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+# Adjustments Filter Bar v2 — Design (23 Apr 2026)
+
+## Origin
+
+Konrad on the shipped Adjustments tab (commit `672c32c`):
+
+> _"this interface layout is very ugly. And the selection dropdown menus text is a bit large don't you think?"_
+
+Follow-up: _"the spacing above the Show As section is bad"_.
+
+Short redesign after the 22-task feature work shipped. Pure polish — no
+backend changes, no test changes, no new URL params.
+
+## Goal
+
+Tighten the visual vocabulary of the Adjustments filter bar. Today the
+bar mixes three control shapes (popover pills for Type/Workers/Teams, a
+native `<select>` for Status, and a compound widget for Date with
+separate inputs + preset links + mode-toggle button). Five different
+control treatments crammed into one sticky row reads as noisy.
+
+Secondary: the popover checkbox list uses Bootstrap's default
+`.form-check-input` ~14–16px font and ~0.2rem row padding, which makes
+the 7-type Type popover ~320px tall — larger than it needs to be.
+
+Tertiary: the "Show as: Flat / By Type / By Worker" toggle sits
+directly below the filter bar with no vertical breathing room; they
+read as one cramped block.
+
+## Who it's for
+
+Admins (`is_staff` or `is_superuser`). Same audience as the whole
+Adjustments feature.
+
+## 1. Unified pill vocabulary — 5 pills, identical treatment
+
+Every filter becomes a `.filter-pill.adj-filter-pill`:
+
+- Same height (~32px)
+- Same border, same hover/focus, same chevron
+- Same label typography
+- Same popover anchoring (reuses Feature-1 `.filter-popover`)
+
+| Filter | Current | After |
+|--------|---------|-------|
+| Type | Pill popover with checkboxes | *(unchanged — already correct)* |
+| Workers | Pill popover with checkboxes | *(unchanged)* |
+| Teams | Pill popover with checkboxes | *(unchanged)* |
+| **Status** | Native `<select>` + `<label>` above | **Pill popover** with 3 radios (All / Unpaid / Paid) |
+| **Date** | `<label>` + 2 `<input>`s + preset links + `...` toggle, all inline | **Pill popover** with mode toggle + picker(s) + preset buttons inside |
+
+### Pill label formatting
+
+At-a-glance the pill label reveals what's active:
+
+| State | Label |
+|-------|-------|
+| Empty | `Type`, `Workers`, `Teams`, `Status`, `Date` |
+| 1 selected | `Type: Bonus`, `Status: Unpaid`, `Date: 24 Apr 2026` |
+| 2+ selected | `Type` with a `(2)` count badge after the label |
+| Date range | `Date: 20 Apr – 26 Apr` |
+
+## 2. Popover density — smaller font, tighter rows
+
+| Property | Current | After |
+|----------|---------|-------|
+| Checkbox-list font size | ~14px (Bootstrap default) | `0.8rem` (~12.8px) |
+| Checkbox row padding | `0.2rem 0.25rem` | `0.15rem 0.25rem` |
+| Checkbox visual size | 1em | `0.9em` |
+| Popover footer buttons | Bootstrap `btn-sm` defaults | `font-size: 0.75rem; padding: 0.25rem 0.5rem` |
+| Checkbox-list max-height | `280px` | `260px` |
+| Popover max width | `420px` | `360px` |
+
+Net effect on the Type popover (7 rows): drops from ~320px tall to ~240px.
+
+## 3. Status pill — popover with 3 radios
+
+```
+[Status ▾]                Status popover:
+                          ┌──────────────────┐
+                          │ ○ All            │
+                          │ ○ Unpaid         │
+                          │ ○ Paid           │
+                          ├──────────────────┤
+                          │    [Cancel] [OK] │
+                          └──────────────────┘
+```
+
+- Hidden `<input type="hidden" name="adj_status" value="...">` holds
+  committed state, rewritten by popover OK
+- Pill label: `Status` / `Status: Unpaid` / `Status: Paid`
+- Cancel reverts radio to committed state; Esc / click-outside
+  close without committing (matches existing popover pattern)
+
+## 4. Date pill — popover with mode + picker(s) + presets
+
+```
+[Date ▾]                  Date popover:
+                          ┌───────────────────────┐
+                          │ [Single] Range Custom │  ← mode toggle
+                          │                       │
+                          │ Date: [ 24/04/2026 ]  │  ← picker(s)
+                          │                       │
+                          │ Today · Week · Month  │  ← presets
+                          ├───────────────────────┤
+                          │      [Cancel] [OK]    │
+                          └───────────────────────┘
+```
+
+- Three modes:
+  - **Single** (default): one picker; submit sends `adj_date_from = adj_date_to = picked`
+  - **Range**: two pickers (From / To); submit sends both
+  - **Custom** — same as range but with a "(custom date, not month-aligned)" hint
+    *(Simplification possibility: drop Custom; Range covers it. Leaning YAGNI.
+     Will decide at impl time — if no clean semantic gain, Custom goes.)*
+- Presets (Today / This week / This month / Clear) work the same as
+  the current inline presets, just live inside the popover now
+- Pill label formatting:
+  - Empty: `Date`
+  - Single: `Date: 24 Apr 2026`
+  - Range: `Date: 20 Apr – 26 Apr 2026`
+- Hidden form inputs `adj_date_from` + `adj_date_to` hold committed state
+
+## 5. Filter bar layout
+
+```
+┌────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────┐
+│ [Type ▾]  [Workers ▾]  [Teams ▾]  [Status ▾]  [Date ▾]  [Apply] C │
+└────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────┘
+↑ 1rem spacing
+Show as:  [Flat]  [By Type]  [By Worker]
+```
+
+- Remove all `<label>Status</label>` / `<label>Date</label>` elements
+  above native widgets — the pill text carries that job now
+- `.adjustments-filter-bar` keeps `display: flex; flex-wrap: wrap;
+  gap: 0.75rem; align-items: center;` (was `end` for the native widget
+  baseline; `center` now that all children are the same pill height)
+- Apply + Clear sit at the right end with `margin-left: auto` on their
+  wrapper
+- The "Show as" row gains `margin-top: 1rem` so there's clear
+  separation from the filter bar
+- The Show-as toggle buttons get `padding: 0.3rem 0.75rem; font-size:
+  0.8rem` to match pill height
+
+## 6. Spacing + density tokens
+
+Add two tokens inside the adjustments block of `static/css/custom.css`:
+
+```css
+/* Adjustments tab — shared density tokens for the filter strip */
+--adj-filter-font-size: 0.8rem;
+--adj-filter-height: 32px;
+```
+
+Every filter control picks them up so height + text size stay in lockstep.
+
+## 7. Implementation plan (short — it's template + CSS only)
+
+1. **Template** (`payroll_dashboard.html`):
+   - Replace the `<select name="adj_status">` + its `<label>` with a Status pill-popover (radios)
+   - Replace the 6-line Date widget markup with a Date pill-popover (mode toggle, pickers, presets all inside)
+   - Keep the existing hidden `adj_status` / `adj_date_from` / `adj_date_to` pattern — just write them from the new popovers' OK handlers
+2. **JS** (same `<script>` block):
+   - Tiny Status popover wiring (radios → hidden input on OK; label update via pill-label helper)
+   - Move Date presets + mode toggle logic INSIDE the Date popover handler
+   - Reuse `commitCheckboxes` pattern for the Status/Date hidden-input rewrite
+3. **CSS** (`custom.css`):
+   - Density tokens (2 CSS vars)
+   - Font-size drops on `.adj-checkbox-list` + popover footer buttons
+   - Shrink `.adj-cb-row` padding + checkbox size
+   - `.adj-groupby-toggle` gets `margin-top: 1rem`
+   - `.adj-groupby-toggle .btn` matches pill size
+
+## 8. Out of scope
+
+- **Backend changes** — none. Query param contract stays identical
+  (`?status=adjustments&type=X&worker=Y&team=Z&adj_status=paid&adj_date_from=2026-04-20&adj_date_to=2026-04-26`).
+- **Test changes** — none. All 65 tests exercise the URL contract, not the DOM shape.
+- **AJAX partial rendering** — still full page reload on Apply. Matches the rest of the app.
+- **Saved filter presets** — URLs are bookmarkable already; YAGNI.
+- **"Custom date" mode** — if it's semantically identical to "Range",
+  drop it at impl time.
+
+## 9. Risks + rollback
+
+Template-only; rollback = revert the commit. No data, schema, migration,
+or URL-contract impact.
+
+Biggest risk: a copy-paste error in the Date popover's mode-toggle JS
+could leave someone with a submit that posts empty dates. Mitigation:
+the existing "apply single mode fallback" behaviour (blank `adj_date_to`
+→ server treats as no-filter) already makes this safe.
+
+## 10. Next step
+
+Implement directly (no writing-plans needed — single-commit template +
+CSS polish, no new business logic, no new tests). Ship alongside the
+Adjustments feature in the same `ai-dev` branch.