[Github-comments] [geany/geany] Add option and keybinding to hide menubar (PR #2972)

[xiota]

@elextr

> I have been assuming mnemonics work even if the menu is hidden

Menubar mnemonics do *not* work when the menubar is hidden.

> If the only way to make the menubar visible is a user settable keybinding then it can't be documented because nobody knows what the user set it to.

You previously appeared to argue *against* having a pre-set keybinding because users might accidentally hide the menubar without knowing how to reshow it.

@eht16 

> What I meant is that we just need to store the state (visible or hidden) and restore that state on startup.

This PR already implements saving and restoring the menubar state.

Menubar use is different from sidebar and msgwin use.  Users can hide the sidebar/msgwin and forget about them.  But the menu *is* needed to access features that don't have a keybinding set.  Users may need to show the menubar to access features that don't have a keybinding set.  If they forget to rehide the menubar before closing Geany, the menubar will be reshown on startup.

Since it's known that users will want the menubar to be able to (always) "hide on startup", it doesn't make sense not to include it (*as an option* – no one is forced to use it if they don't want to).  If it is omitted, I am certain that there will be a complaint (from someone who isn't me) in a few years (or however long it takes for the feature to reach package repositories).

> If we would implement it like the other interface component toggles (Sidebar, Toolbar, ...), it would be as easy as just a couple of copy&paste's and for the user it would be a consistent experience to show/hide various parts of the interface.

Since the menubar *is* different from the other interfaces, it should *not* be treated exactly the same.  In particular, hiding it without a way to reshow it *will* cause problems for users.

> We can't completely prevent a user might hide the menubar accidentally.

This PR takes measures to prevent accidentally hiding the menubar, one of which is to make the feature not *too* easy to find.

> But if users know there is the possibility to show/hide the menubar, I assume it would be easier for them to discover how to show it again.

Depends on what you mean by "easier".  The user *might* realize more quickly that it was hidden by a built-in feature, not some weird glitch.  But hidden menubars are pretty common nowadays, so the difference may not be significant.  Once the menubar is hidden, if there is no keybinding, the easiest way to reshow it is to edit the config file with a different editor (otherwise the changes would be overwritten when Geany saves state when closed).

> And more users can use this at all as a menu item in the View menu ...

When no keybinding is set.  What do you expect to happen if the menu is used to hide the menubar?

> and an option in the preferences dialog is easier to discover than a keybinding.

What option would you add to the preferences dialog if the "hide on startup" option is removed?

There is no need for a "restore state" option in preferences.  For the other UI elements:

* message window: in menu, but not preferences
* status bar: in preferences, but not menu
* sidebar: both
* toolbar: both 

The options in the preferences are in different sections/tabs – not easy to find.  Since preferences is pretty cluttered and they're just duplicates of the menubar toggles, it might be good to remove them from preferences.

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