Option to remove modal dialogs

[rsbohn]

I use mu with several different CircuitPython devices. If I have the 'serial connection' open while changing devices mu pops up a modal dialog to inform me that it could not find a serial device. I have to dispatch this dialog before I can continue using mu.

I would like to have the option do disable the dialog, so that it never appears.

Common scenarios:

• I just unplugged the board. I expect that the serial connection is no longer available.
• I'm switching to a new board. I either have to close the serial connection, switch, then re-open it, or deal with the dialog and then re-open.
• I unplugged the board at the end of my last session but left mu running. I just want to close mu, but I have to deal with the modal dialog first.

Less common scenario:

If I have a bad USB cable or a troublesome board that will drop the connection unexpectedly I may want a more intrusive notification when the serial connection is lost. Even so, a temporary message would be better than a modal dialog. I can tell from the 'chip' icon in the status bar that the device is no longer connected.

Proposed solution:

Replace the modal dialog with a 'banner' at the top of the edit pane. Perhaps the banner would disappear after a set time, or the user could click to clear it. It would not require user interaction, so I can just close mu without addressing the banner message.

Please consider replacing the modal dialog with a less intrusive notification method, or adding an option to disable it.