New settings editor feedback

[roblourens]

This is a general issue for discussing the new settings editor. The feedback button in Insiders links here. Please leave any feedback here!

[Gama11]

One thing that wasn't very intuitive to me is that a setting that is already set to the default value in settings.json still shows up as Modified, but then clicking the "Reset" button doesn't change the toggle state of the checkbox. Here's an example:

"haxe.enableCodeLens": false

In that case, the reset button still has a purpose (it removes the line from settings.json), but it doesn't seem right to label the setting as "modified".

[roblourens]

In that case, the reset button still has a purpose (it removes the line from settings.json), but it doesn't seem right to label the setting as "modified".

That's right, and I've been thinking a lot about how to show this in UI. My original language there was "configured" since it's true that the setting hasn't actually been "modified" from the default, but I think that's also unclear.

[Gama11]

Another thing: it would be nice if basic oneOf settings were supported in some way. In the Haxe extension, we have a very simple one that is either "auto" or an integer. It could just be a regular text field to start with.

"haxe.displayPort": {
	"description": "Integer value for the port to open on the display server, or \"auto\". Can be used to --connect Haxe build commands.",
	"default": "auto",
	"oneOf": [
		{
			"type": "integer"
		},
		{
			"type": "string",
			"enum": [
				"auto"
			]
		}
	]
}

Right now it just refers you to settings.json:

The same seems to be true for all settings of "type": "object". I assume support for those is planned somewhere later down the line?

[roblourens]

Yeah, I'm not sure what to do there. In JSON, there is a difference between "3" and 3 which wouldn't be captured by a single text input for integer and string types.

And then working in the enum, that would work better as a dropdown or radio option.

There are different ways that we could show an edit control for multiple value types, but that's not going to happen right away.

Also see #3355 for history and context, but I don't plan to support any arbitrary "object" type. I want to provide a good experience for common configuration use cases, and for more complex use cases, users can still fall back on the JSON file. For common object-type settings like files.exclude, I would like to add a different control which is specific to that setting.

[duncanhorn]

Really torn on the new UI. Part of me likes the organization, but 99% of the time that I open up my settings, it's to toggle something I had changed (e.g. such as "trim trailing spaces" when I'm changing a large/legacy/file I don't own). In this UI it's extremely difficult to find such settings since I don't necessarily recall which "group" it's in. I'd likely prefer that the "Show modified only" setting remove the groupings, or at least (1) remove the groups you don't have settings modified for (bug I assume since they get removed if you click them), and (2) auto-expand all groups so it's easier to scroll and find.

[roblourens]

I agree @duncanhorn, and I have this issue to improve that: #50369

[qcz]

As I can see the title of the settings are generated by splitting the original property name at word boundaries and pascal casing all the distinct words. It maybe looks OK in English-only environments, but it looks very bad when using a localized version. These titles should be translatable or it should show the original property name, so users won't think that the settings editor is missing translations.

(P.S.: I do not see any added value of this transformation even if I use the English localization.)

[juristr]

Feedback: Please keep a way for easily open the "User settings json` file as well. Like a "power mode" if you wish. It's much easier to quickly edit settings in there. I usually keep multiple settings (i.e. for themes) but commented in my user settings JSON and quickly switch them there based on my needs (like light theme when outside/presenting etc..)

[johnpapa]

I agree with @juristr ... I couldnt easily find a way to toggle between the JSON settings and the new editor. I often enjoy just editing the JSON directly. I see value in the new format, but would like an easy way to get back and forth between them (not a split pane tho, as that limits viewable area)

[roblourens]

These titles should be translatable or it should show the original property name, so users won't think that the settings editor is missing translations.

Good point

Please keep a way for easily open the "User settings json` file as well

Did you see the button at the top of the page to "open the original editor"? You can also run the "Open User Settings" command or change the keybindings.

[juristr]

Did you see the button at the top of the page to "open the original editor"? You can also run the "Open User Settings" command or change the keybindings.

@roblourens sure, but I guess this is a temporary link during the preview phase. Would be great if it remains though even later 🙂