Sqlitebrowser: Dark theme in OSX breaks look&feel and text boxes

[ImOnALampshade]

Dark theme in OSX breaks look&feel.

White text boxes also have white text in them, making the app basically unusable.

Details for the issue

What did you do?

Installed & ran app for first time

What did you expect to see?

The screenshot on https://sqlitebrowser.org/

What did you see instead?

Useful extra information

The info below often helps, please fill it out if you're able to. :)

What operating system are you using?

• [ ] Windows: ( _version:_ ___ )
• [ ] Linux: ( _distro:_ ___ )
• [x] Mac OS: ( _version: 10.14.3)
• [ ] Other: ___

What is your DB4S version?

• [x] 3.11.1
• [ ] 3.11.0
• [ ] 3.10.1
• [ ] Other: ___

Did you also

• [x] Try out the latest nightly version: https://github.com/sqlitebrowser/sqlitebrowser#nightly-builds
• [x] Search for an existing similar issue: https://github.com/sqlitebrowser/sqlitebrowser/issues?utf8=%E2%9C%93&q=is%3Aissue%20

[chrda81]

Running into the same issue 5 min ago. Thanks for posting @ImOnALampshade

[justinclift]

Yeah, it's a known issue on both MacOS and Windows, that doesn't (yet) seem to have a fix because the GUI toolkit we use (Qt) doesn't yet handle dark mode properly on those platforms. :frowning:

We have an issue tracking it here: #1493

One potential avenue (for us) would be to recompile the application using Qt 5.12.1 (the very latest release), as things are a bit better there. However that release of Qt has another showstopper bug (#1658) stopping us using it. If/when they fix that, we'd be able to recompile using that, and it'd be a bit better. Still not perfect though... we really need Qt to get "full" dark theme support happening.

The only way I know of getting the application to work on MacOS Mojave... is to turn off Dark mode while using it. And yeah, that's pretty terrible. :frowning:

Open to suggestions though, just in case we've missed something that would help. :smile:

[gerwinbrunner]

Had the same issue

[gerwinbrunner]

Is there a way to switch to the regular theme in the app?

[justinclift]

I wish. From what I can tell, you need to switch off Dark mode in the mojave System Preferences. eg for all applications. As that's what Qt checks and picks up on. :frowning:

Someone with deeper Qt or macOS knowledge may know of a workaround, it's just (so far) that's the best we know.

[mgrojo]

Wow, this is highly expected and highly broken (except in Linux).

One solution would be to link using Qt 5.12 and work around #1658 by disabling word wrapping.

Another is to use a dark stylesheet and give a preference option:

• Follow desktop
• Dark style

I'm testing with https://github.com/ColinDuquesnoy/QDarkStyleSheet

It isn't perfect, but probably better than what Qt currently does for macOS and Windows.

@justinclift Could we use ColinDuquesnoy/QDarkStyleSheet? Are the licenses compatible?

[justinclift]

Could we use ColinDuquesnoy/QDarkStyleSheet?

We could probably try it out in an experimental branch + build to see if it improves things.

Looking at that project's README.md, it has C++ code for enabling it:

QFile f(":qdarkstyle/style.qss");
if (!f.exists())
{
    printf("Unable to set stylesheet, file not found\n");
}
else
{
    f.open(QFile::ReadOnly | QFile::Text);
    QTextStream ts(&f);
    qApp->setStyleSheet(ts.readAll());
}

Ideally we'd be able to dynamically switch between using that style sheet (for dark mode), and the standard one (for normal mode). But if dynamic isn't possible, we could just make two macOS builds, one for dark mode and one for normal.

Are the licenses compatible?

That project is MIT licensed, which is compatible with everything. :smile:

[justinclift]

One solution would be to link using Qt 5.12 and work around #1658 by disabling word wrapping.

Yep. I'm ok to create new builds for people to experiment with, if that would help. :smile:

[mgrojo]

Yep. I'm ok to create new builds for people to experiment with, if that would help. :smile:

In my last commit I've disabled word wrapping when the Qt version is greater or equal than 5.12.0. This would allow us compiling with Qt without stumbling upon #1658 but without losing word wrapping in unaffected versions. So if we change to Qt 5.12.1, at least for macOS, the macOS dark mode support will be improved. But we have to take into account that https://bugreports.qt.io/browse/QTBUG-71020 is still unresolved, as we've already seen in https://github.com/sqlitebrowser/sqlitebrowser/issues/1493#issuecomment-464075616.

[justinclift]

Thanks @mgrojo, I'll make a new build from the master branch using Qt 5.12.1 in our Mojave VM, so people can test it.

Should we experiment with that QDarkStyleSheet thing too?

[justinclift]

New build is in progress. I don't yet have a good idea of how long builds on that VM take, though I know it's pretty slow. Could take around an hour, but not sure.

[justinclift]

@ImOnALampshade @chrda81 @gerwinbrunner @b2397 @matpag @Raistlfiren @spig @jonathanlmarsh Here's a first build using Qt 5.12.1, which should make Dark Mode support a bit better:

• https://nightlies.sqlitebrowser.org/osx-onceoffs/DB%20Browser%20for%20SQLite-sqlcipher_issue1751v1.dmg

With that... what do you reckon?

Note for future use - Seems to take just under 40 mins to create builds on the new Mojave VM. So, can create new builds for future tests without tooooo much delay. :smile:

[ImOnALampshade]

This looks much better and fixes the white-on-white text that made it unusable for me when I first installed. So, at least I'm able to do what I needed to.

There's still a couple rough areas - here are screenshots:

Button elements have black text on a dark grey background:

The text editor is a white theme, which is fine, but the background of areas with no text is dark grey:

[justinclift]

Thanks @ImOnALampshade. Looks like we're heading in the right direction. Next step, we'll probably investigate that QDarkStyleSheet when @mgrojo has some time to look. Hopefully in the next day(s). :smile:

[Nosferican]

What's the solution for downgrading in the meanwhile?

[justinclift]

Hmmm, just found something weird. The previous release (3.10.1) works ok. It's not in dark mode, but at least all of the elements are readable and usable.

@mgrojo Any idea why 3.10.1 works ok on Mojave - it just looks like a Light mode application - but 3.11.1 doesn't?

If we can just get 3.11.1 to do the same thing (eg work as if it's light mode), that's probably workable for now.

[justinclift]

Still getting reports (via Twitter) of the breakage on macOS. Seems to be affecting quite a few people. :frowning:

To hopefully reduce the number of Mojave users hit by this problem, I've added a note to the 3.11.1 blog post, right near the top in a fairly obvious spot:

Note 2 - If you’re using Dark Mode on macOS Mojave, Do Not download
this release. Dark Mode support is broken (badly) on MacOS. It should
(hopefully) be fixed in the next point release.

That should be pretty clear. :smile:

[onen5]

Hit this today. Luckily rolling back to 3.11.0 is safe.

[mgrojo]

@justinclift

@mgrojo Any idea why 3.10.1 works ok on Mojave - it just looks like a Light mode application - but 3.11.1 doesn't?

Maybe the older Qt version probably used in 3.10.1 did not even try to follow the macOS theme settings?

Should we experiment with that QDarkStyleSheet thing too?

I'm looking at it, but there are some places where the style sheet is eclipsing our own colour specifications. Don't know why. I can push a branch if experimenting in macOS is welcome.

@ImOnALampshade

The text editor is a white theme, which is fine, but the background of areas with no text is dark grey:

It seems the kind of problem that at least could be solved by Restoring Defaults (under Preferences), if the Qt bug isn't inteferring, at least.

[justinclift]

I can push a branch if experimenting in macOS is welcome.

Yes, definitely. :smile:

I'll probably try a build with the same Qt version as our 3.10.1 release too. If it's as simple as just needing to compile with that, then that's an easy win. :smile:

[mgrojo]

I've pushed the dark stylesheet changes to the qdarkstyle branch.

[jsejcksn]

Just installed for the first time—this seems incredibly unfortunate, and I'm sorry you guys got bit by this. Here's a fix for anyone who doesn't want to downgrade or run a beta:

1. Quit the app.

2. Run the following terminal command:

defaults write net.sourceforge.sqlitebrowser NSRequiresAquaSystemAppearance -bool true

This will force the app to run in the light theme even if Dark is selected in System Preferences > General > Appearance.

To revert the previous command (and allow the app to follow the Appearance mode set in System Preferences):

1. Quit the app

2. Run the following terminal command:

defaults delete net.sourceforge.sqlitebrowser NSRequiresAquaSystemAppearance

@justinclift If you want to push an updated release for macOS before things are sorted with Qt, just set this key in the app's Info.plist file. See the section entitled Opt Out of Dark Mode at the bottom of Choosing a Specific Appearance for Your App.

[justinclift]

@jsejcksn Oh wow, that looks like exactly the thing we need. I'll try that in a Mojave VM shortly, and if it works well (which it seems like it should) I'll rebuild our macOS binaries with it (the updated .plist).

@mgrojo Thanks heaps. Will build a new test binaries using that branch, but probably tomorrow more than today. Feeling burnt out atm, and want to take some time out after getting the above build test done. :smile:

[justinclift]

Manually adding that key (with value of true) to Contents/Info.plist in the .app works, with the application always starting up with it's light mode theme. No weird zebra effect.

I'll regenerate our macOS installer with that now...

[justinclift]

Just to be extra careful :wink:, I've instead rebuilt todays automatic nightly build for macOS first (with this forced light mode .plist entry). Yep, it's definitely working. For anyone else that wants to try it:

• https://nightlies.sqlitebrowser.org/latest/DB.Browser.for.SQLite-sqlcipher.dmg

Should be safe to do a 3.11.1 rebuild, so getting that done now.

[justinclift]

New build here, which works for me in testing on both macOS High Sierra and Mojave:

• https://nightlies.sqlitebrowser.org/osx-prerelease/DB.Browser.for.SQLite-3.11.1v2.dmg
  
  
  
  • SHA256: b0ee5b73b9c6305de79640f651ba59edd32c6a94c2245a2bda01ae8091a69b48
  
  

I'll update our various download locations (etc) with it over the next few hours. :smile:

[ImOnALampshade]

I just installed the build you posted (in your last comment, 7 minutes ago), and is this intended behavior? When looking at table data, I only see text from the highlighted cell. All of the builds posted above have this issue.

[jsejcksn]

Looks good to me:

I downloaded from

• page: https://github.com/sqlitebrowser/sqlitebrowser/releases/tag/v3.11.1

• direct link: https://github.com/sqlitebrowser/sqlitebrowser/releases/download/v3.11.1/DB.Browser.for.SQLite-3.11.1v2.dmg

• verified SHA256SUM: b0ee5b73b9c6305de79640f651ba59edd32c6a94c2245a2bda01ae8091a69b48

@ImOnALampshade Same checksum or different? (verify in terminal with shasum -a 256 /path/to/file.dmg)

[ImOnALampshade]

Negative, same checksum. I tried re-installing, and then re-downloading from the link you posted then re-installing again, and still see the same thing I posted.

[ImOnALampshade]

The problem was in my preferences - The color was set to white in the data browser. It must have carried over from an older version I had installed.

[justinclift]

The download pieces here on GitHub, and on our download cluster, have been updated with the v2 binary for macOS. Also updated the links on the download page and 3.11.1 release notes on the main website.

Just for good measure, also created a new blog entry about the rebuilt binary:

    https://sqlitebrowser.org/blog/macos-installer-rebuilt-for-3-11-1/

... and make a Tweet about it:

    https://twitter.com/sqlitebrowser/status/1099251781199003648

That should do for now. :smile:

[justinclift]

The problem was in my preferences - The color was set to white in the data browser.

*Whew*

Just came here and read that after focusing on getting the rebuilt stuff released. Nearly had a heart attack! :scream:

[mgrojo]

@justinclift The branch qdarkstyle is ready for testing in all platforms.

[justinclift]

Oops, thanks for the reminder @mgrojo. I'll get some builds created in a few hours (need to get some other stuff done today). :smile:

[justinclift]

Whos, completely forgot to get this done. I'll get it started now. :smile:

Going with a macOS build first...

[justinclift]

The build itself seemed to work ok, but not really noticing anything different in the look?

• https://nightlies.sqlitebrowser.org/osx-onceoffs/DB%20Browser%20for%20SQLite_issue1751v2.dmg
• https://nightlies.sqlitebrowser.org/osx-onceoffs/DB%20Browser%20for%20SQLite-sqlcipher_issue1751v2.dmg

The build was done on macOS Mojave (needed for the dark mode stuff to be compiled in) + Qt 5.12.1.

• Also did the "Reset Preferences" thing via the button in our Preferences diaog. No change.
• Also manually deleted all preference and saved state files (with DB4S not running), then ran it again. No change.

Is there something else I should be trying? :smile:

[mgrojo]

Is there something else I should be trying? :smile:

Yes, sorry I forgot to mention the details. You have to change the new preference setting from the default (Follow deskto style) to "Dark style".

You have to get this:

[justinclift]

Oh yeah... with that option set, it does look a lot better:

Looking at the project page for this Dark Style approach, it seems to have been around for several years now. Guessing that means it doesn't require Qt 5.12.x.

I'll make a build with Qt 5.11.x after our nightlies finish building (they're happening atm), and see if that works ok too. With Qt 5.11.x we can avoid the word wrapping issue until the Qt project people have figured out a complete fix. :smile:

[justinclift]

The build with Qt 5.11.3 looks identical, so this seems like a win. :smile:

• https://nightlies.sqlitebrowser.org/osx-onceoffs/DB%20Browser%20for%20SQLite_issue1751v3.dmg
• https://nightlies.sqlitebrowser.org/osx-onceoffs/DB%20Browser%20for%20SQLite-sqlcipher_issue1751v3.dmg

Next step, compiling it on Win64...

[justinclift]

Win64 build looks good too:

• https://nightlies.sqlitebrowser.org/win64-onceoffs/DB.Browser.for.SQLite-issue1751v3-win64.msi
• https://nightlies.sqlitebrowser.org/win64-onceoffs/DB.Browser.for.SQLite-issue1751v3-win64.zip

@mgrojo Reckon it's good enough to merge into master, for wider testing? :smile:

[mgrojo]

@mgrojo Reckon it's good enough to merge into master, for wider testing? :smile:

Yes, I'll merge it in a moment.

[mgrojo]

Should we include a copy of https://github.com/ColinDuquesnoy/QDarkStyleSheet/blob/master/LICENSE.md ? Maybe inside directory src/qdarkstyle/style.qss? or added to LICENSE-PLUGINS?

[mgrojo]

It's now merged, with license file in src/qdarkstyle/LICENSE.md.

By the way, I couldn't resist to make some project promotion in https://github.com/ColinDuquesnoy/QDarkStyleSheet/wiki It's also a way to communicate that we've found it useful.

[mgrojo]

I've cleared the milestone, because the appropiate scope for this issue should be the original problem of macOS Mojave, that is ultimatly due to a Qt bug: https://bugreports.qt.io/browse/QTBUG-71020

I'll use #1493 instead.

[justinclift]

... with license file in src/qdarkstyle/LICENSE.md.

Excellent, that seems like the right place for it. :smile:

I couldn't resist to make some project promotion in https://github.com/ColinDuquesnoy/QDarkStyleSheet/wiki.

No need to resist, that's well done. Promotion (not done really badly!) is a good thing for projects. :grin:

[mgrojo]

The mentioned Qt bug is closed with Qt 5.12.3. How is the situation now?

[justinclift]

Our recent 3.12.0 release, and the nightly (win, osx) builds, are using Qt 5.12.8.

In theory (!) they should be ok now.

@revolter You're a frequent macOS user... does this bug seem ok to you now? :smile:

[revolter]

It looks like this, so I'd say that the issue is fixed:

[justinclift]

Awesome, thanks heaps @revolter! :grinning:

[mgrojo]

@revolter That screenshot is using the dark stylesheet but the problem was
in the follow desktop style mode when configured in dark mode. Could you
try that too?

[revolter]

Using the "Follow the desktop style" makes the app show up light, even though my system's style is set to dark.

[mgrojo]

Maybe we made a workaround to avoid the dark style?

[revolter]

I don't know.

[mgrojo]

@justinclift This is what I remember. Is it applied to our build?

[mgrojo]

I meant
https://github.com/sqlitebrowser/sqlitebrowser/issues/1751#issuecomment-466618493

[justinclift]

@mgrojo Thanks for pointing that out. I wasn't sure what to check. :smile:

That key is definitely in our builds: https://github.com/sqlitebrowser/sqlitebrowser/blob/7f60aaa1fd834e3dd88c2d831dabcca73c1032c5/src/app.plist#L79

[mgrojo]

@revolter so, can you test again building without that workaround? If the Qt bug is really fixed, the "Follow dektop style" for the dark system's style should work well now, and we can remove it for the next release.

[revolter]

Found an interesting bug (that is only present when the style is set to dark):

[revolter]

Still doesn't work:

diff --git a/src/app.plist b/src/app.plist
index 668cec33..5d76e5c7 100644
--- a/src/app.plist
+++ b/src/app.plist
@@ -76,7 +76,5 @@
    <string>NSApplication</string>
    <key>NSHighResolutionCapable</key>
    <true/>
-   <key>NSRequiresAquaSystemAppearance</key>
-   <true/>
 </dict>
 </plist>

[mgrojo]

May that file be installed somewhere from an installation of a release? Or is it included in the program binary? Otherwise, I don't know where the problem might be.

[revolter]

Yeah, maybe it's used only when packaging.

[justinclift]

@revolter From memory, that app.plist is incorporated into the application package (on macOS). The keys in it probably become part of the Contents/Info.plist file in the .app structure.

[revolter]

So simply running the app from Qt Creator should use the new contents? Or maybe do I need to do a clean before?

[justinclift]

Nah, I'm saying that you should be able to download the 3.12.0 release .app, and screw around with the Contents/Info.plist file in there to check. :smile:

[revolter]

Oooh, I see. Yeah, personally, I think that it looks better than the blue-ish one, but there are still some issues:

[mgrojo]

That fits my expectation. Since those background colours are customizable
inside the application and the values were saved when using DB Browser in
light desktop mode, you have now to reset them. Either use the Revert to
Default Values button in Preferences or change to Dark mode and back to
Follow Desktop Style in order to reset the colours.

[revolter]

It works ❤️ So, we can remove that for the next release, right?

[justinclift]

Sounds like it. And maybe removed for 3.12.1 too?

[mgrojo]

Sounds like it. And maybe removed for 3.12.1 too?

Yes, I think it should be removed for 3.12.1 too.

[justinclift]

Just pushed a commit to master removing the setting: 0bb3b23070b0208e09144a37f871bd7478257bc2

In theory, that means our nightly builds should be ok now. And we can probably cherry-pick that commit across to 3.12.1 as well.