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Bug 457404 - Menu item should not be disabled unless obvious why - e.g. Print
Menu item should not be disabled unless obvious why - e.g. Print
Status: VERIFIED DUPLICATE of bug 457401
Product: GnuCash
Classification: Other
Component: Business
unspecified
Other Linux
: Normal normal
: ---
Assigned To: Derek Atkins
Derek Atkins
Depends on:
Blocks:
 
 
Reported: 2007-07-16 16:48 UTC by Ben Bucksch
Modified: 2018-06-29 21:43 UTC
See Also:
GNOME target: ---
GNOME version: ---



Description Ben Bucksch 2007-07-16 16:48:37 UTC
Reproduction:
Bug 457401

Actual result:
- No "Print" icon on toolbar
- Menu item "Print invoice" is disabled, but nothing tells me why. The obvious guess is that the print system is misconfigured. I use KDE, so I hunt the GNOME print config. No Gnome control center on my system. Ask on #gnucash. Nobody knows why. Finally, I find out by accident (Print is enabled in account statements window) that my print setup is fine (although I have no printer, but I can always print to PostScript / PDF, as expected). GnuCash wanted me to "post" the invoice first before it allows me to print it, but nothing tells me. No way for me to find out.

Expected result:
When some action cannot be performed, it is obvious why.
In cases like this, e.g. enable the menu item and show a dialog which tells:
- Why it cannot be performed now
- Why that restriction exists
- How I can solve it

Note that a tooltip is not sufficient, because the tooltip only shows when I hover over the menu item or toolbar button. But I a) never hover over it in the first place, because I see it's disabled so I don't even go there with the mouse and b) even if I tried to click it, I would not rest the mouse there and stare at the screen for 1-2 seconds. More theoretically, a tooltip is a nice extra feature that should not be re lied upon, and it typically explains what something is, not why it's disabled. Given that I know what "print" is, it didn't occur to me to try the tooltip, so even if one was added, it would not help at all.
Comment 1 Derek Atkins 2007-07-16 17:00:21 UTC
Once bug #457401 is fixed this bug is obsolete.

*** This bug has been marked as a duplicate of 457401 ***
Comment 2 John Ralls 2018-06-29 21:43:03 UTC
GnuCash bug tracking has moved to a new Bugzilla host. This bug has been copied to https://bugs.gnucash.org/show_bug.cgi?id=457404. Please update any external references or bookmarks.