viewBox...

[ugajin]

Hi Brynn

Is this of interest: http://ugajin.co.uk/sketchbooks/viewBox/viewBox/viewBox.html?

The page includes a link to download the viewBox... extension, together with links that include examples on how to use the extension, and an entry level tutorial.

I shall be glad to receive any comment and/or criticism.

Enjoy!

Kind regards

-u

P.s. The plan is probably to upload the extension to the official Inkscape site, but I am undecided, and what to do about supporting documentation?

[brynn]

Nice!  Thanks for posting about this 

It seems I've managed to become much busier than usual lately.  So I won't be able to actually work my way through the tutorial right now.  But immediately I can see that it's something I'll want to put on the Tutorials page (Home tab).  As soon as I have had a chance to work through it, I'll let you know any problems or comments.  Hopefully in the next couple of weeks....

In one of the projects that have been keeping me busy, I came across this extension:  http://pernsteiner.org/inkscape/viewbox/.  I have no idea how it compares to yours, but just in case you might find it interesting, and haven't already seen it   

I think there are either brand new options available for uploading extensions, or they're coming in the next upgrade of the website project.  Just something to look for, and probably won't help with your needs.  But more FYI    (Some of them will be tags/filter options, and a place to mark which operating system and/or version of Inkscape the extension works with/on, for example.)

I know a little bit how you're feeling, with how to handle the supporting documents for your extension, as I've been thinking about creating some new tutorials to upload.  The problem for me is links.  If I upload an SVG file tutorial, and I want to put any links in it, they will work fine if the user is reading on the website.  But if the user happens to open the SVG in Inkscape, the links would not be active.

I wonder if I might just make kind of a coversheet or illustration of what the tutorial can do, and upload that, and then use the external link feature to provide access to the tutorial, which is remaining here on my site.  Hhmm, I can see, looking at the current Tutorials page (https://inkscape.org/en/gallery/=tutorial/) that some more work is needed!

But anyway, that external link might be one option for you, for your extension, if you upload it to the website.  Then the link could go to your tutorial on your site.  Or, you could upload the tutorial to the website as well, and provide a link to it in the description of your extension.  (And a link back to the extension from the tutorial.)

Well, I'm looking forward to reading the tutorial.  I've noticed all the messages coming through the mailing list about the view box and viewport.  I only have a general idea what it is, so it looks like your tutorial will fill in some blanks for me 

Thanks again 

[ugajin]

Hi

Thanks for the kind comments.

I have delayed uploading the extension files to the Inkscape Extensions space for a few reasons. I could upload them 'as is' without any supporting documents other than the readMe file, and leave it to the user to work out how to use it, or not, but that isn't a very user friendly approach, and I would prefer to include a link to the resources, but the thing is, I do not want to host them on ugajin.co.uk.

Thanks too, for the heads up on Pernsteiner's viewbox... extension. It's always interesting to see how others approach the same topic.

Kind regards.

-u

[brynn]

Hhmm....  I guess you've already looked at some of the extensions that have been uploaded so far.  But just in case, this is a good example of how you can use the website features:  https://inkscape.org/en/~Moini/%E2%98%85multi-bool-extension-cut-difference-division

Or you're certainly welcome to upload them here on Inkscape Community.  I could explain a couple of different options, but it's probably not the best choice for a long term solution

[ugajin]

Please explain the options. Why do you think is it not the best choice as a long term solution?

Kindest regards.

[brynn]

It's kind of a long story.  Part of the reason I started this forum was because of what I saw as a precarious situation with the management of the bigger and more popular InkscapeForum.com.  Plus, I wanted other features to be available for the community, besides just a forum (tutorials, articles, gallery, for example) and the admin of the other forum wasn't interested in expanding.  (At that time, the Inkscape website didn't provide these things either.)

Little did I know, that only a year later, the Inkscape website was about to be developed extensively, providing many of the features that I had tried to set up here at Inkscape Community.  I've been helping out with that development, as much as possible -- mostly what I can help with is content, since I don't have any coding skills (except for some simple html).

And more recently, the precarious situation of the other forum reached a critical point where the entire forum was at risk of being lost to spam.  (The admin had been absent and out of contact for over 6 months, and there was very little spam prevention, and only one moderator capable of handling it all.)  When someone mentioned this situation to the Inkscape Board, the Board decided to explore the idea of having an "official" forum, which would be managed by the community, rather than a 3rd party.  We have a small committee that is working out the details of such a forum.

With an official forum having the kind of management that is sustainable, and which would include proper security, together with the development of the website, there is very little need for the kind of features and forum that I've built here in Inkscape Community.  So once the official forum is established, I'll be scaling back this website, probably to more of a personal site, but I'm not exactly sure yet.

It won't happen overnight, but eventually, I hope most of the content of this website will be available on the Inkscape website.  And it doesn't make sense to me, to maintain a duplicate resource site, when the Inkscape website is finally capable of maintaining the resources.  I'd rather be involved in maintaining the resources on the official website.

So I don't know what I'll do with this site yet.  It will probably be a gradual transition over a couple of years.  I've been thinking about maybe setting up some kind of Inkscape classes.  Or maybe trying to find a way to have an online version of Inkscape, where I could maybe have live workshops.  Some of us have been talking about making a new Inkscape manual, which would teach Inkscape in a step-by-step way.  But we're all so busy currently.... 

But I keep thinking of what we had when I was in grade school (elementary or primary school, depending on where you live).  We had "workbooks".  A workbook is a paperbound booklet.  It gives instructions, and then provides space below the instructions for the student to write the answer.  Or for children learning to write, it has the letters made of dotted lines, where the child can trace over them.  Or the math workbooks were very common -- pages and pages of math problems. 

Anyway, I'd like to try and make online Inkscape workbooks.  But I'd either have a lot to learn about animation or interactive webpages, or somehow have an online version of Inkscape.

Well anyway, for the time being, you could upload your extension into the gallery.  Originally I was thinking of having a whole album for extensions.  But again, now that the Inkscape website offers that, there's no need.  But you could still put in your personal gallery.  Or you could make your own thread, like Lazur did here for filters he's made.  Technically, he has them hosted at Open Clipart, but they're announced and linked into that topic.  http://forum.inkscapecommunity.com/index.php?topic=329.0  Or you could use attachments instead of hosting on OpenClipart. 

You could use the Articles feature for your tutorials and related documentation, and make links between either a forum topic or your gallery, to the articles.  Instructions for making tutorials that you want to be hosted here:  http://forum.inkscapecommunity.com/index.php?topic=51.0

But, over the next couple of years, I'll be making a push to get it all on the Inkscape website.

[ugajin]

Thanks for the interesting and detailed reply. It looks like a complicated process to upload stuff, and I would have to re-write all the links. I suspect, I may end up hosting the support pages myself, for now at least.

A new Manual is a good idea, and seems long overdue, if not also a mammoth undertaking, but what do I know?

Using a desktop sharing app, is one approach to teaching live Inkscape sessions.

kind regards

-u

[ugajin]

I posted the extensions files on inkscape.org: https://inkscape.org/en/download/addons/?page=1 together with links to the various support documents.

-u

[brynn]

Hopefully the html tutorials, which were discussed on the mailing list as a possible new feature in the future, won't be too far in the future. 

If you want to make sure the idea doesn't get lost, you might want to make a bug report in the Inkscape-Web Launchpad account -- https://launchpad.net/inkscape-web.  That's the bug tracker for the website project (which like the main Inkscape account, also handles feature requests).  Either that, or just remember to bring up the subject again, at some time in the future.

But the report would be better, so people can plan for it, in their own work routine, and make it part of regular upgrades.

[ugajin]

I'm not really good at 'wish lists', but I will try and post something if you think it essential. Perhaps you would write it, and i'll post it, but it might have more weight if it had your name on it.

A short while back, there was ongoing discussion, about collaborating on a page that explains the difference between vector and bitmap drawings. This could be a good candidate for html hosting.

Kind regards.

-u

[brynn]

I wouldn't say necessarily it's essential.  But I'll ask the  website team if they think a bug report would be helpful.  It may be that they already have plans for it, and they won't forget it.  On the other hand, they may want it made as a reminder.  I'll ask 

[ugajin]

Well pitched.