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Author Topic: Adding custom icon to commands bar to start extension  (Read 1381 times)

May 22, 2018, 06:11:45 AM
Read 1381 times

misken

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Hi there,

I tried to google this quite some time now but I didn't find any hint, so I hope you can help me here:

I use an extension (EggBot) to create drawings on round objects like eggs or balls. This works fine, but after finishing a drawing with Inkscape, you always need to select the Extensions-Dropdown-Menu, navigate to EggBot and then select the actual extension (EggBot Control). Since I want to let different users use this machine, it's not very practical to explain everyone how to reach the correct extension (and what an extension actually is etc.). I would like to have a button within the main GUI that is starting the extension. Like you click on the little printer icon when you want to print on paper. It would be great to have an icon of my choice that starts my extension directly. I don't really mind if it's in the commands bar, tool control bar, snap controls or whatever (I guess, commands bar would be most intuitive).

The only things I found was creating keyboard shortcuts or custom icons for already existing items. But I want to create a new item with custom icon for this extension.
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May 22, 2018, 06:40:30 PM
Reply #1

Moini

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That's not possible, currently. It may become possible with the upcoming major Inkscape version.

But: The extension that has last been used is saved as 'Extensions > Previous Extension (Settings...) (it's saved in the users' preferences.xml file).
It also has a keyboard shortcut, Shift+Alt+Q. So if they only use this single extension, they can use that.
Or you can rename the extension, and move it to the top of the extensions list - let us know if you want to do that and need help with that.

May 22, 2018, 08:24:17 PM
Reply #2

brynn

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Welcome to the forum!

It certainly would make for a nice feature, for users to be able to customize their interface, by moving not just tool bars, but buttons as well, to a location which they prefer.  I know a lot of advanced users stick to using the key shortcuts.  But for those of us who prefer the buttons and menus, it would be a nice feature.  Here's some info on requesting new features.

https://forum.inkscapecommunity.com/index.php?topic=628.0
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May 23, 2018, 07:12:03 AM
Reply #3

Moini

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It doesn't need to be requested anymore. It's available (partially, didn't test) in the next version.

May 30, 2018, 02:23:11 AM
Reply #4

misken

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Ok, thank you very much for this information! I guess, I will then wait for the next version and use the normal menu-selection for the time being. Users might select another extension during creation of the pictures so it won't always be the 'last used' extension, I think. Or - it would be - if I remove all other extensions. Then it would be quite clear which one to select  :-D Does it cause any side effects if I remove all of them?
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May 30, 2018, 02:06:22 PM
Reply #5

brynn

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Well, I wouldn't count on there being a solution for what you're asking, in the next version.  This has been requested for a long, long time, and I stopped holding my breath a long time ago!  You should probably download the development version, and test it, to be sure.  If you get the right dev version, you won't have to worry about crashes or broken things.  (I mean, if developers want people to test it, there has to be at least one version which works fairly dependably.)

Unfortunately, I can't tell you which version is the one you want.  The last time I looked at the site or repo where they are kept, I couldn't decipher any of it.  So therefore, I didn't save a link to it....I don't think....  Well actually, this might be it:  https://ci.appveyor.com/project/inkscape/inkscape/history

That is an interesting thought - to remove all the other extensions except the one you want.  I guess if everyone uses only that program, and only for that one purpose....I don't know why it wouldn't work.  However, I've never heard of it being done before.

For myself, a lot of the files in that directory have odd names (well, to me they are odd), and I would worry that I might remove one which should remain.  But I guess as long as you are careful, and you're not deleting things, but saving or moving them somewhere else, it would be worth a try.  It looks like it has some files which make the Help menu work.....  I don't know, maybe Moini would know what to remove and what to keep?
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May 30, 2018, 02:28:35 PM
Reply #6

Moini

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Quote (selected)
Does it cause any side effects if I remove all of them?

Yes. Several im- and export formats as well as sending data to CNC devices won't be available. This is not a problem if all you need is SVG, PDF and PNG, but if you want to do CNC, or need some specific output/input file format, it may become problematic. Be sure to test first :)

(and of course, some very useful extensions will be missing ;-) )