Hi everyone, I've been lurking on this list and making extensions for Inkscape in python. (I'm also keen on the dbus scripting but I use windows so no good for me right now...)
I have had difficulty understanding what some of the extensions do and in writing my own I have discovered the notebook tab. I want to suggest using the notebook tab at the top of each extension to help document how they work. Here is a screenshot of a suggested UI from my Lasercut box extension. http://www.flickr.com/photos/33807726@...2603.../5569339514/ Extra tabs could break up the info for clarity and show data like author,url, etc
So I propose: - supply a template for people writing extensions to use as a starter - and some docs/tutorials on making extensions in python - modify the existing extensions included in Inkscape to follow this guideline - maybe fix broken extensions if there are any (I haven't tried every one)
But I don't want to do something the dev team thinks is a waste of time, and I am unsure of the translation issues with such an approach.
Any thoughts ? Mark...
On 29/3/11 06:52, Mark Schafer wrote:
I have had difficulty understanding what some of the extensions do and in writing my own I have discovered the notebook tab. I want to suggest using the notebook tab at the top of each extension to help document how they work. Here is a screenshot of a suggested UI from my Lasercut box extension. http://www.flickr.com/photos/33807726@...2603.../5569339514/ Extra tabs could break up the info for clarity and show data like author,url, etc
IMHO dialogs this high (as seen in the screenshot) are hard to use (or unusable) on smaller screens (laptop) - did you take a look at e.g. 'Render > Function Plotter', 'Render > Parametric Curves', 'Render > L-System' or 'Visualize Path > Measure Path' for how they handle documentation? The pages of the notebook are actual tabs, not just a frame within the same dialog.
As far as I know, in the current development branch (lp:inkscape), which has seen several UI consistency updates (units, Gnome HIG compliance...) to many of the bundled extensions, help texts for some other extensions have been added or moved to a separate notebook page/tab (e.g. 'Color > Custom', 'Color > Randomize' or 'Generate from Path > Voronoi Pattern').
The externally developed 'JessyInk' extension (bundled with Inkscape 0.48) is another example to use a second tab for the help text in each of its dialogs.
I'm sure JazzyNico will provide further details, since he has been working on improving and extending the available GUI elements for the extension dialogs lately.
So I propose:
- supply a template for people writing extensions to use as a starter
- and some docs/tutorials on making extensions in python
There are several pages with information about the extension subsystem, creating INX files and script extensions in the wiki (some of them might be slightly outdated): http://wiki.inkscape.org/wiki/index.php/Category:Extensions
~suv
On 3/29/11, ~suv wrote:
The externally developed 'JessyInk' extension (bundled with Inkscape 0.48) is another example to use a second tab for the help text in each of its dialogs.
Is there any reason we can't introduce a simple Webkit based help browser that would just open a small window next to extension's dialog on demand and show nicely formatted text? GIMP uses IDs for actions to figure out which .html file to open in every context. Well, we do have verbs, don't we?
Alexandre Prokoudine http://libregraphicsworld.org
On 29/3/11 12:26, Alexandre Prokoudine wrote:
On 3/29/11, ~suv wrote:
The externally developed 'JessyInk' extension (bundled with Inkscape 0.48) is another example to use a second tab for the help text in each of its dialogs.
Is there any reason we can't introduce a simple Webkit based help browser that would just open a small window next to extension's dialog on demand and show nicely formatted text? GIMP uses IDs for actions to figure out which .html file to open in every context. Well, we do have verbs, don't we?
I have never seen GIMP's help browser in action (as far as I know it has been broken for quite some time now, at least in stable versions ported to Windows and OSX).
If implemented without any additional Gnome deps (dbus, gconf, gsetting or dconf, or whatever module Gnome apps use for it) - why not (though personally I'm glad it's not yet another window floating around, instead just a compact tab in the dialog you can ignore if not needed, and would rather see efforts spent on making those dialogs dockable, possibly combined with a new widget giving quicker access to the items from the nested menus for effects/extensions [1]). Or did you intend to propose the implementation of a new help system for Inkscape itself, not only limited to extensions?
~suv
[1] https://blueprints.launchpad.net/inkscape/+spec/long-menu-accessibility
Is there any reason we can't introduce a simple Webkit based help browser that would just open a small window next to extension's dialog on demand and show nicely formatted text? GIMP uses IDs for actions to figure out which .html file to open in every context. Well, we do have verbs, don't we?
And add another ~15MB dependency?
This is my only objection to the notion - it's precisely what I like to do; personally I would suggest expanding the panel to the right when the user clicks on the "help" button and including help there. That way it doesn't take more space (obscuring "live preview") unless the user is looking at the help, and the other important thing for almost all monitors, "wide, not tall", is conformed to. Visual implementation: attach another button, "Help
" in the bottom right corner of such windows ("<< Help" when expanded).
Once you've *got* WebKit in there, you can also use it for other things - "preview appearance in web browser", for example, could be useful, especially for JessyInk. We could even make Inkscape play the presentation properly.
-- Chris
On 2011-03-29 13:34, Chris Morgan wrote:
Is there any reason we can't introduce a simple Webkit based help browser that would just open a small window next to extension's dialog on demand and show nicely formatted text? GIMP uses IDs for actions to figure out which .html file to open in every context. Well, we do have verbs, don't we?And add another ~15MB dependency?
This is my only objection to the notion - it's precisely what I like to do; personally I would suggest expanding the panel to the right when the user clicks on the "help" button and including help there. That way it doesn't take more space (obscuring "live preview") unless the user is looking at the help, and the other important thing for almost all monitors, "wide, not tall", is conformed to. Visual implementation: attach another button, "Help >>" in the bottom right corner of such windows ("<< Help" when expanded).
Actually I think it would make more sense to render an SVG, like we do for tutorials. But I agree with ~suv that it's also nice to just have a very simple help, if you want more information you can always try finding a tutorial somewhere.
Once you've /got/ WebKit in there, you can also use it for other things - "preview appearance in web browser", for example, could be useful, especially for JessyInk. We could even make Inkscape play the presentation properly.
On 29/3/11 12:26, Alexandre Prokoudine wrote:
On 3/29/11, ~suv wrote:
The externally developed 'JessyInk' extension (bundled with Inkscape 0.48) is another example to use a second tab for the help text in each of its dialogs.
Is there any reason we can't introduce a simple Webkit based help browser that would just open a small window next to extension's dialog on demand and show nicely formatted text? GIMP uses IDs for actions to figure out which .html file to open in every context. Well, we do have verbs, don't we?
Related earlier proposal: Subject: How to include examples in an Extension? http://thread.gmane.org/gmane.comp.graphics.inkscape.devel/35271
A new feature/widget for INX files to provide examples (acting like presets) could complement any help system, possibly even more efficient than a fancy new (browser) widget to display a plain or formatted help text?
~suv
Hi Mark,
De : Mark Schafer <mschafer@...2596...> I have had difficulty understanding what some of the extensions do and in writing my own I have discovered the notebook tab. I want to suggest using the notebook tab at the top of each extension to help document how they work.
I'd rather use a separate help tab (see Extensions>Visualize Path>Measure Path). Putting everything in the same tab would increase the dialogs height and cause problems, particularly to notebooks users.
So I propose:
- supply a template for people writing extensions to use as a starter
- and some docs/tutorials on making extensions in python
Ok. http://wiki.inkscape.org/wiki/index.php/Extensions seems to be the right place for it. http://wiki.inkscape.org/wiki/index.php/Effect_reference can also be used as a base reference for your help tab.
- modify the existing extensions included in Inkscape to follow this
guideline
Please keep in mind that some extensions don't have a dialog at all, and that adding one to provide an help tab could slow their use. Some others (JessyInk, GCodeTools, Scour...) are external projects updated in Inkscape regularly. Ask their authors before modifying them.
Regards, -- Nicolas
participants (6)
-
Alexandre Prokoudine -
Chris Morgan -
Jasper van de Gronde -
Mark Schafer -
Nicolas Dufour -
~suv