Design/Whiteboards/OptionsRework

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This page was marked as inactive and is retained for historical reference. Either the page is no longer relevant or consensus on its purpose has become unclear. To revive discussion, seek broader input via a forum such as one of our mailing lists.

Summary

This is a four-part proposal to remove, reorder and split out options as well as adding an entry point to changing the configuration files.

1. Advanced Options Panel: Add an advanced options panel as an entry point to changing all possible options in the configuration files
2. Kill: There are options in LibreOffice today that duplicate each other (example: measurement units), are dangerous (examples: experimental mode; memory options page), or are useless (show horizontal rulers/vertical rulers are separate items; show tooltips)
3. Reorder: Some options seem to be in the wrong spot (example: key bindings setting is on a Calc page)
4. Split Out: Some options should be (partially) split out in other/new dialogs to clarify what they affect (examples: language, colors, icon themes)

Part one would need to be done in one part. Parts two and three are easily divisible into dozens of little bugs which should make it possible to implement these two parts incrementally, however, some, sometimes even larger changes to the code would have to be made. Part four is more complex and would demand some behavior (especially with regard to how document colors are handled today) to change.

Requirements and Constraints

• Must: Make LibreOffice options easier to understand. Make the difference clear between per-document and per-application options. Make it harder to do "dangerous" things. Minimize possibility of data loss. Make LibreOffice's default behavior saner.
• Wish: Make LibreOffice easier to document and support.
• Constraint: Should not hide needed complexity.

Inspiration

• Improved Options on Openoffice.org wiki
• E-Mail by André Schnabel on the libreoffice-design list

Specification

The parts of the specification lie on different wiki pages:

1. Whiteboards/AdvancedOptionsPanel
2. Whiteboards/KillOptions
3. Whiteboards/ReorderOptions
4. Whiteboards/SplitOptions

Motivational Mock-up

Where this proposal might lead... Please note that absolutely nothing in this mock-up is final. Not the ordering of options, not the choice of options, not the actual look (certainly not the spacing between items).