Improve modules page table poor layout.

You're right, there is definitely room for improvement there! How can I help?

With the exception of the idea of stacking the Help/Permissions/Configure links, the rest of your complaints are a result of the CSS applied by the Garland theme. I'm moving this over to the Garland theme component, but a better solution might be to choose an administrative theme (like Seven).

I prefer module-after1.jpg, let's move forward :)

Ugh. Things look fine in Seven without the patch. For the curious, I've attached a screenshot of the proposed change in #3 in Seven. While it visually looks okay, it has usability issues --- if the original UI intention was to just have icons, they would have only had icons.

I still think this is a Garland problem, if at all.

Even with an "administrative" theme like Seven, the horizontal links take up far too much horizontal real estate, at the expense of the description text.

Stacking the links seems a better alternative and a way to allow room for more core links and for other modules to add links. However, the core theme function, theme_system_modules_fieldset(), is not written to allow for more links. To be able to display more links, this theme function needs to be changed or the site's theme would need to override this theme function.

Simply replace:

// Display links (such as help or permissions) in their own columns.
foreach (array('help', 'permissions', 'configure') as $key) {
  $row[] = array('data' => drupal_render($module['links'][$key]), 'class' => array($key));
}

by:

// Display operation links (such as help or permissions) in one column.
$links = '';
foreach (element_children($module['links']) as $key) {
  $links .= drupal_render($module['links'][$key]);
}
$row[] = array('data' => $links, 'class' => array('operations'));

should do the trick.

Why not just

// Display operation links (such as help or permissions) in one column.
$row[] = array('data' => drupal_render($module['links'], 'class' => array('operations'));

drupal_render() already handles arrays like this.

One line works and is preferable to more.

It'd be great if we could generate some before and after screenshots for Bartik/Garland/Seven for the folks reviewing this patch.

I'm sure this needs to be switched to 8.x. Anyways, here are some before/after screenies of Bartik, Garland & Seven after the patch #7 is applied. The impact is not so obvious in Seven (but then again, I'm on a wide screen 23" monitor and this is fluid width), it is more obvious in Garland and it surely catches one's eye in Bartik.

If you need this functionality now, use Module filter NG that already does that ;)

This needs to be addressed in 8.x first and it's not only for Garland. Changing version and component then. Also changed the issue's title to resemble more of a "task". I'm not sure if it is a task or a feature request though. Leaving it as NR, but it might need a reroll against D8.

PS: there's #538904: D8UX: Redesign Modules Page btw, they have it filed under the base.system component.

#1790280: Module page redesign 2.0