Bug 167687 - Make sure to use checkboxes for binary true-false type font features
Summary: Make sure to use checkboxes for binary true-false type font features
Status: NEW
Alias: None
Product: LibreOffice
Classification: Unclassified
Component: UI (show other bugs)
Version:
(earliest affected)
25.2.0.3 release
Hardware: All All
: medium trivial
Assignee: Not Assigned
URL:
Whiteboard:
Keywords:
Depends on:
Blocks: Character-Dialog
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Reported: 2025-07-27 19:00 UTC by Eyal Rozenberg
Modified: 2025-07-31 07:13 UTC (History)
2 users (show)

See Also:
Crash report or crash signature:


Attachments
Partial screenshot of the font features dialog with a binary option in a drop-down listbox (12.09 KB, image/jpeg)
2025-07-27 19:00 UTC, Eyal Rozenberg
Details
Screenshot of Fira Sans Font Features (33.96 KB, image/png)
2025-07-27 19:34 UTC, jan d
Details

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Description Eyal Rozenberg 2025-07-27 19:00:37 UTC
Created attachment 202021 [details]
Partial screenshot of the font features dialog with a binary option in a drop-down listbox

In a discussion on Telegram, user @JcD showed an example of a font features dialog with some options which are most probably misidentified boolean toggles, presented using drop-down listboxes. Example:


                       +-------+
Slashed number zero:   [ None v]
                       +-------+
                       | 1    ||
                       +-------+

either the 0 is slashed, or it isn't. Now, maybe in other fonts there are multiple kinds of slashing (though I kind of doubt it). But it seems like in several cases, we can determine that an option is a boolean toggle, and use a checkbox for it.
Comment 1 jan d 2025-07-27 19:34:18 UTC
Created attachment 202022 [details]
Screenshot of Fira Sans Font Features

All of the features in the added screenshot are binary choices.
There are some that are activated by checkmarks (Contextual Alternates, Discretionary Ligatures...); confusingly they start as an partial-selected-tri-state-checkbox.
Comment 2 Eyal Rozenberg 2025-07-27 19:48:26 UTC
(In reply to jan d from comment #1)
> All of the features in the added screenshot are binary choices.

What are the not-"None" values for these different features? Give some examples please.

Also, where can one get Fira Sans?

As for Gentium Plus, I was using version 1.504; you can get an up-to-date version from here:

https://software.sil.org/gentium/download/

but the font name has apparently change back from Gentium Plus into just Gentium.
Comment 3 jan d 2025-07-28 06:58:36 UTC
> What are the not-"None" values for these different features? Give some examples please.

The not-"None" values are always "1". 

> Also, where can one get Fira Sans?

Fira Sans can be downloaded here: https://github.com/mozilla/Fira/tree/master/otf or via fontsquirrel, google fonts etc.
Comment 4 Heiko Tietze 2025-07-31 06:45:17 UTC
Binary or rather dual choices are not necessarily just on/off toggles. Or would you expect the choice male/female as checkbox? Besides this generic statement it might be nice to have proper controls, whether check or radio boxes.
Comment 5 Eyal Rozenberg 2025-07-31 07:13:31 UTC
(In reply to Heiko Tietze from comment #4)
> Binary or rather dual choices are not necessarily just on/off toggles. Or
> would you expect the choice male/female as checkbox?

That's a good point. Rephrasing the title to qualify the ask.