BlueprintGeometricAndTechDrawing

2008-07-14T15:14:45Z

Cerno: /* More advanced or less important */ added bendy markers

== Summary ==

This blueprint accompanies the GSoC'08 project "Geometric & Tech Drawing Abilities for Inkscape" by Maximilian Albert. It collects ideas from the community regarding desired features and their implementation (with no warranty that any of them will be included in the project :)). Feel free to add your thoughts here.

The aim of the project is to create a new tool consisting of a number of "subtools"/"modules" which facilitate geometric constructions and technical drawings.

== Typical Workflow ==

To perform a geometric construction (e.g., create a circle through 3 points), the corresponding "module" is activated in the toolbar, either by clicking on its icon or via a shortcut. Then the items on which this construction relies (i.e., the three points) are clicked. This creates the desired geometric object (in this case a circle passing through the points).

[[Image:td_typical_workflow.png|left]]

== Desired Constructions/Other Features ==

=== Basic ===

Some constructions that should be possible with the new tool:

[[Image:td_constructions.png|left]]

=== More advanced or less important ===

* "Preserve angles" mode for node editing of polygons (mockup courtesy of Johan Engelen) [[Image:td_preserve_angles_mode.png|left]]

* Marker improvements:
** Apply the color of the current stroke to markers, too (long-standing bug: LP #165865)
** The left image shows how a marker currently looks like when applied to a curve with a sharp turn. Of course, it should look like the one on the right (also note the above-mentioned bug that the marker doesn't take the curve's stroke color). [[Image:td_marker.png|left]]
** Automatic path shortening when a marker is applied
** Smarter way of guessing a suitable marker size (not only based on stroke width but maybe also on the length of the path)
** Optional "bendy" markers that follow the curvature of the corresponding curve (see bug/wish [https://bugs.launchpad.net/inkscape/+bug/244279 #244279] for an example)

* Tangent snapping: [[Image:td_tangent_snapping.png|left]]

== Details & Internals ==

=== User Interface ===

All constructions should be accomplishable by mouse input only. E.g., points can be specified by mouse clicks, their position can be adapted by dragging, as can angles of lines, radii of circles, etc. But since for technical drawings the ability to use exact values is indispensable, each of these values can also be set by using numeric input fields (e.g., in the secondary toolbar).

=== Code ===
The tool will be implemented as a collection of "Live Path Effects" (LPEs). See [http://wiki.inkscape.org/wiki/index.php/MakingLivePathEffects here] for a technical description. The algorithms will be provided by the [http://lib2geom.sourceforge.net/ 2geom] library which is intended to become Inkscape's core library in the near future. There are separate GSoC proposals for 2geom integration into Inkscape.

As part of the project, it is intended to integrate LPEs much more tightly into Inkscape's UI, e.g., by providing handles for parameter adaption or making their controls available in toolbars (not only in the LPE dialog).

Linked bitmap manager

2008-05-09T14:01:28Z

Cerno: created linked_bitmap_manager

= Linked Bitmap Manager =

==Summary==

Organizing linked bitmap images is quite a hassle at the moment. When a bitmap file is renamed or moved to a different location, the corresponding bitmap links need to be changed manually one by one in Inkscape, involving a tedious copy and paste process for the filenames. This can be improved

==Proposal==

What I propose is a manager that allows for managing a number of bitmaps and link them to any Inkscape bitmap object (extensible to any Inkscape object).

I imagine this being a window with three fields:

# '''Inkscape Image Links''' as they appear in the document.
# A '''File Manager''' allowing to choose a number of image file paths.
# '''Imported Image Paths''', defining a number of image files chosen to be linked in the current document. Note that this is merely a selection of ''file links'' that the user wants to work with. In the manager they are displayed as images, to make working with them easier.

The user can then link ''Inkscape Image Links'' with the corresponding ''Imported Image Paths'', which then appear in the document in real time.

'''TODO:''' INSERT MOCK-UP IMAGE HERE

==User Workflow==

An exemplary user workflow for a document with ''10 broken image links'' would be as follows:

# Load document
# '''Optional:''' A message pops up: ''"A number of image links are broken, start the link manager?"''
# The link manager is opened manually or automatically (see step 2). The 10 broken image links with their current paths are displayed in the ''Inkscape Image Links'' field.
# The user opens an image folder in the ''File Manager'' field and picks a number of images, which appear in the ''Imported Image Paths'' field in link and picture form.
# The user links 10 of the images in ''Imported Image Paths'' to his 10 broken image links and can see the result immediately in the Inkscape main window.

==Benefit==

The use of this feature is straightforward:
* Documents with broken links can be repaired without much trouble without having to rename the images or copy-pasting the correct link one by one
* Users who need to change the image filenames/location can do so without the tedious copy/paste procedure necessary at the moment.
* Updating an old version of a document with new images becomes easier, especially if the need exists to keep the old images where they are in the file structure.

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BlueprintGeometricAndTechDrawing

Linked bitmap manager