[konsole] [Bug 438152] New: Usability Issue: Selection of Key Bindings is confusing

[Philipp Keck]

https://bugs.kde.org/show_bug.cgi?id=438152

            Bug ID: 438152
           Summary: Usability Issue: Selection of Key Bindings is
                    confusing
           Product: konsole
           Version: 19.12.3
          Platform: Other
                OS: Linux
            Status: REPORTED
          Severity: normal
          Priority: NOR
         Component: keyboard
          Assignee: konsole-devel at kde.org
          Reporter: philipp.keck at gmail.com
  Target Milestone: ---

SUMMARY

The way that the UI selects the active key binding scheme/profile is confusing.


STEPS TO REPRODUCE
1. Edit Current Profile -> Keyboard (do NOT click Edit -- this issue is about
the list of key binding schemes/profiles)
2. Click one that's not selected.


OBSERVED RESULT

It becomes the active key binding scheme/profile. Note that the "Apply" button
became enabled.


EXPECTED RESULT

No effect. Selecting an item from this list is done ONLY to make the "Edit..."
and "Remove" buttons apply to it.


EXPLANATION

There are many UIs that use the selection from a list combined with a single
set of buttons on the side, to not have to put a button into every single row.
In those cases, the list selection *only* influences the buttons. But Konsole
at the same time uses the list selection to indicate/pick the active profile.
This means:
1. It's impossible to view a non-active profile (e.g. to see how that other
profile handles certain key assignments) without making it active at the same
time.
2. Users can be confused and think that all profiles are simultaneously active
(because there's no indicator for which one is active), and unintentionally
activate a random one.

In my case, I spent hours googling why my arrow keys didn't work, not realizing
that the whole time I was using (only) the profile "Solaris console" and not
the default one.


PROPOSED SOLUTION

Add another button "Activate" and mark the active one as "... (Active)" in the
list. Perhaps gray out the icons of the non-active ones.


SOFTWARE/OS VERSIONS
Linux/KDE Plasma: Mint 20.1
KDE Plasma Version: 5.18.5
KDE Frameworks Version: 5.68.0
Qt Version: 5.12.8

-- 
You are receiving this mail because:
You are the assignee for the bug.