Proposal: Deprecate WhatsThis functionality
Closed, InvalidPublic

Description

QML apps don't support the feature at all.

3rd-party apps don't support the feature at all.

The feature isn't accessible since it requires the use of a pointing device.

QWidgets-based KDE apps only intermittently support the feature, mostly defeating the purpose. Arguably it's only useful when implemented for close to 100% of the UI elements; when you click on the titlebar's question mark button to invoke it and find that many, most, or all of the UI elements you click on have no text, it's just frustrating and makes you wonder why so buggy a feature is still present.

I'd like to propose that we deprecate WhatsThis functionality, think about removing it from apps that implement it, and remove the WhatsThis titlebar button from the set of available Window Decoration buttons.

To replace the feature (in the few apps that implement it), we can improve our software's tooltip text and explicit documentation in the docbook.

ngraham created this task.Jan 26 2020, 6:46 PM

I think WhatsThis is still used in some places, just redesigned to make it more accessible.
Hovering over buttons in Office for example shows this (for some buttons only):


Notice the "Tell me more" button. I can see it as a WhatsThis feature, but now it opens the help on that specfic action.
In some applications you just can't say to users "Find it in the documentation" (think KDevelop, KDE PIM, Krita maybe, etc).

Still, I found this interesting.

I think WhatsThis is still used in some places, just redesigned to make it more accessible.
Hovering over buttons in Office for example shows this (for some buttons only):

If it appears on hover, it's just a regular tooltip. I agree that our tooltip texts could often be a bit longer and more useful, and I also like the "tell me more" button on it. We could probably implement that right now.

Still, I found this interesting.

Yeah. I think the accepted answer makes sense:

Think about it, the "What is this" is not really that good of an approach to lean on. Trying to design an interface where this is not needed, an interface with good affordance that is, is a much more positive UX approach.

marten added a subscriber: marten.Jan 27 2020, 8:42 AM
ognarb added a subscriber: ognarb.Jan 27 2020, 8:50 AM

There is already an open task for this: T9986: Delete "What's This" inline help functionality. Maybe the discussion should continue there instead of having a second discussion here?
The discussion there also already covers that the "?" users are complaining about will be hidden by default for Dialogs with Qt 6.
Which KDE windows will then be left that show a "?"? I know of System Settings, Dolphin and KSysGuard.

  • In System Settings the "?" is a usability problem imo because so many KCM don't have "What's This?"-help texts. Users might have tried to get help with the "?" and got nothing. We should probably just talk about System Settings instead.
  • For Dolphin and KSysGuard it is good for usability I think. Well I wrote the "What's This?"-help for Dolphin so I am as biased as can be about that one but still.
  • Kate also has "What's This?" for some items but doesn't show a "?" in the title bar. I doubt users complain about that one.

I also agree with @safaalfulaij's comment and like their idea if it was just an alternative way to show "What's This?"-help texts. It can't fully replace them though because What's This can be called for regions that shouldn't have tooltips like the main area of Dolphin.

In any case I hope that anyone who wants to remove What's This will first try that feature in GIMP (!) (called "Context Help" there), Dolphin and KSysGuard. I would hope that they wouldn't be opposed to it by then anymore.

The feature isn't accessible since it requires the use of a pointing device.

It can be called just by pressing Shift+F1 when an item has focus.

ngraham closed this task as Invalid.Feb 3 2020, 11:21 PM

Oops, and I even opened that one too!