As background I’m leaving my initial question at the end, still accurate while I was missing the dancing gorilla. I have two questions, but the more pointed issue is how the View menu is structured, so I changed the title and continued.
I just realized the “View - HTML Source” menu item is presented as an exclusive radio button when it actually behaves like a checkbox toggle. When selected it greys other radio buttons and it can be toggled to enable other radio buttons. Toggling enables swapping between new edits and how it looks WYSIWIG.
There’s no way I would expect to toggle a single radio button, and it feels like an ugly workaround when it would be obvious to select exclusive buttons like “normal” or “web” for modal back and forth. I can live with a radio buttons in a menu if others want it badly. The toggling the effect acts like a radio button anyhow, with the other radio buttons still in play, so why the two-step? It feels equally clumsy to find a menu radio button selected that I didn’t input on toggle, so this sits wrong for multiple reasons.
It should be three options, pick one. Do others feel this a legitimate recommendation I should submit for repair?
I understand issues editing HTML are well criticized and generate lots of questions with a single answer of “don’t,” but it remains that the entire experience below is extremely klutzy and the help file confuses things worse. I would consider submitting that help page for repair if it works the way I think it works, but the goal of HTML-editing is hardly worthwhile.
Original first pass:
Regarding what might be possible if I’m misunderstanding, is there a way to open an existing HTML file and view its code? I haven’t found any way to open an HTML extension file without Writer interpreting the formatting.
I believe the help link below is fueling my confusion. It seems to serve no purpose beyond explaining the need for editing filename extensions when required, and I take issue with the term “mode” as it implies something can be toggled. In general, I believed I would use Writer for some simple code editing, but now I’ve read many conversations reiterating Writer isn’t an HTML editor and I accept that.
This menu item only appears if I create a new HTML document within Writer, which boilerplates some HTML file formatting without content. Specifically, in this help page “or opening an existing one” doesn’t appear possible where “one” is referring to an HTML file. When opened, any existing file of any extension removes that view menu item.