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IDProjectCategoryView StatusDate SubmittedLast Update
0013379ParaView(No Category)public2012-08-20 17:382012-10-29 17:04
ReporterKen Moreland 
Assigned ToUtkarsh Ayachit 
PrioritynormalSeverityminorReproducibilityhave not tried
StatusclosedResolutionfixed 
PlatformOSOS Version
Product Versiongit-master 
Target VersionFixed in Version3.98.0 
Summary0013379: Properties panel has ugly buttons to implement collapsible groups
DescriptionThe current implementation of the new properties panel has these ugly buttons labeled "Properties (PipelineName)" and "Display (DataType)" that act as toggles for collapsing those respective widgets. In the attached screen shot, the buttons in question are those two big blue buttons.

This behavior is pretty terrible. First of all, it just looks ugly. Second, their behavior is unclear (or at least unnatural and inconsistent with other widgets). Buttons should not be used a toggles (see GUI Blooper "Using command buttons as toggles," http://books.google.com/books?id=cIY0JOAkLoYC&pg=PA66&lpg=PA66&dq=gui+blooper+toggle&source=bl&ots=uWwpXi3PqM&sig=pq3jazWL-yimwkcfV5UOrsSKVwk&hl=en&sa=X&ei=UXwiUJXVDsT5ygG4n4HQAQ&ved=0CFUQ6AEwAQ#v=onepage&q=gui%20blooper%20toggle&f=false [^]). Even if you do accept their toggle behavior, it is not clear that the action is to collapse a group. Third, the layout does not naturally suggest the grouping of the widgets. The buttons do not make good divisors. (Buttons are no better separators than they are toggles.) It is not as clear at a glance how the widgets group together as it should be.

I think this ability to collapse the properties or display part of the inspector is dubious in the first place. Experience shows that you almost always need to access widgets from both, which is what made the separate Properties/Display tabs so frustrating.

If you really want this behavior, then this should be implemented using the pqCollapsedGroup widget, which is already part of ParaView. It is designed to implement this functionality. Its behavior is clear and it looks much nicer.
TagsNo tags attached.
ProjectSandia
Topic Name13379_cleanup_properties_panel_ui
Typeincorrect functionality
Attached Filespng file icon PropertiesPanel.png [^] (35,804 bytes) 2012-08-20 17:38


png file icon alternative-all-open.png [^] (30,322 bytes) 2012-08-21 10:21


png file icon alternative-display-closed.png [^] (18,136 bytes) 2012-08-21 10:22


png file icon QtDesigner-Widget Box.png [^] (30,861 bytes) 2012-08-21 10:23


png file icon mac.newpanel.png [^] (60,038 bytes) 2012-08-21 12:31


png file icon mac.collapsed.newpanel.png [^] (42,366 bytes) 2012-08-21 12:32

 Relationships
related to 0013344closedUtkarsh Ayachit Advanced button used as toggle in Properties panel 

  Notes
(0029037)
Utkarsh Ayachit (administrator)
2012-08-21 10:26
edited on: 2012-08-21 10:34

 The collapsible group has a problem that it unnecessarily wastes horizontal space for the "group box" and padding around it, no matter how much we take the padding/margins down.

The original plan with the implementation was to do something similar to what Qt Designer does for its "Widget Box" (QtDesigner-Widget Box.png).I've cleaned up the push button implementation to instead use a new pqExpanderButton class which is a raised frame with toggle state support. Screenshots included.

What do you think?
(0029038)
Utkarsh Ayachit (administrator)
2012-08-21 10:30

 commit 40d6575c8da63539e7d9277f058fec6b9f4b638f
Author: Utkarsh Ayachit <utkarsh.ayachit@kitware.com>
Date: Tue Aug 21 10:28:13 2012 -0400

    BUG 0013379. Cleanup toggle buttons in properties panel.
    
    Properties panel used ugle toggle buttons for expanding frames. Changed that use
    a new class pqExpanderButton which simulates the expanding buttons seen in the
    Widget box for Qt Designer.
(0029039)
Ken Moreland (manager)
2012-08-21 10:38

 I can live with that. Can you post a screenshot on Mac?
(0029041)
Utkarsh Ayachit (administrator)
2012-08-21 12:31

 Added a mac screenshot
(0029042)
Ken Moreland (manager)
2012-08-21 12:33

 Yeah, that looks reasonable.
(0029057)
Utkarsh Ayachit (administrator)
2012-08-24 11:20

 merged in master, if applicable.
(0029229)
Alan Scott (manager)
2012-09-19 22:18

 I can live with the new implementation also. Tested local server, Linux, master.

 Issue History
Date Modified Username Field Change
2012-08-20 17:38 Ken Moreland New Issue
2012-08-20 17:38 Ken Moreland File Added: PropertiesPanel.png
2012-08-20 17:39 Ken Moreland Relationship added related to 0013344
2012-08-21 09:11 Utkarsh Ayachit Assigned To => Utkarsh Ayachit
2012-08-21 10:21 Utkarsh Ayachit File Added: alternative-all-open.png
2012-08-21 10:22 Utkarsh Ayachit File Added: alternative-display-closed.png
2012-08-21 10:23 Utkarsh Ayachit File Added: QtDesigner-Widget Box.png
2012-08-21 10:26 Utkarsh Ayachit Note Added: 0029037
2012-08-21 10:30 Utkarsh Ayachit Topic Name => 13379_cleanup_properties_panel_ui
2012-08-21 10:30 Utkarsh Ayachit Note Added: 0029038
2012-08-21 10:30 Utkarsh Ayachit Status backlog => gatekeeper review
2012-08-21 10:30 Utkarsh Ayachit Fixed in Version => git-next
2012-08-21 10:30 Utkarsh Ayachit Resolution open => fixed
2012-08-21 10:34 Utkarsh Ayachit Note Edited: 0029037
2012-08-21 10:38 Ken Moreland Note Added: 0029039
2012-08-21 12:30 Utkarsh Ayachit File Added: Screen Shot 2012-08-21 at 12.29.45 PM.png
2012-08-21 12:30 Utkarsh Ayachit File Deleted: Screen Shot 2012-08-21 at 12.29.45 PM.png
2012-08-21 12:31 Utkarsh Ayachit File Added: mac.newpanel.png
2012-08-21 12:31 Utkarsh Ayachit Note Added: 0029041
2012-08-21 12:32 Utkarsh Ayachit File Added: mac.collapsed.newpanel.png
2012-08-21 12:33 Ken Moreland Note Added: 0029042
2012-08-24 11:19 Utkarsh Ayachit Fixed in Version git-next => git-master
2012-08-24 11:20 Utkarsh Ayachit Note Added: 0029057
2012-08-24 11:20 Utkarsh Ayachit Status gatekeeper review => customer review
2012-09-19 22:18 Alan Scott Note Added: 0029229
2012-09-19 22:18 Alan Scott Status customer review => closed
2012-10-29 17:04 Utkarsh Ayachit Fixed in Version git-master => 3.98.0

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