Redesign Message Dialog

[SougandhS]

Removes unwanted space and aligns message content & buttons to center

Before
After

Fixes : https://github.com/eclipse-platform/eclipse.platform.ui/issues/2929

[github-actions[bot]]

Test Results

 1 824 files  ±0   1 824 suites  ±0   1h 30m 39s ⏱️ - 7m 15s  7 918 tests ±0   7 690 ✅ +1  228 💤 ±0  0 ❌  - 1  23 841 runs  ±0  23 093 ✅ +1  748 💤 ±0  0 ❌  - 1 

Results for commit cd6224c7. ± Comparison against base commit e6eb975e.

[mickaelistria]

As the discussion on the bug reveals, there is no obvious consensus to find between aligned left vs centered; however, all OSs recommend to get the width fit the content (ie no extra space), so I think for a first iteration, we should focus on just saving the extra space (changing the min width to 0 or DEFAULT), and consider whether to center or not later; maybe if all OSs align on the same recommendation some day.

[SougandhS]

Updated one

[mickaelistria]

I'm seeing an issue with the given patch: the MessageDialog now tends to become too large:

Before

After

[SougandhS]

I'm seeing an issue with the given patch: the MessageDialog now tends to become too large:

Made minor adjustment for these cases

[BeckerWdf]

I asked our inhouse UX-Experts. This is what they say:

We would not recommend the centered alignment of dialog content in Eclipse – even for short texts like "Save ‘NAME.filetype‘?" – for several reasons:

• This dialog is displayed for only a few seconds and does not obscure any relevant content. Removing the empty line between the text and the buttons, as well as centering the text, worsens readability – we do not see any advantages in this approach.
• Left-aligned dialogs with right-aligned buttons are common desktop practices (e.g., Windows, macOS). Centered dialogs are more typical in mobile UIs where space is limited. On the desktop, space shouldn't be an issue.
• Prompts would wrap to two lines in the centered dialog quite easily. The current "airy issue" with short names could potentially turn into a "squeezed issue" with long names.

[SougandhS]

I asked our inhouse UX-Experts. This is what they say:

Thanks for checking ✨

[akurtakov]

@SougandhS So are you going to continue with some other ideas here or are you giving up on the idea (and the PR should be closed)?

[SougandhS]

@SougandhS So are you going to continue with some other ideas here or are you giving up on the idea (and the PR should be closed)?

I have a small idea.. [ Not sure everyone agrees :) ] For small texts can we reduce the width a bit atleast ?

[SougandhS]

I have a small idea.. [ Not sure everyone agrees :) ] For small texts can we reduce the width a bit atleast ?

[BeckerWdf]

I have a small idea.. [ Not sure everyone agrees :) ] For small texts can we reduce the width a bit atleast ?

Where's the difference?

[SougandhS]

Where's the difference?

Before

after

[BeckerWdf]

and how does this change look for other dialogs?

[SougandhS]

and how does this change look for other dialogs?

Yes did checked one Before
After

[mickaelistria]

I don't see a clear benefit with this change. IMO, the desired format is https://github.com/eclipse-platform/eclipse.platform.ui/pull/2934#issuecomment-2826495220 and anything else is not worth being pursued. I don't know the details about why https://github.com/eclipse-platform/eclipse.platform.ui/pull/2934#issuecomment-2826495220 cannot be implemented reliably. Is it because changing the horizontal span is required? Aren't there alternative that can be found? eg is the 2 columns layout used because of image? If so, then couldn't we dynamically decide of the span or layout according to whether image is null or not?

[SougandhS]

eg is the 2 columns layout used because of image? If so, then couldn't we dynamically decide of the span or layout according to whether image is null or not?

I tried modifying IconAndMessageDialog.getColumnCount() to return 1, but the extra space remained regardless of Image. It only disappeared after I also updated data.horizontalSpan = 1 in MessageDialog.createDialogArea(Composite).