https://bugs.documentfoundation.org/show_bug.cgi?id=147954
Bug ID: 147954
Summary: Use a subtle gradient with darker colors for the
application background (behind the page "sheets")
Product: LibreOffice
Version: Inherited From OOo
Hardware: All
OS: All
Status: UNCONFIRMED
Severity: enhancement
Priority: medium
Component: UI
Assignee: [email protected]
Reporter: [email protected]
Created attachment 178853
--> https://bugs.documentfoundation.org/attachment.cgi?id=178853&action=edit
side-by-side screenshots mockup
See attached screenshot, which will explain better than a thousand words. Side
by side: current default look (left), vs proposed variant 1 (center) or variant
2 (right).
In short: the current thite "application background" color, that sits behind
the white page in LibreOffice Writer (and other applications like Impress) is
unpleasant to look at, and lacks some visual refinement. The problems:
* Not enough contrast vs the white page. White on white, with a barely visible
shadow around the page.
* A large white surface, especially when the page is zoomed out (instead of
"fit to width") rips my eyes out at nighttime.
* A gradient instead of a solid color would look more elegant and refined.
I know, I know, people will compare that to the "other office suite", but even
if they hadn't done that a decade ago, I would have suggested this anyway.
Attached is my simulation of a gradient-based application background, for the
light theme. I haven't bothered simulating such gradients for a "dark theme" of
LibreOffice, but I could if you actually care.
The gradients are meant to be subtle / low-contrast, and span the entire
height. Not pure white to pure black, but gray to gray (if I went too dark with
this, you wouldn't see the page shadows nor the ruler/tab-stop elements).
Advantages of this:
* Better contrast between the application background and the page
* Slightly easier on the eyes at night
* Looks more "intentional" as a design; solid colors don't work really well
there on such a huge surface and make the app look dated. Gradients give it
some illusion of "depth".
* Better contouring of the toolbars, even if they were to have some
border/shadows by themselves (see also bug #141147 for the feature request
around that), as they would stand out more from the app background. Whether or
not they can paint such shadows may influence the direction of the app
background's gradient, thus variant 1 or variant 2.
It's not a pure dark background in terms of eye relief (you might want to have
a variant of the chosen gradient for LibreOffice's dark/night theme), but it's
certainly better than pure white or solid gray when it comes to the light
theme!
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