Re: [libreoffice-design] Feedback on Border Feature in LibreOffice Writer/Calc

Hi Zain,

The "border feature" is complex (line type, width, color for all positions, 
shadow options, padding) but you rarely need all the options. The original idea 
might have been therefore to provide some (hard-coded) presents (including no 
border), and allow to modify everything in the same dialog. The UI is not really 
hard to understand, just a bit clumsy.

This topic is frequently discussed of course. We track issues on Bugzilla, and I 
still like my proposal on this ticket:

Improve configuration of table borders
https://bugs.documentfoundation.org/show_bug.cgi?id=143249

here is something older

Reorganizing “Border” tab on “Format Cells” window in Calc
https://bugs.documentfoundation.org/show_bug.cgi?id=100548

And there are many more ideas (not that discussing these topics on the mailing 
list is bad).

Cheers,
Heiko


On 14.07.25 3:32 PM, Zain Tahir wrote:
> *Dear LibreOffice Design Team,*
>
> I’m Zain Tahir, a LibreOffice user and developer currently working on Ubuntu. 
> I’d like to give some constructive feedback regarding the *Borders* feature in 
> LibreOffice Writer and Calc.
>
> Right now, the border interface feels outdated and unintuitive:
>
>   *
>
>     The *presets and previews don’t accurately reflect the applied output.*
>
>   *
>
>     The *UI is cluttered*, and the settings don’t offer real-time feedback.
>
>   *
>
>     *Basic border operations (like applying different styles to
>     different sides)* require more steps than they should.
>
>   *
>
>     In general, the *workflow feels disconnected from modern UI standards.*
>
> I genuinely appreciate the work the team puts in — and I’m only sharing this 
> because I see potential for massive improvement. A streamlined, modernized 
> border editor (with live preview and more intuitive layout) would greatly boost 
> productivity and usability.
>
> Thanks for your time and your continued efforts in making LibreOffice better.
>
> Best regards,
> *Zain Tahir*
> zaintahirbajwa@gmail.com

--
Dr. Heiko Tietze, UX-Architect and UI-Designer
Tel: +49 30 5557992-63 | Mail: heiko.tietze@documentfoundation.org
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