2009/12/28 Jasper van de Gronde <th.v.d.gronde@...528...>:
- When dropping/pasting a file, default to linking. - Provide a modifier to embed a file when dropping. - Provide very clear visual indications of what has happened, as well as what will happen.
Check out the bugs I mentioned in the "mega-thread". https://bugs.launchpad.net/inkscape/+bug/171085 https://bugs.launchpad.net/inkscape/+bug/415374
I think the last of your points is problematic because some users do not know what an image link is. There's also the problem that for an user unaware of links, he might overwrite valuable images by using "edit externally" or using ImageMagick extensions.
The action of linking is inherently more "risky" than embedding - it is possible to break a link but not an embedded image. Actions like DnD and paste are ambiguous (some apps copy and some apps link), so I think we should default to embed, otherwise people will keep breaking their documents. When middle click dragging we can pop up a menu, and there can be pref settings for what should the behavior be, but the initial settings should be to embed. Import dialog should have two radio buttons "Embed" and "Link", which would be grayed out when selecting SVG documents (we always embed them).
Regards, Krzysztof