Embedding images of toolbar button icons within text paragraphs

All,

First, many apologies if this topic has been discussed before in this mailing list. I have a suspicion that it may have been, but I could not locate the thread.

The Calc Guide contains many cases where a small image is included in a text paragraph, showing the icon that appears on a toolbar button mentioned in the paragraph. My view is that these images are undesirable for the following reasons:
I assume that they are included to help the user to identify the relevant icon on his screen. However, given that the user is able to customize his / her copy of LO by selecting from one of many icon sets (via the Tools > Options > LibreOffice > View dialog), I think that in many cases the images may hinder a user rather than help. We are in danger of confusing and delaying him / her by showing an image of an icon that is not displayed on his / her screen.Because these images are inevitably taller than the normal line of text, they often cause extra white space to appear within text paragraphs which I think is ugly and does not improve readability.
I am not convinced that such images embedded in paragraphs provide the reader with any useful information or context and would prefer not to use them. Instead I would make sure that every reference to a toolbar item names the button correctly and consistently. By correctly, I mean that we use exactly the name that appears in the button’s tooltip when using the English(US) version of Calc (omitting any mention of shortcut key sequences).

Would anybody object if these images were to be removed when we produce the 7.0 Calc Guide?

Regards,

Steve

Hello Steve
I have to agree with you. Icons are pointless because they can be changed by user. The name in text has to match tool being used. I am not using icons in Impress and Draw guides.

Regards
Peter

I totally agree with removing inline toolbar button images for those
reasons and others, and I have been removing them from the Writer Guide.
Saves a lot of work for the book’s maintainer, too.
Jean

Agree 100%

FWIW, there is a great amount of work in the design of icon sets by the
Design Team and new sets pops once a season, following trends or
fashions in software user interfaces. Having them updated in a book is hard.

Also, not every set is 100% complete, there are several 100's of icons
in the software. The trick is to replace a missing icon by a similar
one, until the missing icon is draw and added to the set.

Olivier

Agree.

When I translateed Getting Started Guide 6.0 from English to Simplified Chinese in 2019, I have to find the source files of those small icons, which is very troublesome.

I would not object.
Gordon Bates
berrykevin321@gmaill.com
github.com/jdoes