Bug 87829 - Keep sidebars as separately attachable elements
Summary: Keep sidebars as separately attachable elements
Status: RESOLVED INVALID
Alias: None
Product: LibreOffice
Classification: Unclassified
Component: ux-advise (show other bugs)
Version:
(earliest affected)
4.4.0.1 rc
Hardware: All All
: medium enhancement
Assignee: Not Assigned
URL:
Whiteboard:
Keywords:
Depends on:
Blocks:
 
Reported: 2014-12-29 13:29 UTC by Frank Berke
Modified: 2017-07-02 12:44 UTC (History)
4 users (show)

See Also:
Crash report or crash signature:


Attachments
Panel docking areas (212.40 KB, image/png)
2014-12-29 13:29 UTC, Frank Berke
Details
screen clip of Navigator docked right, Sidebar docked left with 4.4.0.1+ (171.75 KB, image/jpeg)
2014-12-29 19:31 UTC, V Stuart Foote
Details
screen clip of Navigator docked right, Sidebar docked left with 4.4.0.1+ with Data Sources panel active (186.26 KB, image/jpeg)
2014-12-29 19:34 UTC, V Stuart Foote
Details

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Description Frank Berke 2014-12-29 13:29:24 UTC
Created attachment 111469 [details]
Panel docking areas

The description for the new sidebar (https://wiki.documentfoundation.org/ReleaseNotes/4.4#Sidebar_changes) sounds like an attempt to force all panels into a new layout, i.e. a single sidebar.

If this is your intention, then to me this would feel like a backwards step in functionality and flexibility of the UI, because in complex documents I really need to have both, a 'Styles & Formatting' panel and the 'Navigator' panel in separate sidebars (or docking areas, whichever is the word for it). Almost every information I need about the document is available at a glimpse, without the need to switch a view through a hotkey or the mouse.

Especially the 'Data Sources' Panel would not fit into a vertical sidebar, it only makes sense as a horizontally attached panel (otherwise you can hardly read the contents of a table or a query).

Please keep LO's UI flexible enough to let the user decide how his individual workplace looks like. It's always good to have a choice.

I attached a screenshot of my current writer UI layout, to illustrate my explanations.
Comment 1 Cor Nouws 2014-12-29 14:11:59 UTC
Comment on attachment 111469 [details]
Panel docking areas

correct mime type
Comment 2 Cor Nouws 2014-12-29 14:14:19 UTC
Hi Frank,

thanks for the report!

The idea is that at least the Navigator can be opened independent too.
And that (IIRC) in future it should be possible to make all panels float.

I've seen no ideas to make Datasource broser part of the Sidebar.
Is that correct, other UX-guys?

Set to ux-advise.

Cor
Comment 3 Yousuf Philips (jay) (retired) 2014-12-29 18:44:55 UTC
Hi Frank,

With 4.4, you will still be able to have the same panels you have in your screenshot visible, except that navigator will have to be on the left and styles would be on the right.
Comment 4 V Stuart Foote 2014-12-29 19:31:00 UTC
Created attachment 111484 [details]
screen clip of Navigator docked right, Sidebar docked left with 4.4.0.1+

(In reply to Jay Philips from comment #3)
> ... except that navigator will have to be on the left and
> styles would be on the right.

Actually can be setup exactly as currently laid out...

1. Undock Sidebar from Sidebar configuration button
2. Drag Sidebar to left edge, an outline will flash when it can be docked
3. main menu View -> Navigator (or <F5>) to open Navigator panel
4. Drag Navigator panel to right edge, outline flash when it can be docked

With Navigator open, probably shouldn't use the Navigator tab on the Sidebar tab bar...
Comment 5 V Stuart Foote 2014-12-29 19:34:07 UTC
Created attachment 111485 [details]
screen clip of Navigator docked right, Sidebar docked left with 4.4.0.1+ with Data Sources panel active
Comment 6 Yousuf Philips (jay) (retired) 2014-12-29 22:25:18 UTC
I have never been able to dock them on the left or right by dragging the mouse in linux or in windows. :D
Comment 7 Adolfo Jayme Barrientos 2014-12-29 23:39:04 UTC
> sounds like an attempt to force all panels into a new layout, i.e. a single
> sidebar

No idea where do you take that idea from. Resolving as INVALID.
Comment 8 Stanislav Horacek 2017-07-02 12:10:24 UTC
> The idea is that at least the Navigator can be opened independent too.
> And that (IIRC) in future it should be possible to make all panels float.

Is this reported somewhere? I think that the separated sidebar decks or more instances of sidebar would be extremely handy (a lot of switching between sidebar decks could be saved if more sidebars are shown simultaneously on a wide screen).
Comment 9 V Stuart Foote 2017-07-02 12:44:02 UTC
(In reply to Stanislav Horacek from comment #8)
> > The idea is that at least the Navigator can be opened independent too.
> > And that (IIRC) in future it should be possible to make all panels float.
> 
> Is this reported somewhere? I think that the separated sidebar decks or more
> instances of sidebar would be extremely handy (a lot of switching between
> sidebar decks could be saved if more sidebars are shown simultaneously on a
> wide screen).

That is bug 85905 - Allow undocking of Sidebar decks