> I agree. There are enough drawing editors of various kinds. > But of course it would be nice to easily > "create+insert a new external object" > and have it created from scratch. LyX could even suggest a > default filename, so only those that care about the filename > need to type one.
Obviously there are too many drawing editors, but for example gimp takes 5 seconds to start up, inkscape takes 3(on my laptop), which although not too big an issue it does break the attention and forces the user to wait for the computer to get ready, that's the advantage of a simple built in editor: it starts instantly for quick notes, and external editors can be used for the complex work. > This can be handled by extending the "external inset" mechanism a little. > Add a way to specify whether to software can make a new > named file, or if it need an "empty template". LyX could then ship > with external templates for apps that need such care. Basically we need a png for gimp and an svg for inkscape, but what would be the default dimensions? So I guess the settings should be added to the converter dialog, and an option can be added beside the browse button in the image dialog for "create new image" which gives a list of possible formats/programs to do so. Is that okay? On Fri, Sep 18, 2009 at 2:10 PM, Helge Hafting <helge.haft...@hist.no> wrote: > Guenter Milde wrote: > >> * In my view, instead of coding one more crippled drawing editor (which I >> would have to learn to use), a better integration with external editors >> is the way to go. This also allows users the choice between several >> editors and file formats. > > I agree. There are enough drawing editors of various kinds. > But of course it would be nice to easily > "create+insert a new external object" > and have it created from scratch. LyX could even suggest a > default filename, so only those that care about the filename > need to type one. > > >> * A vector image should be saved in a vector format (e.g. an inkscape >> drawing as *.svg. LyX can work with inkscape's native format.) >> >> * There is the [edit in external editor] menu item available with >> right-click on the image (already pointed out). >> However, currently this will fail with a non-existing file. >> Idea: enable image generation via the "external edit" feature: >> >> 1. The user inserts a graphic with a new file name. >> 2. LyX shows the box with file name and "file not found!" >> >> 3. With right-click and "external edit", LyX should call the associated >> editor with the new file name instead of reporting a missing file.¹ > > Instead of the "file not found!" thing, why not make the first dialog > with two buttons: "Open", to be used for existing files, and > "Create new" to do just that. No error to be corrected by the user this way. > > >> >> ¹ Unfortunately, inkscape is "ill behaved" in this respect: Most editors >> (e.g. LyX) open a new buffer and associate it with the >> given file name if called with a non-existing file. `inkscape >> nonexisting.svg` will report an error. This can be worked >> around with a wrapper script: >> if "filename" does not exit: >> copy a template file to "filename" >> call inkscape "filename" > > This can be handled by extending the "external inset" mechanism a little. > Add a way to specify whether to software can make a new > named file, or if it need an "empty template". LyX could then ship > with external templates for apps that need such care. > > Helge Hafting > >
