Heidisql: Auto-select fitting SQL colors when switching theme

Created on 4 Dec 2018 · 17Comments · Source: HeidiSQL/HeidiSQL

Steps to reproduce this issue

Have the default theme and SQL colors activated, then switch to a dark theme
Watch out for font colors in the log panel

Current behavior

Unreadable text, due to bad fitting colors

Expected behavior

Readable text :)

Possible solution

Auto-select a dark SQL color preset when selecting a dark theme, and vice versa.
Or, gracefully ask the user if that should be done, via yes/no dialog. Similar to what PHPStorm does, see attached screen.

phpstorm-theme-switch-dark-light

Environment

HeidiSQL version:
9.5.0.5362

themes

Source

ansgarbecker

❤1

All 17 comments

After selecting a new theme, Heidi could examine its clWindow color via GetLightness, and decide whether to auto-select dark or bright SQL font colors. Also, grid text colors should be auto-selected then, although there are no predefined color sets for grid colors.

ansgarbecker on 25 Dec 2018

Ideas for theme text colors:

Maybe you could use some popular themes here : http://color-themes.com

And propose themes with background colors AND text colors.

(Personal request: That'd be great if you could include Material Theme: http://color-themes.com/?view=theme&id=5746be34333ecc1800c39714
because it's my VSCode Theme)

CharlieEtienne on 26 Dec 2018

👍1

I thought I add some color preset dropdown to Preferences > Grid formatting, where currently there is just a color selector for each data type group (numeric, text, ...). In that color preset dropdown, I should probably add the seme predefinitions as in SQL color presets: Light, Dark, Black, White. Of course I could also add some more here, like that Material theme, but my first goal is to make colors compatible to dark themes at all.

ansgarbecker on 29 Dec 2018

I have just added a color preset dropdown to the preferences dialog, in bd8cc07bc82b4d277f6db18f7857f4ece51fb789 - and forgot to mention the issue id in the log message, so here it is :)

ansgarbecker on 30 Dec 2018

👍1

By the way, if you'd like a Material theme, you could define the Pascal code colors here. The color codes are represented as integer values. Here's the definition of the current dark scheme:

  object SynSQLSyn_Dark: TSynSQLSyn
    Options.AutoDetectEnabled = False
    Options.AutoDetectLineLimit = 0
    Options.Visible = False
    CommentAttri.Foreground = 8710076
    ConditionalCommentAttri.Foreground = 8710076
    DataTypeAttri.Foreground = 11184895
    DelimitedIdentifierAttri.Foreground = 6460927
    FunctionAttri.Foreground = 15792639
    IdentifierAttri.Foreground = 6460927
    KeyAttri.Foreground = 15792639
    NumberAttri.Foreground = 4610525
    StringAttri.Foreground = 5293907
    SymbolAttri.Foreground = 15792639
    TableNameAttri.Foreground = 16755327
    VariableAttri.Foreground = clPurple
    SQLDialect = sqlMySQL
    Left = 200
    Top = 352
  end

You may be able to generate the right color codes using a converter like the one on shodor.org. You will need to exchange the blue and red parts, as the order in a Pascal color is BGR, not RGB.

ansgarbecker on 31 Dec 2018

Here it is:

  object SynSQLSyn_Dark: TSynSQLSyn
    Options.AutoDetectEnabled = False
    Options.AutoDetectLineLimit = 0
    Options.Visible = False
    CommentAttri.Foreground = 5533306
    ConditionalCommentAttri.Foreground = 7193272
    DataTypeAttri.Foreground = 13079274
    DelimitedIdentifierAttri.Foreground = 8565247
    FunctionAttri.Foreground = 12832483
    IdentifierAttri.Foreground = 8565247
    KeyAttri.Foreground = 12832483
    NumberAttri.Foreground = 16733040
    StringAttri.Foreground = 12839047
    SymbolAttri.Foreground = 8440772
    TableNameAttri.Foreground = 16217705
    VariableAttri.Foreground = 16763755
    SQLDialect = sqlMySQL
    Left = 200
    Top = 352
  end

But it is a non sense without the appropriate background color, which is 2503224.

I don't know if it is easy for you to integrate new themes (I mean global themes like Carbon) in HeidiSql, maybe I could help if it's not too complicated because I don't know Pascal.

Also I'm not sure about the BGR / RGB thing, I used this converter (shrodor one was down yesterday)...

If it happens to be the actual default dark theme colors

heidisql default theme

heidisql material theme

CharlieEtienne on 1 Jan 2019

The styles are predefined in Delphi. I never created one myself. In Delphi, under "Tools", there is a Bitmap style designer, which I guess must be used to create such .vsf files / themes. You could of course download the Community edition of Delphi and create themes with it for HeidiSQL, I would be glad if someone does that.

The crux is that these themes don't include SQL text colors, nor do they include data type colors used in HeidiSQL.

I will overtake your color definitions from above into a new SQL colors preset, and call it "Material". I guess it's nicer than my "Dark" preset, so I can also make it the default preset when switching to a dark theme.

ansgarbecker on 1 Jan 2019

Here's a documentation for that "Bitmap style designer": http://docwiki.embarcadero.com/RADStudio/XE6/en/Bitmap_Style_Designer

ansgarbecker on 3 Jan 2019

I made a material.vsf file with the Bitmap style designer tool. Of course, I couldn't test it on HeidiSQL, but it seems to work correctly with default ui components.
I'm quite new to Github (never did a PR), so I don't know how to submit you the file for review...

EDIT: I've forked, then merge a Pull Request on my side, so here is the file

CharlieEtienne on 4 Jan 2019

Also I just test material code color scheme you've included in 9.5.0.5437 and I think Red and Blue are inverted. My bad (I thought my converter was doing this for me).

Please use these codes instead:

  object SynSQLSyn_Dark: TSynSQLSyn
    Options.AutoDetectEnabled = False
    Options.AutoDetectLineLimit = 0
    Options.Visible = False
    CommentAttri.Foreground = 8023636
    ConditionalCommentAttri.Foreground = 12108397
    DataTypeAttri.Foreground = 15372999
    DelimitedIdentifierAttri.Foreground = 16757122
    FunctionAttri.Foreground = 14929603
    IdentifierAttri.Foreground = 16757122
    KeyAttri.Foreground = 14929603
    NumberAttri.Foreground = 7361535
    StringAttri.Foreground = 8906947
    SymbolAttri.Foreground = 12897152
    TableNameAttri.Foreground = 6911735
    VariableAttri.Foreground = 7064575
    SQLDialect = sqlMySQL
    Left = 200
    Top = 352
  end

CharlieEtienne on 4 Jan 2019

I just overtook your new material vcl style, and the changed colors for the SQL color preset.

Please keep further things out of this issue. Instead, better file a new one if there is an issue or if you have more to contribute.
You could also fix the material style, as I see there is no background color for menu items which the mouse just hovers.

ansgarbecker on 5 Jan 2019

I see in the latest HeidiSQL Nightly that the SQL formatting's colors are changed.

Here is a screenshot:

My settings are already set to Light:

Is there any way to get the old color scheme back? The new scheme's contrast between elements is too low for me.

igitur on 7 Jan 2019

To get the default colors, you could select the "Light" preset. For reverting to the default colors of an old Heidi version: exit Heidi, delete the values starting with "SQL Attr*" via regedit from the key HKEY_CURRENT_USER\Software\HeidiSQL. Then restart the old HeidiSQL version to load the default values. You could use the last release for it.

ansgarbecker on 7 Jan 2019

Could you possibly add the old scheme as a preset entry?

igitur on 7 Jan 2019

Hm, why not. But you should file a new issue for that.

ansgarbecker on 7 Jan 2019

@CharlieEtienne : I just modified the installer script, so it provides "Material" instead of "Carbon" as an alternative to the default Windows theme. I hope that's fine with you?

grafik