Feature: Dark Mode text colors unreadable, and a single set of colors doesn't work well in both modes

[pkbott]

Dark mode makes text unreadable

I have been using this program for years and have the default colors for groupings of music (patter, singers, etc.). With the advent of dark mode and updating today the text is not readable for song titles. Is there a way to have two sets of color choices one for dark and another for light modes? If there was a default change in colors in the program that changed as you moved into dark mode they were not changed for me when I updated from a beta (0.9 I think). If this is just me, what are the new colors for the 4 sections as I like dark mode but need colors that work for both light/dark.

[mpogue2]

Can you post (or send me) a screenshot of dark mode on your system? It should look like this (which are colors that work OK, but not perfectly, in both modes).

We don't currently have a way to have 2 sets of colors, one for light mode and one for dark mode, but that's a good idea!

Right now, Light and Dark Modes are very separate (requiring a restart of the whole app to switch). Eventually, the Dark Mode layout (with the multiple playlists, etc.) will have a way to turn on Light colors that doesn't involve a restart (and could even automatically switch based on time-of-day, for example, like some Apple apps do), but I don't have a graphical design for that New Light Mode yet. I could definitely use help in choosing the colors for all the controls, etc. if you're up for it!

Is your use case that you switch back and forth between Light and Dark based on time-of-day, for example?

[pkbott]

No I had an old version of a beta and finally upgraded. I have a vision issue too which makes it harder for me to see certain colors especially dark mode. Will send a screenshot later. 

[mpogue2]

Ah got it...I'd love to get your help in figuring out new Light Mode colors using the Dark Mode layout. It sounds like that approach might work better for you....

[pkbott]

Here are some screenshots of the dark mode and default options. The patter and singing call ones are the worst as I can't really read that text well at all. The others are much better with white being the best.

[pkbott]

Also when I went to dark mode from light mode I am now running TWO versions of the program both the newest version though.

[pkbott]

This is what is causing me to crash at this point (switching from light to dark mode). Only fix is a force quit and a restart at this point. Guessing I have corruption somewhere on the switch.

[mpogue2]

Ah I see! Those definitely are not the default colors for dark mode, and yeah those are super hard to read... :-)

These are the default colors for dark mode, can you read these OK?

[mpogue2]

By the way, I do not recommend running two copies at the same time...weird things will happen if you try to use both. I don't yet have a way to prohibit doing this, but if you do have them both running at the same time, only use one of them, and don't use the other one! Otherwise, the database that keeps track of pitch, tempo, etc. can get messed up...

[pkbott]

Yes I can read those, how to I get them?

[pkbott]

When I switch from dark to light I always get two versions. Not sure how to stop that from happening.

[mpogue2]

RESETTING COLORS TO DEFAULT:

1. To get the default colors, go to the Preferences dialog, Music tab.
2. Then, click on a colored square.
3. NOTE: BE SURE TO write down the three RGB color values on a piece of paper, so you can always restore them, if you want to. There is only one set of colors, used for both Light and Dark modes, as you've pointed out! So, if you want to put back the current colors, you'll have to write those down manually.
4. Change each color in turn to #FFFFFF, or set all the sliders for each color to 255. That should change each color back to its default color.
5. Click OK, and everything should refresh to the new color scheme. Personally, I think that the new color scheme works OK in both Light and Dark modes, but check it out and let me know what you think...

CRASH ON DARK TO LIGHT:

1. It's supposed to shutdown the Dark Mode SquareDesk and start up a Light Mode SquareDesk.
2. I don't see a crash here, in this case, but Dark->Light it closes Dark but does NOT open up Light (that's a bug). You're getting two versions because it is not closing Dark correctly. I have the opposite problem, it's not opening Light. I'll open a bug on this.
3. Going from Light->Dark, it works properly here.

What version of MacOS are you running? That might be a difference that matters. I'm running Sonoma 14.5 here.

[pkbott]

Running the same OS as you. More playing and the switch to dark is fine but the switch back is the issue that hangs and requires a restart to resolve. After I restart I will try the color switch.

[pkbott]

OK, the colors are ok when all switched back to default. A bit harder to read for me and my vision issue but ok so I wouldn't worry about that. Still having issues switching between dark and light modes though. With my eye condition and working different events indoors and outdoors I will need to either pick the light version and readjust my default colors like I must have at one point. I like the dark mode but not the colors especially if outdoors and using the same colors on both doesn't really work if it is really bright out (due to my eye condition). The best would be choosing different colors for each mode in my opinion.

[pkbott]

Running the same OS as you. More playing and the switch to dark is fine but the switch back is the issue that hangs and requires a restart to resolve. After I restart I will try the color switch.

This problem never closes one version for me yet opens the other keeping a dark and a light version running at the same time. If I force quit them I still have issues unless I restart my machine and then all Is fine if I leave it in either mode.

[mpogue2]

NOTE: The "got two copies of SquareDesk" problem is now fixed, as part of #1132.

[mpogue2]

Leaving this one open, because it's a good feature request. Changing the title field to "Feature:" accordingly.