What happened?
The visual indicators for the recording and playback states in the VFO slice are difficult to distinguish when using the Dark Theme.
Recording: The "blinking red circle" behind the record icon is too subtle and lacks sufficient contrast against the dark background, requiring the user to look closely to verify if a recording is active.
Playback: The playback button itself is so dark it is nearly invisible against the theme background. While the green "active" circle is more visible than the red recording one, the overall button state remains difficult to discern at a glance.
What did you expect?
The recording and playback status indicators should be high-contrast and easily identifiable from a normal viewing distance. The buttons themselves should have enough luminosity/contrast to be visible even when inactive, and the active (blinking/solid) states should clearly stand out against the Dark Theme background.
Steps to reproduce
Open AetherSDR and enable the Dark Theme.
Open a VFO slice.
Observe the Playback button (note its low visibility when inactive).
Click the Record button.
Observe the red blinking indicator behind the icon (note the difficulty in seeing the "active" state without looking closely).
Radio model & firmware
Model: FLEX-6600
Firmware: 4.1.5.39794
OS & version
OS: Windows (AetherSDR v0.8.15 / Qt 6.7.3)
Developer Notes
The visibility issues stem from the QSS (Qt Style Sheets) or hardcoded color values used for the slice control buttons in the Dark Theme implementation.
Potential Root Causes:
Low Alpha/Luminosity: The background circles for active states (red/green) likely have an Alpha channel value that is too low for dark backgrounds.
Button Icon Tints: The SVGs or icons used for Play/Record may not be dynamically re-coloring to a lighter grey/white when the Dark Theme is active, causing them to blend into the slice header.
QSS Hierarchy: The style sheet for SliceWidget or VFOControl might be using a fixed dark palette that doesn't provide enough contrast for functional "status" colors.
Related Files & Functions:
src/gui/widgets/SliceWidget.cpp: Check the paintEvent or the logic that toggles the visibility of the "active" circles behind the buttons.
src/gui/resources/themes/dark_theme.qss: Review the styles for QPushButton within the slice context.
src/gui/widgets/buttons/IndicatorButton.cpp (if applicable): Check the blinking logic and color constants.
Potential Fixes:
Increase the saturation/brightness of the active state colors in Dark Theme.
Add a subtle border or a lighter "inactive" state color to the icons.
Use a higher-contrast "glow" effect instead of a background circle for status indications.
Suggested Logging for Diagnostics:
Enable gui.events to verify the state transitions are triggering correctly, confirming this is purely a visual/CSS contrast issue.
support-bundle-20260417-104902.zip
What happened?
The visual indicators for the recording and playback states in the VFO slice are difficult to distinguish when using the Dark Theme.
Recording: The "blinking red circle" behind the record icon is too subtle and lacks sufficient contrast against the dark background, requiring the user to look closely to verify if a recording is active.
Playback: The playback button itself is so dark it is nearly invisible against the theme background. While the green "active" circle is more visible than the red recording one, the overall button state remains difficult to discern at a glance.
What did you expect?
The recording and playback status indicators should be high-contrast and easily identifiable from a normal viewing distance. The buttons themselves should have enough luminosity/contrast to be visible even when inactive, and the active (blinking/solid) states should clearly stand out against the Dark Theme background.
Steps to reproduce
Open AetherSDR and enable the Dark Theme.
Open a VFO slice.
Observe the Playback button (note its low visibility when inactive).
Click the Record button.
Observe the red blinking indicator behind the icon (note the difficulty in seeing the "active" state without looking closely).
Radio model & firmware
Model: FLEX-6600
Firmware: 4.1.5.39794
OS & version
OS: Windows (AetherSDR v0.8.15 / Qt 6.7.3)
Developer Notes
The visibility issues stem from the QSS (Qt Style Sheets) or hardcoded color values used for the slice control buttons in the Dark Theme implementation.
Potential Root Causes:
Low Alpha/Luminosity: The background circles for active states (red/green) likely have an Alpha channel value that is too low for dark backgrounds.
Button Icon Tints: The SVGs or icons used for Play/Record may not be dynamically re-coloring to a lighter grey/white when the Dark Theme is active, causing them to blend into the slice header.
QSS Hierarchy: The style sheet for SliceWidget or VFOControl might be using a fixed dark palette that doesn't provide enough contrast for functional "status" colors.
Related Files & Functions:
src/gui/widgets/SliceWidget.cpp: Check the paintEvent or the logic that toggles the visibility of the "active" circles behind the buttons.
src/gui/resources/themes/dark_theme.qss: Review the styles for QPushButton within the slice context.
src/gui/widgets/buttons/IndicatorButton.cpp (if applicable): Check the blinking logic and color constants.
Potential Fixes:
Increase the saturation/brightness of the active state colors in Dark Theme.
Add a subtle border or a lighter "inactive" state color to the icons.
Use a higher-contrast "glow" effect instead of a background circle for status indications.
Suggested Logging for Diagnostics:
Enable gui.events to verify the state transitions are triggering correctly, confirming this is purely a visual/CSS contrast issue.
support-bundle-20260417-104902.zip