microsoft / microsoft/PowerToys

Widen the "swatch stripe" on the left side of the Color Picker

Open
#49,042 1 comment 2 reactions 0 assignees View on GitHub
Area-Accessibility Area-User Interface Needs-Triage Product-Color Picker
Dominant language
C
Stars
139k
Forks
8.6k
PR merge metrics
PR metrics pending

Description

### Description of the new feature / enhancement

Increase the width of the swatch stripe on the left side of the Color Picker, preferably 2x-3x the current width. Optionally hide this behind a settings toggle.

### Scenario when this would be used?

I have moderate color blindness, and when samples are small I have a very difficult time telling the difference. When there is more area to view the color, it really helps me. I'll never really be able to see the colors, but this at least allows me to see that there is a difference between them even if I can't name the color.

I didn't realize for a long time that the color stripe on the left was a list of clickable "nearby" colors because of the narrowness.

### Supporting information

_No response_

Contributor guide

Open the contributing guide

Research direction

The issue does not name a file, test, or entry point. Start by locating the Color Picker UI and its left-side swatch stripe, then verify the stripe can be made 2x–3x wider and assess whether a settings toggle is needed; done means the nearby-color list is more visible and usable.

Written by the indexing model from the issue text.

Assessment

Domain
accessibility, design, desktop
Issue type
Feature
Difficulty
3/5
Estimated time
1-2 days
Activity status
Quiet
Clarity
Mostly clear
Newbie friendliness
54/100

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