Finish IDLE Query dialog appearance and behavior.

[serhiy-storchaka]

BPO	27621
Nosy	@terryjreedy, @stevendaprano, @roseman, @serhiy-storchaka
Files	idle_query_press_return.patch dlgonmac.png: snapshot of open module dialog running on mac showing background glitches query.patch query2.diff: put error messages in query widget

^{Note: these values reflect the state of the issue at the time it was migrated and might not reflect the current state.}

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GitHub fields:

assignee = 'https://github.com/terryjreedy'
closed_at = None
created_at = <Date 2016-07-26.06:02:46.721>
labels = ['expert-IDLE', 'type-bug', '3.10']
title = 'Finish IDLE Query dialog appearance and behavior.'
updated_at = <Date 2020-06-08.00:56:20.579>
user = 'https://github.com/serhiy-storchaka'

bugs.python.org fields:

activity = <Date 2020-06-08.00:56:20.579>
actor = 'terry.reedy'
assignee = 'terry.reedy'
closed = False
closed_date = None
closer = None
components = ['IDLE']
creation = <Date 2016-07-26.06:02:46.721>
creator = 'serhiy.storchaka'
dependencies = []
files = ['43891', '43940', '43966', '43998']
hgrepos = []
issue_num = 27621
keywords = ['patch']
message_count = 25.0
messages = ['271326', '271341', '271342', '271344', '271358', '271360', '271464', '271481', '271482', '271652', '271663', '271753', '271756', '271757', '271761', '271789', '271870', '271930', '271937', '272073', '272220', '272221', '272341', '272342', '297337']
nosy_count = 5.0
nosy_names = ['terry.reedy', 'steven.daprano', 'markroseman', 'python-dev', 'serhiy.storchaka']
pr_nums = []
priority = 'normal'
resolution = None
stage = 'test needed'
status = 'open'
superseder = None
type = 'behavior'
url = 'https://bugs.python.org/issue27621'
versions = ['Python 3.10']

[serhiy-storchaka]

When open new Query dialog in IDLE (e.g. "Open Module" dialog), move a focus on the Cancel button and press <Return> on keyboard, the OK button is invoked instead of Cancel.

[terryjreedy]

While writing bpo-27620 and adding a binding to Query for <Escape>, a few hours ago, I realized that this would be the case, that it could be considered a bug, and that the fix will be a 'return' function that looks at the focus before invoking [Ok] (the default) or [Cancel] (when it has the focus).

    def return_key(self, event):
        if self.focus_get() == self.button_cancel:
            self.cancel()
        else:
            self.ok()

appears to work. I will push tomorrow after writing a test. Something similar is needed for config dialog. I just tested the search dialog and it behaves the same as query does now. If one tabs enough to put the focus on close, <Return> does find anyway.

Do you agree that Esc should always cancel regardless of where the focus is? I would appreciate your input on bpo-27620 as to the 'right' behavior we should aim at for the different dialogs.

While I think of it, the indication of ttk.Entry focus with the default Windows theme is a shift of the 1 pixel black border to a 1 pixel blue border. It is not obvious. I want to look as other Window's theme or possibly a custom style. Now a priority yet.

[terryjreedy]

I made this a dependency of bpo-27620.

[serhiy-storchaka]

I have wrote similar patch. There are many ways to fix this issue. Tk code for dialog widgets is more complex and general.

[stevendaprano]

I expect that ESC should always cancel, and RETURN/ENTER should always accepts (OK or Save or whatever the "main" button is) regardless of where the focus is. If you want a keyboard shortcut to push the button with focus, use SPACE, not ENTER.

[serhiy-storchaka]

This is against the convention.

[roseman]

Side note that on Mac OS X, buttons normally don't get the focus, so that this isn't an issue. Well except that buttons are getting the focus here. :-)

Also since we're reinventing the wheel, please note that alternative keyboard shortcuts (e.g. command-period) don't work, and there isn't a default button set for the dialog which there should be.

Interestingly, you can change things in System Preferences -> Keyboard -> Shortcuts so that buttons can get the focus via tabbing through the interface. If this is enabled and you tab to the Cancel button and his Return, it should still be treated as if you hit the Okay button on Mac. Hitting space while focus is on the Cancel button does treat it as if you clicked on Cancel.

[terryjreedy]

I am not trying to re-invent the wheel. I am trying to bring IDLE up to uniform standards. In particular, make all dialogs usable from the keyboard. The config dialog is the worst. See bpo-27620, the master issue.

For a two button messagebox, I went back to 3.5.2, which still uses the commondialog box. It has the default button marked as such. <Return> always does the default action. <Escape> always cancels. <Tab> moves the focus, but does not affect the above. <Space> enters ' ' in text entry and 'clicks' buttons. So this is at least 'a' Windows standard, as well as 'a' Mac standard.

The search dialogs act the same. The space behavior built-in to the TK widgets, at least on Windows. I presume this is a class binding. The dialogs have no platform specific code, so they are also the defacto IDLE standard.

Serhiy, it is definitely a tk convention, and I presume more universal than that, that the 'default ring' always indicate what button/action is invoked by <Return>. If the default moved with the focus, the default ring should move also. I am not inclined to do that without a strong reason.

The button default ring is controlled by the 'default' option" 'active' = visible, 'normal' = possible, 'disabled' = not possible. (From the tk docs. The NMT reference is useless here.) I will add "default='active'" for the Ok button.

(Mark: "default=1", suggested on http://www.tkdocs.com/widgets/button.html, is a nasty bug. "_tkinter.TclError: bad default "1": must be normal, active, or disabled".)

[terryjreedy]

I meant to direct the focus ring fix here instead bpo-27620. To me, this issue is done, at least for now.

[roseman]

Terry, thanks for the TkDocs correction.

As you'll note from the attached dlgonmac.png, there's a bit of tweaking needed with regard to geometry management etc. to get the background right.

Now that ttk is ok (so to speak), would you be open to some patches that fix this up, a bit more akin to what you see in the 'query dialog' subsection if you scroll down a bit in http://www.tkdocs.com/tutorial/idle.html#idledialogs

Separately, would you be open to a patch changing things to use the "inline" error handling illustrated on the goto line dialog on that page (i.e. showing error message in query dialog in red vs. popping up an alert)?

Older code for that can be found here btw: https://github.com/roseman/idle/blob/master/querydialog.py

[serhiy-storchaka]

In Tk widgets tk_dialog and tk_messageBox (corresponding Tkinter widgets dialog.Dialog and messagebox.Message) pressing Return invokes focused button. The comment in tk_dialog implementation:

# 4. Create a binding for <Return> on the dialog if there is a
# default button.
# Convention also dictates that if the keyboard focus moves among the
# the buttons that the <Return> binding affects the button with the focus.

I expected the same behavior in IDLE Query dialog. If this behavior considered outdated, I'm nice to close this issue.