Bug 92406 - STATUSBAR: Making the statusbar configurable in Writer
Summary: STATUSBAR: Making the statusbar configurable in Writer
Status: NEW
Alias: None
Product: LibreOffice
Classification: Unclassified
Component: Writer (show other bugs)
Version:
(earliest affected)
5.1.0.0.alpha0+ Master
Hardware: Other All
: medium enhancement
Assignee: Not Assigned
URL:
Whiteboard:
Keywords: needsUXEval
: 97681 150067 (view as bug list)
Depends on: 88296
Blocks: Statusbar 113828
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Reported: 2015-06-28 13:48 UTC by Yousuf Philips (jay) (retired)
Modified: 2022-12-17 06:50 UTC (History)
8 users (show)

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Crash report or crash signature:
Regression By:


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Description Yousuf Philips (jay) (retired) 2015-06-28 13:48:46 UTC
As stated in bug 88367, we have many fields in the statusbar that are of little use to main users, so rather than removing them as some are opposed to this, these fields can be hidden by default and then enabled by users who wish to use them.

Fields i think can be hidden by default :-
1) Text Language - Useful to users who write documents in multiple languages
2) Insert Mode - Cursor indicates which mode you are in
3) Selection Mode - available in Edit menu
4) Document Modified State - save toolbar button provides this functionality
5) Digital Signature - limited to users who digitally sign their documents

I would suggest that the option to enable/disable these fields be accessible in a View > Statusbar submenu along with the the current View > Statusbar checkbox. Alternatively, it would be available in the Tools > Options dialog (LibreOffice Writer > View).
Comment 1 V Stuart Foote 2015-06-28 14:00:29 UTC
+1  but need to agree on which fields continue to show by default, and prioritization of sizing behavior when more fields are open than fit the width of the status bar.

And of course this will need complete details in F1 help and documentation.
Comment 2 Heiko Tietze 2015-06-28 17:41:16 UTC
It's hard to imagine the user who tweaks the status bar rather than switching it completely on/off. However customization makes sense in general. But I think those settings belong to the configuration, i.e the dialog.
Comment 3 Yousuf Philips (jay) (retired) 2015-06-28 23:24:42 UTC
(In reply to V Stuart Foote from comment #1)
> +1  but need to agree on which fields continue to show by default, and
> prioritization of sizing behavior when more fields are open than fit the
> width of the status bar.

What is remaining is - Page Number, Word Count, Page Style, Object Properties, Page View, Zoom.

(In reply to Heiko Tietze from comment #2)
> It's hard to imagine the user who tweaks the status bar rather than
> switching it completely on/off. However customization makes sense in
> general. But I think those settings belong to the configuration, i.e the
> dialog.

Yes customizing things are limited to more advanced users (e.g. Eve), so we need to have the default statusbar suitable to new and average users (e.g. Benjamin). The other alternative is to have a basic and advanced mode for the statusbar, so users dont have to choose everything they want enabled and then it would be a simplified option that could be in the View menu, and likely a simplified option for a dev to correctly specify the sizes for the basic mode.

Here are statusbar options in other suites:

Google Docs - None

iWork Pages '09 - Zoom Percentage, Word Count, Page Number - http://www.digitalcupcake.net/wp-content/uploads/2011/12/iWork-Pages-One-Up-Two-Up.png

iWork Page 5.0 - No actual statusbar, but you can enable a hovering Word Count that appears close to the bottom of the window.

Word 2013 - Page Number, Word Count, Spell Check status, View Shortcuts, Zoom Slider & Percentage - http://i1.ytimg.com/vi/Dzds_djefuI/maxresdefault.jpg

Word 2011 Mac - View Shortcuts, Section, Page Number, Word Count, Zoom Percentage & Slider - https://noppyfoto.files.wordpress.com/2011/03/screen-shot-2011-03-24-at-1-32-18-pm.png

AbiWord - Page Number, Insert status, not sure what the next one is :D, Language - http://imagenes.es.sftcdn.net/es/scrn/13000/13357/abiword-23.jpg

WPS/Kingsoft Writer - Page & Section Number, Row & Column Number, Word Count, Spell Check status, AutoBackup status, View Shortcuts, Zoom Percentage & Slider - http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-mtmWGiSCVj4/VEdl2zI2__I/AAAAAAABi3U/sF3mGV2cU7U/s1600/wps-writer_ubuntu.jpg
Comment 4 raal 2016-02-09 10:54:12 UTC
*** Bug 97681 has been marked as a duplicate of this bug. ***
Comment 5 tommy27 2016-02-14 09:15:04 UTC Comment hidden (obsolete)
Comment 6 Robinson Tryon (qubit) 2016-08-25 05:49:25 UTC Comment hidden (obsolete)
Comment 7 Tom Colley 2018-09-23 02:26:09 UTC
I think customization of status bar issues could be solved by allowing users to specify for each item in the status bar:
- hide/show 
- high/normal display priority
- left-right order of display
Some algorithm could be deployed to share the display space between items on this basis. An easy "reset to default" option would be pragmatic for saving novice users from "fiddling" errors.

Personally, I rely on the zoom buttons for Writer and Calc but often find they disappear when I'm sharing a single screen with multiple applications. Having this capability in Calc would also give me/others continual access to the useful "Selection Sum/Count/etc." facility, which often gets hidden.
Comment 8 hipster-vintage-and-indie 2019-08-07 08:17:47 UTC Comment hidden (spam)
Comment 9 singinglikepro 2019-08-07 08:31:37 UTC Comment hidden (spam)
Comment 10 mingmenhong 2019-08-07 08:44:59 UTC Comment hidden (spam)
Comment 11 small-home-ideas 2019-08-07 08:54:38 UTC Comment hidden (spam)
Comment 12 debt-to-income 2019-09-25 13:12:56 UTC Comment hidden (spam)
Comment 13 Ron Johnson 2019-10-30 23:49:28 UTC
I agree with Tom Colley in comment #7.  Being able to hide items that are of no use to me (which would make items that I DO care about appear, since they disappear when I use narrow windows) would be a great boon.
Comment 14 Stephen Meatheringham 2020-03-28 00:25:47 UTC
I would find a configurable status bar incredibly useful. I often have two windows open on a quite high resolution monitor. I do not want them overlapping. When I make the Writer window narrower I lose the language field. That is one I use very often as I write documents in multiple languages.
Comment 15 Regina Henschel 2020-03-28 01:06:29 UTC
In case you will not wait, till something is implemented, you can already tweak the status bar by editing its xml-file:

Copy the file statusbar.xml from <program>\share\config\soffice.cfg\modules\swriter\statusbar to <user>\config\soffice.cfg\modules\swriter\statusbar.
(I suggest to copy it, because then you can simple delete the copied file, in case it does not work for you.)
Open the file in an editor and change values and/or order.

Some information about the status bar can be found in https://wiki.openoffice.org/wiki/Framework/Tutorial/Statusbar_Controller. Although for an old version of OpenOffice.org, most parts are still valid for LibreOffice.
Comment 16 Tim Sitarz 2020-09-15 07:40:12 UTC Comment hidden (spam)
Comment 17 Walter V Boston 2021-12-09 06:14:35 UTC Comment hidden (spam)
Comment 18 Timur 2022-07-21 13:57:10 UTC
*** Bug 150067 has been marked as a duplicate of this bug. ***