I have some thoughts to input re the UI
> > Remove the layer dialog from the bottom toolbar (which is redundant
> > anyway)
> It may be redundant for you, but many find it convenient to be able to
> do simple layer operations without opening the layers dialog.
this will always happen. IMHO it'll always be a good idea when creating tools
indended for actual use, to offer users a choice. Don't give 'em something
they can't get rid of, and by all means, allow for redundancy and let the
user remove what isn't important. I'm just speaking from experience with
UI's that have struck me as either more or less friendly. I could be wrong.
> > > You are missing the point that N/A is horribly unclear and unhelpfully
> > > pedantic, technically correctly but more an unnecessary distinction.
> > Perhaps, but what would you suggest, specifically? "Nothing selected"
> > would not fit there.
> "None" as previously stated (a non selection isn't filled either) or leave
> it blank.
I noticed that when you bring up the dialog from the swatches, you
can't set anything anyways (and rightly so), so why not use the standard
disabled style (grayed out)?
> If you want to talk about clunkiness Inkscape is fairly clunkey, Xara
> isn't all that pretty either, there is something that feels old about it.
I second this, and not just because I've gotten used to illustrator's UI. It's
refreshing not to have dialogs obscuring the canvas, which i found was the
most efficient way to use AI, but something about the Inkscape still needs
work. I won't know just how hard it'd be until i start coding, but I'd recommend
that the inkscape community be more willing to alter the UI without
demanding overwhelming ... well ... demand, instead opting to try it and see
if a certain change seems to make the design process more natural than it
was before, or not.
As for the layers dialog. It seemed to me an incomplete version of something
like illustrator's layers dialog, and I spoke to MentalGuy about working on it
(with the aim of making it _better_, NOT like illustrator).
It strikis me that the intended function of the layers widget is a subset of
that of the dialog, the former intended for quick access, the latter for more
powerful editing option. Isn't this the usual distinction between toolbar/dialog
tools?
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-- Meshach Mitchell