Re: Visual cleanup for customize buffers

[storm@cua.dk (Kim F. Storm)]

Luc Teirlinck <teirllm@dms.auburn.edu> writes:

> Kim Storm wrote:
>
>    - Don't show the "Hide value" button for trivial values which
>      fit on one line initially.  I don't see ANY reason why a
>      user would click on that button to, say, hide a boolean
>      or numeric value.
>
> To hide them from the whole buffer buttons, from key bindings that
> operate on the whole buffer and from menu bar items that operate on
> the whole buffer.  (These operations ignore hidden options and faces.)

I never realized this -- "hide value" implies something very
different to me.  If I use the whole-buffer buttons, I would
like it to save ALL changes.

Anyway I just tried this (M-x customize-group cua):

- Go to a face option, eg. "cua global mark"
- click on "show face"
- change some property of the face.
- click on "hide face" (assuming that I don't want to save that change)

   => this gives an error saying "there are unset changes" and 
      it doesn't hide the face.

- select "State" => "Set for Current Session" on the option

   => the (sample) of the face is updated, and it looks fine

- click "Hide face" to remove the clutter of the face definition
- go on changing other options in the cua group

   => so I now have a mix of face and option changes which
      are either set for current session or not set at all.

- click on  whole buffer "Save for Future Sessions" button

   => saves the unset options, but NOT the changed face!!

HUH??   I just hide the face to remove the clutter -- not
because I didn't want to save it for future sessions.

IMO, this functionality is just too obscure and confusing,
and I doubt anyone finds it useful.

> There are no "Hide Value" buttons in single option or face buffers,
> where they would _really_ be useless.

Really??  The "hide value" button is right there when I look!

I don't see any code that removes the button -- that's what
I added.


> Granted, there is very strong evidence that nobody uses the whole
> buffer buttons or functions _in multi-option buffers_ anyway.  The
> majority of them were complete no-ops in group buffers until
> relatively recently and nobody complained about that until relatively
> recently.  So nobody _could_ have used them, unless they used private
> bug fixes.  But they are no longer no-ops now and _as long as we
> provide whole buffer functionality_ we need to provide people with a
> way to "hide" options from the whole buffer operations.

I don't see why!  If people want to save indiviual options, use
the individual State buttons.  If people want to save everything, use
the whole buffer buttons.  

IMO, there is NO NEED to have the "partial save" functionality -- and
even if there was, it is IMO very obscure to base it on the "show/hide"
value state of the variables.

-- 
Kim F. Storm <storm@cua.dk> http://www.cua.dk