Description: I would like to be able identify to which layer an object belong when all layers are visible, so show layer of the object with right button and maybe the option to set border or bg color. I tried to find without luck a workaround based in select all (just a layer visible) a set color [As the layers UX/UI of Draw is too poor, it seems that without noticing i was working on the wrong layer, no w i would like to be able to identify the mess and fix manually] Steps to Reproduce: 1. Create objects in different layers 2. integrate them 3. try to identify layers without setting visible/invisible Actual Results: the layer of an object can't be identified easily Expected Results: identify the layer of an specific object (color, right button) Reproducible: Always User Profile Reset: No Additional Info: Improve the UX, starting by making more intuituve
Select the object using the Navigator. That allows to select the object without entering the group. The layer of the object is shown as text on the left side of the status bar.
In 7.6, we got the "dim objects outside active group" feature back, which helps see which objects belong to one group, before looking at them one by one. Can you please try version 7.6 and test Regina's recommendation? Based on your Actual vs Expected results, my understanding is that you want an option to have an _overview_ of which object belongs to which layer. In 7.6, we got the Style highlighter / spotlight in Writer. This request sounds similar and could use differently-coloured "glows" around objects to have that information at a glance. A few related requests: * Bug 56498 - "Add Layer manager window / Enhance the Navigator". With such an enhancement to the navigator, we could have the same "x-ray / negative" highlight as we have in Writer (when hovering over an object or a category), to easily highlight a whole layer at once. * Bug 77827 - "Draw - Select All on active Layer missing" * Bug 122587 - "Moving Objects to a Different Layer" I think this is a fair enhancement request but that it is blocked by an improved Layer handling UI (like a dedicated sidebar deck or a Layer view in the Navigator). Alternatively, with the current UI, an x-ray / negative highlight on hovering the layer's tab? Copying Jim in too given his recent work on Navigators.
Dapgo, do you agree with having the layer management in the Navigator? It means to make this request a duplicate of bug 56498.
Heiko, I would relate both tickets but without merging them. Because the other ticket has a broader scope and to implement the feature though the bug/enhancement 56498 would imply previous and dependent works. Adding the a color feature to current "layer tabs" can be reused for any future function related to the layer management
[Automated Action] NeedInfo-To-Unconfirmed
I don't like the idea of colorization to identify the parent since colors depend a lot on the system theme. We uses underline, font and background color for the status, which is not clearly related anyway. An alternative might be to an show icon if printable is off, and if locked is on (no icon for the opposite), make the appearance of tab and font disabled in case of visible off, and use bold for the current layer. The active layer would remain "underlined" but not bold anymore.
We discussed the topic in the design meeting. Currently we use italicised font for to show the locked state, underline for non-printing, and blue font color for invisible layers. And a bold bar on the tab for the activ layer. Possible solutions: + a) use just bold for the active layer, disabled font for inactive, and indicate the other states per icon (draw.io uses kind of a Navigator and shows a tiny dot for the object's layer) + drawback is a jumping UI (unless the icons are always visible) and larger tabs + b) use a thin/colored bar to indicate the object's layer + hard to distinguish from the active layer + c) colorize the tab with the highlight color + could use the system highlight color (and invert the blue font of disabled) Option a) sounds to be the best choice from the usability POV (states are currently hard to identify) but means more effort.
(In reply to Heiko Tietze from comment #7) > draw.io uses kind of a Navigator and shows a tiny dot for the object's layer https://www.drawio.com/doc/layers
Created attachment 190794 [details] demo of possible enhancement to identify objects in a layer by mouse hover over layer tab (In reply to Stéphane Guillou (stragu) from comment #2) > Alternatively, with the current UI, an x-ray / negative highlight on > hovering the layer's tab? Maybe like what is shown in the attached demo?
(In reply to Jim Raykowski from comment #9) > Created attachment 190794 [details] > demo of possible enhancement to identify objects in a layer by mouse hover > over layer tab > > (In reply to Stéphane Guillou (stragu) from comment #2) > > Alternatively, with the current UI, an x-ray / negative highlight on > > hovering the layer's tab? > Maybe like what is shown in the attached demo? Looks great, thank you Jim! It think that's a great improvement, please do submit a patch. Dapgo, does Jim's feature + Regina's suggestion in comment 1 cover your original issue?
Link to patch that does what is shown in the demo: https://gerrit.libreoffice.org/c/core/+/159358
Great improvement yet it turns the request around and does not show the layer per object but objects per layer. We should implement it but I wonder if the feature should be optional.
(In reply to Heiko Tietze from comment #12) > Great improvement yet it turns the request around and does not show the > layer per object but objects per layer. Agreed, but I'd like to hear dapgo's opinion on Regina's suggestion, which is in my opinion sufficient. (One related improvement that I think is straight-forward is to show "Several layers" in the status bar instead of whatever single layer it picks when a group that includes objects from several layers is selected. Then the user would know that they need to enter the group to identify which layer each object is linked to.) > We should implement it but I wonder > if the feature should be optional. I have wondered about if the "negative flash" feature used in a few places, if it qualifies as a trigger or hindrance for people with some disabilities (epilepsia, vestibular issues..). Maybe a new "Negative effect to hint at objects" on/off setting in the Accessibility tab of the Options? But for this feature specifically, if it is always on, I guess what matters is the delay in triggering the highlighting, so it doesn't happen every single time the layer is switched. Heiko and Jim, what's a common delay for that?
Created attachment 190824 [details] demo of transparent overlay and mixed layer objects in group statat bar context area message (In reply to Stéphane Guillou (stragu) from comment #13) > Agreed, but I'd like to hear dapgo's opinion on Regina's suggestion, which > is in my opinion sufficient. I agree that Regina's suggestion is enough. > (One related improvement that I think is straight-forward is to show > "Several layers" in the status bar instead of whatever single layer it picks > when a group that includes objects from several layers is selected. Then the > user would know that they need to enter the group to identify which layer > each object is linked to.) Other English language possibilities might be "Mixed layers" or "Different layers". I think the layer shown for group objects in the status bar page status area is the layer that the group object was created in. Maybe too verbose is, "Page n of n (layer name) Group object selected (Contains objects in different layers)" which can be seen in the attached demo. > I have wondered about if the "negative flash" feature used in a few places, > if it qualifies as a trigger or hindrance for people with some disabilities > (epilepsia, vestibular issues..). Maybe a new "Negative effect to hint at > objects" on/off setting in the Accessibility tab of the Options? I prefer a transparent color overlay versus the invert, "Negative effect", overlay. For overlapped areas of objects invert inverts, which, for me, is sort of confusing. This isn't an issue using a transparent color overlay. Probably the main reason to use a negative overlay is that an overlay color doesn't have to be chose. > But for this feature specifically, if it is always on, I guess what matters > is the delay in triggering the highlighting, so it doesn't happen every > single time the layer is switched. Heiko and Jim, what's a common delay for > that? Writer Navigator uses a 1/2 second delay.
(In reply to Jim Raykowski from comment #14) > Created attachment 190824 [details] > demo of transparent overlay and mixed layer objects in group statat bar > context area message > [...] > Other English language possibilities might be "Mixed layers" or "Different > layers". I think the layer shown for group objects in the status bar page > status area is the layer that the group object was created in. Maybe too > verbose is, "Page n of n (layer name) Group object selected (Contains > objects in different layers)" which can be seen in the attached demo. Looks great, thank you! > I prefer a transparent color overlay versus the invert, "Negative effect", > overlay. For overlapped areas of objects invert inverts, which, for me, is > sort of confusing. This isn't an issue using a transparent color overlay. > Probably the main reason to use a negative overlay is that an overlay color > doesn't have to be chose. I think the transparent overlay works well. > Writer Navigator uses a 1/2 second delay. So the same delay sounds sensible. Thanks so much for your work on this, Jim! LGTM, I commented on gerrit. > I agree that Regina's suggestion is enough. So with Regina's tip, and your new features, I think this can be closed when merged.
Hi All, I mistakenly merged the patch for this under tdf#157244.
https://gerrit.libreoffice.org/c/core/+/159358
Verified in: Version: 24.8.0.0.alpha0+ (X86_64) / LibreOffice Community Build ID: 960e37af28807ed1b376e26c4504ab755a81dfd5 CPU threads: 8; OS: Linux 5.15; UI render: default; VCL: gtk3 Locale: en-AU (en_AU.UTF-8); UI: en-US Calc: threaded Thanks Jim! Any reason you stuck with the inverted colours instead of the transparent overlay? (I guess the issue with picking a colour, and the rare occurrence of the object being indistinguishable from the overlay, are justification enough...)
(In reply to Stéphane Guillou (stragu) from comment #18) > Any reason you stuck with the inverted colours instead of the transparent > overlay? (I guess the issue with picking a colour, and the rare occurrence > of the object being indistinguishable from the overlay, are justification > enough...) Yes, the issue is what colour to use. I wonder if the theme settings could assign a color for this or perhaps a color for it could be added to the options application colors page.
In release notes: https://wiki.documentfoundation.org/index.php?title=ReleaseNotes%2F24.8&action=historysubmit&type=revision&diff=748531&oldid=748339