[Bug 161049] Vertical Tab dialogs--Format Cells dialog in recent 24.8 alpha is too small

[bugzilla-daemon at bugs.documentfoundation.org]

https://bugs.documentfoundation.org/show_bug.cgi?id=161049

--- Comment #6 from ady <adylo811517 at gmail.com> ---
(In reply to Heiko Tietze from comment #4)
> Clicking a long text in the "vertical tabs" auto scrolls the list to the end
> but I cannot scroll manually back to left.

I can press once on the left-arrow. The right-arrow won't work at that point.
If I move up or down, it immediately scrolls to the right again, each time.

The width of the box is too narrow and all this moving, even if it was
allowed/possible, is completely unnecessary and distracting; also unnecessary
requirements of extra actions from the user.

Additionally, when the UX Team will eventually "calculate" what the ideal
default width of the "vertical tabs" box should be as default for future
versions, I am sure that for some UI locales the width will be not enough
whereas for others it will be too much.

ATM, I am not seeing the advantage of this new layout for this dialog.
Whichever screen area you assume to be saving (which I seriously doubt for this
dialog), it is not worth the extra clicks, distraction and lack of clarity for
new users.

All this is important, but please first correct the whole default size of the
dialog. Then allow the size to be remembered, and then consider the actual UX
consequences of this new "vertical tabs" style for this dialog.

When the names of the "tabs" follow some (similar) pattern, a vertical column
might be more efficient in terms of screen area. But when each name is so
different as in this dialog (e.g a short word vs multiple words with many
characters in each word), then the new "box" of vertical tabs will be occupying
blank space that is wasted. Add the fact that a vertical list within a box is
less clear for new users in terms of structural/tree steps...

This new "vertical tabs" style should had been experimental and opt-in, asking
for beta testers to provide feedback and correct glitches (as this one,
reported in this tdf#161049). If really "no one" would agree to opt-in, then
that means that no one really wants the new style. If someone really wants it,
then they would accept the opt-in. It is just a matter of promoting the opt-in
alternative (e.g in the release notes). Instead, this is imposed/forced and
with all these problems yet to be solved, with no alternative. I hope it is
really, really worth it.

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