1366848 - Improve UX for Print To File on Linux

Status: NEW

(MailNews Core :: Printing, defect)

Description

[[:jberkus] Josh Berkus]

Currently the user experience for "print to file" in Thunderbird on Linux is very bad.  See below for an example story of how it's bad.  However, I'd rather focus on desired behavior so I'll list that first.

(Note that it's unclear what component this should be against.  Printing should be "Core", but it's pretty clear that TB isn't using the same print code which FF is, so it's not really Core.)

Here's the things which would make Print to File on Linux much better for users, in no particular order:

1. Enable batch Print To File for multiple emails (see bug 1115541).

2. Use a single Folder and Filename blank instead of two separate blanks.

3. Remember the user's previous Folder selection, as well as their previous Print destination.  

3.a. Alternatively, filename for printed file should populate from the subject line of the email, as it does on Mac.

4. Allow user to select a default Print To File Directory in preferences.

5. Enable Print Preview

Firefox already supports everything but (1), so all of the above should be fixable just by using the FF code.

===============

Example of broken user story:

1. User needs to print the 6 emails.

2. User clicks on email 1 in Mail and Newsgroups UI

3. User selects "print" from the "more" menu.

4. User selects "print to file" instead of the default printer.

5. User sees that the email will print to "mozilla.pdf" in the users homedir.

6. User clicks on the folder drop-down.

7. User selects "more folders" from the folder submenu

8. User navigates to their chosen folder.

9. User enters a file name to replace "mozilla.pdf".

10. User selects print.

11. Email prints to PDF.

12. User selects 2nd email.

13. All values in print dialog are reset to defaults.

14. User repeats steps 5-11 for each of the 6 emails.

15. Rougly 54 clicks later, the 6 emails are saved as PDFs.

Comment 1

[Wayne Mery (:wsmwk)]

> Firefox already supports everything but (1), so all of the above should be fixable just by using the FF code.

If that is true then it's not obvious from bug reports what if anything fixed it in the last four years. https://mzl.la/2rOCkVt

Comment 2

[Steeve McCauley]

Agree that this is a little broken in Firefox as well, even when only printing one web page.  Chrome asks for the file selection *after* clicking the final Print button, and this is far more intuitive than pre-setting the file-name for output. Print to file is equivalent to save as, and as such file selection should be done after clicking the final Print button, not before.

1. Ctrl+P (or File/Print..., etc)
2. Select Print to file (should default for subsequent uses)
3. Set output format (PDF or Postscript ... do people still use postscript output?, regardless default should be previous)
4. Click Print
5. Select output filename
6. Click Okay

this is the current approach,

1. Ctrl+P
2. Select Print to file
3. Set output format (PDF or Postscript ... do people still use postscript output?)
4. Select File
5. Select Output filename
6. Click Select
7. Click Print

Steps 2 and 3 are potentially redundant after having performed the action once so it could reduce to,

1. Ctrl+P (or File/Print..., etc)
2. Click Print
3. Select output filename (use previous output folder)
4. Click Okay

Comment 3

[[:jberkus] Josh Berkus]

Steve,

Yes, that would be ideal.