Apache OpenOffice (AOO) Bugzilla – Issue 99033
common OOo menu commands: label to announce unexpected cross-OOo behavior
Last modified: 2013-02-07 22:35:44 UTC
Any menu command that executes on all OOo applications should say so in the command name. This isn't about commands that are merely duplicated in other applications; this is about commands that, whether duplicated or not, when carried out in one application will automatically execute in all open OOo applications, especially if effects could be critical, e.g., document-changing. Example: In Calc, I invoked File > Exit. That one action also closed Writer. That's a legitimate design feature. But it's not how one quits Lotus SmartSuite (Millennium ed.) or Microsoft Office applications, and growing OOo's installed base means being reasonably compatible with users' expectations. Solution that I propose: Rename commands as necessary, such as renaming "Exit" to read "Exit OOo". I assume only menus are affected. If anything in a dialog also executes in more than one app but doesn't say so, I suggest saying so there, too. I assume any command that executes across more than one OOo app executes across all open OOo apps. If there's a command that operates on only, say, Impress and Base but not Calc and it's not obvious from the command's name or main function, then either it should be renamed, the functionality should be divided, or a dialog or alert should inform the user before it's too late. No retrofit is suggested. I'm running OOo 2.4.0 on Fedora Core 4 Linux with Gnome 2.10.0 desktop. Thank you. -- Nick
confirmed. After short discussion, UX-team agrees that menu commands that affect all OOo modules should be marked as such.
reassigned