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Update ui_qt.cpp #18428

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@davidhedlund davidhedlund commented Nov 20, 2025

Description

Added the term "Quick Menu", and replaced "Big Picture menu" with "Big Picture menu (not to be confused with Steam's Big Picture mode)"

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hizzlekizzle commented Nov 20, 2025

I don't love the "not to be confused with" bit. If it is confusing, I'd rather drop the "big picture" nomenclature altogether in exchange for "gamepad-friendly interface" or the generic "leanback interface" term.

I'm also not so sure about calling the quick menu a "pause menu." Is that a term that people would be familiar with? Sony calls theirs the "quick menu," too, AFAIK (I think ours predates theirs, though; I believe they first introduced it in 2016, and ours had already existed with that name for a couple of years by then).

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Update ui_qt.cpp
94c53a3 
Align the descriptions of the F1 and F5 hotkeys with their exact sub-labels as specified in Settings -> Input -> Hotkeys
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davidhedlund commented Nov 27, 2025 •
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Replaced "Quick Menu" and "pause menu" with "Switches the current display between menu and content"

I'm also not so sure about calling the quick menu a "pause menu." Is that a term that people would be familiar with? Sony calls theirs the "quick menu," too, AFAIK (I think ours predates theirs, though; I believe they first introduced it in 2016, and ours had already existed with that name for a couple of years by then).

The Quick Menu documentation lead sentence is: The Quick Menu is effectively RetroArch's pause menu.

However Settings -> Input -> Hotkeys lists

Menu Toggle
Switches the current display between menu and content.

Most likely since F1 (or the assigned hotkey) initially opens the Quick Menu but permits navigation to Main Menu, Settings, and others via the back button.

image

I made a fresh commit to update the documentation with this exact phrasing. Are you ok with it?

Once the (F1) issue has been resolved, I can follow up on the Big Picture term issue.

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davidhedlund commented Dec 8, 2025 •
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The "Big Picture" term issue

I don't love the "not to be confused with" bit. If it is confusing, I'd rather drop the "big picture" nomenclature altogether in exchange for "gamepad-friendly interface" or the generic "leanback interface" term.

Proposed terms

The "gamepad-friendly interface" is a good candidate term in my opinion. Below are sections to optional terms that I suggest.

graphical user interface

What do you think about the idea about simply replacing "Big Picture" with the term "graphical user interface (GUI)"? The GUI is navigated with both gamepads and mouse and keyboard. Also, the graphical user interface (GUI) of RetroArch includes menu drivers such as Ozone, XMB, GLUI, and RGUI. In contrast, the Qt-based desktop menu is tailored for mouse and keyboard input and provides a more traditional desktop application experience. This distinction makes it easy for users to recognize the visual differences between the two interfaces.

main interface

Or "main interface"; it is a clear and accurate term for RetroArch's primary menu system, especially since it offers more options and features than the Desktop mode as described in the the dialogue window:

Image

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hizzlekizzle commented Dec 8, 2025

I don't hate calling it the "GUI" or the "main interface", though I believe, technically, the Qt/WIMP UI is also a GUI.

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davidhedlund commented Dec 9, 2025 •
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The Main window must remain open for the Desktop Menu window to function; closing the Main window will also close the Desktop Menu window. So perhaps its better to include the term 'window' for clarity when distinguishing between the two open windows: the Desktop menu window and the Main interface window.

What do you think about that?

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hizzlekizzle commented Dec 9, 2025

that seems pretty reasonable to me. As a user, would you be confused if it said that while you're running in fullscreen? (that may not even be possible, exactly, with the WIMP UI in that situation)

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Update ui_qt.cpp
e6e0d52 
* Replace "Big Picture" with "main interface"
* add the term "window" in the description
  - The Main window must remain open for the Desktop Menu window to function; closing the Main window will also close the Desktop Menu window. So perhaps its better to include the term 'window' for clarity when distinguishing between the two open windows: the Desktop menu window and the Main interface window.
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davidhedlund commented Dec 9, 2025

that seems pretty reasonable to me.

Great! Please take a look at e6e0d52

As a user, would you be confused if it said that while you're running in fullscreen? (that may not even be possible, exactly, with the WIMP UI in that situation)

Fullscreen mode uses a single maximized or borderless window. In the main interface window, press F to enter fullscreen, then F5 to open the WIMP Desktop Menu—this unmaximizes the main interface window and focuses the desktop menu window. You can press F again in the main interface to return to fullscreen (even with the desktop menu window open) and use Tab to switch between the windows.

@davidhedlund
Update ui_qt.cpp
ae0d3a4 
Replaced "This Desktop Menu window" with "The Desktop Menu window" to distinguish it from the Desktop Menu dialogue window containing that text.
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Update ui_qt.cpp
eecaf72 
Added "WIMP (Windows, Icons, Menus, Pointer)"
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davidhedlund commented Dec 9, 2025 •
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Added "WIMP (Windows, Icons, Menus, Pointer) (eecaf72) to make it consistent with Settings -> Input -> Hotkeys:

image

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Update ui_qt.cpp
9f7fcc3 
Added "QT" for easier identification (Help -> "About QT...")
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Update ui_qt.cpp
b67035f 
Qt not QT
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Update ui_qt.cpp
4e23d63 
Wording ("Qt-based WIMP)"
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davidhedlund commented Dec 10, 2025 •
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Added the term "Qt-based" to make it consistent with the Desktop Menu's menu bar item: Help -> "About Qt..."

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hizzlekizzle commented Dec 10, 2025

I'm not sure that adding the "QT" (should probably be stylized as "Qt" anyway) bit brings much to the table. It's more consistent with the 'help' menu, but I'm not sure that knowing the underlying toolkit name is actually beneficial/desirable for end-users.

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davidhedlund commented Dec 11, 2025 •
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I'm not sure that adding the "QT" (should probably be stylized as "Qt" anyway) bit brings much to the table. It's more consistent with the 'help' menu, but I'm not sure that knowing the underlying toolkit name is actually beneficial/desirable for end-users.

  • I have already changed it to "Qt"
  • RetroArch generates retroarch_qt.cfg for Desktop Mode and retroarch.cfg for the main interface window. This provides users a clear way to distinguish Desktop Mode—in addition to WIMP terminology.

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Update ui_qt.cpp
c110caa 
Clarify that these hotkey examples reflect the default key assignments, as users with custom mappings may find the examples don’t match their setup.
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davidhedlund commented Dec 11, 2025 •
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Clarify that the hotkey examples reflect the default key assignments, as users with custom mappings may find the examples don’t match their setup.

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Update ui_qt.cpp
f74920c 
"Added 'View ->' before 'Settings -> Input -> Hotkeys' to show these settings are accessible from the Desktop Mode window.
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davidhedlund commented Dec 12, 2025 •
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Added 'View ->' before 'Settings -> Input -> Hotkeys' to show these settings are accessible from the Desktop Mode window.

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Update ui_qt.cpp
7313e72 
minor
@davidhedlund
Update ui_qt.cpp
f9a3164 
Appended '[tab]' to 'Hotkeys' for tabbed interface reference.
@davidhedlund
Update ui_qt.cpp
7448d26 
Clarified that settings are fully configurable from both Desktop Mode (View -> Settings...) and main interface (Main Menu -> Settings) with identical options, while noting certain actions/hotkeys only function in the main interface window.
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