Fix 'General' settings not available after upgrade (blocks startup) (#3013)

- Add migration from settings version 8 to 9 that ensures General section exists with all required keys
- Add safe access to General settings in application.py, mainframe.py, treeplugin.py, and dialog.py
- Use .get() with fallback values instead of direct dictionary access
- This prevents KeyError when user settings file is missing or corrupted

Closes #3000

Author: chelslava

src/robotide/application/application.py

@@ -147,8 +147,9 @@ class Message:
         self._controller = Project(self.namespace, self.settings)
         # print(f"DEBUG: application.py RIDE OnInit after defining controller= {self._controller}")
         # Try to get FontInfo as soon as possible
-        font_size = self.settings['General'].get('font size', 12)
-        font_face = self.settings['General'].get('font face', 'Helvetica')
+        general = self.settings.get('General', {})
+        font_size = general.get('font size', 12) if general else 12
+        font_face = general.get('font face', 'Helvetica') if general else 'Helvetica' 
         self.fontinfo = wx.FontInfo(font_size).FaceName(font_face).Bold(False)
         self.fileexplorerplugin = FileExplorerPlugin(self, self._controller)
         self.frame = RideFrame(self, self._controller)

src/robotide/preferences/settings.cfg

@@ -1,4 +1,4 @@
-settings_version = 8
+settings_version = 9
 mainframe size = (1100, 700)
 mainframe position = (50, 30)
 mainframe maximized = False

src/robotide/preferences/settings.py

@@ -122,6 +122,8 @@ def migrate(self):
             self.migrate_from_6_to_7(self._old_settings)
         if self._old_settings.get(self.SETTINGS_VERSION) == 7:
             self.migrate_from_7_to_8(self._old_settings)
+        if self._old_settings.get(self.SETTINGS_VERSION) == 8:
+            self.migrate_from_8_to_9(self._old_settings)
         self.merge()
 
     def merge(self):
@@ -208,6 +210,28 @@ def migrate_from_7_to_8(self, settings):
                     os.remove(lib_xml_path)
         settings[self.SETTINGS_VERSION] = 8
 
+    def migrate_from_8_to_9(self, settings):
+        """Ensure General section exists with all required keys."""
+        if 'General' not in settings:
+            settings['General'] = {}
+        general = settings['General']
+        defaults = {
+            'font size': 11,
+            'font face': '',
+            'foreground': '#5E5C64',
+            'background': 'light grey',
+            'secondary foreground': '#DEDDDA',
+            'secondary background': '#0A4A8A',
+            'background help': '#A5F173',
+            'foreground text': '#080240',
+            'apply to panels': False,
+            'ui language': 'English'
+        }
+        for key, value in defaults.items():
+            if key not in general:
+                general[key] = value
+        settings[self.SETTINGS_VERSION] = 9
+
     @staticmethod
     def _key_with_underscore(settings, keyname, section=None):
         keyname_old = keyname.replace('_', ' ')

src/robotide/ui/mainframe.py

@@ -160,14 +160,14 @@ def __init__(self, application, controller):
         self.tasks = application.settings.get('tasks', False)
         self.doc_language = application.settings.get('doc language', '')
         self._notebook_theme = application.settings.get('notebook theme', 0)
-        self.general_settings = application.settings['General']  # .get_without_default('General')
-        self.color_background_help = self.general_settings.get('background help', (240, 242, 80))
-        self.color_foreground_text = self.general_settings.get('foreground text', (7, 0, 70))
-        self.color_background = self.general_settings.get_without_default('background')
-        self.color_foreground = self.general_settings.get_without_default('foreground')
-        self.font_face = self.general_settings.get('font face', '')
-        self.font_size = self.general_settings.get('font size', 11)
-        self.ui_language = self.general_settings.get('ui language', 'English')
+        self.general_settings = application.settings.get('General', {})
+        self.color_background_help = self.general_settings.get('background help', (240, 242, 80)) if self.general_settings else (240, 242, 80)
+        self.color_foreground_text = self.general_settings.get('foreground text', (7, 0, 70)) if self.general_settings else (7, 0, 70)
+        self.color_background = self.general_settings.get('background', 'light grey') if self.general_settings else 'light grey'
+        self.color_foreground = self.general_settings.get('foreground', '#5E5C64') if self.general_settings else '#5E5C64'
+        self.font_face = self.general_settings.get('font face', '') if self.general_settings else ''
+        self.font_size = self.general_settings.get('font size', 11) if self.general_settings else 11
+        self.ui_language = self.general_settings.get('ui language', 'English') if self.general_settings else 'English' 
         self.main_menu = None
         self._init_ui()
         self.SetIcon(wx.Icon(self._image_provider.RIDE_ICON))

src/robotide/ui/treeplugin.py

@@ -288,9 +288,9 @@ def __init__(self, parent, action_registerer, settings=None):
         self._RESOURCES_NODE_LABEL = _('External Resources')
         # print(f"DEBUG: treeplugin.py Tree after importing TreeController  __init__ "
         #       f"translated label={self._RESOURCES_NODE_LABEL}")
-        self.theme = settings.get_without_default('General')
-        self.background = self.theme['background']
-        self.foreground = self.theme['foreground']
+        self.theme = settings.get('General', {}) if settings else {}
+        self.background = self.theme.get('background', 'light grey') if self.theme else 'light grey'
+        self.foreground = self.theme.get('foreground', '#5E5C64') if self.theme else '#5E5C64' 
         self._checkboxes_for_tests = False
         self._test_selection_controller = self._create_test_selection_controller()
         self.controller = TreeController(self, action_registerer, settings=settings,

src/robotide/widgets/dialog.py

@@ -31,16 +31,16 @@ def __init__(self, parent, size=wx.DefaultSize, text=None, color_background=None
         html.HtmlWindow.__init__(self, parent, size=size, style=html.HW_DEFAULT_STYLE)
         from ..preferences import RideSettings
         _settings = RideSettings()
-        self.general_settings = _settings['General']
-        self.color_background_help = color_background if color_background else self.general_settings['background help']
-        self.color_foreground_text = color_foreground if color_foreground else self.general_settings['foreground text']
+        self.general_settings = _settings.get('General', {})
+        self.color_background_help = color_background if color_background else (self.general_settings.get('background help', '#A5F173') if self.general_settings else '#A5F173')
+        self.color_foreground_text = color_foreground if color_foreground else (self.general_settings.get('foreground text', '#080240') if self.general_settings else '#080240')
         self.SetBorders(2)
         self.SetStandardFonts(size=9)
         if text:
             self.set_content(text)
         self.font = self.GetFont()
-        self.font.SetFaceName(self.general_settings['font face'])
-        self.font.SetPointSize(self.general_settings['font size'])
+        self.font.SetFaceName(self.general_settings.get('font face', '') if self.general_settings else '')
+        self.font.SetPointSize(self.general_settings.get('font size', 11) if self.general_settings else 11)
         self.SetFont(self.font)
         self.Refresh(True)
         self.Bind(wx.EVT_KEY_DOWN, self.on_key_down)