[libreoffice-accessibility] Re: Accessibility feedback and technical UX challenges in LibreOffice Dear Michael,

Dear Evangelos,

thanks for the clarifications. I'll respond to them below.

On 2026-07-23 12:54, Vaggelhs Va wrote:
> **1. Toolbar Customization vs. Docking (Clarification)**
> My concern is not about whether a toolbar is floating or docked, but 
> rather about the /process of customizing/it. Currently, to add or remove 
> a button, a user must navigate the complex "Tools -> Customization" 
> menu. This window requires high visual acuity and precise mouse control. 
> For a user with limb spasticity or low vision, handling this dialog is a 
> major barrier.

The dialog (and the LibreOffice UI in general) should be usable 
completely without the mouse, just using the keyboard.
That seems to be the case in a quick test of mine, but please create a 
bug report in Bugzilla if that's not actually true.

Even if it is possible to use the dialog without the mouse, that of 
course doesn't mean that it can't be further improved. If you have 
concrete suggestions, I'd suggest to create corresponding tickets in 
Bugzilla, to make sure they don't get lost, but can be taken into 
account for the usual process.
(In particular since various of your suggestions are related to 
improving the user experience, the UI/UX team should be involved. If you 
want, you can directly set the "needsUXEval" keyword and add 
"libreoffice-ux-advise@lists.freedesktop.org" in the "CC" field, but 
somebody else triaging issues will take care of that otherwise along the 
process.)

> I am suggesting a permanent, easily accessible, and high-visibility 
> shortcut (such as a large right-click context menu or a prominent drop- 
> down arrow) /directly on the docked toolbar itself/, which allows 
> adding/removing buttons without triggering overwhelming configuration 
> windows.

That sounds like a good candidate for an enhancement request in Bugzilla.

> **2. Application-Specific Scaling vs. OS Scaling (Clarification)**
> While OS-level scaling works globally, it often breaks other legacy 
> applications or creates visual chaos across the OS. The open-source 
> philosophy supports application autonomy. A major suite like LibreOffice 
> should have a robust, internal, and independent percentage-based UI 
> scaling factor that does not rely on Windows, ensuring a stable 
> environment regardless of OS settings.

As mentioned in my earlier email, we might get this "for free" (by 
allowing the user to set an environment variable) in case we end up 
switching to the Qt UI toolkit on Windows.


> **3. New Technical UX Issues & The Need for Safe Defaults:**
> During my daily use of LibreOffice Writer, I have identified four 
> additional issues where the lack of accessible default settings forces 
> the user to constantly act as a technical troubleshooter.
>
> /To be clear, these features do not need to be removed from the software 
> entirely; they just need to be /**disabled by default**/, allowing users 
> who actually want them to enable them manually:/
>
>   *
>
>     **Settings Reset After Updates:**After software updates, LibreOffice
>     frequently resets user configurations. For example, the prompt
>     warning users about saving in Microsoft Word (.docx) formats instead
>     of ODF reappears, and native Windows save dialogs switch back to
>     LibreOffice dialogs (which sometimes appear completely blank/empty).
>     Updates should strictly preserve all accessibility and environmental
>     settings under any circumstances.

That sounds like a bug, not the intended behavior. If you know exact 
steps to reproduce, please create a ticket in Bugzilla.


>   *
>
>     **Auto-Save & Duplicate File Confusion:**The default background save
>     function (every 10 seconds) often creates temporary or duplicate-
>     looking files on the screen. For a low-vision user, this causes
>     immediate visual disorientation. This feature should be turned off
>     by default.
>
>   *
>
>     **Smart Default File Naming (Live Example):**When saving a document,
>     LibreOffice does not automatically suggest the first line of text as
>     the filename. Forcing a disabled user to manually type out a
>     filename every time is an unnecessary physical strain. /Just now,
>     during my dictation session, I attempted a manual "Save As" and
>     LibreOffice automatically suggested the generic number "1" as the
>     filename instead of pulling text from the document./Suggesting the
>     first line as a default filename should be a built-in accessibility
>     feature.

For those, too, I think it would be best to create tickets in Bugzilla 
for further discussion.

Best regards,
Michael

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