Display variables labels for data frames in Data Explorer View

Positron and OS details:

Version: Positron Version: 2026.06.0 build 211
Code - OSS Version: 1.111.0

Describe the issue

The issue is very straightforward: in Rstudio, variable labels are displayed by default under the variable name in data table viewer, while in Positron, we cannot see variable label by default, only the variable type (dbl, str, fct etc). This feature has been requested multiple times already https://github.com/posit-dev/positron/issues/2971 https://github.com/posit-dev/positron/issues/5288 https://github.com/posit-dev/positron/discussions/9173
While a solution has been implemented https://github.com/posit-dev/positron/pull/9179 by displaying variables in hover-tooltip, I feel it somewhat missed the bullseye for users like me, who has a strong preference to see all the variable labels at a glance, exactly like how Rstudio display it.

Why seeing variable label at a glance is important

In my line of work (data science in the pharmaceutical industry), we have a lot of R packages and processing pipelines that automatically utilizes variable labels for downstream analysis and reporting, such as row labels in summary tables or axis labels or dynamic title generation for plots. So having the ability to visually check for completeness and correctness of variable labels/descriptions is a critical step during data processing. This information is not "optional" IMOH, and having only hovering tooltip is far from efficient in this respect.

At the same time, the variable type information is displayed both in the data table view as well as in the summary pane. One could also easily infer the variable type from column value formatting - if left-aligned it's an string or factor, if right-aligned it's numeric or date. So there are now 3 ways to view data type information at glance (redundant IMOH), but none for variable label (missing feature).

Ultimate ask

To either fully mirror Rstudio's design for data table viewer, or at least enable an optional setting to allow user to choose to display variable labels instead of variable type in data table viewer.
An exact solution was actually already implemented by @wesm in https://github.com/posit-dev/positron/pull/9179 but was changed during the review cycle. I hope this feature can be revisited/revamped with a more in-depth understanding of UX needs.

Start in the Data Explorer View and review the implementation and review discussion for pull request #9179, along with the related issues and discussion linked here. Determine how variable labels are currently obtained and how the viewer renders type information. Done means labels are visible at a glance, either by matching RStudio’s display or through an explicit setting that users can verify in the data table viewer.