1:52 p.m.
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...
3:19 p.m.
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
7:26 p.m.
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
7:46 p.m.
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>
8:34 p.m.
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
11:25 p.m.
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.
4:02 a.m.
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
3:23 p.m.
New subject: Re : proposal to enhance the python extensions
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
4445
days inactive
4445
days old
inkscape-devel@lists.inkscape.org
7 comments
6 participants
participants (6)
-
Alexandre Prokoudine -
Chris Morgan -
Jasper van de Gronde -
Mark Schafer -
Nicolas Dufour -
~suv