Don't hide menus

Sat Oct 14 01:52:52 UTC 2023

On 2023-10-13 18:07, Daniel wrote:
> On 2023-10-13 17:24, Jürgen Spitzmüller wrote:
>> Am Freitag, dem 13.10.2023 um 17:08 +0200 schrieb Daniel:
>>> I agree that the menus of these apps are complex. But that might be
>>> in their nature.
>>
>> Well, they are aware of it:
>> https://design.blog.documentfoundation.org/2016/01/22/way-down-in-the-libreoffice-menus/

Notice that the (obvious?) option of removing disabled menu entries 
apparently wasn't a viable option.

>>> I guess the Ribbon was a (maybe controversial) attempt to
>>> solve this problem.
>>
>> Yes, probably. With the result that you don't find things anymore at
>> all. And Ribbons even more infringe the policy you refer to. They hide
>> function from the user if they place it in (rather opaque) categories.
>>
>>> But I think LyX with its hidden menus is actually
>>> worse to figure out. I am still discovering (otherwise) hidden menu
>>> entries and I have been using LyX for quite some time now.
>>
>> I keep on discovering menu entries in LO and Word although they have
>> been displayed all the time.
>>
>> It might be different habits, but I search for menu entries when I need
>> them. And this is when they are usually enabled.
> 
> The problem is that one does not even know what to look for if one 
> doesn't know of a possible functionality. This seems even worse in LyX 
> because it is in certain ways a more unique application.
> 
>> In context when they do not work at all they only distract attention.
> 
> I have not noticed that. I usually find that disabled menus are easy to 
> disregard when I do not explicitly try to discover some function. And 
> typically I have greater problems with disregarding stuff than other 
> people.
> 
> Another problem with disappearing menus is that the other menus shift 
> positions. That is a bit annoying too.
> 
>> If I want to learn about LyX's functionality, I consult the manuals.
> 
> I think people typically don't read software manuals. Maybe too bad but 
> a fact that developers should honor. Maybe LyX users are different but I 
> have my doubts.
> 
>>> If it is really necessary to cut down on menu entries in the "Insert"
>>> menu when disabled entries get enabled: For example, create a
>>> separate "References" menu.
>>
>> References is just a single submenu in the Insert menu. That won't
>> solve the problem. And, after all, if References are to be _inserted_,
>> I would expect them under Insert.
> 
> I meant the group of "References" as in "Citation", "Cross-References", 
> "Label", "Caption", etc. These are typically subsumed under "References" 
> in other word processors. (But if more entries for such a menu are 
> needed, then entries in "List/TOC/References" might be added as well.)

The attached patch exemplifies this (radical?) change.

Daniel
-------------- next part --------------
From 1aac8f973da22069e65504473ebc45c5f1cf880f Mon Sep 17 00:00:00 2001
From: Daniel Ramoeller <d.lyx at web.de>
Date: Sat, 14 Oct 2023 03:49:52 +0200
Subject: [PATCH] Add a "References" main menu

Adds a "References" main menu in order to make the "Insert" menu less long.
---
 lib/ui/stdmenus.inc | 34 +++++++++++++++++++++-------------
 1 file changed, 21 insertions(+), 13 deletions(-)

diff --git a/lib/ui/stdmenus.inc b/lib/ui/stdmenus.inc
index 93db305124..4a8b9d1c28 100644
--- a/lib/ui/stdmenus.inc
+++ b/lib/ui/stdmenus.inc
@@ -31,6 +31,7 @@ Menuset
 		Submenu "Edit|E" "edit"
 		Submenu "View|V" "view"
 		Submenu "Insert|I" "insert"
+		Submenu "References|R" "references"
 		Submenu "Navigate|N" "navigate"
 		Submenu "Document|D" "document"
 		Submenu "Tools|T" "tools"
@@ -378,7 +379,6 @@ Menuset
 		Submenu "Special Character|p" "insert_special"
 		Submenu "Formatting|o" "insert_formatting"
 		Submenu "Field|i" "insert_fields"
-		Submenu "List/Contents/References|/" "insert_toc"
 		Submenu "Float|a" "insert_float"
 		Submenu "Note|N" "insert_note"
 		Submenu "Branch|B" "insert_branches"
@@ -387,20 +387,8 @@ Menuset
 		Submenu "Box[[Menu]]|x" "insert_box"
 		OptSubmenu "Regular Expression" "context-edit-regexp"
 		Separator
-		Item "Citation...|C" "dialog-show-new-inset citation"
-		Item "Cross-Reference...|R" "dialog-show-new-inset ref"
-		Item "Label...|L" "label-insert"
-		Captions
-		Indices
-		OptSubmenu "Index Properties" "index_properties"
-		Item "Nomenclature Entry...|y" "nomencl-insert"
-		Separator
 		Item "Table...|T" "tabular-insert"
 		Item "Graphics...|G" "dialog-show-new-inset graphics"
-		Item "URL|U" "flex-insert URL"
-		Item "Hyperlink...|k" "href-insert"
-		Item "Footnote|F" "footnote-insert"
-		Item "Marginal Note|M" "marginalnote-insert"
 		Item "Program Listing[[Menu]]" "listing-insert"
 		Separator
 		EnvironmentSeparators
@@ -563,6 +551,26 @@ Menuset
 		Custom
 	End
 
+#
+# REFERENCES MENU
+#
+	Menu "references"
+		Submenu "List/Contents/References|/" "insert_toc"
+		Separator
+		Item "Citation...|C" "dialog-show-new-inset citation"
+		Item "Cross-Reference...|R" "dialog-show-new-inset ref"
+		Item "Label...|L" "label-insert"
+		Captions
+		Indices
+		OptSubmenu "Index Properties" "index_properties"
+		Item "Nomenclature Entry...|y" "nomencl-insert"
+		Separator
+		Item "URL|U" "flex-insert URL"
+		Item "Hyperlink...|k" "href-insert"
+		Item "Footnote|F" "footnote-insert"
+		Item "Marginal Note|M" "marginalnote-insert"
+	End
+
 #
 # DOCUMENT MENU
 #
-- 
2.24.3 (Apple Git-128)

