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Loading state perception improvement#57610

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mountiny merged 36 commits intoExpensify:mainfrom
callstack-internal:loading-state-perception-improvement
Mar 10, 2025
Merged

Loading state perception improvement#57610
mountiny merged 36 commits intoExpensify:mainfrom
callstack-internal:loading-state-perception-improvement

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@martasudol
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@martasudol martasudol commented Feb 28, 2025 •
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Explanation of Change

This PR improves loading state perception by:

  • distraction from skeleton loaders reduction by slowing animation speed, and lowering contrast.
  • changed loading bar visibility by only showing it when at least one report action is loaded and additional data is being fetched
  • eliminated the jump that occurred after loading older messages - scrolling should now be smooth
    These changes provide clearer visual feedback during data loading, reducing user confusion and distraction.

Fixed Issues

$ #57604
PROPOSAL:

Background:
Our application uses skeleton loaders and loading bars to indicate data loading. Users spend significant time viewing reports that fetch data from servers.

Problem:
When users interact with reports, the blinking skeleton loader distracts them, and the loading bar fails to appear when partially loaded reports fetch additional data, causing confusion about system status.

Solution:
We will implement two key changes:

  1. Modify skeleton loader animation:
  • Reduce animation speed
  • Lower contrast between animation colors
  1. Update loading bar logic:
  • Show loading bar only when at least one report action is already loaded and additional data is being fetched

Tests

  1. Clear cache and open report with some actions that are not loaded yet. You should see skeleton loader.
  2. Load older actions (scroll to the top of report actions view) or open report with at least 1 action already fetched and wait for the server to fetch more actions. You should see loading bar at the top of the report actions view.
  • Verify that no errors appear in the JS console

Offline tests

Same as Tests.

QA Steps

Same as tests

  • Verify that no errors appear in the JS console

PR Author Checklist

  • I linked the correct issue in the ### Fixed Issues section above
  • I wrote clear testing steps that cover the changes made in this PR
    • I added steps for local testing in the Tests section
    • I added steps for the expected offline behavior in the Offline steps section
    • I added steps for Staging and/or Production testing in the QA steps section
    • I added steps to cover failure scenarios (i.e. verify an input displays the correct error message if the entered data is not correct)
    • I turned off my network connection and tested it while offline to ensure it matches the expected behavior (i.e. verify the default avatar icon is displayed if app is offline)
    • I tested this PR with a High Traffic account against the staging or production API to ensure there are no regressions (e.g. long loading states that impact usability).
  • I included screenshots or videos for tests on all platforms
  • I ran the tests on all platforms & verified they passed on:
    • Android: Native
    • Android: mWeb Chrome
    • iOS: Native
    • iOS: mWeb Safari
    • MacOS: Chrome / Safari
    • MacOS: Desktop
  • I verified there are no console errors (if there's a console error not related to the PR, report it or open an issue for it to be fixed)
  • I followed proper code patterns (see Reviewing the code)
    • I verified that any callback methods that were added or modified are named for what the method does and never what callback they handle (i.e. toggleReport and not onIconClick)
    • I verified that comments were added to code that is not self explanatory
    • I verified that any new or modified comments were clear, correct English, and explained "why" the code was doing something instead of only explaining "what" the code was doing.
    • I verified any copy / text shown in the product is localized by adding it to src/languages/* files and using the translation method
      • If any non-english text was added/modified, I used JaimeGPT to get English > Spanish translation. I then posted it in #expensify-open-source and it was approved by an internal Expensify engineer. Link to Slack message:
    • I verified all numbers, amounts, dates and phone numbers shown in the product are using the localization methods
    • I verified any copy / text that was added to the app is grammatically correct in English. It adheres to proper capitalization guidelines (note: only the first word of header/labels should be capitalized), and is either coming verbatim from figma or has been approved by marketing (in order to get marketing approval, ask the Bug Zero team member to add the Waiting for copy label to the issue)
    • I verified proper file naming conventions were followed for any new files or renamed files. All non-platform specific files are named after what they export and are not named "index.js". All platform-specific files are named for the platform the code supports as outlined in the README.
    • I verified the JSDocs style guidelines (in STYLE.md) were followed
  • If a new code pattern is added I verified it was agreed to be used by multiple Expensify engineers
  • I followed the guidelines as stated in the Review Guidelines
  • I tested other components that can be impacted by my changes (i.e. if the PR modifies a shared library or component like Avatar, I verified the components using Avatar are working as expected)
  • I verified all code is DRY (the PR doesn't include any logic written more than once, with the exception of tests)
  • I verified any variables that can be defined as constants (ie. in CONST.ts or at the top of the file that uses the constant) are defined as such
  • I verified that if a function's arguments changed that all usages have also been updated correctly
  • If any new file was added I verified that:
    • The file has a description of what it does and/or why is needed at the top of the file if the code is not self explanatory
  • If a new CSS style is added I verified that:
    • A similar style doesn't already exist
    • The style can't be created with an existing StyleUtils function (i.e. StyleUtils.getBackgroundAndBorderStyle(theme.componentBG))
  • If the PR modifies code that runs when editing or sending messages, I tested and verified there is no unexpected behavior for all supported markdown - URLs, single line code, code blocks, quotes, headings, bold, strikethrough, and italic.
  • If the PR modifies a generic component, I tested and verified that those changes do not break usages of that component in the rest of the App (i.e. if a shared library or component like Avatar is modified, I verified that Avatar is working as expected in all cases)
  • If the PR modifies a component related to any of the existing Storybook stories, I tested and verified all stories for that component are still working as expected.
  • If the PR modifies a component or page that can be accessed by a direct deeplink, I verified that the code functions as expected when the deeplink is used - from a logged in and logged out account.
  • If the PR modifies the UI (e.g. new buttons, new UI components, changing the padding/spacing/sizing, moving components, etc) or modifies the form input styles:
    • I verified that all the inputs inside a form are aligned with each other.
    • I added Design label and/or tagged @Expensify/design so the design team can review the changes.
  • If a new page is added, I verified it's using the ScrollView component to make it scrollable when more elements are added to the page.
  • I added unit tests for any new feature or bug fix in this PR to help automatically prevent regressions in this user flow.
  • If the main branch was merged into this PR after a review, I tested again and verified the outcome was still expected according to the Test steps.

Screenshots/Videos

Android: Native https://github.com/user-attachments/assets/d6687ad2-98d0-4d0f-b5d4-13c4994dbcab
Android: mWeb Chrome https://github.com/user-attachments/assets/8609eb04-a665-40c0-832e-39ef4b15102f
iOS: Native https://github.com/user-attachments/assets/e3ac758e-e589-4a83-87ae-9258401443a8
iOS: mWeb Safari https://github.com/user-attachments/assets/752505e6-709c-4777-9e56-15c7a9ab8586
MacOS: Chrome / Safari https://github.com/user-attachments/assets/ba7b540f-53d3-445e-ab08-b1ce34692d2a
MacOS: Desktop https://github.com/user-attachments/assets/64c8442d-7038-4cbb-9626-f4e0c036b156

To improve the user experience, we’ve adjusted the skeleton loader animation to be more subtle and less distracting. The new version animates more slowly and reduces the flickering effect, making the loading state feel smoother and less intrusive.
Before this change:
https://github.com/user-attachments/assets/3610c9e3-ccf8-45e8-87b0-af48bce67526

After this change:
https://github.com/user-attachments/assets/8e55894a-cb5a-4e4e-9653-e37442fee66b

@mountiny mountiny self-requested a review March 2, 2025 22:43
@martasudol martasudol marked this pull request as ready for review March 4, 2025 10:13
@martasudol martasudol requested review from a team as code owners March 4, 2025 10:13
@melvin-bot melvin-bot bot requested review from dukenv0307 and removed request for a team March 4, 2025 10:13
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@dukenv0307 Please copy/paste the Reviewer Checklist from here into a new comment on this PR and complete it. If you have the K2 extension, you can simply click: [this button]

@shawnborton
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shawnborton commented Mar 4, 2025

I like it! The reduction in speed definitely makes this feel more calming and less anxious, which helps in setting expectations for when the content might load.

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shawnborton commented Mar 4, 2025

Curious what @Expensify/design thinks too!

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dannymcclain commented Mar 4, 2025

I like it! The reduction in speed definitely makes this feel more calming and less anxious, which helps in setting expectations for when the content might load.

Totally agree—it feels much more chill haha. Into it!

dukenv0307
dukenv0307 reviewed Mar 4, 2025
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@martasudol martasudol requested a review from dukenv0307 March 5, 2025 13:20
@adhorodyski
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adhorodyski commented Mar 5, 2025

Love the after result and where it's heading!! The static -> animated effect is really smooth when compared to the current version.

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github-actions bot commented Mar 5, 2025

🚧 @mountiny has triggered a test hybrid app build. You can view the workflow run here.

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github-actions bot commented Mar 5, 2025

🧪🧪 Use the links below to test this adhoc build on Android, iOS, Desktop, and Web. Happy testing! 🧪🧪

Android 🤖 iOS 🍎
❌ FAILED ❌ ❌ FAILED ❌
The QR code can't be generated, because the Android build failed The QR code can't be generated, because the iOS build failed
Android Hybrid 🤖🔄 iOS Hybrid 🍎🔄
❌ FAILED ❌ ❌ FAILED ❌
The QR code can't be generated, because the Android Hybrid build failed The QR code can't be generated, because the iOS Hybrid build failed
Desktop 💻 Web 🕸️
https://ad-hoc-expensify-cash.s3.amazonaws.com/desktop/57610/NewExpensify.dmg https://57610.pr-testing.expensify.com
Desktop Web

👀 View the workflow run that generated this build 👀

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martasudol commented Mar 7, 2025

@mountiny https://github.com/Expensify/App/actions/runs/13687734578/job/38274845207 this step is failing and it looks like not related to this PR?

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martasudol commented Mar 7, 2025

@dukenv0307 just a friendly reminder about my PR 🙏

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dukenv0307 commented Mar 7, 2025

Test looks good on adhoc build

Screen.Recording.2025-03-07.at.21.16.46.mov

mountiny
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@martasudol great, left couple comments for you

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martasudol commented Mar 10, 2025

Thanks for comments @mountiny - already addressed 👌

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Thanks! @martasudol @dukenv0307 this is quite large PR lower in the stack so please be on a look out for any deploy blockers to be able to address them quickly or we might have to revert (no rush so we would probably prefer revert)

@mountiny mountiny merged commit 52666fb into Expensify:main Mar 10, 2025
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OSBotify commented Mar 10, 2025

✋ This PR was not deployed to staging yet because QA is ongoing. It will be automatically deployed to staging after the next production release.

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github-actions bot commented Mar 10, 2025

🚀 Deployed to staging by https://github.com/mountiny in version: 9.1.11-1 🚀

platform result
🤖 android 🤖 success ✅
🖥 desktop 🖥 success ✅
🍎 iOS 🍎 success ✅
🕸 web 🕸 success ✅
🤖🔄 android HybridApp 🤖🔄 success ✅
🍎🔄 iOS HybridApp 🍎🔄 success ✅

shawnborton
shawnborton reviewed Mar 11, 2025
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src/styles/theme/themes/light.ts
trialBannerBackgroundColor: colors.green100,
skeletonLHNIn: colors.productLight400,
skeletonLHNOut: colors.productLight600,
skeletonLHNIn: colors.productLight200,
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Just catching this now - why did we change these colors?

This was referenced Mar 11, 2025
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shawnborton commented Mar 12, 2025

Looks like this PR caused this regression: #58284 (comment)

@joekaufmanexpensify joekaufmanexpensify mentioned this pull request Mar 12, 2025
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mountiny added a commit that referenced this pull request Mar 13, 2025
@mountiny
Revert "Merge pull request #57610 from callstack-internal/loading-sta…
601bec3 
…te-perception-improvement"

This reverts commit 52666fb, reversing
changes made to c25a843.
@mountiny mountiny mentioned this pull request Mar 13, 2025
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github-actions bot commented Mar 14, 2025

🚀 Deployed to production by https://github.com/mountiny in version: 9.1.12-7 🚀

platform result
🤖 android 🤖 true ❌
🖥 desktop 🖥 success ✅
🍎 iOS 🍎 success ✅
🕸 web 🕸 success ✅
🤖🔄 android HybridApp 🤖🔄 failure ❌
🍎🔄 iOS HybridApp 🍎🔄 failure ❌

@melvin-bot melvin-bot bot mentioned this pull request Mar 14, 2025
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github-actions bot commented Mar 14, 2025

🚀 Deployed to staging by https://github.com/mountiny in version: 9.1.13-0 🚀

platform result
🤖 android 🤖 success ✅
🖥 desktop 🖥 success ✅
🍎 iOS 🍎 success ✅
🕸 web 🕸 success ✅
🤖🔄 android HybridApp 🤖🔄 success ✅
🍎🔄 iOS HybridApp 🍎🔄 success ✅

@AndrewGable AndrewGable mentioned this pull request Mar 14, 2025
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github-actions bot commented Mar 17, 2025

🚀 Deployed to production by https://github.com/mountiny in version: 9.1.13-5 🚀

platform result
🤖 android 🤖 true ❌
🖥 desktop 🖥 success ✅
🍎 iOS 🍎 success ✅
🕸 web 🕸 success ✅
🤖🔄 android HybridApp 🤖🔄 failure ❌
🍎🔄 iOS HybridApp 🍎🔄 failure ❌

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@dukenv0307 dukenv0307 dukenv0307 approved these changes

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@martasudol @shawnborton @dannymcclain @dukenv0307 @dubielzyk-expensify @adhorodyski @OSBotify @mountiny