[Libreoffice-ux-advise] [Bug 154080] Comment indicator is too small, non-circumspect, easy to miss

[bugzilla-daemon at bugs.documentfoundation.org]

https://bugs.documentfoundation.org/show_bug.cgi?id=154080

--- Comment #6 from ady <adylo811517 at gmail.com> ---
As of 7.5.x, there are the following statuses:

* comment indicator and comments both hidden
* comment indicator and comments both displayed
* comment indicator displayed, comments hidden
* comment indicator hidden, comments displayed

Additionally, the comments' background color can be changed.

The comments are set to be displayed/hidden in menu View.

The comment indicator is set to be displayed/hidden within Options.

I could think of some "simple" (from the POV of users) additional settings /
options / alternatives to add towards the goal of this RFE:

1. Having the possibility to customize the color of the comment indicator.
Different contrasting colors means different visibility.

2. Having the possibility to display or to hide the comment indicator, not just
within the Options, but in the menu and/or the toolbar (as comments themselves
currently are). To be clear, this would be independent to whether to display or
to hide the comments themselves. Being able to toggle "on/off" in sequence
helps to notice the presence of a comment indicator.

SIDE NOTE:  This possibility also helps when the content of a cell is not
readable because it clashes with the comment indicator: the user turns it off
for a second, reads the content and brings the comment indicator on again.

3. Having the possibility to _toggle_ the color, and/or shape (bigger/smaller)
of the comment indicator, also directly in the View menu and View toolbar. Some
users might even want to customize a shortcut key combination for this. 

4. Having the possibility of automatically "blink" (for several seconds, or
permanently until set to off).

Generally speaking, just as with signs on the road, you shouldn't have a
comment indicator "permanently on your face". You only want it to be noticed
for a split of a second. A permanent high-contrast color (for instance) would
be as having a flashlight pointing at you. Once you noticed that the comment
indicator is there, that's enough attention; more would be a negative
consequence, a distraction.

A similar idea applies to toggling the size and/or the shape of the comment
indicator. Press an icon (or a customized shortcut key combination) and the
comment indicator is displayed more prominently than it normally is. Press
again and it returns to its normal color and/or smaller shape, so it won't keep
bothering during normal work (after the user already noticed it is present).

These are similar possibilities comparable to the current possibility of
displaying the comments themselves for a split moment, on/off. Except that the
comment themselves could potentially bother one another if you have many and
closed to each other. Having the comment indicator on/off, or with different
color and/or shape being manually changed in rapid succession allows the user
to see the contrast between the two statuses, helping in identifying that a
comment indicator is present. For that to be effective, it is not enough to
have it within the Options; it would need to be (also) in the View menu and
View toolbar(s).

I guess that the possibility of a customized shortcut is independent of having
the comment indicator setting (on/off) available in the menu/toolbar. I haven't
checked whether assigning a custom shortcut is already available for this
action ATM without changing anything else.

As always, the possibility of noticing a certain detail (such as comment
indicators) varies according to zoom factor. I am not getting into the matter;
I am mentioning it just for the record, so when a user might claim the
indicator is not notable enough, a valid possible question or request would be
to temporarily change the zoom factor in order to test whether the situation
improved. I am not able to read cell's content or see comment indicators when
the zoom factor is "too low" (no matter how big the font would be or how
prominent the comment indicator would turn out to be), so I assume similar
experiences are valid for other users.

The forth alternative I suggested, to "blink" (perhaps for a certain limited
time), is aimed at a more "automatic" approach, without user intervention. The
specific trigger would need discussion. Is it 5 seconds after showing the
worksheet the first time after it was opened? Is it a permanent blink until the
users shuts it off/down for the session? Would it be "on" the next time a
document is opened? Is its status saved within the document?...

Having a comment indicator permanently being displayed more prominently is not
a good idea, just as having a flashlight pointing at our face while trying to
focus on real work. But, if some user has the perception that the comment
indicator should be more prominent than it is now, it should be up to that user
to be able to set it to some comfortable color / shape / toggling, according to
how much prominence it should have for his own context/circumstances. My
(educated) guess is that after noticing it once or twice, users would not want
it to be as prominent for the rest of the work. For some users, the way it is
now is adequate.

I hope this points can help in finding out possible improvements for those
affected, while not negatively affecting those that are OK with the way they
are currently as of LO 7.5. My vote, FWIW, would be to add the possibility to
display/hide the comment indicator as part of the menu and toolbars, as the
comment themselves are. By toggling on/off in succession, users would notice
the presence of the comment indicator more than a static sign can.

-- 
You are receiving this mail because:
You are on the CC list for the bug.