Accidentally sent the following reply March 8 direct to sajolida.
Correcting that now.
sajolida:
> duc01k@???:
>> I referred to this already in my other discussion but it's probably best
>> to make this a new thread to prevent confusion.
>
> Hi!
>
> I don't remember you posting on this list before. So welcome!
>
> And sorry for the huuuuuge delay. We're always pretty swamped.
>
>> I was printing a PDF from Tor Browser in Tails and the experience was
>> confusing because it was very difficult to know what the default action
>> for the Return key was. For reference, here's a screenshot of the point
>> I got confused at:
>>
>> https://cloud.disroot.org/apps/gallery/s/YjtkRMjxj64zceM
>>
>> (Steps to recreate: navigate to any webpage in Tor Browser, choose Print
>> or execute Ctrl-P, then hit Tab twice - the first Tab highlights Print
>> to PDF, the second Tab 'highlights' the File box).
>>
>> I think if you were to do a poll by showing new Tails users this
>> screenshot and asking them what they thought would happen if they tapped
>> Return at this point, you'd get a near-universal response of "Print the
>> selected item". But they'd be wrong. In this case what would happen is a
>> Save As dialog would open. The problem is the highlighting. "Print" is
>> in blue, while the File box has the slim border applied to it and that's it.
> Which version of Tails are you running?
>
> I get a different behavior on Tails 4.3:
>
> 1. Press Ctrl+P
> 2. Nothing is highlighted by default
> 3. Click in the list of printers
> 4. Press Enter
> 5. The page is saved to output.pdf (predefined)
That's because you didn't reproduce the steps I listed. After Ctrl-P,
_Hit TAB twice_. This is reproducible in Tails 4.3.
If anyone is printing more than one file to PDF, then you can't just
click in the list of printers and press enter because Tor Browser always
defaults to "output.pdf" and the only options if there is a file of that
name already are to Cancel or Replace. So, users must get used to
entering a unique filename.
>> The same problem occurs on the Save As dialog you reach from this Print
>> dialog. Here's a screenshot for reference:
>>
>> https://cloud.disroot.org/apps/gallery/s/QZwa9NagSPcjm7M
>>
>> Again do a poll and ask new Tails users what would happen if they
>> started _typing_ at this point, you'd get a near-universal response of
>> "Rename the output file". But they'd be wrong again. In my case at least
>> what happens is a Search begins. This is hugely unintuitive. The
>> filename is highlighted in blue like it's been selected. I don't know
>> any other OS that would act like this when text is highlighted.
>
> I also get a different behavior in Tails 4.3:
>
> 1. Press Ctrl+2
> 2. Type something
> 3. The file name gets changed
>
> I'm attaching a screencast. You can record such short screencasts for
> debugging in Tails with the key combination Ctrl+Alt+Shift+R.
>
You didn't follow my steps. This isn't about changing a filename in
Files, but applying a filename to a new file in the Save As dialogue.
But anyway, it looks like this behaviour is different now in 4.3, so
that's good :) I'll keep watching it.
>> After noticing these two issues I realized this kind of thing happens
>> all over Tails. Dialog boxes can be very confusing and
>> counter-intuitive. It's frequently impossible to guess what will happen
>> when you start typing or tap Enter, it's just something you have to
>> learn from experience. I don't think that's good behavior, and it's all
>> because of the way Tails uses highlighting. I think this needs to be
>> looked at with some urgency if Tails wants to improve the experience for
>> new users - and existing ones too :)
>
> Indeed, similar things probably happen all over the place. What's tough
> for us is that these are most likely not going to be specific to Tails
> but rather inherited either from some application included in Tails or
> GNOME, the desktop environment.
Yeah, I wondered where the best place to post these things was. It's
tough with GNU/Linux, everything is a jigsaw with pieces made by
different devs. I'm not familiar with how much you guys can do to
customise packages you choose. Guess I'll learn as I go.
Please report more such confusing
> behaviors and let's see if we can fix some of them!
Yeah, one thing I was thinking of was how important it is not just for
Tails to be secure, but for Tails to be usable in a way that means users
can use it quickly and efficiently. Seems to me that the less time a
user is online the less time for an adversary to target them. :)
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