Kinsley Turner wrote:
Hey...
Was just browsing some map-making threads, and thought about how I used to draw RPG maps when I was a kid. Using a bitmap editor (we're talking 20 years ago), I'd copy & paste map elements into an image from an area that had copies of all my shapes.
Sure you can do this, here is my take on it: http://nicubunu.blogspot.com/2005/04/game-map-editing-finale.html
You can find also some already made elements: http://openclipart.org/cgi-bin/navigate/signs_and_symbols/map_symbols?page=9 Maybe this will tempt you to contribute some symbols to the library :D
Anyway, I imagined a feature in inkscape where you could have a palette of SVG shapes/clipart that you could drag-off into your diagram, I guess this is much like Visio.
This could be something like an SVG thumbnail window with drag-support into inkscape. I'm imagining something that looks like Windows' "Character Picker", a regular grid with a thumbnail in each cell.
Map, Mathematical, Electrical and Logic symbols come to mind as useful 'palettes' of objects. Perhaps other things like fancy frames and curly arrows might be good too.
I guess if Inkscape already supported D&D from say Konqueror or Nautilus then it's a mute point. Although loading a set of shapes into a grid from 'cartography-symbols.tgz' would be useful.
Sure you can drag and drop from Nautilus, but here is another solution: the clipart browser - http://developer.berlios.de/projects/ocalhelper/ (will it come by default in 0.43?) from which you can also drag and drop in Inkscape.
A cool feature for game making would be (and I intend for some time to put in in the feature tracker) to have as an option hexagonal grid.