Use faces to indicate states in Customize?

Use faces to indicate states in Customize?

[Drew Adams]

With an aim to reduce the "noise" in the Customize UI a bit, here is a
proposal that might or might not be considered for 22.1. It should be
trivial to implement, while waiting for any more substantial UI
changes that we might make after 22.1.

1) We reduce the text displayed as the "state" of each option.

2) We use a slightly different face for each possible state, with the
   states that we want to stand out more (e.g. Set) having faces that
   stand out a little more.

That is, the face of the text would be different for each option
state, and the text would be simpler (shorter) than it is now. For
example (each entry here is (1) proposed text, (2) state, (3) current
text, (4) doc string text from `custom-magic-alist'):

 - 1) "Edited"; 2) `modified'; 3) "you have edited the value as text,
   but you have not set the option"; 4) "This item is modified, and
   has a valid form"

 - 1) "Saved" or possibly "Unchanged"; 2) `saved'; 3) "this option has
   been set and saved"; 4) "This item is marked for saving"

 - 1) "Standard"; 2) `standard'; 3) "this option is unchanged from its
   standard setting"; 4) "This item is unchanged from the standard
   setting"

 - 1) "Set Here"; 2) `set'; 3) "you have set this option, but not
   saved it for future sessions"; 4) "This item has been set but not
   saved"

 - 1) "Set Elsewhere"; 2) `changed'; 3) "this option has been changed
   outside the customize buffer"; 4) "The current value of this item
   has been changed temporarily"

 - 1) "Invalid"; 2) `invalid'; 3) "the value displayed for this option
   is invalid and cannot be set"; 4) "This item is modified, but has
   an invalid form"

 - 1) "Other"; 2) `rogue'; 3) "this option has not been changed with
   customize"; 4) "This item has no customization information"

This would make scanning for changes (Set) easier, and would make the
unchanged stuff (Unchanged, Standard) less prominent.

The default face differences should be slight, so that this does not
just make for _more_ noise. The faces used for each state should of
course be customizable. The more lengthy description could be
incorporated into tooltips.

What do you think?

Re: Use faces to indicate states in Customize?

[Luc Teirlinck]

Drew Adams wrote:

   With an aim to reduce the "noise" in the Customize UI a bit,

I do not find the current Customize UI too noisy, except for the fact
that a very recent change has led to plenty of continuation lines in
Custom buffers, which I find ugly and distracting.  In another
message, I proposed to fix that.

   That is, the face of the text would be different for each option state,

Kind of harmless, but I believe not very necessary.

   and the text would be simpler (shorter) than it is now.

Your versions are shorter, but cryptic.  They leave out important info
which is currently provided.  And, with one very recent exception, all
current text fits on one line, without producing continuation lines.

Sincerely,

Luc.

Re: Use faces to indicate states in Customize?

[Luc Teirlinck]

Drew Adams wrote:

   (each entry here is (1) proposed text, (2) state, (3) current
   text, (4) doc string text from `custom-magic-alist'):

The entries you give for (4) to not seem to correspond either to
today's recent or yesterday's values of `custom-magic-alist'.  Some
descriptions in it are very wrong.  Are these _new_ values you are
proposing or old July values, that have since been corrected?  (I
believe that I understood that you since updated your CVS.)  If they
are new values you are proposing then I would say that I find the
current values (after reverting inaccurate very recent changes)
clearer and more accurate.

Sincerely,

Luc.

RE: Use faces to indicate states in Customize?

[Drew Adams]

       (each entry here is (1) proposed text, (2) state, (3) current
       text, (4) doc string text from `custom-magic-alist'):

    The entries you give for (4) to not seem to correspond either to
    today's recent or yesterday's values of `custom-magic-alist'.

No, they are older - sorry for any confusion in that regard. The exact text
is not relevant to my point, however.

My point was to continue to provide info such as that in (3) and (4), but to
do so only upon request (e.g. via tooltip), in order to reduce the text
displayed for each custom option.

There are relatively few custom "states". A long description of each state
need not be repeated each time the state is mentioned. My idea is to use 1)
only a short name (label) at each state occurrence and 2) a "legend" that
accurately describes what each such label stands for.

The legend could be in a centralized location (e.g. buffer bottom) and could
describe all of the states (once), or it could be available only upon demand
and be split up, as a set of individual tooltips for the state names. I
prefer the latter, but either is better than repeating a description at each
occurrence, IMO.

The other part of my idea is to use color to make the states easier to
distinguish when scanning.