Improvements? New Features? post sigil 2.7.6

[DiapDealer]

Originally Posted by KevinH

And should we default to Drop Area Zone **enabled**. That way people can see and play with it, and if undesired turn it off via Preferences and never think about it again.

I am leaning towards the above as opposed to off by default so that people at least give it a try.

Thoughts?

I see no problem with enabling it by default. I can't imagine anyone accidentally dragging files across that particular area of Sigil, let alone accidentally dropping them in that same area.

[BeckyEbook]

Originally Posted by KevinH

And should we default to Drop Area Zone **enabled**.

No problem. After all, we’re not going to hide Sigil’s features from new users that they might actually like.

[DNSB]

Originally Posted by KevinH

And should we default to Drop Area Zone **enabled**. That way people can see and play with it, and if undesired turn it off via Preferences and never think about it again.

I'd vote for enabled by default. If you don't like/don't want it, you can always turn it off.

[BetterRed]

Originally Posted by KevinH

And should we default to Drop Area Zone **enabled**. That way people can see and play with it, and if undesired turn it off via Preferences and never think about it again.

I am leaning towards the above as opposed to off by default so that people at least give it a try.

Thoughts?

that way its discoverable - tooltip could inform users of existence of preference.

BR

[theducks]

On by default for discovery, let them turn it off (easily) if they don't want.

[DNSB]

It seems that the responses have been to enable by default. We seem to have a winner, folks!

[KevinH]

I am tied up to night, but I hope to push Becky's visual/theme improvements and add the new pref setting tomorrow. If so, I will push it to master and post here. Thanks everyone for your feedback.

[KevinH]

Okay, I have added the code to make a new Sigil Preference under General Settings -> Basics

See the attached screenshot

I have also added all the support code to use it to show and hide the drop zone.

I have pushed all of this to master along with a fix to make the ClipEditor Number field non-editable (it is auto generated), and BeckyEbooks improvements to the DropZone.

I must say that adding anything to Sigil Preferences is really getting cumbersome. The form files are already overcrowded, each preference dialogs code needs to be changed, the returns from using Preferences must be added, the setting store key and access functions must be added, etc. It is a major pain just to add one preference.

I am beginning to wonder if there is a better way to handle Preferences for something as complex as Sigil.

So this brings me up to date with New Suggestions/Features that have been accepted so far this cycle.

I am still unsure if adding basic image editing is truly needed given we have "open with".

I am still open to hear arguments one way or the other but right now I am leaning towards
not adding it.

Although Qt and the QTransform class makes these things easier than ever but keeping a history of each image change so that it can be properly undone is a bit of a pain and a potential memory hog. Using an external program really helps with all of that as upon close all its memory is freed.

[DNSB]

If anyone is interested in testing the current changes to Sigil under Windows, my compile of 2.7.6 can be downloaded from Link Removed see message #79.

[BeckyEbook]

I’d like to come back to the suggestions from the previous thread. As these are three separate issues, I’ll cover them in three separate posts.

1. The idea of possibly resizing the image to fit the window and moving the image data to the top. I know that @KevinH is partly against this idea, but I’ve experimented with it and have been using this resizing for a month now. I won’t try to force anyone’s hand; I’m simply putting the idea forward for consideration.
Dimensions at the top are a nice feature, and I think we agree on that. As for image fitting – that depends on your working style and what you want to see. If you prefer the original size, we stick with the current solution; if you want the whole image, it might be worth testing.

The image is displayed in two situations:
1. Double-clicking the image file in the BookBrowser window.
2. Calling Go To Link from the image tag in the Code View window.

This could probably be solved using SVG; I’ve simply changed the styling.

Spoiler:

--- W:\Develop\Sigil\Sigil-master\src\Tabs\ImageTab.cpp-przed	2026-03-26 19:13:34.000000000 +0100
+++ W:\Develop\Sigil\Sigil-master\src\Tabs\ImageTab.cpp	2026-03-20 09:45:51.699239500 +0100
@@ -1,6 +1,6 @@
 /************************************************************************
 **
-**  Copyright (C) 2015-2024 Kevin B. Hendricks, Stratford Ontario Canada
+**  Copyright (C) 2015-2026 Kevin B. Hendricks, Stratford Ontario Canada
 **  Copyright (C) 2009-2011 Strahinja Markovic  <strahinja.markovic@gmail.com>
 **
 **  This file is part of Sigil.
@@ -58,16 +58,16 @@
     "<html>"
     "<head>"
     "<style type=\"text/css\">"
-    "body { -webkit-user-select: none; }"
-    "img { display: block; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; border-style: solid; border-width: 1px; }"
+    "body { -webkit-user-select: none; margin: 0; }"
+    "div { text-align: center; margin: 8px 0; }"
+    "img { display: block; margin: 0 auto; border: 1px solid; max-width: 100%; max-height: calc(100vh - 75px); }"
     "hr { width: 75%; }"
-    "div { text-align: center; }"
     "</style>"
     "</head>"
     "<body>"
-    "<p><img src=\"%1\" /></p>"
-    "<hr />"
     "<div>%2&times;%3px | %4 KB | %5%6</div>"
+    "<hr />"
+    "<p><img src=\"%1\" /></p>"
     "</body>"
     "</html>";

Spoiler:

--- W:\Develop\Sigil\Sigil-master\src\Widgets\ImageView.cpp-przed	2026-03-26 19:13:34.000000000 +0100
+++ W:\Develop\Sigil\Sigil-master\src\Widgets\ImageView.cpp	2026-03-20 09:45:58.595501000 +0100
@@ -1,6 +1,6 @@
 /************************************************************************
 **
-**  Copyright (C) 2019-2025 Kevin B. Hendricks
+**  Copyright (C) 2019-2026 Kevin B. Hendricks
 **  Copyright (C) 2013      Dave Heiland
 **
 **  This file is part of Sigil.
@@ -43,16 +43,16 @@
     "<html>"
     "<head>"
     "<style type=\"text/css\">"
-    "body { -webkit-user-select: none; }"
-    "img { display: block; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; border-style: solid; border-width: 1px; }"
+    "body { -webkit-user-select: none; margin: 0; }"
+    "div { text-align: center; margin: 8px 0; }"
+    "img { display: block; margin: 0 auto; border: 1px solid; max-width: 100%; max-height: calc(100vh - 75px); }"
     "hr { width: 75%; }"
-    "div { text-align: center; }"
     "</style>"
     "</head>"
     "<body>"
-    "<p><img src=\"%1\" /></p>"
-    "<hr />"
     "<div>%2&times;%3px | %4 KB | %5%6</div>"
+    "<hr />"
+    "<p><img src=\"%1\" /></p>"
     "</body>"
     "</html>";

[BeckyEbook]

2. The second issue concerns the possible adjustment of the active tab in Code View (and, incidentally, in other places).

Question:

— In Light Mode, the active tab has a paler color and stands out quite a bit. But in Classic Sigil Dark Theme, it is only distinguished by its slight elevation. In dawn, my tired old eyes take a while to find it. Would it be possible to give a more prominent visual cue? If its name were, say, italicized or underlined, it would be more easily recognizable.
(If there is a way to do this via qt_styles.qss, that would also work... but I think doing it “by default” would help a lot).

The answers were as follows:

@KevinH:
- the active tab highlighting is quite clear on MacOS, and Manjaro Linux under both Light and Dark modes on my machines. So this must only be an issue for Windows 11 using the classic dark mode which probably would require internal qss changes. If other Windows users report the same issue, we can treat it like a bug instead of a suggestion. Have you tried just using normal Windows light and dark mode? You know you can right click on any tab in the tab bar and remove the clutter by auto closing all other tabs with a single click.

@DiapDealer:
in addition to the elevation, the active tab is paler in the Classic Sigil Dark theme. Maybe not a lot, but the color IS different. I've never had any trouble immediately identifying the active tab. I think the qss method to allow individuals to tweak (or not) is the best solution here. Changing defaults for everyone after this much time has passed (without complaints) isn't usually the best idea.

Indeed – when I was developing Sigil’s dark mode a few years ago, I was too keen on making it ‘look nice’ and overlooked the fact that this interface element is crucial for maintaining the UI’s accessibility.
The situation is therefore as follows.
If we were to remove the styling from the close button in Sigil’s classic dark mode, the active tab would get the default red close button, which would certainly stand out more.

This is how it looks now:


This is how it looks after disabling the close button styling:


This is a good solution, but at the same time a bad solution. It’s not just about my personal feelings, but those red and grey buttons do clash a bit with the classic dark theme.
If someone really wanted to, they could disable the classic dark theme in the preferences and have those red close buttons for tabs.
However, I see another solution here, which I hope will be of interest.
Admittedly, styling bookmarks via QSS is a bit of a pain, as almost every modification forces you to restyle numerous elements. I’ve been wrestling with this issue for ages and thought to myself:
I’ll share my suggestion, and if anyone finds the topic important, they can modify QSS to suit their preferences.

Here’s my suggestion (add to file qt_styles.qss):

QTabWidget::tab-bar:top {
    top: 1px;
}

QTabWidget::tab-bar:bottom {
    bottom: 1px;
}

QTabBar::tab:top {
    border-top: 1px solid #242424;
    border-left: 1px solid #242424;
    border-right: 1px solid #242424;
    border-top-left-radius: 4px;
    border-top-right-radius: 4px;
}

QTabBar::tab:bottom {
    border-bottom: 1px solid #242424;
    border-left: 1px solid #242424;
    border-right: 1px solid #242424;
    border-bottom-left-radius: 4px;
    border-bottom-right-radius: 4px;
}

QTabBar::tab:selected {
    background: #242424;
}

QTabBar::tab:!selected {
    background: #353535;
}

QTabBar::tab:!selected:hover {
    background: #242424;
}

QTabBar::tab:top:!selected {
    margin-top: 3px;
}

QTabBar::tab:bottom:!selected {
    margin-bottom: 3px;
}

QTabBar::tab:top, QTabBar::tab:bottom {
    min-width: 8ex;
    margin-right: -1px;
    padding: 5px 10px 5px 10px;
}

QTabBar::tab:top:selected {
    border-top: 3px solid #308CC6;
    border-bottom-color: none; 
}

QTabBar::tab:bottom:selected {
    border-bottom: 3px solid #308CC6;
    border-top-color:  none;
}

QTabBar::tab:top:last, QTabBar::tab:bottom:last,
QTabBar::tab:top:only-one, QTabBar::tab:bottom:only-one {
    margin-right: 0;
}

And here’s the result:

[BeckyEbook]

3. The third issue is a minor one.
Every time I open the image file details in BookBrowser, that huge multiplication symbol annoys me.
Could we change it to the standard × symbol?

[DiapDealer]

RE #2

— In Light Mode, the active tab has a paler color and stands out quite a bit. But in Classic Sigil Dark Theme, it is only distinguished by its slight elevation. In dawn, my tired old eyes take a while to find it.

I guess I've just never fully understood why the active tab needs to be visually "found" in the first place. It's the one whose code is open in the editor. Click in CodeView and you've "found" the active tab. What am I missing that makes not being able to immediately visually differentiate the active tab from the rest of the open tabs so problematic? Perhaps if I understood what the consequences of not being able to immediately see it were, I might be able to be convinced that the default classic dark styling needs to be changed for everyone, instead of just letting the people it bothers change it for themselves with ass.

TL;DR: why is it so important that this stand out more?

[KevinH]

Some thoughts:

- I can change the multiply symbol in the Image Tabs and Get Info. Just tell me exactly which Unicode char you want as a replacement. The current version is generated in ResourceObjects/ImageResource.cpp and as far as I can tell it is using the × character which is defined to be: U+00D7.

- I just can *not* see any logical reason to move the image details to be above the image, especially if the full image is zoomed to fit. So I really need to hear a good argument that lays out what benefit is derived from such a move. (And matching calibre in this regard is not a good enough reason).

- If most people want zoomed to fit images, we can easily do that with simple svg in the Image Tabs and elsewhere. But certainly seeing tiny images will not show you how truly large some images are which are ones an epub developer should be focusing on. That is why I like the current approach.

- as for highlighting the current tab on Windows, I still see that as a windows only issue with Sigil's classic dark mode, that could be handled by changing the stylesheets used by Windows in classic dark mode inside Sigil. So I will do whatever you and DiapDealer agree should be done.

[Turtle91]

- I like seeing the image at its full size. Having to scroll all the way to the bottom of the screen to find the image dimensions wears out my mouse wheel… so I suppose you could say there is a monetary incentive to have the info at the top of the image… isn’t it possible to fit the screen with alt-0 or am I confusing that with photoshop?? Perhaps ctrl-scroll zooms the image???

- finding the active tab becomes a little more difficult (for me) in the following scenario: I have several sheets open with multiple tabs across the top. I need to work on adjusting the style for a particular page so I open the css file which becomes the active tab. The preview pane updates as I make css changes which is very convenient. Now I need to go back to the code view of that html sheet…. Which one of the many tabs is it??? I find it by looking at the info header at the top of the preview pane to get the filename then either double click the file in the book browser, or scroll through the open tabs looking for the filename. Not crazy, but would definitely be an improvement if there was an easier way…. Perhaps double clicking the preview pane or something ??