threads / patch / 54690

patchgit-gui: fix colored label backgrounds on Mac

Subject: [PATCH 0/1] git-gui: fix colored label backgrounds on Mac

## tl;dr

7 messages between Nov 22, 2020 and Dec 17, 2020. Diffs are folded; open one to read it.

replies: 6people: 2as markdown or json

Stefan Haller· Nov 22, 2020, 19:45 UTC · lore

Here's another attempt at fixing the colored label backgrounds when using themed widgets on Mac. I sent a different approach a few weeks ago, which was to make the gui.usettk option default to off on Mac. This was clearly not a good solution. This time I'm presenting an approach that is a little less drastic; it's still not ideal, but I feel it's an acceptable compromise.

Another problem that is improved by this is dark mode on Mac: in that mode the label text was almost invisible, because it was black on a very dark grey background.

Stefan Haller (1):
  git-gui: fix colored label backgrounds when using themed widgets
 lib/themed.tcl | 4 ++--
 1 file changed, 2 insertions(+), 2 deletions(-)

-- 2.29.0.18.gf8c967e53c

Stefan Haller· Nov 22, 2020, 19:45 UTC · re: Stefan Haller · lore

[PATCH 1/1] git-gui: fix colored label backgrounds when using themed widgets

The aqua theme on Mac doesn't support changing the background color for labels and frames [1]. Since the red, green, and yellow backgrounds of the labels for unstaged and staged files and the diff pane are so important design elements of git gui's main window, it's not acceptable for them to have grey backgrounds on Mac.

To work around this, simply use non-themed widgets for all labels on Mac. This is not a big problem because labels don't look extremely different between the themed and non-themed versions. There are subtle differences, but they are not as bad as having the wrong background color.

[1] https://stackoverflow.com/a/6723911
Signed-off-by: Stefan Haller <stefan@haller-berlin.de>
---
 lib/themed.tcl | 4 ++--
 1 file changed, 2 insertions(+), 2 deletions(-)
Show changes to lib/themed.tcl +2 −3
diff --git a/lib/themed.tcl b/lib/themed.tcl
index 83e3ac7..02aae90 100644
--- a/lib/themed.tcl
+++ b/lib/themed.tcl
@@ -174,7 +174,7 @@ proc InitEntryFrame {} {

 proc gold_frame {w args} {
 	global use_ttk
-	if {$use_ttk} {
+	if {$use_ttk && ![is_MacOSX]} {
 		eval [linsert $args 0 ttk::frame $w -style Gold.TFrame]
 	} else {
 		eval [linsert $args 0 frame $w -background gold]
@@ -183,7 +183,7 @@ proc gold_frame {w args} {

 proc tlabel {w args} {
 	global use_ttk
-	if {$use_ttk} {
+	if {$use_ttk && ![is_MacOSX]} {
 		set cmd [list ttk::label $w -style Color.TLabel]
 		foreach {k v} $args {
 			switch -glob -- $k {
--
2.29.0.18.gf8c967e53c
Pratyush Yadav· Dec 1, 2020, 20:06 UTC · re: Stefan Haller · lore

Re: [PATCH 1/1] git-gui: fix colored label backgrounds when using themed widgets

Hi Stefan,
Thanks for the patch.
On 22/11/20 08:45PM, Stefan Haller wrote:
Show 5 quoted lines
> The aqua theme on Mac doesn't support changing the background color for labels
> and frames [1]. Since the red, green, and yellow backgrounds of the labels for
> unstaged and staged files and the diff pane are so important design elements of
> git gui's main window, it's not acceptable for them to have grey backgrounds on
> Mac.

I unfortunately don't have access to a Mac machine to I can't test this patch.

Were the colors fine before c02efc1 (git-gui: improve dark mode support, 2020-09-26)? From what I understand that patch should not affect the colors of the "Staged Changes" or the "Unstaged Changes" parts.

If the colors were fine earlier then we need to figure out why colors from the theme are being used even when we hard-code green or red when creating those labels.

Can you give it a try on a commit before c02efc1 and see what happens?
 
> To work around this, simply use non-themed widgets for all labels on Mac. This
> is not a big problem because labels don't look extremely different between the
> themed and non-themed versions. There are subtle differences, but they are not
> as bad as having the wrong background color.
Agreed. Though I certainly wish we didn't have to do this.
 
Show 29 quoted lines
> [1] https://stackoverflow.com/a/6723911
> 
> Signed-off-by: Stefan Haller <stefan@haller-berlin.de>
> ---
>  lib/themed.tcl | 4 ++--
>  1 file changed, 2 insertions(+), 2 deletions(-)
> 
> diff --git a/lib/themed.tcl b/lib/themed.tcl
> index 83e3ac7..02aae90 100644
> --- a/lib/themed.tcl
> +++ b/lib/themed.tcl
> @@ -174,7 +174,7 @@ proc InitEntryFrame {} {
> 
>  proc gold_frame {w args} {
>  	global use_ttk
> -	if {$use_ttk} {
> +	if {$use_ttk && ![is_MacOSX]} {
>  		eval [linsert $args 0 ttk::frame $w -style Gold.TFrame]
>  	} else {
>  		eval [linsert $args 0 frame $w -background gold]
> @@ -183,7 +183,7 @@ proc gold_frame {w args} {
> 
>  proc tlabel {w args} {
>  	global use_ttk
> -	if {$use_ttk} {
> +	if {$use_ttk && ![is_MacOSX]} {
>  		set cmd [list ttk::label $w -style Color.TLabel]
>  		foreach {k v} $args {
>  			switch -glob -- $k {
-- 
Regards,
Pratyush Yadav
Stefan Haller· Dec 2, 2020, 08:52 UTC · re: Pratyush Yadav · lore

Re: [PATCH 1/1] git-gui: fix colored label backgrounds when using themed widgets

On 01.12.20 21:06, Pratyush Yadav wrote:
Show 13 quoted lines
> Hi Stefan,
> 
> Thanks for the patch.
> 
> On 22/11/20 08:45PM, Stefan Haller wrote:
>> The aqua theme on Mac doesn't support changing the background color for labels
>> and frames [1]. Since the red, green, and yellow backgrounds of the labels for
>> unstaged and staged files and the diff pane are so important design elements of
>> git gui's main window, it's not acceptable for them to have grey backgrounds on
>> Mac.
> 
> I unfortunately don't have access to a Mac machine to I can't test this 
> patch.
I could send screenshots if that helps.
Show 9 quoted lines
> Were the colors fine before c02efc1 (git-gui: improve dark mode support, 
> 2020-09-26)? From what I understand that patch should not affect the 
> colors of the "Staged Changes" or the "Unstaged Changes" parts.
> 
> If the colors were fine earlier then we need to figure out why colors 
> from the theme are being used even when we hard-code green or red when 
> creating those labels.
> 
> Can you give it a try on a commit before c02efc1 and see what happens?

No, the colors were wrong on Mac for the past ten years, all the way back to when ttk widgets were introduced in c80d7be5e1 ("git-gui: use themed tk widgets with Tk 8.5", 2010-01-26).

It is simply not possible to change the background color of a ttk button or label on Mac; c02efc1 doesn't have anything to do with this.

-Stefan
Show 37 quoted lines
>> To work around this, simply use non-themed widgets for all labels on Mac. This
>> is not a big problem because labels don't look extremely different between the
>> themed and non-themed versions. There are subtle differences, but they are not
>> as bad as having the wrong background color.
> 
> Agreed. Though I certainly wish we didn't have to do this.
>  
>> [1] https://stackoverflow.com/a/6723911
>>
>> Signed-off-by: Stefan Haller <stefan@haller-berlin.de>
>> ---
>>  lib/themed.tcl | 4 ++--
>>  1 file changed, 2 insertions(+), 2 deletions(-)
>>
>> diff --git a/lib/themed.tcl b/lib/themed.tcl
>> index 83e3ac7..02aae90 100644
>> --- a/lib/themed.tcl
>> +++ b/lib/themed.tcl
>> @@ -174,7 +174,7 @@ proc InitEntryFrame {} {
>>
>>  proc gold_frame {w args} {
>>  	global use_ttk
>> -	if {$use_ttk} {
>> +	if {$use_ttk && ![is_MacOSX]} {
>>  		eval [linsert $args 0 ttk::frame $w -style Gold.TFrame]
>>  	} else {
>>  		eval [linsert $args 0 frame $w -background gold]
>> @@ -183,7 +183,7 @@ proc gold_frame {w args} {
>>
>>  proc tlabel {w args} {
>>  	global use_ttk
>> -	if {$use_ttk} {
>> +	if {$use_ttk && ![is_MacOSX]} {
>>  		set cmd [list ttk::label $w -style Color.TLabel]
>>  		foreach {k v} $args {
>>  			switch -glob -- $k {
> 
Pratyush Yadav· Dec 6, 2020, 13:07 UTC · re: Stefan Haller · lore

Re: [PATCH 1/1] git-gui: fix colored label backgrounds when using themed widgets

On 02/12/20 09:52AM, Stefan Haller wrote:
Show 16 quoted lines
> On 01.12.20 21:06, Pratyush Yadav wrote:
> > Hi Stefan,
> > 
> > Thanks for the patch.
> > 
> > On 22/11/20 08:45PM, Stefan Haller wrote:
> >> The aqua theme on Mac doesn't support changing the background color for labels
> >> and frames [1]. Since the red, green, and yellow backgrounds of the labels for
> >> unstaged and staged files and the diff pane are so important design elements of
> >> git gui's main window, it's not acceptable for them to have grey backgrounds on
> >> Mac.
> > 
> > I unfortunately don't have access to a Mac machine to I can't test this 
> > patch.
> 
> I could send screenshots if that helps.
Yes, that would be helpful.
 
Show 16 quoted lines
> > Were the colors fine before c02efc1 (git-gui: improve dark mode support, 
> > 2020-09-26)? From what I understand that patch should not affect the 
> > colors of the "Staged Changes" or the "Unstaged Changes" parts.
> > 
> > If the colors were fine earlier then we need to figure out why colors 
> > from the theme are being used even when we hard-code green or red when 
> > creating those labels.
> > 
> > Can you give it a try on a commit before c02efc1 and see what happens?
> 
> No, the colors were wrong on Mac for the past ten years, all the way
> back to when ttk widgets were introduced in c80d7be5e1 ("git-gui: use
> themed tk widgets with Tk 8.5", 2010-01-26).
> 
> It is simply not possible to change the background color of a ttk button
> or label on Mac; c02efc1 doesn't have anything to do with this.
Ok. Thanks for the clarification. Will apply the patch.
 
Show 40 quoted lines
> -Stefan
> 
> 
> >> To work around this, simply use non-themed widgets for all labels on Mac. This
> >> is not a big problem because labels don't look extremely different between the
> >> themed and non-themed versions. There are subtle differences, but they are not
> >> as bad as having the wrong background color.
> > 
> > Agreed. Though I certainly wish we didn't have to do this.
> >  
> >> [1] https://stackoverflow.com/a/6723911
> >>
> >> Signed-off-by: Stefan Haller <stefan@haller-berlin.de>
> >> ---
> >>  lib/themed.tcl | 4 ++--
> >>  1 file changed, 2 insertions(+), 2 deletions(-)
> >>
> >> diff --git a/lib/themed.tcl b/lib/themed.tcl
> >> index 83e3ac7..02aae90 100644
> >> --- a/lib/themed.tcl
> >> +++ b/lib/themed.tcl
> >> @@ -174,7 +174,7 @@ proc InitEntryFrame {} {
> >>
> >>  proc gold_frame {w args} {
> >>  	global use_ttk
> >> -	if {$use_ttk} {
> >> +	if {$use_ttk && ![is_MacOSX]} {
> >>  		eval [linsert $args 0 ttk::frame $w -style Gold.TFrame]
> >>  	} else {
> >>  		eval [linsert $args 0 frame $w -background gold]
> >> @@ -183,7 +183,7 @@ proc gold_frame {w args} {
> >>
> >>  proc tlabel {w args} {
> >>  	global use_ttk
> >> -	if {$use_ttk} {
> >> +	if {$use_ttk && ![is_MacOSX]} {
> >>  		set cmd [list ttk::label $w -style Color.TLabel]
> >>  		foreach {k v} $args {
> >>  			switch -glob -- $k {
> > 
-- 
Regards,
Pratyush Yadav
Stefan Haller· Dec 8, 2020, 15:20 UTC · re: Pratyush Yadav · lore

Re: [PATCH 1/1] git-gui: fix colored label backgrounds when using themed widgets

On 06.12.20 14:07, Pratyush Yadav wrote:
Show 19 quoted lines
> On 02/12/20 09:52AM, Stefan Haller wrote:
>> On 01.12.20 21:06, Pratyush Yadav wrote:
>>> Hi Stefan,
>>>
>>> Thanks for the patch.
>>>
>>> On 22/11/20 08:45PM, Stefan Haller wrote:
>>>> The aqua theme on Mac doesn't support changing the background color for labels
>>>> and frames [1]. Since the red, green, and yellow backgrounds of the labels for
>>>> unstaged and staged files and the diff pane are so important design elements of
>>>> git gui's main window, it's not acceptable for them to have grey backgrounds on
>>>> Mac.
>>>
>>> I unfortunately don't have access to a Mac machine to I can't test this 
>>> patch.
>>
>> I could send screenshots if that helps.
> 
> Yes, that would be helpful.

Here are some screenshots; with and without the patch, with and without ttk, and in light mode and dark mode.

   https://cp.sync.com/dl/1cf0e2cd0/dynix3qc-ev5q8crr-sp2kjxuy-h4pcwr68
-Stefan
Pratyush Yadav· Dec 17, 2020, 19:03 UTC · re: Stefan Haller · lore

Re: [PATCH 1/1] git-gui: fix colored label backgrounds when using themed widgets

On 22/11/20 08:45PM, Stefan Haller wrote:
Show 17 quoted lines
> The aqua theme on Mac doesn't support changing the background color for labels
> and frames [1]. Since the red, green, and yellow backgrounds of the labels for
> unstaged and staged files and the diff pane are so important design elements of
> git gui's main window, it's not acceptable for them to have grey backgrounds on
> Mac.
> 
> To work around this, simply use non-themed widgets for all labels on Mac. This
> is not a big problem because labels don't look extremely different between the
> themed and non-themed versions. There are subtle differences, but they are not
> as bad as having the wrong background color.
> 
> [1] https://stackoverflow.com/a/6723911
> 
> Signed-off-by: Stefan Haller <stefan@haller-berlin.de>
> ---
>  lib/themed.tcl | 4 ++--
>  1 file changed, 2 insertions(+), 2 deletions(-)
Applied to git-gui/master. Thanks.
-- 
Regards,
Pratyush Yadav

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