| 2012-02-18 16:02:46 |
Shahar Or |
description |
Currently, when a non-RTL locale is used, then the default settings are with RTL controls turned off.
I think that the feature is called CTL (complex text layout) but I'm not sure so I'm going to call it RTL until I get it sorted in my mind.
The problem is that many RTL users run their desktops in non-RTL locales. This is kind of mandatory since unity in Oneiric has some killer RTL bugs and they are the pinnacle of a considerable amount of bugs which make it much more realistic for RTL users to choose a LTR desktop. For example, me and most Hebrew users run en_US.
So these users, most RTL users, have to go in the options and turn on the RTL support before they can use the LibreOffice suite.
I'm here to complain but I don't know what the solution is. Does it hurt to turn RTL support on by default for all locales?
Thanks and blessings,
Shahar
ProblemType: Bug
DistroRelease: Ubuntu 12.04
Package: libreoffice (not installed)
ProcVersionSignature: Ubuntu 3.2.0-14.23-generic 3.2.3
Uname: Linux 3.2.0-14-generic x86_64
ApportVersion: 1.91-0ubuntu1
Architecture: amd64
CasperVersion: 1.304
Date: Mon Feb 6 22:14:26 2012
LiveMediaBuild: Ubuntu 12.04 LTS "Precise Pangolin" - Alpha amd64 (20120206)
ProcEnviron:
PATH=(custom, no user)
LANG=en_US.UTF-8
SHELL=/bin/bash
SourcePackage: libreoffice
UpgradeStatus: No upgrade log present (probably fresh install) |
This is concerning the usability issue where an RTL user gets in front of LibreOffice and doesn't find the two directionality buttons in the toolbar (OMG!!!). He won't find them anywhere until he does 8 mouse clicks to turn the RTL feature on:
Tools -> Options -> Language Settings -> Languages -> Enabled for complex text layout (CTL) -> CTL: <Language> -> OK
My mom can't do this :-/ .
This is how this happens:
CTL is off by default in LibreOffice, and thus RTL is, too.
As I've been briefed, this is how it gets turned on for RTL users automatically:
1. RTL locales
2. A language support package of one of the RTL languages is installed
The problem is that these two triggers for CTL don't cover all the situations where an RTL user runs LibreOffice.
Many RTL users choose a non-RTL locale. They can also choose not to install any of the language support packages. The presence of an RTL language layout is all that indicates their RTL-ness :) Even when RTL users use a friend's/public computer as guests they expect the RTL buttons.
Then, why make RTL off by default? Does it cost a lot of memory? Does it have bad Karma? :)
The expectation to have those RTL buttons is because they seem to be always there in Microsoft Office since as far as I can remember. I never had to turn anything on. They were always there by default.
In order to understand the severity of this issue, let me tell you what users do when they don't find those RTL buttons. They try to configure the toolbar, thinking that they must be disabled there. They find them enabled, actually. Although enabled in the toolbar, they don't appear :-O . After that they're quite lost so they might go to the correct Language Settings -> Languages configuration section. There, they will not find "RTL" or "Left to right". How would they know whether to enable the "Enhanced language support" for Asian languages or for Complex text layout? Most users would lose a few hairs by that point.
Thanks and blessings,
Shahar
ProblemType: BugDistroRelease: Ubuntu 12.04
Package: libreoffice (not installed)
ProcVersionSignature: Ubuntu 3.2.0-14.23-generic 3.2.3
Uname: Linux 3.2.0-14-generic x86_64
ApportVersion: 1.91-0ubuntu1
Architecture: amd64
CasperVersion: 1.304
Date: Mon Feb 6 22:14:26 2012
LiveMediaBuild: Ubuntu 12.04 LTS "Precise Pangolin" - Alpha amd64 (20120206)
ProcEnviron:
PATH=(custom, no user)
LANG=en_US.UTF-8
SHELL=/bin/bashSourcePackage: libreoffice
UpgradeStatus: No upgrade log present (probably fresh install) |
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