Improve desktop GUI UX and observation history workflows

README.md

@@ -69,12 +69,14 @@ Configure a broker in TopicGate Desktop for read-only use, or use the authorized
 
 TopicGate snapshots return the latest value it observed and retained, not authoritative broker history.
 
-For individual receipts, enable **Stored observations → History settings → Record new
-events for this broker**. Recording is off by default for every broker. The separate
-**Event history** page and read-only `get_topic_history` tool provide cursor-paginated
-history with recording and retention limitations. Adjust history age/count/size limits
-independently from latest state; large limits may slow startup and queries.
-See [observation history and retention](docs/OBSERVATION_HISTORY.md).
+For individual receipts, open **History** in the workspace and use **Record messages**
+for the displayed broker. Recording status appears before Search; enabling or disabling
+recording leaves retention limits and saved receipts unchanged. Recording is off by
+default for every broker. **History** and the read-only `get_topic_history` tool provide
+cursor-paginated receipts with recording and retention limitations. Adjust limits under
+**Stored observations → History settings** independently from latest values; large
+limits may slow startup and queries.
+See [observation history and retention](docs/OBSERVATION_HISTORY.md). 
 
 - **Live** values arrived in the current observation session.
 - **Cached** or **stored** values came from local persistence.
@@ -84,6 +86,12 @@ See [observation history and retention](docs/OBSERVATION_HISTORY.md).
 
 Only the active broker is continuously connected. Check freshness, provenance, truncation, dropped-message count, and completeness when interpreting a snapshot.
 
+Desktop starts with a simplified workspace. **View → Advanced mode** restores
+snapshot diagnostics, storage administration, diagnostic profiles and specialist
+fields. History and recording remain available in both modes. This saved GUI
+preference does not change broker operations or MCP authorization; see the 
+[desktop mode matrix](docs/DESKTOP_UX.md#simplified-and-advanced-mode).
+
 ## Health expectations
 
 Define what healthy means for your broker and topics: an established connection, an expected status payload, a temperature range, or a maximum observation age. Desktop brings broker checks, topic checks, evidence, and failure history into one health view.
@@ -92,7 +100,7 @@ Define what healthy means for your broker and topics: an established connection,
 
 *Sample health overview. A connected broker can still have failed or unknown checks; the connection badge alone does not establish health.*
 
-Use the broker's **Health → Expectations** tab for connection checks, or a topic's **Settings → Expectations** tab for topic conditions. Configure expectations after adding a subscription that covers the topic.
+Use **Health → Expectations** to browse all rules for the selected broker, with **All / Broker / Topic** scopes. Open a rule to edit it with its target selected, or use **Topic expectations** beside the selected topic. Configure expectations after adding a subscription that covers the topic. See the [desktop workspace guide and UX screenshots](docs/DESKTOP_UX.md).
 
 <details>
 <summary>See the broker expectation editor</summary>

docs/OBSERVATION_HISTORY.md

@@ -29,12 +29,24 @@ before broker deletion; a drain timeout aborts deletion.
 
 ## Opt-in and independent retention
 
-Open **Stored observations → History settings**, select a broker, check
-**Record new events for this broker (opt-in)** and apply. The shared history
+Open **History**, select a broker, and choose
+**Record messages**. Its status is shown before Search. This action
+enables or disables recording for future receipts without changing retention limits.
+To adjust limits, enable **View → Advanced mode**, then open
+**Stored observations → History settings**, select the broker,
+edit the controls, and choose **Apply history settings**. The shared history
 limits start at seven days, 100,000 events per broker, no per-topic cap, and
-256 MiB of stored payloads globally. Age and per-topic caps can be left blank.
+256 MiB of stored payloads globally. Use **Unlimited** for age or per-topic caps.
+Age and payload limits have unit selectors; batch size and the idle interval appear
+directly with the other settings. There is no local Advanced toggle. Saved changes show confirmation on the page.
 Large history retention limits may slow startup and history queries.
 
+**Search** starts a fresh query including newly saved events.
+**Next page** continues the current query's fixed boundary. Event history is oldest
+first; latest stored state has independent sorting and result limits. These views
+do not replace **Health → Failure history**. See the [desktop guide](DESKTOP_UX.md)
+for screenshots.
+
 The size budget counts stored payload bytes, not database file bytes, indexes,
 or filesystem allocation. Zero-byte events still count toward event limits.
 Policy changes validate before persistence. Pruning applies age, per-topic count,
@@ -74,12 +86,17 @@ coverage. Settings summaries and eviction generations apply globally where label
 
 ## Desktop pages
 
-**Latest stored state** shows one persisted value per topic. **Event history**
-shows individual receipts using the same bounded query as MCP. Search or
-Refresh snapshot starts over; Next page continues the committed snapshot.
+**Stored observations → Latest stored values** (Advanced mode) shows one persisted
+value per topic. The main History destination and recording controls are available
+in both presentation modes.
+The workspace **History** tab shows individual receipts using the same bounded query
+as MCP. **Record messages** enables or disables recording for its displayed broker
+without changing retention. Search starts over; Next page continues the committed snapshot.
 Changing brokers or filters resets the cursor. Payloads are displayed as plain
 text or base64, with provenance and truncation details on selection.
 
+These screenshots show the earlier dialog layout; message history now lives in the workspace.
+
 ![Latest stored state and separate event history with recording limitations.](images/observation-history-after.png)
 
 ![Per-broker recording opt-in and independent history limits.](images/observation-history-settings.png)

pyproject.toml

@@ -80,6 +80,7 @@ where = ["src"]
 topicgate = [
     "assets/*.png",
     "assets/*.svg",
+    "assets/icons/*.svg",
     "infrastructure/database/alembic.ini",
     "infrastructure/database/alembic/*.py",
     "infrastructure/database/alembic/*.mako",

src/topicgate/gui/components/about_dialog.py

@@ -1,5 +1,7 @@
 from importlib.metadata import PackageNotFoundError, version
 
+from topicgate.gui.icons import IconName, icon
+
 from PySide6.QtCore import Qt
 from PySide6.QtWidgets import (
     QDialog,
@@ -89,6 +91,7 @@ def __init__(self, parent: QWidget | None = None) -> None:
         layout.addWidget(license_label)
 
         buttons = QDialogButtonBox(QDialogButtonBox.StandardButton.Close)
+        buttons.button(QDialogButtonBox.StandardButton.Close).setIcon(icon(IconName.CLOSE))
         buttons.rejected.connect(self.reject)
         layout.addWidget(buttons)