[Libreoffice-bugs] [Bug 135501] Change the default UI (see comment 67)

[bugzilla-daemon at bugs.documentfoundation.org]

https://bugs.documentfoundation.org/show_bug.cgi?id=135501

--- Comment #81 from ajlittoz <page74010-sf at yahoo.fr> ---
Very long, didn't read the whole thread. My opinion may then be biased.

I'm afraid that all this discussion about the "ideal" UI to be elected as the
default one misses the real point.

UI is not the target in an application. The target is the usefulness of
application purpose and UI is only a tool to serve this usefulness.

What is the chore of LO and its distinctive power feature? Styles.

Styles are present in Writer, Calc, Impress and Draw at different level of
abstraction and power.

Style usage should be encouraged by all means because they are the key to full
LO power. When you must review and reformat a sophisticated document, the task
is overwhelming if direct formatting was the base of the workflow.

IMHO, M$ Office-like UIs are wrong because:

1 - they lead to the "intuitive application control" syndrome making users
falsely think they master the application

2 - they encourage direct formatting because the alternative style control is
not that obvious (and styles are far less developed in the competition)

3 - being immediately accessible, they postpone the need to read the Guides

The net result is a tremendous number of angry questions on AskLO from users
ranting that LO is not M$ Office.

In my point of view, LO doesn't offer yet a full original style-oriented UI. In
Writer, the paragraph styles sit in the toolbar with their own menu but
character, frame, page and list are not there. You must display the side style
pane and selecting one non-paragraph style requires first to click on an icon
to change the displayed list.

As a long-time advocate of styles, I find this is not the correct way to push
users towards styling.

The present status (with a menu View>User Interface>…choices… seems to me a
good trade-off. It is hidden just the correct level so that a curious user
discovers the trick and the lazy user is doomed to learn new ways of doing its
job.

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