RE: [libreoffice-design] Improving printing UX

Hello world, 

I started this discussion, so it's about time I also contribute something to it:

> To start the discussion I prepared a pad with the basics (needs some work
> though) and two alternative workflows/designs with mockups. Please comment
> the hell out of these ideas (either comment via speech bubble icon or just
> add text). Perhaps it's good to have a hangout too...

The main issue I have with status quo is this duality between "File -> Printer settings" and "File 
-> Print -> $some_printer -> Properties". In other words,  settings of the printer and 
document/page-specific settings that can be (and often are) entirely different.

An equivalent of "File -> Printer settings" doesn't seem to exist in MSO, for example (or it does 
but I'm not so very good at searching). When I asked on IRC why it exists in LibO, I was only told 
that it sets up some stuff that can't be set up elsewhere *grin* 

Then, things like tdf#92676 
(https://bugs.documentfoundation.org/show_bug.cgi?id=92676) happen -- user goes to printer 
settings, sets something up, saves and thinks this is how his document's going to be printed, but 
it ain't the case, because the document/page settings will be used instead.

There's of course this "use only paper * from printer preferences" checkbox that makes it possible 
to override document settings with printer settings, but how many users know about it?

Giving it a more prominent place on title page like in Heiko's mockup is a step in the right 
direction, but ideally, it should be possible to toggle it also in printer settings ('use those 
settings when printing all documents' or sth along that line).

In another example, when the document settings are used (i.e. not overriden by printer settings), 
user goes to "File -> Print -> $some_printer -> Properties", changes something e.g. paper size, 
page orientation and thinks this is what is going to be printed, but again, it ain't the case ... 

So I've disabled those controls (paper size and orientation) in 5.0 and newer, but I'm not so sure 
it was the right thing to do ... 

... and what would be the right thing to do instead? Just take user's settings and override 
document settings with those, even if it means the document will come out cropped/distorted (due to 
paper size too small, wrong paper orientation etc.) ? I guess this is what MSO does, but didn't 
really test ....
  
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 Katarina Behrens
 
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