Bug 118931

Summary: smaller font for quoted text not useful with fixed width fonts
Product: [Applications] kmail2 Reporter: Christian Boltz <kde-bugs>
Component: UIAssignee: kdepim bugs <kdepim-bugs>
Status: REOPENED ---    
Severity: wishlist CC: kde, kollix
Priority: NOR    
Version: 4.8.5   
Target Milestone: ---   
Platform: openSUSE   
OS: Linux   
Latest Commit: Version Fixed In:
Sentry Crash Report:

Description Christian Boltz 2005-12-24 00:03:50 UTC 
Version:           1.9.1 (using KDE KDE 3.5.0)
Installed from:    SuSE RPMs

In KMail 1.9.1 / KDE 3.5 you introduced the feature "Use smaller font for quoted text".

While this is a good idea for proportional fonts, it breaks several things when using fixed width font.
For example, if you "underline" something in a quoted text, the "underlining" is not displayed at the correct place because of the different font sizes / width.

Example:
| > Here's a text that is very important.
|                         ^^^^^^^^^^^^^^

With different font sizes, it looks this way:
| > Here's a text that is very important.
|                                     ^^^^^^^^^^^^^^

As you can see, it's impossible to tell what was underlined.

Please change that feature - it should only be used when not using fixed width fonts.
Comment 1 Janek Bevendorff 2012-08-18 12:41:30 UTC 
This is not only an issue with fixed-width fonts, but with all fonts. It just might not be so obvious on proportional fonts.

In KMail2 you can turn off that feature in the settings if you don't like it. But if you turn it on, you have to be aware of that.
There is just no way to have smaller font sizes for quotations, but still preserve ASCII formatting that way. It is simply not possible.
Comment 2 Christian Boltz 2012-08-18 17:13:36 UTC 
(In reply to comment #1)
> In KMail2 you can turn off that feature in the settings if you don't like
> it. But if you turn it on, you have to be aware of that.

I know it's a config option.

> There is just no way to have smaller font sizes for quotations, but still
> preserve ASCII formatting that way. It is simply not possible.

I know, but please read the bugreport again ;-)

Short summary:This feature is only useful for proportional width fonts, and should be ignored for fixed fonts.

Expected behaviour IMHO (always assuming it's enabled in the config):
a) use smaller font size for quotes when proportional font is used
b) do _not_ use smaller font size if I switch to a fixed width font [1] (which I typically do to see what is "underlined" with ^^^^^^^^^^^^)
c) use smaller font size again after switching back to proportional font

[1] menu view - fixed character width / in german: Ansicht - Feste Zeichenbreite
Comment 3 Janek Bevendorff 2012-08-18 17:29:40 UTC 
I would still consider this a WONTFIX or INVALID.
When you configure your KMail to use a smaller font size for quotations you shouldn't be surprised if ASCII formatting looks somehow different.

For underlining things use pseudo markup like _this is underlined_. Most MUAs (including KMail) display that as underlined text.
If you want to use ASCII formatting, though, you should just disable that option.
Comment 4 Christian Boltz 2012-08-19 11:49:47 UTC 
What about splitting the config option?

[x] use smaller text for quoted text when using proportional fonts
[ ] use smaller text for quoted text when using fixed-width fonts

(and IMHO only the first one should be enabled by default)