Bug 154787 - Ambiguous File menu entry for creating a new document from a template
Summary: Ambiguous File menu entry for creating a new document from a template
Status: RESOLVED FIXED
Alias: None
Product: LibreOffice
Classification: Unclassified
Component: LibreOffice (show other bugs)
Version:
(earliest affected)
7.3.0.3 release
Hardware: All macOS (All)
: medium trivial
Assignee: Heiko Tietze
URL:
Whiteboard: target:7.6.0
Keywords:
Depends on:
Blocks:
 
Reported: 2023-04-13 12:39 UTC by irrevdjohn
Modified: 2023-05-16 15:29 UTC (History)
1 user (show)

See Also:
Crash report or crash signature:


Attachments
Screenshot of menu (73.01 KB, image/jpeg)
2023-04-13 16:29 UTC, irrevdjohn
Details

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Description irrevdjohn 2023-04-13 12:39:55 UTC
Description:
When no documents are open, and only the menu bar is visible, the File> dropdown includes the option ‘From Template…’ This is a good, unambiguous option.

However, when documents are open, the File menu changes. The options are now found under File > New, and the corresponding entry is ‘Templates…’ This is ambiguous — does one choose this option to create a new template or to open a new document that uses an existing template?

The menu option under Files > New should read the same as in the first case, i.e. ‘From Template…’

It’s a small niggle, I know, but I believe it would help users navigate through LO’s menus with greater confidence.

Steps to Reproduce:
1. With any document open…
2. Open the menu item File > New.

Actual Results:
The list of options includes ‘Templates…’

Expected Results:
The option should read ‘From Template…’


Reproducible: Always


User Profile Reset: No

Additional Info:
Version: 7.5.0.3 (X86_64) / LibreOffice Community
Build ID: c21113d003cd3efa8c53188764377a8272d9d6de
CPU threads: 4; OS: Mac OS X 13.2.1; UI render: default; VCL: osx
Locale: en-GB (en_GB.UTF-8); UI: en-US
Calc: threaded
Comment 1 Rafael Lima 2023-04-13 13:08:33 UTC
Hi, thanks for the report.

I'm guessing this "From Template..." is only used on MacOS, so I can't even see it on my computer. Do you see this in the Start Center?

Can you share a screenshot of where this option is located?

BTW I think renaming the command from "Template..." to "From Template..." could improve the understanding of the UI by users.
Comment 2 irrevdjohn 2023-04-13 16:29:19 UTC
Created attachment 186642 [details]
Screenshot of menu

In the Start Center, File menu options are similar to when a document is open, i.e. File > New reveals a sub-menu with ‘Templates…’ at the bottom. Other main menu items such as Tools and Help are also visible.

With Start Center closed and no documents opened on a Mac, the menu consists of only two items: ‘Libre Office’ and ‘Files’. Not even ‘Help’ is available (surely another oversight!). There is only a sub-menu for ‘Recent Documents’, and the ‘From Template…’ option is explicit. (see attachment).
Comment 3 irrevdjohn 2023-04-13 17:07:15 UTC
It’s 15+ years since I used OOo on a MS Windows machine, so I only know the behaviour of LO on Macs. Closing all windows, including Start Center, leaves the app running with a much reduced menu bar. It’s in this version of the menu that ‘From Template…’ appears.

Another curiosity — the keyboard shortcut in each case is different.

‘Templates…’ is invoked by shift-command-N, which opens the Templates dialog, filtered according to the type of document in the topmost window. So, if you’re working on a spreadsheet, shift-command-N shows you the available spreadsheet templates. If you’re editing a presentation, shift-command-N gives you presentation templates.

‘From Template…’ (available when neither docs nor the Start Center are open) uses command-R. This also opens the Templates dialog. In this case, LO remembers the filter in used when the dialog was last closed.

Further caveat: if you're editing, say, a text document, and inadvertently use the command-R shortcut (rather than shift-command-N), your paragraph aligns to the right! This just shows how modal LO menus and shortcuts are — which is good, yes?
Comment 4 Rafael Lima 2023-04-14 11:57:42 UTC
So this is something that affects only MacOS (and from the source code, Windows is affected too). This menu only appears in the system tray when when LO is closed.

IMO we should use "From Template..." in the file menu as well, which is simple to achieve.

As for the shortcut situation, it should be possible to change it. But let's hear from the UX team about these changes.
Comment 5 Heiko Tietze 2023-04-17 12:31:16 UTC
macOS keeps applications running after the main window is closed. The menu is kind of a quick starter and the respective menu generated via sfx2/source/appl/shutdowniconaqua.mm with STR_QUICKSTART_FROMTEMPLATE for the function in question.

The naming was challenged before in bug 104074 (Summary in c10: (File > New >) Templates... is a bit unclear and could be renamed to "From Template...".) Same in bug 146161.

Do you think we should drop the macOS specific command and/or align it with the proposed change in bug 104074?
Comment 6 Heiko Tietze 2023-05-16 11:32:49 UTC
Renamed to "Template Manager..."
Comment 7 Commit Notification 2023-05-16 15:29:13 UTC
Heiko Tietze committed a patch related to this issue.
It has been pushed to "master":

https://git.libreoffice.org/core/commit/7e3a9c7b82745f8765b5526f400243f0e8eff390

Resolves tdf#154787 - Ambiguous item on macOS quick start menu

It will be available in 7.6.0.

The patch should be included in the daily builds available at
https://dev-builds.libreoffice.org/daily/ in the next 24-48 hours. More
information about daily builds can be found at:
https://wiki.documentfoundation.org/Testing_Daily_Builds

Affected users are encouraged to test the fix and report feedback.