LibreOffice is a complex application with a large and growing number of options. It is not easy to find the right needle in the haystack. Like most other complex applications, it will be valuable and useful enhancement to add a search field to the “Tools > Options” dialog that iterates over the various tabs and filters where the search text is found. The Search Field in Options project aims to provide this search functionality in “Tools > Options” page.

• Project page: https://summerofcode.withgoogle.com/programs/2023/projects/IKtSHIH1
• Enhancement request on Bugzilla: https://bugs.documentfoundation.org/show_bug.cgi?id=49895
• Patch on Gerrit: https://gerrit.libreoffice.org/c/core/+/152519

Tasks

•   Add search field to Options dialog - UI
•   Implement search function
•   Include Options TreeView’s parent and child node names into searching
•   Add GetAllStrings() method to fetch strings from 69 dialogs step by step
•   Include following element strings into searching:
  •   labels
  •   check buttons
  •   radio buttons
  •   toggle buttons
  •   link buttons
  •   buttons
•   Include accessibility elements into searching:
  •   accessible-names
  •   accessible-descriptions
  •   tooltip-texts
•   Include option pages from extensions into searching
•   Initialize all dialogs at background if it’s possible (salhelper::Thread - asynchronously)
•   Initialize all dialogs to get strings properly (not in background - synchronously)
  •   initialize ~half of them after opening the options
  •   and initialize remaining ones after doing a search
•   Update Options TreeView properly after the searching done
•   Expand the first node and select first child-node after search by default
•   Remove Hyphen (_) and Tilde (~) symbols from fetched strings to make the search function work correctly

My Work during GSoC

During 13 weeks GSoC program, I added a search field in Options dialog and included the node names and their .ui strings into searching. Since sub-dialogs under the Options are not initialized at startup of Options dialog, it was not possible to access their .ui strings. To overcome this issue we had two options:

• Option A: Extract .ui strings at build-time and fetch them at run-time
  This option requires working on file operations, LibreOffice’s build system, makefiles, localization etc. I worked on this option for ~5 weeks but this approach caused a lot of issues that took the project out of its scope. For example, how to deal with localization issue while extracting strings at build-time? This was another big problem…
• Option B: Initialize all dialogs in some way and get their strings
  This option is more understandable and simple. Instructions are clear. No need to worry about localization. No need to work on file operations, extracting and fetching data, working with makefiles etc…

When I felt that Option A is just wasting my time (~5 weeks); I switched to Option B where I can -at least- make some progress. The main issue in Option B was initializing all dialogs which takes about 4-8 secs. I tried to initialize them at background but there was some errors on Win10 that I don’t reproduce the issue on my linux machine. Then I tried to see the errors on Win10 with a virtual machine, but it was too slow to test. Therefore I uninstalled Manjaro/Linux (which I’ve been using it more than 1.5 years) from my computer and had to install Win10 (which I last used 6 years ago) on my machine to see the problems in there. There was some visual inconsistencies while initializing sub-dialogs using salhelper::Thread at background.

After working long hours for weeks meanwhile the time was running out, I decided to initialize almost half of them at Options dialog startup and the remaining ones at the time of searching. In that way, time of initializing process is divided by ~2 which can be acceptable time in some degree in terms of user experience.

There is a single patch on Gerrit for this project: https://gerrit.libreoffice.org/c/core/+/152519. The patch has more than 30 patchsets and includes “+2255 -47” changes.

The most challenging part was implementing GetAllStrings() function for every ~69 dialogs step by step. Current implementation may not be the best solution for user experience, but at least searching through the numerous options is now possible.

Whats left to do or can be done?

Following tasks are left and can be implemented after GSoC:

•   Include accessibility elements into searching:
  •   accessible-names
  •   accessible-descriptions
  •   tooltip-texts
•   Include option pages from extensions into searching
•   Initialize all dialogs at background if it’s possible (salhelper::Thread - asynchronously)

Additional hacks

• Show modified options with some special indicator (as in KDE settings). (better to discuss this idea in a separate ticket)
• Implement highlighting feature

Tasks I’ll be working on after GSoC

• improvement on the initialization of the dialogs, maybe it can be possible to initialize them at background without encountering any visual inconsistencies - especially on Windows.
• Implementing the remaining tasks:
  • Include accessibility elements into searching
  • Include option pages from extensions into searching
• If everything works fine I’d like to work on the highlighting feature
• Also it would be prettier if Options dialog have a modified options indicator (as in KDE settings)

Thanks

I’m very happy that we all reached the end of GSoC. During that time, I know that I had a responsibility for doing everything that I can. Therefore I worked hard and tried to complete as much tasks as I can.

I learned a lot of things during the GSoC. Although GSoC is finished, I will definitely continue to contribute to LibreOffice. I am really happy to be a part of the LibreOffice community and Google Summer of Code. I’m really thankful to LibreOffice and Google for providing us this such a great opportunity which helped me gain this amazing experience!

I always tried to be active on IRC #libreoffice-dev channel, and I want to thank for everybody who helped me about my questions.

And most importantly, greatly thankful to Andreas Heinisch and Heiko Tietze who were my mentors throughout the GSoC period. They always guided me everything about my questions. Thank you endlessly for your time and effort. I appreciate that you always motivating and encouraging me in all that I attempt and do. I can never truly express how grateful I am. Your guidance, reviews, help and shared experiences have been invaluable. Thank you very much for everything.

I’d like to express my gratitude to everyone in the LibreOffice community for their help and kindness. They always tried to answer my questions on IRC. I fell very lucky to work with this amazing community. I have learned a lot from you and I will never forget this wonderful experience.

Regards,
Bayram Çiçek

All weekly GSoC reports:

• 26 Aug 2023 Final Report - Google Summer of Code 2023 - Search Field in Options
• 14 Aug 2023 Week #7 - #11 - GSoC 2023 Weekly Report - Search Field in Options
• 08 Jul 2023 Week #5 and #6 - GSoC 2023 Weekly Report - Search Field in Options
• 26 Jun 2023 Week #4 - GSoC 2023 Weekly Report - Search Field in Options
• 18 Jun 2023 Week #3 - GSoC 2023 Weekly Report - Search Field in Options
• 10 Jun 2023 Week #2 - GSoC 2023 Weekly Report - Search Field in Options
• 03 Jun 2023 Week #1 - GSoC 2023 Weekly Report - Search Field in Options
• 18 May 2023 Google Summer of Code 2023 Timeline - Search Field in Options

Useful links:

• https://gerrit.libreoffice.org/q/owner:bayramcicek2125%2540gmail.com (my all contributions to LibreOffice)
• https://translations.documentfoundation.org/user/bayramcicek/ (my translations in LibreOffice)
• https://bayramcicek.github.io/libreoffice/ (all blog posts related to LibreOffice development)
• https://summerofcode.withgoogle.com/programs/2023/projects/IKtSHIH1 (Google Summer of Code - Project page)

# free as in freedom

Project Report for Week #7 - #11

• A lot of new patchsets submitted (between patchset 10 and 19): https://gerrit.libreoffice.org/c/core/+/152519

• We decided to implement Plan B(initialize all strings at Options dialog start-up) instead of “extracting strings at build-time” approach.

• all (visible) strings of 69 dialogs included in searching. Currently:

  • labels,
  • check buttons,
  • radio buttons and
  • buttons are included.

TODO: add accessible-names, accessible-descriptions and tooltip-texts into searching.

• GetAllStrings() function returns all visible strings. e.g.:

OUString ScTpFormulaOptions::GetAllStrings()
{
    OUString sAllStrings;
    OUString labels[] = { "label1", "formulasyntaxlabel",
                          "label3", "label6",
                          "label7", "label8",
                          "label2", "label4",
                          "label9", "label10" };

    for (auto& label : labels)
    {
        if (m_xBuilder->weld_label(label)->is_visible())
            sAllStrings += m_xBuilder->weld_label(label)->get_label() + OUString(' ');
    }

    OUString radioButton[] = { "calcdefault", "calccustom" };

    for (auto& radio : radioButton)
    {
        if (m_xBuilder->weld_radio_button(radio)->is_visible())
            sAllStrings += m_xBuilder->weld_radio_button(radio)->get_label() + OUString(' ');
    }

    OUString button[] = { "reset", "details" };

    for (auto& btn : button)
    {
        if (m_xBuilder->weld_button(btn)->is_visible())
            sAllStrings += m_xBuilder->weld_button(btn)->get_label() + OUString(' ');
    }

    // check button
    if (mxCbEnglishFuncName->is_visible())
        sAllStrings += mxCbEnglishFuncName->get_label() + OUString(' ');

    return sAllStrings.replaceAll("_", "");
}

• Some screenshots from the development

Summary

• New patchsets submitted (between patchset 10 and 19): https://gerrit.libreoffice.org/c/core/+/152519
• Implementation of Plan B is completed. (initialize all strings at Options dialog start-up)
• all (visible) strings of 69 dialogs included in searching.:
  • labels,
  • check buttons,
  • radio buttons and
  • buttons are included.

***

Patch: https://gerrit.libreoffice.org/c/core/+/152519

Project Mentors: Andreas Heinisch and Heiko Tietze (Thanks for their time and guidance)

GSoC project page: https://summerofcode.withgoogle.com/programs/2023/projects/IKtSHIH1

Enhancement request on Bugzilla: https://bugs.documentfoundation.org/show_bug.cgi?id=49895

$ wget https://dev-www.libreoffice.org/bin/clang-format-5.0.0-linux64
$ chmod +x clang-format-5.0.0-linux64
$ sudo mkdir -p /opt/lo/bin/
$ sudo cp clang-format-5.0.0-linux64 /opt/lo/bin/clang-format

Then, to reformat the whole file:

$ /opt/lo/bin/clang-format -i path/to/thefile.cxx

We can reformat a file easily. But what if we want to do clang-format only for a specific code-piece(s) (e.g. a function, class, if-else …) instead?

On VSCode (Linux):

• File > Preferences > Settings.
• Search for clang-format.
• in C_Cpp: Clang_format_path section, set the path of the clang-format executable as /opt/lo/bin/clang-format.

For example, let’s only select the if statement here:

...
    for (PageIdToFileNameMap_Impl& rEntry : FileMap_Impl)
    {
        if    (        rEntry.m_nPageId == nPageId)
        {
            return OStringToOUString(/*...*/);
        }
    }
...

Then right click on the selection and select Format Selection:

Finally, formatting only for if statement should work:

...
    for (PageIdToFileNameMap_Impl& rEntry : FileMap_Impl)
    {
        if (rEntry.m_nPageId == nPageId)
        {
            return OStringToOUString(/*...*/);
        }
    }
...

Project Report for Week #5 and #6

• New patchsets submitted (between patchset 5 and 10): https://gerrit.libreoffice.org/c/core/+/152519

• Modified uiex python script to generate ui strings.

I removed the ./solenv/bin/uiex_options script that almost the same with ./solenv/bin/uiex. Instead of creating a new script, adding an additional option to the existing uiex script -to only print the msgid instead of the full entry-, is better than a different file.

./solenv/bin/uiex:

...

if ( (len(args) != 0) and (args[0] == "getString") ):
    mode = "w"
else:
    mode = "a"

with open(ofile, mode) as output:
    input = check_output(["xgettext", "--add-comments", "--no-wrap", ifile, "-o", "-"], encoding="UTF-8")
    po = polib.pofile(input)
    if len(po) != 0:
        print("", file=output)
        for entry in po:
            # skip 'stock' entries like "cancel", "help", "ok", etc
            # l10ntools/source/localize.cxx will insert one entry for each stock per .po
            if entry.msgctxt == "stock":
                continue
            if (mode == "a"):
                keyid = entry.msgctxt + '|' + entry.msgid
                print('#. ' + polib.genKeyId(keyid), file=output)

            for i, occurrence in enumerate(entry.occurrences):
                entry.occurrences[i] = os.path.relpath(occurrence[0], os.environ['SRCDIR']), occurrence[1]

            if (mode == "a"):
                print(entry, file=output)
            else:
                print(entry.msgid, file=output)

• Search function now removes the child-nodes that do not match with the search term.

The search function now gives better results than the previous version.

Before: (All child-nodes are shown - which is very confusing)

After: (Child-nodes that do not match with the search term are removed. thus, better results!)

• Refactored the code with clang-format.

• Search field now goes into focus when Options dialog opens.

...
m_xSearchEdit->grab_focus();
SelectHdl_Impl();

• Finally, first node expands itself and selects its first child automatically after the search done.

    // select first child of first node after the search done
    if (nMatchFound != -1)
    {
        std::unique_ptr<weld::TreeIter> xEntry;

        {
            std::unique_ptr<weld::TreeIter> xTemp = xTreeLB->make_iterator();
            bool bTemp = xTreeLB->get_iter_first(*xTemp);
            while (bTemp)
            {
                // select only the first child
                if (xTreeLB->get_iter_depth(*xTemp) && xTreeLB->get_id(*xTemp).toInt64())
                {
                    xEntry = xTreeLB->make_iterator(xTemp.get());
                    break;
                }
                bTemp = xTreeLB->iter_next(*xTemp);
            }
        }

        if (!xEntry)
        {
            xEntry = xTreeLB->make_iterator();
            if (!xTreeLB->get_iter_first(*xEntry) || !xTreeLB->iter_next(*xEntry))
                xEntry.reset();
        }

        if (!xEntry)
            return;

        std::unique_ptr<weld::TreeIter> xParent(xTreeLB->make_iterator(xEntry.get()));
        xTreeLB->iter_parent(*xParent);
        xTreeLB->expand_row(*xParent);
        xTreeLB->scroll_to_row(*xParent);
        xTreeLB->scroll_to_row(*xEntry);
        xTreeLB->set_cursor(*xEntry);
        xTreeLB->select(*xEntry);
        SelectHdl_Impl();
    }

• Some screenshots from the development

Summary

• New patchsets submitted (between patchset 5 and 10): https://gerrit.libreoffice.org/c/core/+/152519
• Modified uiex python script to generate ui strings.
• Search function now removes the child-nodes that do not match with the search term.
  • The search function now gives better results than the previous version.
• Refactored the code with clang-format.
• Search field now goes into focus when Options dialog opens.
• Finally, first node expands itself and selects its first child automatically after the search done.

***

Steps for implementing search functionality in “Tools > Options”:

***

Patch: https://gerrit.libreoffice.org/c/core/+/152519

Project Mentors: Andreas Heinisch and Heiko Tietze (Thanks for their time and guidance)

GSoC project page: https://summerofcode.withgoogle.com/programs/2023/projects/IKtSHIH1

Enhancement request on Bugzilla: https://bugs.documentfoundation.org/show_bug.cgi?id=49895

Project Report for Week #4

• New patchset submitted: https://gerrit.libreoffice.org/c/core/+/152519/4

• Added new python script to generate ui strings

I added new python script called ./solenv/bin/uiex_options to extract strings(labels, accessible-names, accessible-descriptions and tooltip-texts) from ui files. This script is almost the same with ./solenv/bin/uiex. The only difference is the new script extracts only entry.msgid which contains the strings we need. Any other outputs like entry.msgctxt is not needed so I kept only entry.msgid in the new script.

For example ./solenv/bin/uiex script:

$ ./solenv/bin/uiex -i ./cui/uiconfig/ui/optopenclpage.ui -o output.txt

will extract:

#. QYxCN
#: ../cui/uiconfig/ui/optopenclpage.ui:24
msgctxt "optopenclpage|useopencl"
msgid "Allow use of OpenCL"
msgstr ""

#. MAc4P
#: ../cui/uiconfig/ui/optopenclpage.ui:41
msgctxt "optopenclpage|openclused"
msgid "OpenCL is available for use."
msgstr ""

#. fAEQH
#: ../cui/uiconfig/ui/optopenclpage.ui:53
msgctxt "optopenclpage|openclnotused"
msgid "OpenCL is not used."
msgstr ""

#. xWE5i
#: ../cui/uiconfig/ui/optopenclpage.ui:67
msgctxt "optopenclpage|label1"
msgid "OpenCL Options"
msgstr ""

But we only need strings inside msgid here. Others are not needed.

./solenv/bin/uiex_options extracts only strings inside msgid:

$ ./solenv/bin/uiex_options -i ./cui/uiconfig/ui/optopenclpage.ui -o output.txt

will extract:

Allow use of OpenCL
OpenCL is available for use.
OpenCL is not used.
OpenCL Options

• Extraction at build-time

Added all ui files that belong to Options dialog, inside cui/UIConfig_cui.mk file:

$(eval $(call gb_UIConfig_generate_options_uifiles,cui/uiconfig/uioptions, \
    cui/uiconfig/ui/optuserpage \
    cui/uiconfig/ui/optgeneralpage \
    cui/uiconfig/ui/optviewpage \
    cui/uiconfig/ui/optpathspage \
    cui/uiconfig/ui/optfontspage \
    cui/uiconfig/ui/optsecuritypage \
    cui/uiconfig/ui/personalization_tab \
    cui/uiconfig/ui/optappearancepage \
    cui/uiconfig/ui/optaccessibilitypage \
    cui/uiconfig/ui/optadvancedpage \
    cui/uiconfig/ui/optbasicidepage \
    cui/uiconfig/ui/optonlineupdatepage \
    cui/uiconfig/ui/optopenclpage \
    cui/uiconfig/ui/optlanguagespage \
    cui/uiconfig/ui/optlingupage \
    cui/uiconfig/ui/optjsearchpage \
    cui/uiconfig/ui/optasianpage \
    cui/uiconfig/ui/optctlpage \
    cui/uiconfig/ui/langtoolconfigpage \
    cui/uiconfig/ui/optdeeplpage \
    cui/uiconfig/ui/optproxypage \
    cui/uiconfig/ui/optemailpage \
    cui/uiconfig/ui/optsavepage \
    cui/uiconfig/ui/optfltrpage \
    cui/uiconfig/ui/optfltrembedpage \
    cui/uiconfig/ui/opthtmlpage \
    cui/uiconfig/ui/optchartcolorspage \
    cui/uiconfig/ui/connpooloptions \
    cui/uiconfig/ui/dbregisterpage \
    cui/uiconfig/ui/areatabpage \
    sw/uiconfig/swriter/ui/optgeneralpage \
    sw/uiconfig/swriter/ui/viewoptionspage \
    sw/uiconfig/swriter/ui/optformataidspage \
    sw/uiconfig/swriter/ui/optfonttabpage \
    sw/uiconfig/swriter/ui/printoptionspage \
    sw/uiconfig/swriter/ui/opttablepage \
    sw/uiconfig/swriter/ui/optredlinepage \
    sw/uiconfig/swriter/ui/optcomparison \
    sw/uiconfig/swriter/ui/optcompatpage \
    sw/uiconfig/swriter/ui/optcaptionpage \
    sw/uiconfig/swriter/ui/mailconfigpage \
    sc/uiconfig/scalc/ui/scgeneralpage \
    sc/uiconfig/scalc/ui/optdefaultpage \
    sc/uiconfig/scalc/ui/tpviewpage \
    sc/uiconfig/scalc/ui/optcalculatepage \
    sc/uiconfig/scalc/ui/optformula \
    sc/uiconfig/scalc/ui/optsortlists \
    sc/uiconfig/scalc/ui/optchangespage \
    sc/uiconfig/scalc/ui/optcompatibilitypage \
    sc/uiconfig/scalc/ui/optdlg \
    sd/uiconfig/simpress/ui/optimpressgeneralpage \
    sd/uiconfig/simpress/ui/sdviewpage \
    sd/uiconfig/simpress/ui/prntopts \
    svx/uiconfig/ui/optgridpage \
    sfx2/uiconfig/ui/optprintpage \
    starmath/uiconfig/smath/ui/smathsettings \
))

this calls gb_UIConfig_generate_options_uifiles function with cui/uiconfig/uioptions as first parameter and list of ui files as second parameter.

solenv/gbuild/UIConfig.mk:

define gb_UIConfig_run_uiex_options_script
$(shell $(SRCDIR)/solenv/bin/uiex_options -i $(SRCDIR)/$(2).ui -o $(1)/$(3).txt)
$(info extracting... $(1)/$(3).txt)

endef

define gb_UIConfig_handle_uiex_options_script
$(call gb_UIConfig_run_uiex_options_script,$(SRCDIR)/$(1)/$(firstword $(subst /, ,$(2))),$(2),$(notdir $(2)))

endef

define gb_UIConfig_generate_options_uifiles
$(info running ./solenv/bin/uiex_options script...)
$(foreach uifile,$(2),$(call gb_UIConfig_handle_uiex_options_script,$(1),$(uifile)))
$(info ...extraction done.)

endef

• Extracted file location

All extracted files located in cui/uiconfig/uioptions/*.

cui/uiconfig/uioptions/cui/* for ui files in ./cui/uiconfig/ui/*.ui

cui/uiconfig/uioptions/sc/* for ui files in ./sc/uiconfig/scalc/ui/*.ui

cui/uiconfig/uioptions/sd/* for ui files in ./sd/uiconfig/simpress/ui/*.ui

cui/uiconfig/uioptions/sfx2/* for ui files in ./sfx2/uiconfig/ui/*.ui

cui/uiconfig/uioptions/starmath/* for ui files in ./starmath/uiconfig/smath/ui/*.ui

cui/uiconfig/uioptions/svx/* for ui files in ./svx/uiconfig/ui/*.ui

cui/uiconfig/uioptions/sw/* for ui files in ./sw/uiconfig/ui/*.ui

and all of sub-directories contain a README.md file.

e.g. cui/uiconfig/uioptions/sfx2/README.md:

This directory contains txt files that extracted form build-time. All files contains labels, accessible-names, accessible-descriptions and tooltip-texts from all ./sfx2/uiconfig/ui/*.ui files that exist in Tools-Options dialog.

All .txt file names is the same as their .ui names.

e.g.: optprintpage.txt has strings from ./sfx2/uiconfig/ui/optprintpage.ui

• Created new class to fetch the extracted strings and use them in searching.

struct OptionsPageIdInfo;

...

// class TreeOptHelper -----------------------------------------------

class TreeOptHelper
{
public:
    TreeOptHelper();
    ~TreeOptHelper();

    void storeStringsFromUiFile(sal_uInt16 nPageId);
    OUString getAllStringsFrom(sal_uInt16 nPageId);
};

Vector std::vector< OptionsPageIdInfo* > m_aTreePageIds contains all informatin related to extracted strings.

m_aTreePageIds.push_back(new OptionsPageIdInfo(sParentName, xTreeLB->get_text(*xEntry), aParentId, pPageInfo->m_nPageId));

struct OptionsPageIdInfo
{
    OUString        m_sParentName;
    OUString        m_sPageName;
    sal_uInt16      m_nParentId;
    sal_uInt16      m_nPageId;

    OptionsPageIdInfo( OUString sParentName, OUString sPageName,
                       sal_uInt16 nParentId, sal_uInt16 nPageId ) :
        m_sParentName(std::move( sParentName )),
        m_sPageName(std::move( sPageName )),
        m_nParentId( nParentId ),
        m_nPageId( nPageId ) {}
};

• Updated the applySearchFilter() function

The searching is made only in the variable sPageNameAndStrings. It contains the dialog page name and its strings.

OUString sPageNameAndStrings = sParentName + " " + sPageName + " " + sPageStrings;

Then the searching is made:

// start searching in strings (label, accessible-name, accessible-description, tooltip-text) and all page names
if (!textSearch.SearchForward(sPageNameAndStrings, &aStartPos, &aEndPos)) { ... }
else { ... }

applySearchFilter(OUString const& rSearchTerm) function:

int OfaTreeOptionsDialog::applySearchFilter(OUString const& rSearchTerm)
{
    // debug ("applySearchFilter(), rSearchTerm text => : " << rSearchTerm);

    if (rSearchTerm.isEmpty())
    {
        clearOptionsDialog();
        xTreeLB->clear();
        Initialize(m_xFrame);
        return 0;
    }

    m_options.searchString = rSearchTerm;
    utl::TextSearch textSearch(m_options);

    clearOptionsDialog();

    if (xTreeLB->n_children() > 0)
    {
        xTreeLB->clear();
    }

    std::vector<sal_uInt16> aFoundIdsVector;

    for (std::size_t i = 0; i < m_aTreePageIds.size(); ++i)
    {
        OUString sParentName = m_aTreePageIds[i]->m_sParentName;
        OUString sPageName = m_aTreePageIds[i]->m_sPageName;
        sal_uInt16 nParentId = m_aTreePageIds[i]->m_nParentId;
        sal_uInt16 nPageId = m_aTreePageIds[i]->m_nPageId;

        OUString sPageStrings = pOptionsTreeStrings.getAllStringsFrom(nPageId);
        OUString sPageNameAndStrings = sParentName + " " + sPageName + " " + sPageStrings;

        sal_Int32 aStartPos = 0;
        sal_Int32 aEndPos = sPageStrings.getLength();

        // start searching in strings (label, accessible-name, accessible-description, tooltip-text) and all page names
        if (!textSearch.SearchForward(sPageNameAndStrings, &aStartPos, &aEndPos))
        {
            // debug ("not found: " << sPageName << " : " << nParentId << " : " << nPageId);
        }
        else
        {
            // debug ("found: " << sPageName << " : " << nParentId << " : " << nPageId);
            // debug ("sPageStrings: " << sPageNameAndStrings);

            bool isFound = false;
            for (auto aEntryId : aFoundIdsVector)
            {
                if (aEntryId == nParentId)
                {
                    isFound = true;
                }
            }

            if (!isFound)
            {
                aFoundIdsVector.push_back(nParentId);
                showDialog(nParentId);
            }
        }
    }

    // if treeview is empty, return -1
    return xTreeLB->n_children() ? 0 : -1;
}

• Added new cxx file cui/source/options/treeopthelper.cxx

This file contains the file path of extracted strings with thair page-id and strings.

struct PageIdToFileNameMap_Impl
{
    sal_uInt16      m_nPageId;
    const char*     m_pPageStringFileName;
    std::string     m_sContent;
};

// 70 entries
PageIdToFileNameMap_Impl FileMap_Impl[] =
{
    // PAGE-ID                                  FILE-PATH-OF-EXTRACTED-STRINGS                          CONTENT       PAGE-NAME             UI-FILE-PATH

    // ProductName, SID_GENERAL_OPTIONS
    { RID_SFXPAGE_GENERAL,                      "cui/uiconfig/uioptions/cui/optuserpage.txt",           ""      }, // UserData              ./cui/uiconfig/ui/optuserpage.ui
    { OFA_TP_MISC,                              "cui/uiconfig/uioptions/cui/optgeneralpage.txt",        ""      }, // General               ./cui/uiconfig/ui/optgeneralpage.ui

    ... (and other 68 entries)
}

The function storeStringsFromUiFile(sal_uInt16 nPageId) reads the data inside txt files and fetch them into PageIdToFileNameMap_Impl struct as rEntry.m_sContent += sLine + " ";

void TreeOptHelper::storeStringsFromUiFile(sal_uInt16 nPageId)
{
    for (PageIdToFileNameMap_Impl& rEntry : FileMap_Impl)
    {
        if (rEntry.m_nPageId == nPageId)
        {
            std::ifstream rIFStream(rEntry.m_pPageStringFileName);

            std::string sTemp;
            std::getline(rIFStream, sTemp);

            if( rIFStream.eof() || sTemp.empty() )
            {
                SAL_WARN(""," file: " << rEntry.m_pPageStringFileName << " could not be opened for reading!");
                return;
            }

            if (rEntry.m_sContent.empty())
            {
                // debug ("fetching data from " << rEntry.m_pPageStringFileName);

                while(!rIFStream.eof())
                {
                    std::string sLine(sTemp.data(), sTemp.length());

                    rEntry.m_sContent += sLine + " ";

                    getline(rIFStream, sTemp);
                }
                // debug ("fetching done\n");
                break;
            }
            else
            {
                // debug ("no data or data is already fetched from : " << rEntry.m_pPageStringFileName);
            }
        }
    }
}

The function getAllStringsFrom(sal_uInt16 nPageId) gets the strings from the given pageId:

OUString TreeOptHelper::getAllStringsFrom(sal_uInt16 nPageId)
{
    if (nPageId == 0)
        return OUString();

    for (PageIdToFileNameMap_Impl& rEntry : FileMap_Impl)
    {
        if (rEntry.m_nPageId == nPageId)
        {
            return OStringToOUString(rEntry.m_sContent, RTL_TEXTENCODING_ASCII_US);
        }
    }

    return OUString();
}

• Some screenshots from the development

Summary

• Strings in ui files are now can be generated at build-time.
• labels, accessible-names, accessible-descriptions and tooltip-texts from all ui files that resides inside Options dialog, are now included in searching.

***

Steps for implementing search functionality in “Tools > Options”:

***

Patch: https://gerrit.libreoffice.org/c/core/+/152519

Project Mentors: Andreas Heinisch and Heiko Tietze (Thanks for their time and guidance)

GSoC project page: https://summerofcode.withgoogle.com/programs/2023/projects/IKtSHIH1

Enhancement request on Bugzilla: https://bugs.documentfoundation.org/show_bug.cgi?id=49895

• The Problem in Options sub-dialogs

I’ve been working with Options dialog which has more than 30 sub-dialogs. On the left pane of the Options dialog, the TreeView headers and their sub-headers were included in searching. There is no problem here. However, when it comes to adding all sub-dialogs’ labels, accessible-names, accessible-descriptions and tooltip-texts to the searching, there is a problem arise: When Options dialog opens, it does not initialize all dialogs so it is NOT possible to access their methods - until they were clicked manually.

I asked about this problem on IRC #libreoffice-dev channel:

[11:26:53 AM] <bayramcicek> Hi. Is it possible to fetch all strings(labels), tooltip-texts and accessible-descriptions for a .ui file without initializing its class/ctor?

[11:30:35 AM] <caolanm> bayramcicek, might need more context. We do extract those at build-time for translation purposes for example, but that might not be useful for your case

[11:33:37 AM] <caolanm> solenv/bin/uiex is that thing

[11:33:53 AM] <bayramcicek> caolanm: I'm trying to add search functionality to `Tools > Options` dialog. Options dialog has a lot of sub-dialogs. I need to get all strings(labels), tooltip-texts and accessible-descriptions in each dialog to include them in search function. I think I should write a method for every single dialog to get all strings/desc/tooltips they contain. Is there a better way/approach to do this?

[11:34:45 AM] <caolanm> options dialog is a super-duper pain, cause the various contents of that don't exist until created on-demand when you switch to the page

[11:38:19 AM] <bayramcicek> Exactly. When Options dialog opens, it does not initialize all dialogs so I couldn't access their methods until I click them manually.

[11:40:01 AM] <caolanm> its also what that dialog is (uniquely) one that has a fixed size and doesn't adapt to its contents if there is a page that is too large

[11:43:49 AM] <bayramcicek> caolanm: "solenv/bin/uiex is that thing" -> thanks. I'll check that.

[11:57:36 AM] <caolanm> bayramcicek, yeah, there might be some use in a build-time approach to attempt to build the index of data you need during the build, rather than at runtime.

It is not possible to access all sub-dialogs when Options dialog opens. We can only have access to their pageIDs and pageNames(headers), but we can’t access their methods since they aren’t instantiated. Otherwise, fetching the all data we need would be very easy with a method implemented by all dialogs - something like pPageInfo->m_xPage->getAllTooltips() etc..

Initializing all dialogs when Options dialog opens is another idea. But this is not a good idea since it takes long to create/initialize all sub-dialogs.

• About ./solenv/bin/uiex script

In ./core directory; e.g. for optopenclpage.ui file, running

 $ ./solenv/bin/uiex -i ./cui/uiconfig/ui/optopenclpage.ui -o output.txt

extracts:

---

#. QYxCN
#: ../cui/uiconfig/ui/optopenclpage.ui:24
msgctxt "optopenclpage|useopencl"
msgid "Allow use of OpenCL"
msgstr ""

#. MAc4P
#: ../cui/uiconfig/ui/optopenclpage.ui:41
msgctxt "optopenclpage|openclused"
msgid "OpenCL is available for use."
msgstr ""

#. fAEQH
#: ../cui/uiconfig/ui/optopenclpage.ui:53
msgctxt "optopenclpage|openclnotused"
msgid "OpenCL is not used."
msgstr ""

#. xWE5i
#: ../cui/uiconfig/ui/optopenclpage.ui:67
msgctxt "optopenclpage|label1"
msgid "OpenCL Options"
msgstr ""

---

As far as I understand, the ./solenv/bin/uiex script extracts all strings that have

<... translatable="yes" ... >

property. This also extracts all label, accessible-name, accessible-description and tooltip-text values which are the exact data we need. But this happens only running ./solenv/bin/uiex script. We need the data at build-time.

• Extracting the data at build-time

The extraction happens when running $ make translations. $ make doesn’t extract the data. (or - does it ?)

$ make translations extracts the all information from the following file extensions. (imho, probably this is why it takes longer than expected - on my computer it took 1 min 56 secs.)

    static Command const commands[] = {
        { std::u16string_view(u".hrc"), "hrcex", false },
        { std::u16string_view(u".ulf"), "ulfex", false },
        { std::u16string_view(u".xcu"), "cfgex", false },
        { std::u16string_view(u".xrm"), "xrmex", false },
        { std::u16string_view(u"description.xml"), "xrmex", true },
        { std::u16string_view(u".xhp"), "helpex", false },
        { std::u16string_view(u".properties"), "propex", false },
        { std::u16string_view(u".ui"), "uiex", false },
        { std::u16string_view(u".tree"), "treex", false }
    };

$ make translations extracts all strings into ./workdir/pot/* directory.

Extraction happens in handleFile(...) function at ./l10ntools/source/localize.cxx (https://opengrok.libreoffice.org/xref/core/l10ntools/source/localize.cxx?r=eaf07139#189)

The extracted file ./workdir/pot/cui/messages.pot includes all strings for .ui files that inside ./cui/*. But messages.pot also has strings that unnecessary for our case.

I imagine a script similar to ./solenv/bin/uiex that extracts all .ui files that Options dialog has, into a file (xml or txt etc. ?), during $ make. Then we can retrieve the data into a vector and use it at run-time (maybe - when options dialog opens ?).

./workdir/pot/cui/messages.pot file:

Debug messages after $ make translations:

Summary

• There is a problem with accessing methods of sub-dialogs in Options dialog. (the reason is that the sub-dialogs don’t exist until the page is switched)
• We decided that strings in all .ui files will be generated at build-time. (which will be the most challenging part in this project)
• I’ll be trying to generate the data at build-time in the following weeks.

***

Steps for implementing search functionality in “Tools > Options”:

***

Patch: https://gerrit.libreoffice.org/c/core/+/152519

Project Mentors: Andreas Heinisch and Heiko Tietze (Thanks for their time and guidance)

GSoC project page: https://summerofcode.withgoogle.com/programs/2023/projects/IKtSHIH1

Enhancement request on Bugzilla: https://bugs.documentfoundation.org/show_bug.cgi?id=49895

• In week #1, search functionality was implemented only for headers of the options TreeView. (“Tools > Options” - left pane tree).

We should expand the search functionality to include the sub-headers(sub-elements) of the nodes. For example; if you type “libre”, search function will look if there is any match only in headers. But we should also check their child nodes(sub-headers) to be ensure if there will be any match with the search term.

• Sub-tree elements(child nodes) are now included in searching.

Patchset 2: https://gerrit.libreoffice.org/c/core/+/152519/2

If user types "japanese", search function will find the match in "Searching in Japanese" and will show its parent node - which is "Language Settings", as shown below. However, if we only search in headers, this would not be possible and the left pane would be empty - nothing would be shown.

As you can see at the bottom line of the terminal; if there is a match, debug prints "found: <full string of where search item found> : <its parent ID>".

• Some technical details

All TreeView nodes and their child nodes are stored in a std::vector as a std::pair.

std::vector<std::pair<OUString, sal_uInt16>> storedIdVector;

// store Options tree with their sub elements
void OfaTreeOptionsDialog::storeOptionsTree()
{
    storedIdVector.clear();
    {
        std::unique_ptr<weld::TreeIter> xEntry = xTreeLB->make_iterator();
        bool bEntry = xTreeLB->get_iter_first(*xEntry);

        sal_uInt16 currentTreeElementId = 0;

        // iterate over the tree and their sub-tree elements
        while (bEntry)
        {
            OptionsGroupInfo* pGroupInfo = weld::fromId<OptionsGroupInfo*>(xTreeLB->get_id(*xEntry));
            if (!xTreeLB->get_iter_depth(*xEntry))
            {
                currentTreeElementId = pGroupInfo->m_nDialogId;
                storedIdVector.push_back({xTreeLB->get_text(*xEntry) ,currentTreeElementId});
            }
            else
            {
                storedIdVector.push_back({xTreeLB->get_text(*xEntry) ,currentTreeElementId});
            }
            bEntry = xTreeLB->iter_next(*xEntry);
        }
    }
}

Search function searchs through all first elements of std::pair<OUString, sal_uInt16>. If there is a match, the second element - which is the ID of the parent node - will be added to left pane as a node.

int OfaTreeOptionsDialog::applySearchFilter(OUString const& rSearchTerm)
{
    if (rSearchTerm.isEmpty())
    {
        clearOptionsDialog();
        xTreeLB->clear();
        Initialize(m_xFrame);
        return 0;
    }

    m_options.searchString = rSearchTerm;
    utl::TextSearch textSearch(m_options);

    clearOptionsDialog();

    if (xTreeLB->n_children() > 0)
    {
        xTreeLB->clear();
    }

    std::vector<sal_uInt16> foundIdsVector;

    for (std::size_t i = 0; i < storedIdVector.size(); ++i)
    {
        OUString itemName = storedIdVector[i].first;
        sal_uInt16 itemId = storedIdVector[i].second;

        sal_Int32 aStartPos = 0;
        sal_Int32 aEndPos = itemName.getLength();

        // make search
        if (!textSearch.SearchForward(itemName, &aStartPos, &aEndPos))
        {
            // debug ("not found: " << itemName << " : " << itemId);
        }
        else
        {
            // debug ("found: " << itemName << " : " << itemId);

            bool isFound = false;
            for (auto entryId : foundIdsVector)
            {
                if (entryId == itemId)
                {
                    isFound = true;
                }
            }

            if (!isFound)
            {
                foundIdsVector.push_back(itemId);

                /*
                    void generalOptions();      // SID_GENERAL_OPTIONS
                    void loadAndSaveOptions();  // SID_FILTER_DLG
                    void languageOptions();     // SID_LANGUAGE_OPTIONS
                    void writerOptions();       // SID_SW_EDITOPTIONS
                    void writerWebOptions();    // SID_SW_ONLINEOPTIONS
                    void calcOptions();         // SID_SC_EDITOPTIONS
                    void impressOptions();      // SID_SD_EDITOPTIONS
                    void drawOptions();         // SID_SD_GRAPHIC_OPTIONS
                    void mathOptions();         // SID_SM_EDITOPTIONS
                    void databaseOptions();     // SID_SB_STARBASEOPTIONS
                    void chartOptions();        // SID_SCH_EDITOPTIONS
                    void internetOptions();     // SID_INET_DLG
                */

                switch(itemId)
                {
                    case SID_GENERAL_OPTIONS:
                        generalOptions();
                        break;

                    case SID_FILTER_DLG:
                        loadAndSaveOptions();
                        break;

                    case SID_LANGUAGE_OPTIONS:
                        languageOptions();
                        break;

                    case SID_SW_EDITOPTIONS:
                        writerOptions();
                        break;

                    case SID_SW_ONLINEOPTIONS:
                        writerWebOptions();
                        break;

                    case SID_SC_EDITOPTIONS:
                        calcOptions();
                        break;

                    case SID_SD_EDITOPTIONS:
                        impressOptions();
                        break;

                    case SID_SD_GRAPHIC_OPTIONS:
                        drawOptions();
                        break;

                    case SID_SM_EDITOPTIONS:
                        mathOptions();
                        break;

                    case SID_SB_STARBASEOPTIONS:
                        databaseOptions();
                        break;

                    case SID_SCH_EDITOPTIONS:
                        chartOptions();
                        break;

                    case SID_INET_DLG:
                        internetOptions();
                        break;

                    default:
                        break;
                }
            }
        }
    }

    // if treeview is empty, return -1
    return xTreeLB->n_children() ? 0 : -1;
}

Summary

• Sub-tree elements(child nodes) are now included in searching.
• Patchset 2 has been submitted: https://gerrit.libreoffice.org/c/core/+/152519/2

***

Steps for implementing search functionality in “Tools > Options”:

***

Patch: https://gerrit.libreoffice.org/c/core/+/152519

Project Mentors: Andreas Heinisch and Heiko Tietze (Thanks for their time and guidance)

GSoC project page: https://summerofcode.withgoogle.com/programs/2023/projects/IKtSHIH1

Enhancement request on Bugzilla: https://bugs.documentfoundation.org/show_bug.cgi?id=49895

***

Project Report for Week #1

• First patchset has been submitted: https://gerrit.libreoffice.org/c/core/+/152519

• Search bar/field added to “Tools > Options” dialog

cui/uiconfig/ui/optionsdialog.ui:

“Tools > Options” dialog:

• Search functionality implemented for Options TreeView. (in “Tools > Options”)

• Some technical details

There is a timer that waits the user to stop typing if user types faster than 350ms. Since searching can be expensive, we shouldn’t perform search for every key press if pressing between two keys are less than 350ms, which will improve the performance.

IMPL_LINK_NOARG(OfaTreeOptionsDialog, SearchUpdateHdl, weld::Entry&, void)
{
    m_aUpdateDataTimer.Start();
    // debug ("timer -> SearchUpdateHdl()");
}

ImplUpdateDataHdl() is called for searching:

IMPL_LINK_NOARG(OfaTreeOptionsDialog, ImplUpdateDataHdl, Timer*, void)
{
    // Pause redraw (Do not redraw at each removal
    xTreeLB->freeze();

    // Apply the search filter to the functions list
    OUString aSearchTerm(m_xSearchEdit->get_text());
    int nMatchFound = applySearchFilter(aSearchTerm);
    // debug ("nMatchFound: " << nMatchFound);

    // Resume redraw
    xTreeLB->thaw();

    if (nMatchFound != -1)
    {
        xTreeLB->select(nMatchFound);
    }
    else
    {

    }
}

applySearchFilter(aSearchTerm) function gets the word in search bar and does the search:

int OfaTreeOptionsDialog::applySearchFilter(OUString const& rSearchTerm)
{
    // debug ("applySearchFilter(), rSearchTerm text: " << rSearchTerm);

    if (rSearchTerm.isEmpty())
    {
        ClearAllOptions();
        xTreeLB->clear();
        Initialize(m_xFrame);
        return 0;
    }

    m_options.searchString = rSearchTerm;
    utl::TextSearch textSearch(m_options);

    ClearAllOptions();

    if (xTreeLB->n_children() > 0)
    {
        xTreeLB->clear();
    }

    for (std::size_t i = 0; i < aDialogIdVector.size(); ++i)
    {
        int nEntry = i;
        OUString aStr = aDialogIdVector[nEntry].first;
        sal_uInt16 aId = aDialogIdVector[nEntry].second;
        // debug ("aDialogIdVector["<< nEntry << "]: " << aStr << " : " << aId);

        sal_Int32 aStartPos = 0;
        sal_Int32 aEndPos = aStr.getLength();

        // make search
        if (!textSearch.SearchForward(aStr, &aStartPos, &aEndPos))
        {
            // debug ("not found: " << aStr << " : " << aId);
        }
        else
        {
            // debug ("found: " << aStr << " : " << aId);

            // TODO: convert allDialogIds vector to a pair to hold function pointers.
            // -> (allDialogIds[i].second)();
            switch(aId)
            {
                case SID_GENERAL_OPTIONS:
                    generalOptions();
                    break;

                case SID_FILTER_DLG:
                    loadAndSaveOptions();
                    break;

                case SID_LANGUAGE_OPTIONS:
                    languageOptions();
                    break;

                case SID_SW_EDITOPTIONS:
                    writerOptions();
                    break;

                case SID_SW_ONLINEOPTIONS:
                    writerWebOptions();
                    break;

                case SID_SC_EDITOPTIONS:
                    calcOptions();
                    break;

                case SID_SD_EDITOPTIONS:
                    impressOptions();
                    break;

                case SID_SD_GRAPHIC_OPTIONS:
                    drawOptions();
                    break;

                case SID_SM_EDITOPTIONS:
                    mathOptions();
                    break;

                case SID_SB_STARBASEOPTIONS:
                    databaseOptions();
                    break;

                case SID_SCH_EDITOPTIONS:
                    chartOptions();
                    break;

                case SID_INET_DLG:
                    internetOptions();
                    break;

                default:
                    break;
            }
        }
    }

    // if treeview is empty, return -1
    return xTreeLB->n_children() ? 0 : -1;
}

Summary

• First patchset has been submitted: https://gerrit.libreoffice.org/c/core/+/152519
• Search bar/field added to “Tools > Options” dialog.
• Search functionality implemented to Options treeview.

***

Steps for implementing search functionality in “Tools > Options”:

Additional hack:

• show modified options with some special indicator (as in KDE settings). (better to discuss this idea in a separate ticket)

***

Patch: https://gerrit.libreoffice.org/c/core/+/152519

Project Mentors: Andreas Heinisch and Heiko Tietze (Thanks for their time and guidance)

GSoC project page: https://summerofcode.withgoogle.com/programs/2023/projects/IKtSHIH1

Enhancement request on Bugzilla: https://bugs.documentfoundation.org/show_bug.cgi?id=49895

I’ll be working on “Search Field in Options” project under the mentorship of Heiko Tietze and Andreas Heinisch throughout the Google Summer of Code 2023 program.

Timeline

Project Summary

This enhancement aims to provide a search functionality for “Tools > Options”. LibreOffice is a complex application with a large and growing number of options. It is not easy to find the right needle in the haystack. Like most other complex applications, it will be valuable and useful enhancement to add a search field to the “Tools > Options” dialog that iterates over the various tabs and filters where the search text is found.

Project page: https://summerofcode.withgoogle.com/programs/2023/projects/IKtSHIH1

Enhancement request on Bugzilla: https://bugs.documentfoundation.org/show_bug.cgi?id=49895

• I’m a TDF member since October 2021.
  • https://www.documentfoundation.org/governance/members/
    
    
• You can read the mini-interview about my contributions to LibreOffice and thoughts about TDF membership - on The Document Foundation blog:
  • https://blog.documentfoundation.org/blog/2021/11/22/community-member-monday-bayram-cicek/

Exactly 1 year after first patch

One year ago this month, I sent my first patch to LibreOffice/core and announced it with a blog post titled Contributing to LibreOffice: First patch. In that day, I couldn’t imagine that I would successfully complete GSoC’21 and become a TDF member within 1 year.

Thanks to LibreOffice community, mentors and developers for their help throughout the journey. Without your help, I couldn’t do it.