Feature request: Add a option for enable always show tip under the icon(currently the tip only shows when my mouse hover the icon) #3668

Maybe it's only my confusion, and I really know that many software also put many icon without text tip in there software, people only could see the tip when they move their mouse hover the icon.

But I think it is not a good design, because the designer thinks that they design the icon very clearly, but usually it's not.

The text is more clearly.

I'll show some examples.

And this is a good design.

Well, both designs have their pros and cons, so I agree Tiled could have an option to toggle the tool bar style. At the moment only the default, Qt::ToolButtonIconOnly, is used.

This is how the toolbars would look with Qt::ToolButtonTextUnderIcon:

As you can see this results in some problems:

• Some items ("New" and "Commands") have no text and this messed up the layout. I'd need to investigate how we can set a text for these items.
• When the icon size differs, it also messes up the layout (see "Undo" and "Redo" actions, but also "Edit polygons" vs. "Insert Rectangle"). So we need to make sure all icons are available in the right size (differences can depend on DPI).
• The tool bar will take a huge amount of space.

I think the space issue is the most difficult one. It may mean we'd need an option to edit the tool bar, so that you can remove items you don't expect to use. Other options would be to merge tools to reduce the amount of items, to hide tools based on context (like, which layer type is selected) or to present the tools vertically rather than horizontally.

This kind of view is often not localisation-friendly, as it works best with short names, but names vary from language to language. It can also make even simple interfaces look overwhelming by making them large, which I think is a bad idea for new users - so it should be opt-in. But if it's opt-in, then the people who would benefit from it are unlikely to be using it, since it would require them to find this option. Based on the kinds of questions new users have been asking, it seems most new users do not check the options, or at least don't click things to try them out.

I also think that as a temporary way to learn the icons, it doesn't work, since it changes where everything is visually, so by the time the user is ready to switch to the compact view, they'll have muscle memory for the expanded view, and might as well keep using it. Plus, as a learning tool, it doesn't accomplish anything that mouse-over doesn't accomplish, albeit it does so a little bit faster, and relying on the names rather than the icons might not teach the user the icons at all.

I think small, compact icons are the way to go for an editor like Tiled or Photoshop where there are a lot of icons on screen at once, and they don't change often - the layout just becomes awkward if the names are displayed. On my screen, the Map editor toolbar wouldn't even fit on the screen if there was text under the icons. Text under icons makes sense in programs where there are a few icons on screen at a time, but which change often, as the layout can remain compact enough even with names displayed.

That said, for touchscreens, hovering for tooltips isn't always an option, and an increasing number of people use desktop software on touchscreens, so a mode for that could be beneficial. However, I think it'll take more than just showing the text underneath - it'll probably require alternate, brief tool names, and possibly a different style of toolbar (or at least toolbar customisation, as mentioned by bjorn), as well as, ironically, more toolbar toggles to replace the need for modifier keys.

I know it is difficult to put many icon with tips in a small bar or region. But show the tip of all icons when user only mouse hover one of the icons maybe better and may not be very complex.

Just like the picture above. Tiled can show both tips.

It's because it can provide higher information density when I need it.

I have use Tiled about 4 days, not long. I use photoshop about 6 month. And many other softwares for a long time.

But no matter how I am familiar with these software, I always have to mouse hover on the icon to show the tip. Because there are always some icons not clearly enough, and I have to recheck the tip of icon to avoid click the wrong icon.

The picture below shows in reply of @bjorn is much more better, I really like this mode, but as @eishiya says, it is often not localisation-friendly. So although I like it, perhaps it will make some other users not happy if it's a default mode. And if it is not a default mode, then it must not be well designed, and some users may never know to open this mode.

So I think the proper way is show all tips of all icon at once. Now I am paiting the picture, I will show you later.

Here is the picture, the picture above show the tips of all icon.

And if the user mouse hover any icon or pressed down a key such as [B], the tips of all icon will show, otherwise the tips will hide.

But I know it is not easy to develop, it seems useless, and I just to record it. Maybe someone will like this if he see this issue, and maybe he will develop it in Tiled or his own software.

Now I have to go back to write my code now.