Taskbar improvements #266

Some improvements for Kicker's taskbar.

First commit:
The module settings are now split between three tabs, which looks better overall and a little less overloaded. Additionaly, some new settings which were already present for the config have been exposed (thumbnails, max button width). Finally, some settings have been further refined for customization (button styles, which were previously hardcoded -Classic, Optimal, For transparency- can now be configured with precision.

Second commit:
Icon size can now be picked between Small and Panel (the default size is Small, for consistency with the previous hard-coded value). In case of Panel, the taskbar reminds the one that is used by default on Plasma, Windows since 7 and Q4OS.

(Note: this commit was not initially signed.)

More extensive descriptions are available in the respective commit messages.

Suggestions/comments are welcome.

kcmtaskbar.png

222 KiB

If anybody has some time, could you please test these two commits?

Things to look for:

Commit 1

Whether the proposed kcmtaskbar layout is logical and usable;
Whether GUI options interact as expected (e.g. graying out);
Whether all options work promptly (no regressions);
Whether the newly added options work as expected.

Commit 2

Whether the icons fit in their respective buttons (not clipped on the sides), both orientations;
Whether the buttons' internal layout (icon and/or text) is correct.
Whether further visual additions/improvements are needed for a better result.

@blu.256
Will test at some point during the week.
The screenshot looks nice, so looking forward to test it.

Hi Philippe,
I have tested this PR. Great idea rearranging the taskbar config page, it was overcrowded. The new layout is good and offer space for even more config options.
Here are some points to fix up:

vertical spacing: if the window is very tall, in both the Tasks and Appearance tabs there is a spacer between group of options. This make the look a bit off. Would be good to leave the space at the bottom only IMO (let me know if you need a screenshot of this point)
if you are editing a "taskbar only" config and enable the checkbox "Use global floating taskbar configuration", the page becomes mostly empty with things widely spread out. Again it doesn't look tidy IMO, better to keep things at the top and leave the space at the bottom
Tasbbar tab. All items work fine.
3.1. "Sort windows by desktop" has priority over "Sort alphabetically". Also they have slightly different purpose, although the name are similars. Would probably be better to have some separation between the two. In the original layout, "Sort window by desktop" was in another place and the different meaning was more obvious.
3.2. "Allow taskbar items to be rearranged" could be moved to the left, aligned to "sort alphabetically". Again, the "Sort by desktop" place a limit at how far items can be rearranged.
Appearance tab.
4.1. Sometimes changing "Taskbar style" type does not enable the "Apply" button in the dialog. It seems to happen in relation with the "Custom" option. Btw, nice little addition for those parameters.
4.2. "Draw halo around text" also seems to misbehave at times, especially after enabling it once and then switching to "For transparency". Also seems to happen when playing with "custom colors"
4.3. "Icons": place taskbar to the left of the screen. Enable "icons only" and if necessary toggle "small icons" ==> icons will get centered. Switch back to "icons and text" ==> icons are still centered and overlap the text. The problem does not seem to appear on a horizontal taskbar.
4.4 "Show thumbnails on hover" does not seem to do anything, not sure I am doing something wrong.
4.5 changing the spinbox by hand typing does not enable the "apply" button until selecting another field. This is a bit annoying if you only want to change that settings, since you have to either click somewhere else or press Tab first.
4.6 "Maximum button width" is a nice little addition but its placement is misleading. It seems to refer to the max width of the "Show windows list button" just about it. Maybe we should move it under the "Button style" section or find a different name for it.

I have not yet gone through the code, I will do at a later stage once the above points are cleared.
Overall I like the idea, reworking that page is something that has been on one of my TODO lists for a long time.
Also it provides lot of space in case in future we want to add more options to improve functionality for the users.

Hi Philippe, I have tested this PR. Great idea rearranging the taskbar config page, it was overcrowded. The new layout is good and offer space for even more config options. Here are some points to fix up: 1. vertical spacing: if the window is very tall, in both the Tasks and Appearance tabs there is a spacer between group of options. This make the look a bit off. Would be good to leave the space at the bottom only IMO (let me know if you need a screenshot of this point) 2. if you are editing a "taskbar only" config and enable the checkbox "Use global floating taskbar configuration", the page becomes mostly empty with things widely spread out. Again it doesn't look tidy IMO, better to keep things at the top and leave the space at the bottom 3. Tasbbar tab. All items work fine. 3.1. "Sort windows by desktop" has priority over "Sort alphabetically". Also they have slightly different purpose, although the name are similars. Would probably be better to have some separation between the two. In the original layout, "Sort window by desktop" was in another place and the different meaning was more obvious. 3.2. "Allow taskbar items to be rearranged" could be moved to the left, aligned to "sort alphabetically". Again, the "Sort by desktop" place a limit at how far items can be rearranged. 4. Appearance tab. 4.1. Sometimes changing "Taskbar style" type does not enable the "Apply" button in the dialog. It seems to happen in relation with the "Custom" option. Btw, nice little addition for those parameters. 4.2. "Draw halo around text" also seems to misbehave at times, especially after enabling it once and then switching to "For transparency". Also seems to happen when playing with "custom colors" 4.3. "Icons": place taskbar to the left of the screen. Enable "icons only" and if necessary toggle "small icons" ==> icons will get centered. Switch back to "icons and text" ==> icons are still centered and overlap the text. The problem does not seem to appear on a horizontal taskbar. 4.4 "Show thumbnails on hover" does not seem to do anything, not sure I am doing something wrong. 4.5 changing the spinbox by hand typing does not enable the "apply" button until selecting another field. This is a bit annoying if you only want to change that settings, since you have to either click somewhere else or press Tab first. 4.6 "Maximum button width" is a nice little addition but its placement is misleading. It seems to refer to the max width of the "Show windows list button" just about it. Maybe we should move it under the "Button style" section or find a different name for it. I have not yet gone through the code, I will do at a later stage once the above points are cleared. Overall I like the idea, reworking that page is something that has been on one of my TODO lists for a long time. Also it provides lot of space in case in future we want to add more options to improve functionality for the users.

Thank you for such thorough testing, I will get back to this PR soon (tomorrow, maybe?). :-)

"Draw halo around text" also seems to misbehave at times

Looks like if the custom settings match any of the existing styles, then the state change is not triggered.

"Show thumbnails on hover" does not seem to do anything, not sure I am doing something wrong.

This option needs a compositor to work and I think you said one you didn't like them ;-)

"Maximum button width" is a nice little addition but its placement is misleading. It seems to refer to the max width of the "Show windows list button"

No, actually it refers to the taskbar buttons, but I just noticed it has no effect if those are in "Icon only mode". Not sure about the best placement for it.

changing the spinbox by hand typing does not enable the "apply" button until selecting another field

This does not work anywhere actually; Looks like valueChanged(...) is not emitted when doing so. See for example the spinboxen in other control modules (e.g. File manager settings).

"Show thumbnails on hover" does not seem to do anything, not sure I am doing something wrong.

This option needs a compositor to work and I think you said one you didn't like them ;-)

I don't indeed. Would be good to add some description (tooltip?) where the need for a compositor is made clear to the user.

changing the spinbox by hand typing does not enable the "apply" button until selecting another field

This does not work anywhere actually; Looks like valueChanged(...) is not emitted when doing so. See for example the spinboxen in other control modules (e.g. File manager settings).

Yeah, good point, I had forgot about it in fact. It may be good to consider emitting a valueChanged() signals when something is typed.

It remains for me to tackle 4.3 and 4.4 (the tooltip), then it is ready for testing.

ok, ping me here when the PR is ready for the next round of testing.

@MicheleC Remaining issues fixed.

There are a few other options I'd like to try to implement though first.

Great news.

There are a few other options I'd like to try to implement though first.

Should I wait for them or do a review sometime next week first?

@MicheleC

Great news.

There are a few other options I'd like to try to implement though first.

Should I wait for them or do a review sometime next week first?

I think it would be better if you waited for them so you can review everything at once. I'll ping you (once again) when I think it's ready for testing and reviewing.

What I'm doing also requires some code refactoring but I think I'll have finished sometime next week.

@MicheleC I will probably introduce the changes as a separate PR later, this would be more correct. You can test this PR.

I will be away for a few days. I will probably check this during next weekend. First I want to finish reviewing the code related to TDE/tdebase#270.

@MicheleC

I will be away for a few days. I will probably check this during next weekend. First I want to finish reviewing the code related to TDE/tdebase#270.

Okay, no need to hurry eith this one. :)

Apologies for the delay Philippe, busy period at work. Will try to review as soon as I can make time for it.

Hi Philippe,
I have finally come around to test the new PR.

Here is feedback on previously highlighted points:

fixed, works fine
nicely done, I really like how it is implemented now
both 3.1 and 3.2 works fine
subpoints:
4.1 seems to still need a bit of work. Most of the time the Apply button gets hgihlighted, but in some cases it doesn't. Try this a few times:
- change from Elegant to Custom. Apply.
- change Use custom color checkbox (tick or untick). Apply.
- change from Custom to Elegant. The Apply button is not enabled.
4.2 seems ok
4.3 works fine
4.4 no compositor here :-)
4.5 ok - as discussed, ignore this
4.6 still not addressed. Placement is misleading because it affects the width of the taskbar buttons, but the spinbox sits right below the "Show windows list button". A user would think the setting affects the size of the "Show windows list button" instead of the taskbar buttons.

Additional feedback:

in the Appearance page, there is no tooltip for Draw items as buttons on hover
select Custom in Taskbar Style and then Apply and close the dialog. When you open it again, Custom is not selected, rather one of the other three styles is.

Overall it seems most of the things are ok and only a couple of points to clear up a bit. This will be a great addition to the next release, because the existing taskbar config page is really overcrowded.

@blu.256 since you are now "retired", do you mind if I finish off the remaining few items and then include your code into TDE?
Or would you like to finish off this PR yourself?

@MicheleC No I don't mind at all, you can finish them off, as you say.

Ok, great. And thanks again for everything you have done for TDE.

Rebased on top of master and remaining points fixed up.

4.1. Apply button is shown all the time the taskbar style combobox selection is changed
4.6. renamed and added a separator. This should now be enough to avoid confusion.

in the Appearance page, there is no tooltip for Draw items as buttons on hover

Missing tooltips have been added.

select Custom in Taskbar Style and then Apply and close the dialog. When you open it again, Custom is not selected, rather one of the other three styles is.

After looking into the code, I now understand the logic behind it. Custom correctly shows up if the options do not match any of the predefined styles.

It looks good. There is only one small recommendation to improve appearance. See comment below.

It looks good. Very nice improvements.

@blu.256
Thanks for the original work, nice improvement!!

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Taskbar improvements #266

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