On Sat, 21 Jan 2006, Martin Owens wrote:
Date: Sat, 21 Jan 2006 20:01:15 +0000 From: Martin Owens <doctormo@...1114...> To: inkscape inkscape-devel@lists.sourceforge.net Subject: [Inkscape-devel] Linked vs Embeded
We've been having a discussion in #inkscape about the feedback (almost complaints) about the way inkscape links to images by default instead of embedding them as a document creator would expect.
Interesting. User expectations can be very interesting, and I suppose we are too used to SVG (and to a lesser extent HTML) to really be too surprised by the linking (not embedding) behaviour.
I wonder if more could be done to quantify those expectations and see how much comes from using other drawing applications are coming from other influences. Better understanding of our biases can really help designing balanced solutions.
Embedding seems like the more straighforward default for ordinary users but then there are questions of making the entire file format self contained and embedding Fonts, Videos, and all kinds of other information resulting in very large files. If images are embedded what else should be embedded? The inkjar files are working towards providing the kind of complete file format these users might want, perhaps it should be the default file format?
If users must learn about embedding some resources and not others, there might be some advantage to linking images and confronting them with this lesson sooner rather than later?
Does embedding have any performance penalties? Taking binary and mime type encoding it inside another file isn't exactly the most elegant solution, and in some cases it can cause incredible amounts of bloat (thankfully we have SVGZ to counterbalance that).
The solution on balance we got to was: New Menu Item File->'Place Image' (same name used as adobe) which links
Same name as Adobe, so Place Image in Illustrator only links the Image? (I've never noticed, I use photoshop more often than Illustrator where the link/embed distinction doesn't matter. The minor point I'm making is that if the same label is used it will be important to keep the behaviour as close to the same as possible which I assume you are already doing.)
to the image Change Menu Import to embed image data by default Add an ask box for when images are dragged and dropped for weather the images should be linked or embedded.
Please make a decision, allow the user to make progress. Do not ask every time, this kind of blocking behavior can be frustrating especially after long term use. Users will inevitably request an option to always link or always embed.
If the default Import behaviour will be to embed then I think Drag and Drop should follow that behaviour, and the linking behaviour should require the deliberate use of Place Image...
I'm having a look at the code but I won't change anything until we reach a consensus. --
Others mentioned the issue of discoverability, any ideas how we might make it clearer which images are embedded inline and which are linked?
On balance it does seem like a good idea to embed images by default.
Sincerely
Alan Horkan
Inkscape http://inkscape.org Abiword http://www.abisource.com Dia http://gnome.org/projects/dia/ Open Clip Art http://OpenClipArt.org
Alan's Diary http://advogato.org/person/AlanHorkan/