Setup : patch dialogs resize in wrong areas for "large fonts"

Setup : patch dialogs resize in wrong areas for "large fonts" by aaronbertrand

Active

Type:	Bug
ID:	402978
Opened:	1/20/2009 9:05:52 PM
Access Restriction:	Public

Workaround(s)

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User(s) can reproduce this bug

Over time it becomes more and more apparent that GUIs are not tested in all possible configurations. I know this can be a tall order but dialogs should be relatively usable in both regular and "large fonts" settings included with Windows. In this case, the cumulative update dialogs for SQL Server 2008 display lots of white space while the panel that shows the features to be upgraded is barely visible. Sure the dialog can be resized and this panel adjusts, but the panel is the most important part and should be a fixed size.

Details (expand)

English

SQL Server 2008 - Developer Edition

Setup

Windows Server 2008

US English

Change your Windows setting to large fonts (or a larger DPI than the standard setting). This happens to be Server 2008 R2 x64 on a MacBook Pro, and in Control Panel / Display, under "Make it easier to read what's on your screen", I have moved the slider to 125%. (I do this because I use this laptop for presenting.)

Run the cumulative update package 3 for SQL Server 2008.

On the "Select Features" screen, note the panel that holds the instances/features to upgrade.

See attached, or:

http://www.aaronbertrand.com/voodoo/patch_ss1.png

Reclaim all of that space between the task list and the panel in question, and give the panel a larger default size, so that I don't have to resize the panel or scroll like crazy to try and understand what features I am about to affect.

X64

File Name	Submitted By	Submitted On	File Size
patch_ss1.PNG (restricted)	aaronbertrand	1/20/2009	-

Posted by aaronbertrand on 8/14/2009 at 3:22 PM

Thanks Byungho, yes that is obviously a required workaround, but why is a workaround required? The layout is just atrocious.

Posted by Microsoft on 8/3/2009 at 11:00 AM

Thanks for your response. One workaround for this issue is simply enlarging the setup windows. Can you try it and see if this satisfy your need?

Byungho Lee

Posted by Rob Farley on 8/2/2009 at 8:37 PM

This definitely needs fixing... I know more and more people who are using Large Fonts, as they enjoy 1600 pixels wide, but want to be able to read stuff more easily.

Posted by aaronbertrand on 7/27/2009 at 9:52 AM

To give more context to the problem, Windows offers Large Fonts and a lot of users choose this setting (usually for accessibility issues). As such, it should be a staple in the test suite of any product that is released for Windows. In this case, a lot of people will come across a dialog like this one as one of their very first experiences with SQL Server, and it leaves a feeling of the setup program being unpolished, unfinished and untested. That does not bode well for a first impression of the product as a whole.

Personally, I use Large Fonts on presentation-use VMs so that users at the back of the room don't have to squint to see the text on menu items, windows titles, status bars etc. This setting helps quite a bit, especially when running on projectors that have a limited set of resolutions / screen sizes to choose from.

I have several colleagues who use this setting in their everyday work. I would use Large Fonts on my primary workstation if my vision was worse, and I'm sure I will be there before too long.

Posted by aaronbertrand on 7/25/2009 at 9:48 PM

So, what does "Won't fix" mean?

- don't want to fix
- can't figure out how to fix
- don't think users with "Large Fonts" are important enough to have a smooth user experience
- something else?

I'm not sure why these dialogs can't be designed with Large Fonts users in mind. You guys put out the operating system; can't setup be tested in multiple possible configurations?

Posted by Microsoft on 1/22/2009 at 12:32 PM

Aaron -

We are looking into this issue; look for an update in a few days.

Thanks,

Amy Lewis