in before you can comment on or make changes to this bug.
Description sdc.blanco 2020-01-09 15:31:38 UTC
View > Styles (F11) - List Styles - right click (your choice) - New

Actual result:  "Numbering Style" dialog box opens

(LO 6.3.4.2):   dropdown box for "Inherit from" is greyed out 
                "Edit Style" button is "active" (but does not seem to do anything).

(LO 6.5.0.0.alpha) both dropdown box for "Inherit from" and "Edit Style" button are greyed out.

According to LO Writer's Guide, Inherit From is not available for List styles.

If true, seems better to remove "Inherit from" and "Edit Style" button entirely from Numbering Style dialog.  (cleaner UI, no need to explain in documentation)
Comment 1 Heiko Tietze 2020-01-13 11:32:18 UTC
Guess it was solved with bug 120286. From the usability POV it makes sense to hide controls when they never apply but to disable if inappropriate only temporarily, which is the case here. So a perfect WFM.
Comment 2 sdc.blanco 2020-01-13 11:55:08 UTC
(In reply to Heiko Tietze from comment #1)
> From the usability POV it makes sense to disable if inappropriate only
> temporarily, which is the case here. So a perfect WFM.
Ok.  Have revised the summary and reopened as enhancement request for adding an explanatory tooltip.
Comment 3 sdc.blanco 2020-01-13 12:19:47 UTC
(In reply to Heiko Tietze from comment #1)
> From the usability POV it makes sense
> to hide controls when they never apply but to disable if inappropriate only
> temporarily, which is the case here. So a perfect WFM.
On further reflection.  I want to respectfully disagree.

The name of the relevant dialog box is "Numbering Style". As I understand, "inherit from" would never apply, so should not be shown according to usability principle.

Other (similar) dialog boxes, such as "Paragraph Style", "Frame Style", and "Character Style" also have "Inherit From" in their Organizer, and I can see (from comparing 6.3.4.2 and 6.5.0.0) that the "Edit Style" button is now deactivated (presumably from bug 120286). (No problem there.  Was not in the original report.)

But if I have understood the usability POV correctly, then "Numbering Style" and "Page Style" Organizer tabs should not show "Inherit From"  because (as best I can tell), it is never possible to use this control (when modifying existing or making new Numbering or Page Styles).
Comment 4 Xisco Faulí 2020-01-20 11:30:23 UTC
You can't confirm your own bugs. Moving it back to UNCONFIRMED until someone
else confirms it.
Comment 5 Heiko Tietze 2020-01-20 12:10:02 UTC
(In reply to sdc.blanco from comment #3)
> But if I have understood the usability POV correctly, then "Numbering Style"
> and "Page Style" Organizer tabs should not show "Inherit From"  because (as
> best I can tell), it is never possible to use this control (when modifying
> existing or making new Numbering or Page Styles).

Point is that inheritance can be set under some circumstances. It would be correct to hide when one module hasn't this option while the other does. But within the same workflow coming from one interaction shouldn't be too much different compared to another starting point. So I still vote for WFM.
Comment 6 sdc.blanco 2020-01-20 12:32:31 UTC
(In reply to Heiko Tietze from comment #5)
> Point is that inheritance can be set under some circumstances. It would be
> correct to hide when one module hasn't this option while the other does. 
Ok. Understand now. Please consider comment #2 -- which is how this ticket is actually configured.
Comment 7 Heiko Tietze 2020-01-20 12:42:22 UTC
(In reply to sdc.blanco from comment #6)
> Ok. Understand now. Please consider comment #2 -- which is how this ticket
> is actually configured.

Tooltips are always good, in particular when it's unclear why a control is disabled.
Comment 8 Heiko Tietze 2022-05-24 10:03:12 UTC
Seth, could you please bring me up to speed what is missing in the latest release? Is it the "Styles Action" toolbutton at the Stylist being disabled in case of list styles that you want to be more informative?
Comment 9 sdc.blanco 2022-05-24 11:27:36 UTC
(In reply to Heiko Tietze from comment #8)
> bring me up to speed...
Summa summarum:  Either "Inherits From" should be removed from the Organizer tab in List Style (and Page Style) dialog (imo) [because it is never used] or a tooltip should be added to the "Inherits From" control explaining why it is greyed out (in your opinion). 

Background for the summary:

1. Open the Organizer tab of a list style (or in Sidebar right-click - "New" on existing list style).

2. Notice that "Inherits From" is greyed out. 

The OP claimed -- based on Writers Guide that -- that this control is NEVER active for List Styles and therefore should be removed.  (The same point can be made for Page Styles as well).

Writers Guide 7.3 says:

    Inherit from: available for paragraph, character, and frame styles  (p. 200)

Comment 5 argues (in general, not in relation to List Styles) that this control should be shown (which I meekly accepted), and then counter-argued that a "tooltip" should be supplied for "Inherits From" that explains why it is greyed out (which you accepted in Comment 7).
Comment 10 Heiko Tietze 2022-06-29 08:41:21 UTC
Tentative patch at https://gerrit.libreoffice.org/c/core/+/134933 but abandoned since one unit test hangs. Probably writer_tests3 test_add_target (autoredactDialog.AutoRedactDialog), no idea why. Unassigning myself.
Comment 11 sdc.blanco 2022-06-30 00:16:19 UTC
Thanks for trying Heiko. Updating bug summary to reflect current intention.
Comment 12 sdc.blanco 2022-07-01 12:08:34 UTC
When this change is made (i.e., removed from List and Page Style), then the "note" on the help page [1] should be updated.

[1] https://help.libreoffice.org/7.5/en-US/text/shared/01/05040100.html