Mysterious "Select Color" Dialogue

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Batucada
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Joined: Mon Jul 18, 2022 9:03 am

Mysterious "Select Color" Dialogue

Post by Batucada »

  • select "View->Appearance" in the menu
  • select "Shape colour" in the "Task" view.
  • the "Select Color" dialogue opens
  • position the dialogue so that you have a clear view to the objekt.
  • select the button "Pick Screen Color
BTW what this button has to do with the palette above it is not clear to me, obviously the complete dialogue should only look "nice", for an intuitive handling of the dialogue, the position of the button at this point is only misleading - in Germany one speaks of an "eierlegende Wollmilchsau".
  • After selecting the button, the mouse pointer changes into a crosshair cursor.
BTW it is funny to test the individual colours inside the dialogue box, but it makes no sense, especially as the crosshair cursor changes back into a mouse pointer outside the dialogue box.
  • If one then captures a colour on the beloved object, the dialogue becomes invisible.
  • As long as you press the "Close" button in the "Task" view, all is well with the world, even if you have previously selected a colour that you suddenly do not like - in this case you can repeat the dialogue.
However, if you are a complete beginner, you are unlucky if you want to return to the old colour before you press the "Close" button in the "Task" view. The "Select Color" dialogue is not closed, but disappears behind the FreeCAD work screen, almost never to be seen again. Only the "Close" button in the "Task" view releases the dialogue from its virtual existence. However, if you want to change an unsuccessful colour selection, pressing the "Shape colour" button again in the "Task" view is of little use, the "Select Color" dialogue does not reappear. In this case, the only thing that helps is to move the windows until the dialogue is available again.

I assume that this is a combination of errors that are probably not only to be found in Qt.

Code: Select all

OS: macOS 10.16
Word size of FreeCAD: 64-bit
Version: 0.20.29177 (Git)
Build type: Release
Branch: (HEAD detached at 0.20)
Hash: 68e337670e227889217652ddac593c93b5e8dc94
Python 3.9.13, Qt 5.12.9, Coin 4.0.0, Vtk 9.1.0, OCC 7.5.3
Locale: C/Default (C)
Installed mods: 
  * Assembly4 0.12.3
Last edited by Batucada on Thu Aug 11, 2022 5:59 pm, edited 1 time in total.
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Roy_043
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Re: Mysterious "Select Color" Dialogue

Post by Roy_043 »

Batucada wrote: Thu Aug 11, 2022 3:18 pm the dialogue becomes invisible
I can't reproduce that.

Batucada wrote: Thu Aug 11, 2022 3:18 pm test the individual colours inside the dialogue box, but it makes no sense
I see no difference between selecting a color inside or outside the dialog.

Code: Select all

OS: Windows 8.1 Version 6.3 (Build 9600)
Word size of FreeCAD: 64-bit
Version: 0.21.29997 (Git)
Build type: Release
Branch: master
Hash: b52967d52ac46eff7c59e74d991f3f5b298944ef
Python 3.10.5, Qt 5.15.4, Coin 4.0.0, Vtk 9.1.0, OCC 7.6.2
Locale: Dutch/Netherlands (nl_NL)
Installed mods: 
chrisb
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Re: Mysterious "Select Color" Dialogue

Post by chrisb »

Batucada wrote: Thu Aug 11, 2022 3:18 pm BTW it is funny to test the individual colours inside the dialogue box, but it makes no sense, especially as the crosshair cursor changes back into a mouse pointer outside the dialogue box.
There is indeed much room for improvement, but there is also a workaround:
- place the mouse over the point where you want to pick the color. This can be outside of the dialog
- invoke "Pick screen color" with the keyboard
- confirm with "Return" key
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Batucada
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Re: Mysterious "Select Color" Dialogue

Post by Batucada »

Roy_043 wrote: Thu Aug 11, 2022 4:09 pm
Batucada wrote: Thu Aug 11, 2022 3:18 pm the dialogue becomes invisible
I can't reproduce that.
But it does for me and that is reproducible.

I have subsequently added the details of the installed FreeCAD version to my first contribution on this topic. Here Windows OS and MacOS are clearly opposed to each other. The expert may draw his conclusions from this.
Roy_043 wrote: Thu Aug 11, 2022 4:09 pm
Batucada wrote: Thu Aug 11, 2022 3:18 pm test the individual colours inside the dialogue box, but it makes no sense
I see no difference between selecting a color inside or outside the dialog.
Basically, this behaviour is absolutely beside the point. I just find the effort of using the crosshair cursor inside the box ridiculous, because as long as the installed version of the Qt-lib does not change, the box will not change its appearance either. Outside the box, the crosshair cursor would really be appropriate if you want to examine complicated structures, for example.

But this is a bug that is clearly Qt's fault.
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Roy_043
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Re: Mysterious "Select Color" Dialogue

Post by Roy_043 »

Batucada wrote: Thu Aug 11, 2022 6:14 pmridiculous
I disagree, for me it does make sense that you can pick any pixel on the screen. In general: when talking about somebody else's work you may want to avoid the word 'ridiculous'.
Batucada
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Re: Mysterious "Select Color" Dialogue

Post by Batucada »

Roy_043 wrote: Thu Aug 11, 2022 7:53 pm I disagree, for me it does make sense that you can pick any pixel on the screen. In general: when talking about somebody else's work you may want to avoid the word 'ridiculous'.
Dear Roy

Please do not take my words out of context. I don't want to talk to you about context either. I certainly don't want you to put words in my mouth. I stand by what I said: "I think the effort with the crosshairs in the box is just ridiculous." I did not say that I find someone else's work ridiculous. Please be careful in your choice of words.
chrisb
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Re: Mysterious "Select Color" Dialogue

Post by chrisb »

As the dialog is not God given, but was implemented by some person, I would understand it the same way as Roy, that you mean that some person did this ridiculous thing. To avoid misunderstandings it is best to avoid such biased words.

Back to the color dialog.
Roy_043 wrote: Thu Aug 11, 2022 7:53 pm for me it does make sense that you can pick any pixel on the screen
That would indeed make sense, but that's not how it works, at least not on macOS. Outside of the color dialog you can pick the colo only with the trick described by me above.
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Batucada
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Re: Mysterious "Select Color" Dialogue

Post by Batucada »

chrisb wrote: Thu Aug 11, 2022 10:58 pm As the dialog is not God given, but was implemented by some person, I would understand it the same way as Roy, that you mean that some person did this ridiculous thing. To avoid misunderstandings it is best to avoid such biased words.
I feel that the dispute over a word should not be unduly extended. In context, I was looking at the contrast, inside the box as well as outside the box.

I would already welcome it if Qt would give its product a little more care. The fact that the default setting is not adopted is already a weakness, one can live with it, but nice is something else. Testing the colours inside the box should hardly interest anyone. Recording the colours outside the box already works, even if you deny it as in this post. I described it in my starter article. And just to be on the safe side, I have just tested it again before I say anything stupid here. Yes, outside the box the crosshair cursor really makes sense.

I'm going to make a guess. Somewhere in the code nirvana, there must be a statement that destroys the effort to use the crosshair cursor beyond the boundaries of the box. One should clarify this with Qt, whether the cursor change at the boundaries of the box is intended, or whether Qt has considered a workaround for this behaviour. If the latter is the case, then the realisation kicks in: the last instruction wins.
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mfro
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Re: Mysterious "Select Color" Dialogue

Post by mfro »

Batucada wrote: Fri Aug 12, 2022 2:49 pm ... One should clarify this with Qt, ...
... and I have a clear proposal on who that "one" should be ;)
Cheers,
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Batucada
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Re: Mysterious "Select Color" Dialogue

Post by Batucada »

mfro wrote: Fri Aug 12, 2022 3:29 pm ... and I have a clear proposal on who that "one" should be ;)
Yes, why not :mrgreen:
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