Tags panel issues

Ken8 · February 13, 2021, 3:06am

I am using Mac OS 10.15.

I have a big problem with the tags and spent 2 hours online trying to get the answer, no luck.

I have just started using SketchUp Pro 2021, I have been using an older free desk top version until now. The problems that I am having are when I select a tag a very dark purple color highlights that tag information and it can not be read because everything is blacked out by the very very dark purple highlight. I want to and need to change that to a very light highlight but can not find any controls for that?

Also, I would like to modify the default spacing of the columns within the tags panel. The name column is way to small and the dash and color columns are way too big.

I can not find anything anywhere in SketchUp or online for those problems. Thank you.

colin · February 17, 2021, 9:53pm

SketchUp uses the Accent color you have set in System Preferences. Unfortunately, none of those are especially light. You could check there to make sure you haven’t set it to be one of the extra dark ones.

slbaumgartner · February 13, 2021, 2:10pm

True, but the real problem is not just the accent color, it is the use of black text against that background. Compare, for example, the system preferences panel you show, on which the text is white and shows up fine.

Edit: this is clearly a programming choice. Compare the when-selected appearance of the Name column vs the Dashes column:

Screen Shot 2021-02-13 at 8.44.19 AM

Ken8 · February 13, 2021, 2:05pm

Thank you. I can see now. I just needed to be pointed in the right direction.

jean_lemire_1 · February 13, 2021, 2:53pm

HI folks.

There is a glitch in SU 2021 on Mac. If you open the Outliner Window and select an item, it is shown with White Text on a Dark Blue Background. If you open the Tag Window and select an item it is shown with Black Text on a Dark Blue Background. This is for the Name Column. Notice that in the Dashes Column, it is shown with White Text against a Dark Blue Background. This is inconsistent.

The result should be uniform all over, namely White Text on a Dark Blue Background. This is much easier to read than Black Text on any Dark Colour.

monospaced · February 13, 2021, 3:08pm

The unfortunate part is that sketchup incorrectly overlays black, overriding the macOS convention and causing this issue.

This is once again a legit problem and should be fixed in the next release. It is a big usability infraction.

colin · February 13, 2021, 3:17pm

@kathy_davies is someone who cares a lot about these sorts of things. Not to say that us non-designers don’t care too!

monospaced · February 14, 2021, 11:48am

The whole sketchup team should care. This is an accessibility issue not just aesthetics.

colin · February 14, 2021, 3:18pm

Good point, thanks.

kathy_davies · February 15, 2021, 8:29pm

@Ken8, @monospaced @colin - thanks for bringing this to our attention. This is indeed an accessibility issue, and it looks like we have a clash with OS default settings. I will log this as an issue and get it on the product team radar. You’re right - all of SketchUp should and does care.

jmacproj · February 17, 2021, 9:30pm

I hope this issue is resolved via an update before my classic license maintenance and support expires on March 22. It’s little aggravating issues like this that make using SketchUp a lot less user friendly than it should be. It might be too much to ask, but if there is any way for us classic license users to still get access to these types of fixes after our maintenance contract expires, other than biting the subscription bullet?

Gitwood73 · February 18, 2021, 6:26pm

Has anyone figured this out yet? I tried finding a solution to this a few years ago, but there didn’t seem to be a solution. I still have to stretch the name column every single time a scene is changed. Very annoying, as the most important thing to me is the name of the tag, not the line column.

gmashee · February 19, 2021, 2:11pm

SKP is weird in its inconsistencies.

I am on an iMac PRO, 10.15.7 (Catalina) and tried to emulate your results above. When I first open a SKP file, I have TAGS that are highlighted in grey, with Black text. AND Outliner is BLUE backgrounds with BLACK text. Its not until I make a new TAG, that all the tags now highlight in the BLUE background, with White text. Even though my accent color is set to the BLUE. …hmmmmmm?

I agree the standard default size of the TAG name column should hold its setting once the user changes its width, but as with all things SKP, we don’t always get what we want, nor do we understand the reluctance for the developers to remedy this.