Re: [Inkscape-devel] Inkscape-devel Digest, Vol 17, Issue 26
From: staff-gmail <john.staff2222@...400...> Subject: Re: [Inkscape-devel] Inkscape House plan wish list
As an engineer, I like Inkscape because it is NOT like CAD (I like the
simplicity and free form nature), though I do enjoy some of the newer features that bring Visio and Sketchup type abilities. However, some of the things you are looking for are possible (see below) and you are welcome and encouraged to contribute patches for anything else you would like. Some things could be done with the python extension script capabilities.
Donn wrote:
- Rotate entire page - the plan is designed square, but the house is
seated
at an angle. Nice to be able to see the house angled, but continue to
design
square.
Have you tried selecting all the objects, grouping and then rotating ?
I think what he really wants is to have the entire coordinate system rotated... not just the graphics.
- It would be super if "symbols" (original groups that are used as
clones)
could be kept in a separate .svg file and referred-to within other
svg files.
That way, the symbols don't have to be *in* every file that uses
those
clones.
then you start to have file dependency hell. I do keep a separate file
for my favorite symbols/drawn objects which I copy into various drawings. I want them to be a pure copy so I can modify them any way I
want in that particular drawing.
File dependency is not an entirely bad thing. Being able to modify a graphical widget in one file and have instances of the widget updated in many files can be very useful. It would be a cool option to be able to save dependencies... but I wouldn't want it to be the default.
- Measurements: If there were at least a ruler tool that could be
measured in
length (at any angle) rather than the width/height of it's bounding
square,
it would really help in designing accurately when things don't remain
square.
Better yet, a way to get the length of a section of an element -
perhaps by
selecting nodes and having it show the lengths in a readout
somewhere.
Or, when you draw a line it could show the length along with the
other
usual info.
yes, a ruler tool would be nice, in fact, the whole SVG unit transformation specifications could use some work - feel free to contribute some ideas on this.
The Measure Path effect can already do measurement at any angle. What seems to be missing is some code that updates the measurement text when the measured path is modified.
7.5 (I just remembered) It would be nifty if a kind of
"spreadsheetyness"
could infiltrate Inkscape. For example, I often wanted to add a list
of areas
(that I manually calculated and noted as text objects here and there)
together and display a total area in a text object on another layer.
If that
could be automated by variables and formula... Just imagine!
Sounds like a great Inkcape offshoot project... CADscape! I'd certainly give it a go when I needed to do some CAD work if somebody wanted to create it... but I would hate it if Inkscape became too much like other CAD tools.
- A way to export the selected item(s) out to an svg file. I find
that
copy/paste between Inkscape instances on Kubuntu just plain does not
work. So
I end up making "cut.svg" files with one item in it so I can import
that to
the next file. Boring really. So being able to pull something out of
a busy
file and send it to a file would speed that.
Cut and paste between files does work - you just have to open the 2nd file from within the first file
Sending selected objects to a new file isn't all that difficult or complicated. Select your objects > CTRL/C > CTRL/N > CTRL/V. Presto... all selected objects are now exported to a new document.
I think what he really wants is to have the entire coordinate system rotated... not just the graphics.
Yes. It seems this has been discussed and perhaps it's in the works. Dunno.
File dependency is not an entirely bad thing. Being able to modify a graphical widget in one file and have instances of the widget updated in many files can be very useful.
Damn skippy!
The Measure Path effect can already do measurement at any angle. What seems to be missing is some code that updates the measurement text when the measured path is modified.
I never noticed that effect. It's a good start, but it should be bang in the tools on the screen for zippy work; not a dialogue and then a wait and so on.
"spreadsheetyness" Sounds like a great Inkcape offshoot project... CADscape! I'd certainly give it a go when I needed to do some CAD work if somebody wanted to create it... but I would hate it if Inkscape became too much like other CAD tools.
I too have a list of dream apps I would like to write, oh man don't get me started :) I have one project started but this whole moving-home-and-building-a-house thing has killed my concentration for coding. I'll get back to my "itch" app in about a year's time I guess :( In the meantime there are new people taking it over and I hope it goes places.
I think that Inkscape is proving to be so darn flexible that adding a cad-like (optional) overlay is a very very very good idea. It could be a new toolbar for example. Everything is already there to do all the stuff that a simple plan needs, but the tools need to be added and tweaked.
I would add that a library of (open) pre-drawn standard symbols (to-scale) would be totally killer. Need a doorway? drag that sucker from the tray!
Sending selected objects to a new file isn't all that difficult or complicated. Select your objects > CTRL/C > CTRL/N > CTRL/V. Presto... all selected objects are now exported to a new document.
Yes, I have just learned about that. V. cool. A little counter-intuitive, but as long as it works.
\d
On 10/13/07, Donn <donn.ingle@...400...> wrote:
I think what he really wants is to have the entire coordinate system rotated... not just the graphics.
Yes. It seems this has been discussed and perhaps it's in the works. Dunno.
It's been discussed, and it's clear what needs to be done, but AFAIK no one works on this right now. Volunteers welcome!
Tony Vigil wrote:
- It would be super if "symbols" (original groups that are used as
clones)
could be kept in a separate .svg file and referred-to within other
svg files.
That way, the symbols don't have to be *in* every file that uses those clones.
then you start to have file dependency hell. I do keep a separate file for my favorite symbols/drawn objects which I copy into various drawings. I want them to be a pure copy so I can modify them any way I want in that particular drawing.
File dependency is not an entirely bad thing. Being able to modify a graphical widget in one file and have instances of the widget updated in many files can be very useful. It would be a cool option to be able to save dependencies... but I wouldn't want it to be the default.
You might be thinking in terms of closed desktop data files like OLE. Considering that SVG is XML, any external file should/can be handled as a xml/html link. You can do that now easily in SVG. But another major reason to include objects in your file is the "id" which allows the use of DOM operations, etc though you could do that with the link on the entire linked file (and maybe you can reference the id of the linked file - I've never tried that). I think your linked files can be saved all in one as a ".svgz" zip file.
On Oct 13, 2007, at 9:50 AM, staff-gmail wrote:
You might be thinking in terms of closed desktop data files like OLE. Considering that SVG is XML, any external file should/can be handled as a xml/html link. You can do that now easily in SVG. But another major reason to include objects in your file is the "id" which allows the use of DOM operations, etc though you could do that with the link on the entire linked file (and maybe you can reference the id of the linked file - I've never tried that). I think your linked files can be saved all in one as a ".svgz" zip file.
There's also a standard that uses MIME type packaging to get efficient storage of mixed XML+binary stuff.
XML-binary Optimized Packaging http://www.w3.org/TR/xop10/
Now, a file with ".svgz" as the extension should be just a standard SVG file that has been gzipped to be smaller. Anything else needs to have a different extension.
participants (5)
-
bulia byak -
Donn -
Jon A. Cruz -
staff-gmail -
Tony Vigil