Positron's new Editor Action Bar

[kldhana]

The last update (2025.03.0-97) brought a new look for the Editor Action Bar--the small icons we see on the right corner of the editor.

See the figure below before and after the update:

Before update:

After update:

I do not prefer this update, as the bar takes space from the editor. We can go back to the default option by using the codes below, but it's not as it was before the update because of the background color:

"editor.actionBar.enabled": false,
"workbench.editor.editorActionsLocation": "default"

Background color differs:

I would appreciate a fix for the background color of tabs or editor action buttons.

[petetronic]

Hi @kldhana, thank you for trying the Positron prerelease. I logged the regression as #6527 and sent to triage

[kldhana]

@petetronic I would like to suggest the following UI update for the next update:

Current:

Edited image to suggest next update:

[petetronic]

It looks like the ask here is for the breadcrumb and new editor action bar to share the same horizontal line (and perhaps a bit of top padding, though that might be just an artifact of the mock up moving the breadcrumb?). We did originally discuss placing the editor action bar controls to the right of the breadcrumb, but we observed the breadcrumb can get very wide in some hierarchical documents (which is similar to the problem of the old editor title menu bar when lots of editor tabs are open). The new editor action bar now has the ability to place controls on the far left, center or far right, and some extensions may make use of the left area for certain controls.

[kldhana]

Yes, I was referring to the breadcrumb. For a moment, I got the impression that the purpose of the horizontal bar with action controls on the right was to position the breadcrumb on the left, and then I created the image above. It’s good to see that you’ve considered this. A horizontal scroller could help address the issue in very wide hierarchical documents, similar to how it works with multiple open tabs now.

[lijiaqi-github]

I don't like this update either, it looks too crowded on a small screen computer, but the development team seems to have their own considerations. So I decided to live with this change.

[kldhana]

Maybe future updates will enable to show breadcrumb within the horizontal action bar. I created an image to show that it will look better.

[lijiaqi-github]

Maybe future updates will enable to show breadcrumb within the horizontal action bar. I created an image to show that it will look better.

Your suggestion is great. Trying out different possibilities will definitely make it better. I am also looking forward to new designs that make it beautiful without compromising functionality.

[juliasilge]

I just want to double-check that you are aware you can turn the editor action bar off:

[kldhana]

Yes, I'm aware of it. I like the horizontal bar as it effectively separates the tab and code space, but I believe it could be better utilized—perhaps by incorporating a breadcrumb for improved navigation.

[kldhana]

I just realized it was an issue of theme, specifically the Catppucine theme, not Positron.