Main Spectrum Display - DSP icon in not highlighted if any of the functions are activated

[W4AFK]

Request preparation

• I used an AI assistant to help structure this request
• I checked for existing issues covering the same feature

What would you like?

Main spectrum screen - When any of the DSP functions are activated, the DSP icon should be highlighted.

As it is now, you do not know if any DSP feature is ON unless you click on DSP. Then any item under that menu is highlighted (ex.: NR2, NR4, NB, etc.). This to me seems like a basic function to keep the user aware of a key feature that they activated

[aethersdr-agent]

Triage: root cause identified — maintainer-review

Thanks for the report. This is a real UX gap and the fix is well-scoped. Confirmed against the source.

Root cause

The "DSP" label on the slice flag (the flag that sits on the main spectrum) is a QPushButton tab, m_tabBtns[1], built in src/gui/VfoWidget.cpp:1234. Its style is switched between exactly two states:

• kTabLblNormal — grey (#6888a0), no underline (VfoWidget.cpp:247)
• kTabLblActive — cyan (#00b4d8) with underline (VfoWidget.cpp:253)

The only place the accent (kTabLblActive) is applied is showTab() (VfoWidget.cpp:2607), i.e. while the DSP panel is open. As soon as the tab collapses, closeActiveTab()/showTab() reset it straight back to kTabLblNormal (VfoWidget.cpp:2555, 2598, 2603; also setCollapsed() at 2712). Nothing in that button's styling reflects whether any DSP function is actually enabled — so with the tab closed, "NR2 on" and "everything off" look identical. Exactly the gap you describe.

Precedent for the fix

We already solved the same problem one level down, for the client-side ADSP launcher button, in #3800: setAetherDspActive() (VfoWidget.cpp:2931) swaps the button to a green "active" style when any client NR module is on, wired via the OR of the AudioEngine flags in MainWindow_Wiring.cpp:4088-4103. The DSP tab button should get the same treatment, covering both radio-side and client-side DSP.

Proposed fix (all in src/gui/VfoWidget.cpp, GUI-only, client-side)

1. Add a third tab style, e.g. kTabLblDspActive — a green underline/text (matching the DSP-on green #20a040 used by kDspToggleActive) so it's visually distinct from both grey-off and cyan-open.
2. Add a helper updateDspTabAccent() that computes
   anyDspOn = nbOn||nrOn||anfOn||nrlOn||nrsOn||rnnOn||nrfOn||anflOn||anftOn||apfOn (getters at SliceModel.h:78-87) || m_aetherDspActive, and applies kTabLblDspActive vs kTabLblNormal to m_tabBtns[1] — but only when that tab is not the currently open one (m_activeTab != 1), so the open-cyan state isn't clobbered.
3. Call it from: the existing connectDsp/connectLeveledDsp state-sync lambdas (VfoWidget.cpp:4130-4162), setAetherDspActive(), and syncFromSlice() (~4526).
4. Make the "revert to normal" points (closeActiveTab(), showTab() toggle-off, setCollapsed() restore) call updateDspTabAccent() instead of hard-coding kTabLblNormal, so the accent survives closing the panel.
5. Fold the state into the tab's accessible name (as UI to show what NR function is in use #3800 did) so screen readers / the automation bridge can read it.

Minor note: FM modes relabel this tab "OPT" and hide most DSP buttons (VfoWidget.cpp:4561); the accent logic still works unchanged since it reads model state, not button visibility.

Handoff summary

• What's known: single button, two-state styling, accent only applied while panel open. Direct precedent in UI to show what NR function is in use #3800.
• What to fix: add a DSP-on accent style + updateDspTabAccent() helper OR-ing the 10 slice DSP getters and m_aetherDspActive; call it on every DSP state change and route the panel-close resets through it.
• Why: gives an at-a-glance "DSP active" cue on the main spectrum without opening the menu.

Small, contained, strong precedent — flagged good first issue. Awaiting aetherclaude-eligible before implementing.

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_{🤖 aethersdr-agent · cost: $2.1045 · model: claude-opus-4-8}

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_{📍 Citation health check (Foundry Constitution Principle I): 1 resolved, 9 unresolved against /Users/aetherclaude/workspace/AetherSDR at origin/main.}

Unresolved citations (9)

Citation	Reason
MainWindow_Wiring.cpp:4088-4103	file not found in workspace
SliceModel.h:78-87	file not found in workspace
VfoWidget.cpp:247	file not found in workspace
VfoWidget.cpp:253	file not found in workspace
VfoWidget.cpp:2555	file not found in workspace
VfoWidget.cpp:2607	file not found in workspace
VfoWidget.cpp:2931	file not found in workspace
VfoWidget.cpp:4130-4162	file not found in workspace
VfoWidget.cpp:4561	file not found in workspace