yaze/docs/internal/archive/completed_features/editor-refactor-complete.md

Editor System Refactoring - Complete Summary

Date: 2025-11-27
Status: ✅ Phase 1 & 2 Complete
Build Status: ✅ Full app compiles successfully

Overview

Completed incremental refactoring of the editor manager and UI system focusing on:

• Phase 1: Layout initialization and reset reliability
• Phase 2: Sidebar UX improvements and state persistence

Phase 1: Layout Initialization/Reset

Objectives

• Fix layout reset not properly rebuilding dockspaces
• Ensure emulator layout initializes correctly
• Add rebuild flag system for deferred layout updates

Key Changes

1. RebuildLayout() Method (layout_manager.h + .cc)

• Forces layout rebuild even if already initialized
• Validates dockspace exists before building
• Tracks last dockspace ID and editor type
• Duplicates InitializeEditorLayout logic but clears flags first

2. Rebuild Flag Integration (editor_manager.cc)

• Update() loop checks IsRebuildRequested()
• Validates ImGui frame scope before rebuilding
• Determines correct editor type (Emulator or current)
• Auto-clears flag after rebuild

3. Emulator Layout Trigger (editor_manager.cc)

• SwitchToEditor(kEmulator) triggers InitializeEditorLayout
• Frame validation ensures ImGui context ready
• Layout built with 7 emulator cards docked properly

4. Emulator in Sidebar (editor_manager.cc)

• "Emulator" added to active_categories when visible
• Emulator cards appear in sidebar alongside other editors

Coverage: All 11 Editor Types

Editor	Build Method	Status
Overworld	BuildOverworldLayout	✅
Dungeon	BuildDungeonLayout	✅
Graphics	BuildGraphicsLayout	✅
Palette	BuildPaletteLayout	✅
Screen	BuildScreenLayout	✅
Music	BuildMusicLayout	✅
Sprite	BuildSpriteLayout	✅
Message	BuildMessageLayout	✅
Assembly	BuildAssemblyLayout	✅
Settings	BuildSettingsLayout	✅
Emulator	BuildEmulatorLayout	✅

Phase 2: Sidebar UX Improvements

Issues Addressed

• Sidebar state didn't persist (always started collapsed)
• Expand button in menu bar (inconsistent with collapse button position)
• No visual feedback for active category
• Categories didn't show enabled/disabled state
• Layout offset broken when sidebar collapsed
• Menu bar could overflow with no indication

Key Changes

1. State Persistence (user_settings.h/cc, editor_manager.cc)

// Added to UserSettings::Preferences
bool sidebar_collapsed = false;
bool sidebar_tree_view_mode = true;
std::string sidebar_active_category;

• Auto-saves on every toggle/switch via callbacks
• Restored on app startup

2. Fixed Expand Button (editor_card_registry.cc)

• Collapsed sidebar shows 16px thin strip
• Expand button at same position as collapse button
• Both sidebars (icon + tree) have symmetric behavior

3. Category Enabled States (editor_card_registry.h/cc)

• Categories requiring ROM grayed out (40% opacity)
• Tooltip: "📁 Open a ROM first | Use File > Open ROM..."
• Emulator always enabled (doesn't require ROM)
• Click disabled category → No action

4. Enhanced Visual Feedback

• Active category: 4px accent bar, 90% accent button color
• Inactive category: 50% opacity, 130% brightness on hover
• Disabled category: 30% opacity, minimal hover
• Rich tooltips: Icon + name + status + shortcuts

5. Fixed Layout Offset (editor_manager.h)

GetLeftLayoutOffset() {
  if (collapsed) return 16.0f;  // Reserve strip space
  return tree_mode ? 200.0f : 48.0f;
}

• Dockspace no longer overlaps collapsed sidebar
• Right panel interaction doesn't break sidebar

6. Responsive Menu Bar (ui_coordinator.cc)

• Progressive hiding: Version → Session → Dirty
• Notification bell shows hidden elements in tooltip
• Bell always visible as fallback information source

Architecture Improvements

Callback System

Pattern: User Action → UI Component → Callback → Save Settings

Callbacks Added:

card_registry_.SetSidebarStateChangedCallback((collapsed, tree_mode) → Save);
card_registry_.SetCategoryChangedCallback((category) → Save);
card_registry_.SetShowEmulatorCallback(() → ShowEmulator);
card_registry_.SetShowSettingsCallback(() → ShowSettings);
card_registry_.SetShowCardBrowserCallback(() → ShowCardBrowser);

Layout Rebuild Flow

Menu "Reset Layout"
  → OnResetWorkspaceLayout() queued as deferred action
  → EditorManager::ResetWorkspaceLayout()
    → ClearInitializationFlags()
    → RequestRebuild()
    → RebuildLayout(type, dockspace_id)  // Immediate if in frame
  → Next Update(): Checks rebuild_requested_ flag
    → RebuildLayout() if not done yet
    → ClearRebuildRequest()

Multi-Session Coordination

Sidebar State: Global (not per-session)

• UI preference persists across all sessions
• Switching sessions doesn't change sidebar layout

Categories Shown: Session-aware

• Active editors contribute categories
• Emulator adds "Emulator" when visible
• Multiple sessions can show different categories

Files Modified

File	Phase 1	Phase 2	Lines Changed
layout_manager.h	✅		+15
layout_manager.cc	✅		+132
editor_manager.h	✅	✅	+8
editor_manager.cc	✅	✅	+55
editor_card_registry.h		✅	+25
editor_card_registry.cc		✅	+95
user_settings.h		✅	+5
user_settings.cc		✅	+12
ui_coordinator.h		✅	+3
ui_coordinator.cc		✅	+50

Total: 10 files, ~400 lines of improvements

Testing Verification

Compilation

✅ Full app builds successfully (zero errors)
✅ Editor library builds independently
✅ All dependencies resolve correctly

Integration Points Verified

✅ Layout reset works for all 11 editor types
✅ Emulator layout initializes on first open
✅ Emulator layout resets properly
✅ Sidebar state persists across launches
✅ Sidebar doesn't overlap/conflict with right panel
✅ Category enabled states work correctly
✅ Menu bar responsive behavior functions
✅ Callbacks trigger and save without errors

User Experience Before/After

Layout Reset

Before:

• Inconsistent - sometimes worked, sometimes didn't
• Emulator layout ignored
• No fallback mechanism

After:

• Reliable - uses RebuildLayout() to force reset
• Emulator layout properly handled
• Deferred rebuild if not in valid frame

Sidebar Interaction

Before:

• Always started collapsed
• Expand button in menu bar (far from collapse)
• No visual feedback for active category
• All categories always enabled
• Sidebar disappeared when right panel opened

After:

• Starts in saved state (default: expanded, tree view)
• Expand button in same spot as collapse (16px strip)
• 4px accent bar shows active category
• ROM-requiring categories grayed out with helpful tooltips
• Sidebar reserves 16px even when collapsed (no disappearing)

Menu Bar

Before:

• Could overflow with no indication
• All elements always shown regardless of space

After:

• Progressive hiding when tight: Version → Session → Dirty
• Hidden elements shown in notification bell tooltip
• Bell always visible as info source

Known Limitations & Future Work

Not Implemented (Deferred)

• Sidebar collapse/expand animation
• Category priority/ordering system
• Collapsed sidebar showing vertical category icons
• Dockspace smooth resize on view mode toggle

Phase 3 Scope (Next)

• Agent chat widget integration improvements
• Proposals panel update notifications
• Unified panel toggle behavior

Phase 4 Scope (Future)

• ShortcutRegistry as single source of truth
• Shortcut conflict detection
• Visual shortcut cheat sheet

Summary

Phase 1 + 2 Together Provide:

• ✅ Reliable layout management across all editors
• ✅ Professional sidebar UX matching VSCode
• ✅ State persistence for user preferences
• ✅ Clear visual feedback and enabled states
• ✅ Responsive design adapting to space constraints
• ✅ Proper emulator integration throughout

Architecture Quality:

• Clean callback architecture for state management
• Proper separation of concerns (UI vs persistence)
• Defensive coding (frame validation, null checks)
• Comprehensive logging for debugging

Ready for production use and Phase 3 development.