Code Quality: Refactored command titles and subtitles for clarity and consistency #17146
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Normally, all the changes I had in mind have been implemented. It's up to you to tell me if everything suits you or if there are any changes to be made. |
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Pull Request Overview
This PR refactors various UI command titles and subtitles to improve clarity and consistency across the Files application.
- Updated labels and descriptions provide more context (e.g., specifying “in Windows Terminal,” “in the current view”).
- Changes span multiple command strings to align wording and improve user comprehension.
Comments suppressed due to low confidence (3)
src/Files.App/Strings/en-US/Resources.resw:2439
- Changing 'Cut' to 'Move' may alter the intended behavior; verify that the implementation aligns with this new terminology if the change is intentional.
<value>Move selected {0, plural, one {item} other {items}} to the clipboard</value>
src/Files.App/Strings/en-US/Resources.resw:3025
- Changing 'Undo' to 'Revert' might modify the intended semantics of the command; please confirm that this wording accurately reflects the functionality.
<value>Revert the last file operation</value>
src/Files.App/Strings/en-US/Resources.resw:3028
- Changing 'Redo' to 'Repeat' may lead to ambiguity in command behavior; verify that this change is consistent with the underlying functionality.
<value>Repeat the last file operation</value>
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I am assuming we can't grab the name of the user's set default terminal, to make this string as accurate as we can. |
No, currently it is just a fixed string |
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Just to clarify, actions have two strings. |
| @@ -130,7 +130,7 @@ | |||
| <value>Copy path with quotes</value> | |||
| </data> | |||
| <data name="CopyItemPathWithQuotes" xml:space="preserve"> | |||
| <value>Copy selected item path with quotes</value> | |||
| <value>Copy item path with quotes</value> | |||
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selected helps provide a contrast with the action to copy the path of the current location.
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I see what you mean. I removed the word "selected" because it wasn't useful to me. Also, the subtitle is there to properly describe the action, where it was correctly mentioned that it was only the selected item, and to shorten the title.
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To reemphasize, Actions don't have subtitles. This is the label used in tooltips (if we ever expose this option on the toolbar).
| @@ -232,7 +232,7 @@ | |||
| <value>Continue where you left off</value> | |||
| </data> | |||
| <data name="SettingsOnStartupOpenANewTab.Content" xml:space="preserve"> | |||
| <value>Open a new tab</value> | |||
| <value>Open a new tab in the same window</value> | |||
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Unless 'window' is mentioned, it should be self-understood that tabs open in the same window. It's also worth noting this is a setting, not an action.
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I added this because I had no other solution to avoid having the same title and subtitle. To avoid this, I can change the subtitle to "A new tab will appear next to the current tab"
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This string is used for the startup settings as well. If we do make a change here, a new string will need to be added for the action. As a sidenote, we don't have subtitles for actions, the two strings are used for different scenarios. If in a few cases the string is a duplicate, it's not a problem.
| @@ -2208,7 +2208,7 @@ | |||
| <value>Edit settings file</value> | |||
| </data> | |||
| <data name="EditSettingsFileDescription" xml:space="preserve"> | |||
| <value>Open settings file in your default editor</value> | |||
| <value>Open the configuration file in a text editor</value> | |||
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Can you share info on the change from 'settings' to 'configuration'? I would also avoid the term 'a text editor' considering the file is not a text file.
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We switched from "settings" to "configuration" because "configuration file" is the more common and precise term in technical contexts.
"Settings" usually refers to individual options or UI menus, while "configuration" covers the whole structure that defines how a system or program behaves.
Since we're talking about a file that controls the behavior of the application, "configuration file" felt more appropriate.
But I can revert "in a text editor" to return to "in your default editor".
| @@ -2385,25 +2385,25 @@ | |||
| <value>Preview popup</value> | |||
| </data> | |||
| <data name="ToggleCompactOverlay" xml:space="preserve"> | |||
| <value>Toggle compact overlay</value> | |||
| <value>Compact overlay</value> | |||
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What about compact overlay? 'Toggle' seems more appropriate.
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This is simply the title of the action, and for me, it is enough to put "Compact Overlay", because "Toggle" does not give more information about the state of the mode. Also, since I removed it from the title, I left it in the subtitle to avoid repeating "Toggle" in the title and subtitle.
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'Compact Overlay' sounds like it's switching to Compact Overlay.
left it in the subtitle to avoid repeating "Toggle" in the title and subtitle.
As mentioned earlier, we don't have subtitles.
| </data> | ||
| <data name="ExitCompactOverlayDescription" xml:space="preserve"> | ||
| <value>Exit compact overlay mode</value> | ||
| <value>Switch to normal overlay mode</value> |
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The app is either in "compact overlay mode' or not, 'normal overlay' isn't a mode.
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What is the name of the mode when compact mode is not enabled? In this case, it is better to give it a name rather than saying "or not."
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It doesn't really have a name, the window is either in the Compact Overlay state or not. The closest I can think of is 'Regular mode' of 'Full mode', but that doesn't really provide a lot of context.
| </data> | ||
| <data name="EnterCompactOverlayDescription" xml:space="preserve"> | ||
| <value>Enter compact overlay mode</value> | ||
| <value>Switch to compact overlay mode</value> |
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This change is good in theory, but it would be best to revert for consistency with 'Exit compact overlay'.
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Yes, but this is consistent with "switch to normal overlay mode"
| </data> | ||
| <data name="RenameDescription" xml:space="preserve"> | ||
| <value>Rename selected item</value> | ||
| <value>Change the name of the selected item</value> |
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We've been using the term 'Rename' since that start of Files.
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The idea behind all these changes, as I explained earlier, is to avoid having an identical title and subtitle. So I understand that some sentences could be simplified, but otherwise, it would be pointless to have a title and subtitle containing the same sentence.
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Same as above, that said, we don't need duplicate strings in the resource file. If there are any duplicates, we can remove the extra one and reuse the string.
| </data> | ||
| <data name="SelectAllDescription" xml:space="preserve"> | ||
| <value>Select all items</value> | ||
| <value>Select all items in the current view</value> |
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Is this any clearer than 'Select all items'?
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It's the same thing. This is to add more precision because last time, my grandmother thought she had selected all the files from the root of her key and told me that it would be better to put "in the current view" (and to avoid repetition with the title so I thought that in passing I could add precision to the description)
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If we move forward with the change, it will need to update based on the context (eg. pane, column).
| @@ -2499,7 +2499,7 @@ | |||
| <value>Clear selected items</value> | |||
| </data> | |||
| <data name="ToggleSelectDescription" xml:space="preserve"> | |||
| <value>Toggle item selection</value> | |||
| <value>Invert selection of items</value> | |||
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There is a different action for inverting selection, this action is for toggling the selection of the focused item. Please revert.
| @@ -2583,28 +2583,28 @@ | |||
| <value>Rotate selected {0, plural, one {image} other {images}} to the right</value> | |||
| </data> | |||
| <data name="OpenSettingsDescription" xml:space="preserve"> | |||
| <value>Open settings page</value> | |||
| <value>Open the application settings page</value> | |||
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Is the term 'application' helpful? Perhaps 'Open the settings page' would be better.
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This is more specific as it can be confusing with Windows Settings, as Windows is often mentioned in the app from what I've seen.
| </data> | ||
| <data name="LayoutDecreaseSizeDescription" xml:space="preserve"> | ||
| <value>Decrease item size in the current view</value> | ||
| <value>Reduce the icon or item size in view</value> |
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'Decrease' and 'Increase' seem to be more commonly used for these scanrios.
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Without context - the words "reduce size" go really well together. Just saying 😬
| </data> | ||
| <data name="LayoutAdaptiveDescription" xml:space="preserve"> | ||
| <value>Switch views adaptively</value> | ||
| <value>Switch to adjusting layout mode</value> |
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I'm not so sure about this change.
| @@ -2700,19 +2700,19 @@ | |||
| <value>Toggle group sort direction</value> | |||
| </data> | |||
| <data name="NewTabDescription" xml:space="preserve"> | |||
| <value>Open a new tab</value> | |||
| <value>Open a new tab in the same window</value> | |||
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| </data> | ||
| <data name="NavigateBackDescription" xml:space="preserve"> | ||
| <value>Navigate backward</value> | ||
| <value>Navigate to the previous folder</value> |
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There are page types that are not folders (home, release notes, settings). I would prefer reverting to reduce the changes to localization files, but if you feel it's not clear enough, we could use the term 'location'.
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It's also worth clarifying that users aren't navigating to the previous or next folder, these actions or to move backwards and forwards in the navigation history.
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I will try to change this
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I suggest: "Go back to the previous location in the navigation history"
| @@ -2736,19 +2736,19 @@ | |||
| <value>Close tabs other than selected tab</value> | |||
| </data> | |||
| <data name="CloseAllTabsDescription" xml:space="preserve"> | |||
| <value>Close all tabs including the current tab</value> | |||
| <value>Close all open tabs including the current tab</value> | |||
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'Open' seems a bit redundant as you can't close a tab that's already closed 🙂
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By extent: "all" logically includes "current" tab 🤓
| </data> | ||
| <data name="ReopenClosedTabDescription" xml:space="preserve"> | ||
| <value>Reopen recently closed tab</value> | ||
| <value>Reopen the last closed tab</value> |
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This action isn't limited to the last tab.
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Yes, but you won't open multiple tabs at once, only the last one. To reopen the last three, for example, run the action three times.
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True, however the last closed tab was already reopened.
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Yes, but we can't open a tab that is already open
| @@ -2229,7 +2229,7 @@ | |||
| <value>Settings</value> | |||
| </data> | |||
| <data name="DoubleClickBlankSpaceToGoUp" xml:space="preserve"> | |||
| <value>Double click on a blank space to go up one directory</value> | |||
| <value>Double-click a blank space to navigate one level up the folder tree</value> | |||
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"a blank space" makes it sound like "space" is a countable noun, like a space character.
| <value>Double-click a blank space to navigate one level up the folder tree</value> | |
| <value>Double-click blank space to navigate one level up the folder tree</value> |
| </data> | ||
| <data name="LayoutDecreaseSizeDescription" xml:space="preserve"> | ||
| <value>Decrease item size in the current view</value> | ||
| <value>Reduce the icon or item size in view</value> |
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Without context - the words "reduce size" go really well together. Just saying 😬
| @@ -2736,19 +2736,19 @@ | |||
| <value>Close tabs other than selected tab</value> | |||
| </data> | |||
| <data name="CloseAllTabsDescription" xml:space="preserve"> | |||
| <value>Close all tabs including the current tab</value> | |||
| <value>Close all open tabs including the current tab</value> | |||
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By extent: "all" logically includes "current" tab 🤓
| @@ -3016,16 +3016,16 @@ | |||
| <value>Delete permanently</value> | |||
| </data> | |||
| <data name="DeleteItemPermanentlyDescription" xml:space="preserve"> | |||
| <value>Delete selected {0, plural, one {item} other {items}} permanently</value> | |||
| <value>Delete selected {0, plural, one {item} other {items}} permanently without recovery</value> | |||
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Seems slightly redundant...
| </data> | ||
| <data name="PlayAllDescription" xml:space="preserve"> | ||
| <value>Play the selected media files</value> | ||
| </data> | ||
| <data name="UndoDescription" xml:space="preserve"> | ||
| <value>Undo the last file operation</value> |
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I thought undo and redo were pretty common words.
| @@ -3139,10 +3139,10 @@ | |||
| <value>Properties</value> | |||
| </data> | |||
| <data name="OpenClassicProperties" xml:space="preserve"> | |||
| <value>Open File Explorer properties</value> | |||
| <value>Explorer properties</value> | |||
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In general, it's regarded as good practice to either start with a verb, or at least include a verb. What action does this control so?
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For strings that are modified but used elsewhere than in actions, can we create new strings so that they are individual and thus make the recommended changes without any problems? |
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