Show and Hide Features

richardzharding
​Greetings

When I click on the link to "Check It Out", I am told that "Tne comment that I am looking cound not be found".

The red highlighted "thing" allow the different features to be shown. I believe it should toggle between "Show" and "Hide" these features. This has been raised previously which I responded to.

What is the name of this "thing" so we do not need to provide screen images but simply refer to the name?

This "thing" allows the features such as "Info", "Abstract", "Attachments", "Notes", "Libraries and Collections", "Tags", "Related" and "Locate" to be shown.

Richard Harding

https://s3.amazonaws.com/zotero.org/images/forums/u2777817/207dg1micg5i0qreogzv.jpg
  • adamsmith
    I don't quite understand the question, but the show/hide button for the info pane is in the beta version, which you are likely not using.
  • richardzharding
    Hello Adam

    The first button in the highlighted area is the "Info" button. When clicked it shows the "Info Pane". I believe that this button should toggle between showing the "Info Pane" and hiding the "Info Pane".

    Similarly for each of the other buttons. Consider the next button, "Abstract". Instead of simply showing the "Abstract", it could toggle between showing and hiding the "Abstract".

    What is the label for the entity that I have highlighted?

    This issue (which I and others responded to) was raised by cklai97 on August 11, 2024. Topic title "Suggestion: Use the same toggle button to hide items pane instead of relying on the panel border?"

    Richard Harding.
  • adamsmith
    Right, and in that thread, dstillman specifies that a) version 7.1 [now 8] has a toggle button for the pane and b) why they don't implement the toggle behavior for the selection icons themselves. Here's how the button looks like in v8(beta)

    https://s3.amazonaws.com/zotero.org/images/forums/u2433/agymjlyfyneefxgp51bl.png

    (I don't know if that toolbar has a widely used name, technically I think it'd be sidenav, short for side navigation because in the default view it sits on the right side as in my screenshot)
  • RamonMi
    edited 25 days ago
    I believe that this button should toggle between showing the "Info Pane" and hiding the "Info Pane".
    The Item pane is designed to display the info/abstract/attachment/... of the regular item. I think our users have no reason to hide just one of them, as they contain useful information about the regular item. The info/abstract/attachment/... button will help users jump directly to the corresponding section, rather than scrolling to it.

    The Zotero 8.0-beta allows users to change the order of these sections. See https://forums.zotero.org/discussion/comment/495031/#Comment_495031

    You can click the toggle button to show or hide the Item Pane to focus on the reader content. As figured above by @adamsmith.
  • richardzharding
    Show/Hide Features on SideNav bar.

    I am using Zotero 7.0.24 which is the latest version.

    In the previous thread that discusses this issue, rafisics (September 15, 2024) indicates that he believes that it is a good idea to Show/Hide the Item Pane when clicking on the first button on the "SideNav" bar. This is the same "SideNav" bar that is displayed in the image that I provided. The fact that it is vertical or horizontal is irrelevant.

    The other buttons on the "SideNav" bar should toggle between Show/Hide of the all the other elements that are shown on the "SideNav" bar.

    As stated, these buttons already have a double-click action, but it does not appear to do anything useful. Other system do not have any difficulty in distinguishing between two single clicks and a double-click. Individuals can configure the Windows' double-click speed through the Control panel settings.
  • adamsmith
    The other buttons on the "SideNav" bar should toggle between Show/Hide of the all the other elements that are shown on the "SideNav" bar.
    I think that just misunderstands how the info pane works -- it's a scrolling pane, items are only ever scrolled into focus, not hidden; show/hide can only apply to the whole pane. Which is also why adding some sort of show/hide behavior to those buttons is far less intuitive than the toggle button added in version 8.

    Is there actually any reason that won't work for you?
  • richardzharding
    When Zotero is started, the misnamed "SideNav" allows the details of the following attributes to be displayed. All I (and others) are suggesting is that the user can toggle between showing these attributes and hiding them. It must be possible because these attributes are hidden when Zotero is started.

    List of attributes of a Zotero citation are: Info, Abstract, Attachments, Notes, Libraries and Collections, Tags, Related.

    <<I don't know if that toolbar has a widely used name, technically I think it'd be sidenav, short for side navigation because in the default view it sits on the right side as in my screenshot.>>

    Naming an entity based on its default position is not a good idea because the toolbar position can easily be changed. Images have been provided showing the toolbar orientated vertically and horizontally.

    <<We didn't have it close the pane on a second click of the section icons because 1) those icons already have a double-click action, so it would be a little easy to click too quickly or slowly and do the wrong thing>>

    The double-click speed can be easily configured using the control panel.

    <<The reader needs a toggle button anyway, and this allows the button to stay in the same place as you open and close the pane.>>

    I do not understand the above statement. It seems to me that it is an acknowledgemnt that a toggle button is required. I do not understand why a button would be changing its position in the "SiteNav" toolbar.

    If the "SiteNav" bar allows the showing of the details of selected attributes when Zotero is started, then it should not be an issue of having the inverse operation of hiding these details.

    I think that a more appropriate name for "SiteNav" would be "CitationAttributeToolbar". It is a "Toolbar" with a number of buttons.

    As "Clcai97" wrote on August 11, 2024 "Hide/show the items pane slightly conflicting and annoying, as both of them rely on different mechanisms."

    <<I think that just misunderstands how the info pane works -- it's a scrolling pane, items are only ever scrolled into focus, not hidden; show/hide can only apply to the whole pane. Which is also why adding some sort of show/hide behavior to those buttons is far less intuitive than the toggle button added in version 8.>>

    I do not understand the above statement. What is the "Info Pane"? Where is the "Info Pane" located? Clicking on the "Info Pane" button (the first buttton on the "SiteNav" toolbar), does not result in anything being displayed on my system.

    <<I think that just misunderstands how the info pane works -- it's a scrolling pane>> A pane only needs to be scrollable if there is insufficient space to display all the information without scrolling. If a PDF file only had one line, then there would be no need for the display panel (or info pane) to be scrollable.

    Richard Harding


  • adamsmith
    Do you understand that there _is_ a toggle button (pictured above) in the beta version of Zotero, i.e. the only version that is getting any substantive updates?
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