Request: Fix inconsistent capitalization in Sigil UI

d3m0sth3n3s · 08-17-2024, 07:31 AM

Hi,

I find myself using Sigil a lot these days and, nitpicky as I am, I have noticed that Sigil UI elements (mostly menus but preferences and dialogs too) have wrong or inconsistent title-style capitalization. This gives the application an unpolished look and feel, in my opinion.

Some examples:

Code:

File → Save *A* Copy… (menu)

but

Code:

Save *a* Copy (dialog box title)
Tools → Create *a* Custom Empty Epub (menu)
Belongs to *a* Collection (metadata property)

--------------------------------------------

Code:

Insert → File… ⇒ Insert File → Files *In* the Book (table header)
Tools → Add Cover… ⇒ Add cover → Files *In* the Book (table header)
Search → Current File → Find Next *In* File (menu)
Search → Current File → Replace Next *In* File (menu)
Search → Current File → Replace All *In* File (menu)
Search → Current File → Count All *In* File (menu)

but

Code:

Insert → Link… ⇒ Select Target → Targets *in* the Book (table header)
Preferences → General Settings → Advanced → Disable GPU Acceleration *in* QtWebEngine/Preview. (pane title)
Preferences → General Settings → Advanced → Disable GPU Acceleration in QtWebEngine/Preview. → Disable GPU Acceleration *in* QtWebEngine. (checkbox)

--------------------------------------------

Code:

Table *Of* Contents (panel / tab title)
Tools → Table *Of* Contents (menu)
Tools → Table Of Contents → Generate Table *Of* Contents (menu / dialog box title)
Tools → Table Of Contents → Edit Table *Of* Contents (menu / dialog box title)
Tools → Table Of Contents → Create HTML from Table *Of* Contents (menu)
View → Table *Of* Contents (menu)

but

Code:

View → Focus on Table *of* Contents (menu)
Generate Table *of* Contents (button in Tools toolbar)
Edit Table *of* Contents (button in Tools toolbar)
\<title>Table *of* Contents\</title> (in generated TOC.xhtml)
Checkpoints → Show Log *of* Checkpoints (menu)

--------------------------------------------

Code:

Tools → Spellcheck → Spellcheck… ⇒ Spellcheck → Add *To* Dictionary: (button)
Search → Go *To* Link Or Style (menu)
Search → Go *To* Line… (menu)
Search → Go To Line… ⇒ Go *To* Line (dialog box title)
Tools → Index → Add *To* Index Editor (menu)

but

Code:

Tools → Restructure Epub *to* Sigil Norm
Preferences → Preserve Entities → Entities *to* Preserve (pane title)
Preferences → Plugins → Path *to* Interpreter Executable (label)
Edit → Edit/Paste From Clipboard History… ⇒ Select Text *to* Paste (dialog box title)
Tools → Index → Index Editor… ⇒ Index Editor → Text *to* Include (table header)
Belongs *to* a Collection (metadata property)

--------------------------------------------

Code:

Tools → Index → Mark *For* Index (menu)
Tools → Index → Mark For Index ⇒ Mark *For* Index (dialog box title)
Preferences → Language → Default Language *For* Metadata: (label)

but

Code:

Checkpoints → Create Checkpoint *for* Epub (menu)
Preferences → General Settings → Advanced → Set folder where temporary files should be created: → Browse ⇒ Select Folder *for* Temporary Files (dialog box title)

--------------------------------------------

Code:

Edit → Edit/Paste *From* Clipboard History… (menu)

but

Code:

Checkpoints → Restore Epub *from* previous Checkpoint (menu)

--------------------------------------------

Code:

Tools → Validate Stylesheets *With* W3C (menu)

but

Code:

Book Browser → (right-click on stylesheet file) → Validate *with* W3C (context menu)
Preferences → Appearance → Main UI → Accessibility Tweaks: → Highlight Widgets *with* Focus (Needs Sigil Restart) (checkbox)

--------------------------------------------

Code:

Search → Go To Link *Or* Style (menu)

but

Code:

Preview → Inspect Page ⇒ Inspect Page *or* Element (dialog box title)
Tools → Reformat HTML → Mend *and* Prettify All HTML Files (menu)
Tools → Epub3 Tools → Remove the NCX *and* Guide (menu)

It seems to me that at the beginning of Sigil’s development the choice was to use title case capitalization for every word but at some point UI additions that follow Chicago Manual of Style (CMOS) were made. If you ask me, you should apply the latter everywhere, as it is the de facto standard for software applications that capitalize UI elements using title case.

Also, there are other casing inconsistencies that are clearly errors:

Code:

Checkpoints → Show Log of Checkpoints ⇒ *sigil* (dialog box title)

but

Code:

*Sigil* (everywhere else)

--------------------------------------------

Code:

Tools → Metadata Editor… ⇒ *MetaData* Editor (dialog box title)

but

Code:

Tools → *Metadata* Editor… (menu)
*Metadata* Editor (button in Tools toolbar)

--------------------------------------------

Code:

Book Browser → (right-click on XHTML file) → Link Stylesheets… ⇒ Link *StyleSheets* (dialog box title)

but

Code:

*Stylesheets* (everywhere else)

--------------------------------------------

Code:

Checkpoints → Edit Checkpoint Descriptions ⇒ Select Checkpoint Version → OK ⇒ Edit *checkpoint* Description (dialog box title)

but

Code:

*Checkpoint* (everywhere else)

--------------------------------------------

Code:

Preferences → General Settings → Security → Control Use of Javascript by Epubs. → Epubs may use *javascript*. (checkbox)

but

Code:

Preferences → General Settings → Security → Control Use of *Javascript* by Epubs. (pane title)
Book Browser → (right-click on Misc folder) → Add Blank *Javascript* (context menu)

** The spelling should be JavaScript, by the way.
--------------------------------------------

Code:

Preferences → General Settings → Basics → Set your preferred external *xhtml* editor: (pane title)

but

Code:

Launch External *Xhtml* Editor (button in External Editor toolbar)

but

Code:

Book Browser → (right-click on Text folder) → Add Blank *HTML* File (context menu)
Tools → Table Of Contents → Create *HTML* from Table Of Contents (menu)

--------------------------------------------

Code:

Book Browser → (right-click on HTML or CSS file) → *RegEx* Rename… (context menu)

but

Code:

Book Browser → (right-click on HTML or CSS file) → RegEx Rename… ⇒ *RE* File Renamer (dialog box title)

but

Code:

Find and Replace → Options → *Regex* Options (button)

--------------------------------------------

Code:

Checkpoints → Restore Epub from *previous* Checkpoint (menu)

but

Code:

Checkpoints → Compare Epub against *Previous* Checkpoint (menu)

And then there is the ePub word spelling/capitalization issue. Or is it EPUB? Or epub? Maybe ePUB? Epub, anyone?
I am—and always will be—an ePub kind of guy, the coolest there are

. Nevertheless, the official spelling—from IDPF days, and now for W3C standards—is EPUB. Epub just feels wrong to me, like a bad acronym. But seriously, you should stick to one term in your guidelines and use it everywhere in the UI. It just seems a bit sloppy to have it spelled every way there is out there:

Code:

untitled.epub - *epub2.0* - Sigil (window title)
untitled.epub - *epub3.0* - Sigil (window title)
Tools → Epub3 Tools → Generate NCX/Guide for *epub2* e-readers (menu)

but

Code:

File → New → *ePub2* (menu)
File → New → *ePub3* (menu)
New *ePub2* (button in New toolbar)
New *ePub3* (button in New toolbar)
Checkpoints → Manage Checkpoint Repositories ⇒ Manage Checkpoint Repositories → *ePub* FileName (table header)
Checkpoints → Manage Checkpoint Repositories ⇒ Manage Checkpoint Repositories → *ePub*:UUID (table header)

but

Code:

Tools → Restructure *Epub* to Sigil Norm (menu)
Tools → Create a Custom Empty *Epub* (menu)
Tools → *Epub3* Tools (menu)
Checkpoints → Create Checkpoint for *Epub* (menu)
Preferences → General Settings → Security → Control Access by *Epubs* to non-multimedia remote resources: (pane title)
Preferences → General Settings → Security → Control Use of Javascript by *Epubs*. (pane title)

but

Code:

Tools → Well-Formed Check *EPUB* (menu)
Help → About… ⇒ About → The *EPUB* Editor (label)
Preferences → General Settings → Validation → *EPUB2* W3C Stylesheet Validation Level (pane title)
Preferences → General Settings → Validation → *EPUB3* W3C Stylesheet Validation Level (pane title)

Also, there are some sentence-case options in Preferences and dialog boxes:

Code:

Preferences → Appearance → Preview → *Make Preview simulate a dark appearance in dark mode* (checkbox)
Preferences → Appearance → Icon Themes → *Select your icon theme:* (pane title)
Preferences → Appearance → Main UI → Control Book Browser Appearance → *BookBrowser should show full paths*. (checkbox)
Preferences → General Settings → Security → Control Use of Javascript by Epubs. → *Epubs may use javascript*. (checkbox)
Preferences → Keyboard Shortcuts → *Enable AltGr on international keyboard* (checkbox)
MetaData Editor → Add Metadata ⇒ *Add metadata property* (dialog box title)
Book Browser → (right-click on file) → Delete… ⇒ Delete Files → *Select / Unselect all* (checkbox)
*Thumbnail size:*

… and many more.

I know these minor details don’t make the application work any better, but consistency allows for a more professional finish to the application. Thank you for this great app!

Turtle91 · 08-17-2024, 09:19 AM

I'll leave the UI issue to others, but the user manual issue should be a simple find/replace....IF.... you can get consensus on the proper way to spell it (you forgot e-Pub

).

I imagine part of the problem is that the user manual is updated by volunteers who each take 1+ chapters to fix. I would also imagine TPTB wouldn't have any issue with you updating the manual for consistency. Check this thread for details.

Turtle91 · 08-17-2024, 10:03 AM

*aside*
I thought Demosthenes was a little more prolific with her posts, but with a more political lean...her's more philosophical while Locke's were more blunt...

KevinH · 08-17-2024, 10:48 AM

Either way, not something I am going to waste what little development time I have on. Add to that if you change things in Sigil itself it will just create work for many many sets of Translation teams.

That said, github pull requests (PRs) for both the UI and any matching changes needed in Sigil itself will be considered if done simultaneously.

08-17-2024, 10:48 AM	#4
KevinH Sigil Developer Posts: 8,160 Karma: 5450818 Join Date: Nov 2009 Device: many	Either way, not something I am going to waste what little development time I have on. Add to that if you change things in Sigil itself it will just create work for many many sets of Translation teams. That said, github pull requests (PRs) for both the UI and any matching changes needed in Sigil itself will be considered if done simultaneously. Last edited by KevinH; 08-17-2024 at 11:24 AM.

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08-17-2024, 09:19 AM	#2
Turtle91 A Hairy Wizard Posts: 3,225 Karma: 19000635 Join Date: Dec 2012 Location: Charleston, SC today Device: iPhone 15/11/X/6/iPad 1,2,Air & Air Pro/Surface Pro/Kindle PW & Fire	I'll leave the UI issue to others, but the user manual issue should be a simple find/replace....IF.... you can get consensus on the proper way to spell it (you forgot e-Pub ). I imagine part of the problem is that the user manual is updated by volunteers who each take 1+ chapters to fix. I would also imagine TPTB wouldn't have any issue with you updating the manual for consistency. Check this thread for details.

08-17-2024, 10:03 AM	#3
Turtle91 A Hairy Wizard Posts: 3,225 Karma: 19000635 Join Date: Dec 2012 Location: Charleston, SC today Device: iPhone 15/11/X/6/iPad 1,2,Air & Air Pro/Surface Pro/Kindle PW & Fire	aside I thought Demosthenes was a little more prolific with her posts, but with a more political lean...her's more philosophical while Locke's were more blunt...

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