Bug 165301 - Adapt windows VCL tree view to look similar to standard Windows 11 UI components
Summary: Adapt windows VCL tree view to look similar to standard Windows 11 UI components
Status: UNCONFIRMED
Alias: None
Product: LibreOffice
Classification: Unclassified
Component: UI (show other bugs)
Version:
(earliest affected)
24.8.4.2 release
Hardware: All Windows (All)
: medium enhancement
Assignee: Not Assigned
URL:
Whiteboard:
Keywords:
Depends on:
Blocks: UI-Theming
  Show dependency treegraph
 
Reported: 2025-02-17 17:49 UTC by jan d
Modified: 2025-02-18 16:19 UTC (History)
2 users (show)

See Also:
Crash report or crash signature:


Attachments
Example tree view from Windows UI Kit (4.67 KB, image/png)
2025-02-17 17:51 UTC, jan d
Details
Current state tree view from Writer styles (4.46 KB, image/png)
2025-02-17 18:47 UTC, jan d
Details
Tree view mockup in Win 11 style. (5.89 KB, image/png)
2025-02-17 18:48 UTC, jan d
Details

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Description jan d 2025-02-17 17:49:04 UTC
Description:
The Windows VCL tree view uses a style reminiscent of Windows 9x rather than newer Windows versions like 11.

Steps to Reproduce:
Open Writer. Press F11 to open the styles sidebar. Switch to hierarchical view (if not already active)

Actual Results:
The sidebar displays the tree view using + and - for expanding/collapsing and by visualizing the tree structure in dotted lines. 

Expected Results:
The tree view should use chevrons (downward facing for expanded and rightward facing for expandable) and not visualize the tree with dotted lines. 


Reproducible: Always


User Profile Reset: No

Additional Info:
Version: 24.8.4.2 (X86_64) / LibreOffice Community
Build ID: bb3cfa12c7b1bf994ecc5649a80400d06cd71002
CPU threads: 16; OS: Windows 11 X86_64 (10.0 build 22631); UI render: Skia/Raster; VCL: win
Locale: de-DE (de_DE); UI: en-US
Calc: threaded
Comment 1 jan d 2025-02-17 17:51:58 UTC
Created attachment 199258 [details]
Example tree view from Windows UI Kit
Comment 2 jan d 2025-02-17 18:47:57 UTC
Created attachment 199260 [details]
Current state tree view from Writer styles
Comment 3 jan d 2025-02-17 18:48:51 UTC
Created attachment 199261 [details]
Tree view mockup in Win 11 style.
Comment 4 V Stuart Foote 2025-02-17 23:22:07 UTC
@jan d, please stop spamming the BZ with these specific implementation ideas--here and bug 165134, bug 165148

Support for Windows Display Manager may or may not move toward native WinUI3, but as likely likely would move toward a cross platform Qt or Skia based VCL widgets and have no visible relationship to native WinUI.

Specifics are as always the developers choice, taking input and advise from the UX and design community. Just as there was no movement to Metro, or UWP, there is no mandate that the UI follow WinUI3 and Windows 11 theming.

Also, it is rude to throw BZ issues against a specific developer, Sahil has in no way agreed to implement any of this, please don't make such assignments.
Comment 5 Heiko Tietze 2025-02-18 09:04:44 UTC
No concerns from UX to implement native widgets (neither to switch to Qt, or the like).
Comment 6 jan d 2025-02-18 09:35:03 UTC
@Stuart: I posted the findings about the potential problems with the current Windows UI in the UX where the response was positive; complaints about the Windows UI looking "old" is a major concern that the group thinks about. 
I was asked by Sahil to assign him. Nevertheless, I can refrain from posting these issues.
Comment 7 V Stuart Foote 2025-02-18 12:38:40 UTC
(In reply to jan d from comment #6)
> @Stuart: I posted the findings about the potential problems with the current
> Windows UI in the UX where the response was positive; complaints about the
> Windows UI looking "old" is a major concern that the group thinks about. 
> I was asked by Sahil to assign him. Nevertheless, I can refrain from posting
> these issues.

Oh, very sorry then. Maybe a note that you'd been chatting with Sahil but still better to just add hime CC list rather than assigning it. Always best to allow the developer to make an assignment to themselves when they are actively working something up.

But at this juncture, of dropping Win7/Win8.1 and pending EOL of Win10, it certainly allows some movement but we have to remain mindful of the underlaying VCL framework. 

For us to implement Win11 MS Fluent 2 norms (Win32 with WinUI3/XAML) is just not feasible to do with VCL cross platform--requires implementing/maintaining too much WinUI native code.

Meaning simply "decorating" widgets to mimic Win11 theming becomes an endless maintenance chore. Better to accept that it is not feasible (too costly) and look to other implementations as Michael and Sahil have suggested.
Comment 8 jan d 2025-02-18 16:19:51 UTC
Thanks for letting me know!

> Meaning simply "decorating" widgets to mimic Win11 theming 
> becomes an endless maintenance chore.

My impression was that the current theme is already decorated to mimic Windows theming – or do we currently bridge display native UI elements? 

To clarify my concern - it is not the problem that LO does not look like Win 11 per se but that the current styles are a mix of elements from different versions of windows.