RFE: Lock toolbars

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lphilpot
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RFE: Lock toolbars

Post by lphilpot » Mon Dec 06, 2021 1:15 am

Four years ago I asked if it was possible to lock (not just dock) toolbars to the UI. At that time it wasn't possible.

I don't know about others, but IMO this would be a handy enhancement. With the default dark theme (at least on Linux?) there's a relatively significant amount of toolbar space lost to the 'handles' when not locked:

Image

While that might look minor, when stacking a number of shorter toolbars you can quickly lose several "buttons-worth" of space. From my experience using (not developing!) other QT apps, the space used by a toolbar handle virtually vanishes when it's locked. Plus there's the advantage of not accidentally dragging a toolbar out of position.

Another nice feature would be a close button [X] on undocked toolbars so they can be dismissed without menu navigation.

Certainly not earth-shattering, but it would be nice.

Thanks!
Len
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Husky
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Re: RFE: Lock toolbars

Post by Husky » Mon Dec 06, 2021 1:53 am

Hi,

you are sure about your findings? I think that is something else ... :shock:

I think that empty space is most likely a tool without an icon. In rare cases you can just hoover over the empty space and a tool tip will tell you which tool is underneath (but you can't see it!). In other cases you have to check which tools belong to a category, then check the tool settings within the Application Preferences and figure out the tools which should be visible but arn't. If you then un-tick that invisible tool for the tool bar .... your space is gone.

Why I know that? Because it bothers me too! :wink:
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lphilpot
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Re: RFE: Lock toolbars

Post by lphilpot » Mon Dec 06, 2021 4:57 am

You could be right, I'm not the developer so I don't know for sure what's there (or not), but... if I undock the toolbar there's no additional button, no extra space, etc.:

Image

If you're referring to additional buttons that are hidden due to insufficient toolbar space, that looks different, for example:

Image

You can see the little "pop up" indicator, although on the dark theme it's black on grey (but it's there).

Virtually every UI framework I've seen that offers docking / lockable toolbars (QT, WxWidgets, GTK, MS Windows, etc.) behaves pretty much the same from a user POV. When locked, the space formerly occupied by the handle collapses.

Anyway, once, again it's certainly not the end of the world by any means. But I figured no harm in asking! :wink:
Len
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lphilpot
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Re: RFE: Lock toolbars

Post by lphilpot » Mon Dec 06, 2021 4:59 am

On and I forgot to mention -

Version: 3.27.0.0 (3.27.0)
Internet: QCAD.org
Build Date: Nov 30 2021
Revision: 62c65de
Qt Version: 5.8.0
Architecture: x86_64
Compiler: gcc 4.8.1

Xubuntu 18.04 (soon to be 20.04, hopefully)
Len
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CVH
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Re: RFE: Lock toolbars

Post by CVH » Mon Dec 06, 2021 6:40 am

lphilpot,
definitely an odd behavior ....

You made me switch to dark mode. :wink:
While I have an additional place on my top toolbar space for one or two buttons ...
... I see that in dark mode I have 7 buttons that are off screen.

That makes a difference of 8-9 buttons.
May I remark here that in dark mode everything looks smaller, including text, but all is also more interspaced.
Seen this and several other reasons, I switched back to default mode. :lol:

You are right about the locking.
It happened me once that I picked up a toolbar by accident and dragged its begin off screen.
There was no way to pick it up again and re-dock it.
Instead of a full hard reset of the ini file, I solved that with removing the line [Appearance] DockappWindows
Kinda a gentle reset.

Regards,
CVH

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lphilpot
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Re: RFE: Lock toolbars

Post by lphilpot » Mon Dec 06, 2021 4:57 pm

Yeah, dark mode isn't 100% perfect, but neither am I. :lol: But on balance I still like it better than default. But give me a few months and I'll probably be all pink and yellow (or not, actually!!). Seriously, I like dark mode UIs, as long as they're usable. QCAD's dark theme definitely is - All this about buttons and toolbars is definitely a minor detail.
Len
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petevick
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Re: RFE: Lock toolbars

Post by petevick » Mon Dec 06, 2021 5:50 pm

lphilpot wrote:
Mon Dec 06, 2021 4:57 pm
Yeah, dark mode isn't 100% perfect, but neither am I. :lol: But on balance I still like it better than default. But give me a few months and I'll probably be all pink and yellow (or not, actually!!). Seriously, I like dark mode UIs, as long as they're usable. QCAD's dark theme definitely is - All this about buttons and toolbars is definitely a minor detail.
Have you seen the themes that I've created - https://www.qcad.org/rsforum/viewtopic.php?f=30&t=7994 - they are now installed with Qcad. You can also create your own theme with these programs that I have created - https://www.qcad.org/rsforum/viewtopic. ... 179#p35547 or https://www.qcad.org/rsforum/viewtopic. ... 347#p35347
Pete Vickerstaff
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lphilpot
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Re: RFE: Lock toolbars

Post by lphilpot » Mon Dec 06, 2021 6:02 pm

Yes, I've tried them and played with the theme creator just a bit, but not yet deeply. Looks like a good tool.
Len
QCAD Pro

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