Provide better visibility into user presence (project-wide)

[lostintangent]

Currently, we allow checking which file a participant is editing, but it requires you to actively hover or click an item in the status bar (VS Code) or menu bar (VS Code). Additionally, we currently display a scroll bar annotation that indicates each user’s cursor position, but it’s only visible for particiants who are actively editing the same file.

Since user presence is such a critical piece of context while collaborating, we should explore additional solutions for passively (i.e. not needing to move your mouse) viewing project-wide user presence. An example enhancement could be to add an “annotation” to the file explorer, which indicates where each user is editing, using the same color as their cursor. This would let you quickly see who is where at-a-glance (assuming you had the file tree open).

Additionally, it's important to clearly know if/when another participant is following you, so we should explore ways to visualize this better as well.

[johnpapa]

updated as per conversation

I think if I could sum up my request ... the scenario is I want to be able to see where the other person is without me having to press a key or move the cursor.

So yeah - passively.

Why? Because this allows me to code in the window I am in, but also keep an eye where the other dev is heading without breaking my coding stride.

[jonwchu]

Hey everyone, thanks for liking the issue! We're actively looking into this and would love to hear your feedback on some of the ideas we've been thinking. If you're available, we'd love to set up some time for a 30-minute chat!

[miking-the-viking]

I made a note in #422 about user mangement. Live Share implicitly has a need for some hands on user management. Currently Live Share is a minimally invasive plugin, but it is growing. Maybe a Live Share sidebar item is required?

This would give the UI a place to put:

• buttons for:
  • sharing (session, files, etc.)
• tabs to view:
  • locally shared sessions (Enable ad-hoc peer discovery for easier (and reverse) session initiation #422)
  • users within the current session
  • user permissions listing/controls
  • publicly discoverable sessions

and more!

[lostintangent]

Currently Live Share is a minimally invasive plugin, but it is growing. Maybe a Live Share sidebar item is required?

@miking-the-viking I really like the way you said that! It sums up nicely why we didn’t start with too much custom UI (we just wanted collaboration to integrate into the existing experience), but why introducing some (e.g. a session management sidebar) has become valuable.

[daytonellwanger]

Copying feedback from @miking-the-viking from 554 :
It would be a beneficial function to show to users what files other users are currently focused on in the File Explorer Tree. Maybe a coloured icon per user (hover to show the user's name) beside the file(/parent folder if the folder is minimized)?

[f0urfingeredfish]

My story: Someone is walking me though a folder / file structure and explaining it. I need to see the folders they are opening and files they are highlighting. With audio https://marketplace.visualstudio.com/items?itemName=MS-vsliveshare.vsliveshare-audio

[lukepighetti]

First time pair programming with VS Code Live Share, it was awesome! But my partner had to keep asking which file I was looking at. Probably 4-5 times a minute.

[jonwchu]

Feedback from Developer Community: Live Share - when a collaborator is editing a file you're currently not focused on, flash/pulse that file - This would cause you to focus on the files that are actively being worked on without the collaborators having to demand your focus.

[lukepighetti]

I would be fine with just highlighting the file with their user color

[burkeholland]

@lukepighetti I had the same thought. But what happens when you have multiple users in the same file all editing? What color is it then? Perhaps it is the color of whoever is currently editing, accounting for multiple simultaneous edits by just showing the color of whoever was typing last.

[lukepighetti]

That certainly does complicate things, I don't really have an opinion either way.

[daytonellwanger]

@fubaduba FYI this is a huge area for usability improvements

[fubaduba]

We’re not able to prioritize this issue over the other higher-impact issues we receive every week, based on the votes and comments from others in the community and our understanding of the issue. However, rest assured that we love your input. If you feel it deserves to stay open, then clarify your use case and contact us to let us know how severe it’s for you.