Settings going astray and dialogue box issues

[BetterRed]

I moved these posts from this thread ==>> https://www.mobileread.com/forums/sh...d.php?t=348964

I got to wondering why people lose checkbox settings as often as they do. I've never 'believed' the suggestion often proffered… updates to new versions sometimes overwrite random configuration settings.

An obvious culprit is by inadvertently pressing the accelerator key sequences (i.e. on Windows that's Alt+'x', where the 'x' is underlined in the prompt). So I went into Preferences->Look and Feel->Main Interface and tested them. The following shows the ones that are not working as I think they should:



The prompt (e.g. "Show tooltips in the book list) lights up, but the check box doesn't toggle on/off, same for the other two I've marked.

For some, it appears to be related to having the same accelerator key sequence used for multiple fields - e.g. Alt+T -- "Show tooltips…" and "Use two lines for the…",

But I can only find one Alt+D -- "Allow using drag and drop to…"

I tested a couple of the other preference dialogues and found what i think are similar problems.

given how few people actually use accelerator sequences perhaps there could be a toggle to disable them -- Qt permitting of course.

BR

[theducks]

I suspect there are other things going on that corrupt the settings.

?) Windows users Only?

1) %appdata% (where calibre settings is) is in the cloud to be shared across the users MS devices) or some other always synced

2) they use other than Defender, some which are really over active/zealous.

[kovidgoyal]

when the same accelerator key is present for multiple controls you have to press it multiple times and use space/tab/enter

[BetterRed]

Originally Posted by theducks

I suspect there are other things going on that corrupt the settings.

But more often than not the setting is not 'corrupted' as such, e.g. "foobar":true mysteriously changing to "foobar":false. And, the setting 'corrupted' is invariably contained within a file where there are many other settings that don't get 'corrupted'.

Originally Posted by theducks

?) Windows users Only?

85% of calibre users are on Windows, and I suspect Windows users are more likely to use the keyboard in preference to a mouse.

Mac users have had checkbox setting problems - e.g. the Filter/Highlight check boxes in Preferences->Searching.

Originally Posted by theducks

1) %appdata% (where calibre settings is) is in the cloud to be shared across the users MS devices) or some other always synced

Most users don't even know what %appdata% is, let alone where it is, and if you relocated it to the cloud you'd lose a lot more than the value in a random calibre preference setting.

Originally Posted by theducks

2) they use other than Defender, some which are really over active/zealous.

A dodgy AV wouldn't change a single line in single .json file from:
.

"highlight_search_matches": false,

to

"highlight_search_matches": true,

BR

[BetterRed]

Originally Posted by kovidgoyal

when the same accelerator key is present for multiple controls you have to press it multiple times and use space/tab/enter

Perhaps all checkbox settings should require a space to toggle, i.e. the Alt+underllned_character sequences are for navigation only - although I suspect that would be in contravention of the 'standards'.

I make use of the Alt+ sequences because Tab Order in calibre's dialogue boxes are 'deficient'. Example: in the L&F->Main Interface dialogue box:

• Alt+N will land on the User interface style drop down list,
• Tab from there will land on the Interface font display only text box (not the button to change it)
• Tab from there will land on the Draw a grid in the book list prompt
• Tab from there will land on the Disable animations prompt
• Etc, etc, etc - here's a graphic.

When I raised this issue some years ago I think it was put down to deficiencies in the Qt framework.

BR

[kovidgoyal]

I'm afraid Qt doesnt make that possible.

[BetterRed]

Originally Posted by kovidgoyal

I'm afraid Qt doesnt make that possible.

Ah well, some say it's good that some things never change

BR