On Mar 22, 2006, at 1:28 AM, Michael Grosberg wrote:

What can be done here? I think several windows need to be trimmed down. For example, the icon preview window has a preview for an icon size of 128X128 pixels. At such a large size, a pixel preview is not really needed: I think a maximum size of 48X48, like it was before, is enough.

Actually.... other uses asked for it to be changed to the way it is.

However, if *you* want to change that, you can just edit the preferences. There's a group "iconpreview" that has a group "sizes" that has a set of groups, one for each size. Just change the appropriate size group's "show" value to 0 (zero) and it will go away next time you start up.

There is the whole issue of widget size which affects dialog size: Inkscape's widgets seem to be designed for large monitor sizes, while in other graphic applications widgets tend to be smaller and so a lot of dialogs fit in a neat row at the right of the screen. If there is a way to implement something like Gimp's theme chooser which allows you to choose a theme where all the widgets are smaller, it would be great.

The sizes in Inkscape follow the stock GTK+ mechanisms, so you should just be able to change things in a gtkrc to get the desired sizes.

Micheal, I agree, after using Freehand, I can't live with out Inkscape. After spending hundreds of hours with it I feel it is intuitive and fast. I work on an Apple G5 in X11.app and I had to rearrange my python framework and my perl library to get most of the effects to work. I too can't write code, but, I can trace problems and make small adjustments to track changes. I am using 0.43 but am using fink to supply the necessary perl and python. My biggest problem is I can't get the dropshadow to work. Oh well. I hope that Inkscape continues to excite and draw in the necessary experienced people to keep me in business, and the same for fink. Just wanted to add my two cents. Thanks every one. Dan On Mar 22, 2006, at 1:28 AM, Michael Grosberg wrote:

Hi all, I hope this is the right place for this type of post - I noticed some developers are following this list, and I am a user after all. I'd like to offer some feedback about my experience with Inkscape

I'm a professional graphic artist for a small high tech company. I've been using Inkscape for illustration for a few months now. You can see some of the things I've done recently on this link: http://www.flickr.com/photos/18405241@...1706.../sets/72057594086216100/ It's not much, usually I do 3D work and I don't get to do much vector work, but when I do, lately, it's always in Inkscape if I can.

First of all, after using illustrator for a couple of years and butting my head against the wall with frustration on a daily basis, Inkscape is simply a joy to use. I rave about Inkscape to anyone I know in the business.

Now for some comments on what I feel would help users achieve results faster: These are not feature requests, just some interface tweaks I feel would enhance Inkscape.

I use Windows XP at work, and my screen resolution is 1152X864. at this resolution, and on smaller resolutions, Inkscape's dialogs are very large, and take away screen space. On a 1024X768 desktop it's even worse and it's getting difficult to use Inkscape properly. Since currently dialog windows (on Win32) can't stay above the main window, I always try to put them on the right side of the screen and arrange them so they don't overlap the canvas. This way I can work continuously without having to turn dialogs on and off all the time. However, many dialogs are very tall or very wide and there's no good way to arrange them so they are all visible.

What can be done here? I think several windows need to be trimmed down. For example, the icon preview window has a preview for an icon size of 128X128 pixels. At such a large size, a pixel preview is not really needed: I think a maximum size of 48X48, like it was before, is enough. Another example is the gradient editor: it used to be a part of the fill and stroke dialog but now it is seperate and takes up even more space or gets lost under the canvas.

Other dialogs could use a redesign so they have the same width of the narrower dialogs: The font dialog can be rearranged in a more vertical manner, or divided into "font" and "paragraph" tabs. The align and distribute dialog can also be divided into tabs so it isn't so tall.

There is the whole issue of widget size which affects dialog size: Inkscape's widgets seem to be designed for large monitor sizes, while in other graphic applications widgets tend to be smaller and so a lot of dialogs fit in a neat row at the right of the screen. If there is a way to implement something like Gimp's theme chooser which allows you to choose a theme where all the widgets are smaller, it would be great.

This is my 2 cents about dialogs. Something else I think could enhance Inkscape is promoting a couple of effects to a full tool status: envelope and interpolate. Interpolate is important for doing non-standard gradients: mostly done when illustrating shapes with complex curved surfaces, like people or cars. Envelope of course gives you a perspective transform which is important for many effects. I guess it won't happen overnight but consider putting it on some future milestone.

I'd like to finish by saying thanks to all the developers, you've certainly made my work easier and more fun. I can't code (sorry!) but I can create mockups for dialog tweaks, if you'd like.

Michael Grosberg

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