717439 - header pane toolbar customization dialog is not placed correctly if prefrence toolbar.customization.usesheet is set to true

Status: UNCONFIRMED

(Thunderbird :: Toolbars and Tabs, defect)

Description

[Joachim Herb]

Set the preferences toolbar.customization.usesheet to true (default value for Mac)
Open the customization dialog of the message header pane toolbar 

Depending on the location of the header pane toolbar on the screen the customization dialog might be placed so that the toolbar is hidden or the doneButton or the defaultSettings button might be placed outside of the screen. 

For momzill this result in the toolbar XUL object not listening to mouse events.

The customization dialog should be placed below the toolbar if there is enough space on the screen, otherwise above it. 

I am not sure if the dialog needs to be resized if it is to large for the space both above and below the toolbar. I have to research where the size of the dialog is defined if it is place in a iframe. The user cannot resize it.

The reason is that the code at http://mxr.mozilla.org/comm-central/source/mail/base/content/mailCore.js#134 used to position the customization dialog for the header pane does not take into account if the dialog is using either a separate window or an IFRAME like it is done in the mozilla toolkit code:
http://mxr.mozilla.org/comm-central/source/mozilla/toolkit/content/customizeToolbar.js#53

Comment 1

[Jim Porter (:squib)]

It might also help (for other platforms) to place the dialog *above* the header if there's more space above it than below. I know on Windows that the customize dialog usually ends up half offscreen for me, since my Thunderbird is at the bottom of my screen.

Comment 2

[Joachim Herb]

I would like to ask if this is just a Thunderbird problem or also a Firefox one:
At the moment the Firefox toolbar customization dialog is opened just below the bookmark toolbar. But now there a lot of different toolbars. 

- Should the location of the dialog always be the same or depend on the toolbar whose context menu was used to open it? E.g. in the case of the add-on toolbar (which is at the bottom of the window) should it be opened just above it or new the top of the window?

With Thunderbird: 
- Should the header pane toolbar dialog be always placed below the toolbar, or depending on available space above it? The location of the threadpane-spliter can be changed by the user obviously. 
- The size and position for all (at the moment two) customization dialogs is persistent (saved in localstore.rdf) as a common value. 
- Actually why is the location saved if it set newly each time the dialog is opened?
- As the location of the header pane toolbar is somewhere in the middle of the screen there is much more space available for the dialog of the main(mail) toolbar as for the header pane toolbar. So shouldn't the size of the header pane dialog store as separate values?
- If there is not enough space available on the screen to show the dialog (below and above(?)) the toolbar, should it be resized to fit on the screen.

If the usesheet preference is set, the dialog cannot be resized (or relocated). I didn't find the code where the size is specified. It looks like it is the default values for window (650, 400). 
- Sometimes the "sheet" dialog is placed in such a way, that not all buttons (restore default, close) are visible. Clicking the right mouse button relocates the dialog so all buttons are shown, but then it might hide the toolbar. It would certainly be better to place the dialog correctly when opening it. (To reproduce: Maximize the window and move the threadpane-splitter to the button of the window so the preview pane just does not disappear. Then open the dialog).

So I would suggest:
- Store different size values of the different (Thunderbird) dialogs.
- Place the dialog (independent of usesheet preference) above or below dialog, where there is more space available
- Resize the (non-usesheet) dialog so it fits on the screen and does not hide the toolbar.
- Place the (usesheet) dialog so that it is fully visible and does not hide the toolbar.

Should the code for these (or any other) changes be part of Thunderbird or mozill toolkit code?

By the way: The non-usesheet dialog can be closed by pressing ESC. This does not work with the usesheet dialog. Bug or feature?

Comment 3

[Blake Winton (:bwinton) (:☕️)]

(In reply to Joachim Herb from comment #2)
> - Should the location of the dialog always be the same or depend on the
> toolbar whose context menu was used to open it? E.g. in the case of the
> add-on toolbar (which is at the bottom of the window) should it be opened
> just above it or new the top of the window?

It should be close to the toolbar, so that it gets visually related to the correct thing, and so that it's easier to drag and drop items between them.

> With Thunderbird: 
> - Should the header pane toolbar dialog be always placed below the toolbar,
> or depending on available space above it? The location of the
> threadpane-spliter can be changed by the user obviously.

I might believe that we should place the dialog above…  Hmm…

I just checked Mac OS X's Finder, and it leaves the dialog below, but slides the window up so that the whole dialog is visible.  It seemed really slick, and I would be up for that.

> - The size and position for all (at the moment two) customization dialogs is
> persistent (saved in localstore.rdf) as a common value. 
> - Actually why is the location saved if it set newly each time the dialog is
> opened?

No idea.  It makes more sense when the flag isn't set, because then you could move the dialog around, so perhaps it's easier to just set it all the time.  I don't know why there would be only one common one.

> - As the location of the header pane toolbar is somewhere in the middle of
> the screen there is much more space available for the dialog of the
> main(mail) toolbar as for the header pane toolbar. So shouldn't the size of
> the header pane dialog store as separate values?

Sure, although if we don't use it I don't know if it matters much.

> - If there is not enough space available on the screen to show the dialog
> (below and above(?)) the toolbar, should it be resized to fit on the screen.

Probably.

> - Sometimes the "sheet" dialog is placed in such a way, that not all buttons
> (restore default, close) are visible. Clicking the right mouse button
> relocates the dialog so all buttons are shown,

Not on Mac…

> - Store different size values of the different (Thunderbird) dialogs.

Or don't.

> - Place the dialog (independent of usesheet preference) above or below
> dialog, where there is more space available

I would prefer below, moving the window to show it if necessary.
I would accept below, unless there isn't enough space, then above, unless there's not enough space there either, in which case wherever's larger with a resized dialog.

> - Resize the (non-usesheet) dialog so it fits on the screen and does not
> hide the toolbar.

Yep.

> - Place the (usesheet) dialog so that it is fully visible and does not hide
> the toolbar.

Yep.

> Should the code for these (or any other) changes be part of Thunderbird or
> mozill toolkit code?

Possibly.

> By the way: The non-usesheet dialog can be closed by pressing ESC. This does
> not work with the usesheet dialog. Bug or feature?

Pressing esc works for me with the usesheet dialog…

Later,
Blake.