Bug 169972 - File Open checkbox UI for ability to show the CSV import filter dialog, for bug 74580 is not behaving
Summary: File Open checkbox UI for ability to show the CSV import filter dialog, for ...
Status: NEW
Alias: None
Product: LibreOffice
Classification: Unclassified
Component: Documentation (show other bugs)
Version:
(earliest affected)
25.8.0.4 release
Hardware: All All
: medium normal
Assignee: Not Assigned
URL: https://wiki.documentfoundation.org/R...
Whiteboard:
Keywords:
Depends on:
Blocks: CSV-Import CSV CSV-Dialog
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Reported: 2025-12-14 13:11 UTC by V Stuart Foote
Modified: 2025-12-14 17:38 UTC (History)
5 users (show)

See Also:
Crash report or crash signature:


Attachments
A screencast: it works for me (5.37 MB, image/gif)
2025-12-14 15:09 UTC, Mike Kaganski
Details

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Description V Stuart Foote 2025-12-14 13:11:16 UTC

    
Comment 1 V Stuart Foote 2025-12-14 13:13:26 UTC
@Mike, Shardul was reviewing for bug 169969 and noticed with the 2025-12-12 TB103 nightly that on the Win builds that on the File -> Open (using either VistaFilePicker or our LO open/save dialogs) that the 'Edit filter settin...' checkbox is *never enabled* for selection. With or without the 'Read only' checkbox.

But once I use the 'Always show on import' checkbox on the csv 'Text Import' dialog, I can then locate and toggle the boolean 'ShowFilterDialog' stanza for csv in calc in Expert Configuration. Or an edit of the .XCU profile. And it will disable/enable the dialog appearance.

But currently it is not written to profile until the dialog is run at least once and the checkbox is toggled from the import dialog. 

Even then it does not affect the File Open UI and checkbox convenience does not seem to be working. 

Same for a 25.8.3 release.

Am I missing something? 

=-testing-=
2025-12-12 TB103
Version: 26.8.0.0.alpha0+ (X86_64)
Build ID: 680(Build:0)
CPU threads: 28; OS: Windows 11 X86_64 (build 26200); UI render: Skia/Vulkan; VCL: win
Locale: en-US (en_US); UI: en-US
Calc: CL threaded

Version: 25.8.3.2 (X86_64)
Build ID: 8ca8d55c161d602844f5428fa4b58097424e324e
CPU threads: 28; OS: Windows 11 X86_64 (build 26200); UI render: Skia/Raster; VCL: win
Locale: en-US (en_US); UI: en-US
Calc: CL threaded
Comment 2 Mike Kaganski 2025-12-14 13:44:45 UTC
I am not sure what is your *expectation*. Also I do not quite understand:

> @Mike, Shardul was reviewing for bug 169969 and noticed ...

Did Shardul notice something, and told you, and you describe it here? Or was it intended to be rather "@Mike, Shardul: I was reviewing for bug 169969 and noticed ..." ?

I just tested the dialogs on my Windows 11. And it seems to work just as I expect:

1. There is a setting, that controls if the CSV import dialog is shown automatically, e.g. when you double-click it in Explorer, or click from recently-used list.
2. That setting is controlled using the bottom-most checkbox in the CSV import dialog (Always show on import).
3. When that setting is enabled, then the "Edit filter settings" checkbox in the File Open dialog will be auto-checked, when you select CSV as the file type.
4. If it is not enabled, then the "Edit filter settings" checkbox in the File Open dialog will be not checked automatically for CSV format, but one can check it, and that will make the CSV import dialog to appear *this time*. In that CSV dialog, the bottom-most checkbox will be unchecked, reflecting the fact that, even though the dialog was shown this time, the "Always show on import" was not enabled. But one can check it, of course; and *that* is the intended UI for manipulating this.
Comment 3 V Stuart Foote 2025-12-14 14:49:33 UTC
(In reply to Mike Kaganski from comment #2)
> ... Or was it intended to be rather "@Mike, Shardul: I was reviewing for bug 169969 and noticed ..." ?
> 

Yep, missing a colon, intended as addressed to you both, sorry. 

But the repeatable "issue" is that the File -> Open dialog that now shows the 'Edit filter settings' is not active in any configuration of 'ShowFilterDialog' (done with the Text Import dialog, or .XCU edit, or Expert config of the stanza).

The check box does not work, and once the CSV Text Import dialog is launched the first time and 'Always show on import' is unchecked--the *only* way I found to restore display of the dialog is via Expert config dialog to edit/toggle the value for the calc filter.
Comment 4 Regina Henschel 2025-12-14 15:05:02 UTC
When you chose file type `*.*` or file type `Spreadsheet`, then the checkbox is disabled. When you explicitly chose file type `Text CSV (*.csv)` from the section of spreadsheet formats, then the checkbox is enabled.

When you have chosen a `foo.csv` file while a general file type is selected, the checkbox is disabled. I consider that a bug. If the chosen file name ends in `.csv` then the checkbox should be enabled even if the file type is not explicitly set to CSV.

Tested with Version: 25.8.3.2 (X86_64)
Build ID: 8ca8d55c161d602844f5428fa4b58097424e324e
CPU threads: 32; OS: Windows 11 X86_64 (build 26100); UI render: Skia/Vulkan; VCL: win
Locale: de-DE (de_DE); UI: en-US
Calc: threaded
Comment 5 V Stuart Foote 2025-12-14 15:09:05 UTC
OK, so just checked again, IFF I make an additional filter file type 'Text CSV (*.csv)' the 'Edit filter settings' checkbox does enabled.

For OP, I had been filtering the file selection using only the DE file manager, and picking from that filtered list of *.csv files. 

But then LO does not honor that filtering and treats the import as 'All files (*.*)', so the import filter is unspecified and bypasses enabling the check box.
 
It works that way in both the VistaFilePicker, and the LO Dialogs. But the requirement to specify the additional file type import filter tripped me up.  I understand why it is needed and actually is consistent with other import filters, it is just unclear that it is needed when the DE has already filtered the file types by extension.

Guess it is a documentation issue...
Comment 6 Mike Kaganski 2025-12-14 15:09:16 UTC
Created attachment 204632 [details]
A screencast: it works for me
Comment 7 Mike Kaganski 2025-12-14 15:10:06 UTC
(In reply to V Stuart Foote from comment #5)
> OK, so just checked again, IFF I make an additional filter file type 'Text
> CSV (*.csv)' the 'Edit filter settings' checkbox does enabled.

Heh, I even provided a link to the release notes, where it was explicitly mentioned.
Comment 8 V Stuart Foote 2025-12-14 15:35:49 UTC
(In reply to Mike Kaganski from comment #7)
> (In reply to V Stuart Foote from comment #5)
> > OK, so just checked again, IFF I make an additional filter file type 'Text
> > CSV (*.csv)' the 'Edit filter settings' checkbox does enabled.
> 
> Heh, I even provided a link to the release notes, where it was explicitly
> mentioned.

Yep, the posted release note mentions it: 

"enabled, when a file format, that has configurable settings, is selected in the filter frop-down list"

Key being selected in the filter drop-down list and *not* the default *.* all files filter.

Clearly an "Am I missing something?" situation.  

Since the intent is to make additional filtering dialogs follow this new UI option, the need for user to select the correct import filter for their source file is reasonable. 

Not sure I would call it a bug at this point, it just was unexpected for generic CSV text. While the new Help article [1] does suggest a file with *.csv would get the correct filter handling. Does that need an additional tweak?

Would bolding the release notes to select the CSV file format be sufficient?

=-ref-=
[1] https://gerrit.libreoffice.org/c/help/+/187347
Comment 9 Mike Kaganski 2025-12-14 15:43:59 UTC
(In reply to V Stuart Foote from comment #8)
> Not sure I would call it a bug at this point, it just was unexpected for
> generic CSV text. While the new Help article [1] does suggest a file with
> *.csv would get the correct filter handling. Does that need an additional
> tweak?

I do *not* understand what is your understanding of its wording. What does "a file with *.csv would get the correct filter handling" mean specifically, compared to what happens now? A file filter is *either* selected manually in the File Open dialog, *or* detected after pressing OK - by the file contents, not by its extension (yes, the extension is considered, as a secondary hint, when it's not possible to reliably detect from content). The File Open dialog has a well-defined behavior of enabling/disabling and activating/deactivating the "Edit filter settings" based *solely* on the *selected filter*: many (most) filters don't have filter settings, so allowing the checkbox be enabled unconditionally would be misleading, even if you select a file named ".CSV" - it may actually be an XLS, and then no filter settings would appear.

The only problem here is the wording in Help, that omitted the piece about "when the filter is selected".
Comment 10 V Stuart Foote 2025-12-14 16:18:50 UTC
(In reply to Mike Kaganski from comment #9)

> The only problem here is the wording in Help, that omitted the piece about
> "when the filter is selected".

The Help articles as published for 25.8:

Need to select 'Text CSV' filter is not clear for "To Open a Text CSV File in Calc":
https://help.libreoffice.org/25.8/en-US/text/scalc/guide/csv_files.html?&DbPAR=CALC

While the filter requirement is mentioned and clear in "To Import a CSV File":
https://help.libreoffice.org/25.8/en-US/text/scalc/guide/csv_formula.html?DbPAR=CALC
Comment 11 Mike Kaganski 2025-12-14 16:31:48 UTC
(In reply to V Stuart Foote from comment #10)

See 26.2 https://help.libreoffice.org/26.2/en-US/text/shared/00/00000208.html?DbPAR=CALC

> Always show on import
> This checkbox determines whether the dialog will appear during a CSV import or
> whether the previously saved settings from the last dialog session will be
> applied automatically.
> 
> If the checkbox is unchecked and the dialog is suppressed, you can still display
> it once by selecting the new Edit filter settings checkbox in the File Open dialog.