I have a question that, if it's not possible, I'll put in a request:

I want a streamlined way to re-use a small set of typically between 4 and 15 colours in a drawing to ensure consistency. I need to do the following tasks on my list of colours:
- Add new colour to my list
- See the colours visually in a list
- Pick colours from the list to use
- Delete colours from the list. Optionally not affect objects using it
- Edit colours in the list as I go. To affect all objects using it
- Keep the list in the document for future use
- Save the list as a Palette in the palettes folder.

I have tried using Swatches, but I can barely do each task:
- Add new colour. Today via Fill and stroke GUI, click on swatch. Would be logical to integrate in the swatch gui with at least a dropper.
- See, Delete, Keep list and Pick colours. OK today with Swatch Window
- Edit. Today edit any object using it. But it's safer to lock the colour (like Palette colours) until "Edit" command on the list is done. It's too easy to tweak an object colour, losing the saved swatch colour.
- Editing a swatch colour is not changing the node colour in Gradient Meshes. This is a fail.
- Save. Palette creation today is not visual and requires hacking. Quick changes and colour tweaks just won't happen.

The underlying structure is all there today. This is just a usability and learn-ability requirement.

You can save as *.gpl - this saves all colors used in the document - but not as a swatch, just as a standard palette (colors are not linked). It's also possible to save swatches in a template file for re-using that file as a starting point.

Thanks.
That is a much better way than the methods suggested by the helpful people on youtube and other resources, for creating Palettes.
The fact that they didn't know about it,
- and that it's a kind of trick using swatches, instead of an obvious menu item for creating palettes,
- and that you still need to know where to save the .gpl file
shows there is a need for a user interface tweak, to make a beginner friendly process.

I agree that many parts of the UI can be improved. Your ideas for improvement (e.g. mockups of dialogs) would be very welcome, indeed.

As a general rule, though, official resources, such as the manual [1], [2], [3], or the FAQ [4] on the website, are usually more correct than videos made by people who are often avid users and great designers, but may never have taken the time to read something up about the software. Unfortunately, - I know - often these resources are difficult to read for a beginner (FAQ is easy, though).

[1]: http://tavmjong.free.fr/INKSCAPE/MANUAL ... omSwatches
[2]: http://tavmjong.free.fr/INKSCAPE/MANUAL ... r-Swatches
[3]: http://tavmjong.free.fr/INKSCAPE/MANUAL ... port-Other

[4]: https://inkscape.org/en/learn/faq/#how- ... future-use

I'd already read the manual on swatches and palettes. But that is a function description and not a methods description. Which would have helped.

The "save as" description is useful, but a user wouldn't go there when they are looking for palette creation. Which was my point above.

The FAQ I hadn't seen and is quite useful. I will study that closer. Thanks.

I fully agree with you that the manual can be hard to digest

We're currently working on a new, official, beginner level guide here: http://write.flossmanuals.net/start-wit ... pe/_draft/ - I think it mentions palettes, too. If you happen to read it (it's intended for /very/ new users, though), you can let us know what you think here:
https://gitlab.com/inkscape/inkscape-do ... als/issues

I have created a blueprint and mock up for this. And attached it to an existing Blueprint that seems to be the same.
https://blueprints.launchpad.net/inksca ... management
Hopefully it is the right place to put it.

Spec and Mock-up is here: http://wiki.inkscape.org/wiki/index.php ... te_Manager

I'm not really sure whether the wiki or the website would be the best place for the mockup. But if you like, you're welcome to upload to the Mockups category of the website: https://inkscape.org/en/gallery/=ui-mockup/

I'm also not sure if creating the Blueprint and mockup, alone, will necessarily get your comments and ideas in front of the right developers. Just to make sure, you might want to subscribe to and post to the development mailing list. Who knows, there may be developers who would like to discuss it and move towards programming it into Inkscape? You can find the link to subscribe can't you? Well just in case: https://inkscape.org/en/community/mailing-lists/

Oops, I misread your message. I thought it was a wiki blueprint. Didn't even realize there were blueprints on LP! I wonder if the wiki and LP blueprints have different purposes? Or pretty much the same thing? I don't know.

Well, in any case, I'm always happy to see more forum users moving into the development side of the project. We need a bigger voice there (imo).

OK. I thought that Launchpad "Bugs" were for defects only. And Requirements were covered by "Blueprints".
I was unsure which is why I questioned it in my post.
It's important that they welcome ideas, and not put up barriers that only techy nerds will get their message across.
Barriers such as IRC and email lists explains why some software is heavily nerdy influenced.

The intent of this requirement, is that it needs very little development effort. Everything already exists. Just not connected up. As explained to me above in the thread.

Mailing lists are just the easiest way to contact as many developers as possible, independent of the time of day. They are spread around the globe, but everyone is subscribed to the list. They also may have turned off launchpad messages, because it's too much traffic to sanely digest. Just go ahead and tell them about your ideas, perhaps also later join the UI team.

Maybe some people are familiar email lists. Usability wise they are very poor. I work in usability and requirements, where things can be done well. There are more modern ways of keeping topics together. Surely their issue tracker is where this is supposed to go.

I joined the email list you suggested for helping with the documentation. I've not received anything. Maybe it didn't work? Maybe nobody uses it? I can't tell. I'm on some others that do work. But the mess of reply quotes is almost unreadable. And piling into people email inboxes. And not a great place for blueprints.

The mailing list user experience is a topic that is known, and there are some ideas how it can be fixed (which will make them look like a forum), but they depend on new server infrastructure, which we do not have at the moment, but which people are working on trying to get by asking for sponsors. See latest board mailing list discussion, if you are interested in the details.

You can check the mailing list archives to compare (when sourceforge is back online, that is...):
https://sourceforge.net/p/inkscape/mail ... cape-docs/

Usually, the email program takes care of the reply quotes, and uses them to display quotes in a different color, giving a very good overview. I'm using Thunderbird for working with my emails, for example.

The mail-list seems to be experiencing some issues today (At least the SF portion)...


I tried posting earlier today via Nabble and have not seen my post appear yet.

/rantish opinion/
Oh, I intensely dislike mailing lists! The incomprehensible way that discussions proceed, with a hundred different ways people indicate quotes, or don't quote; or reply to one reply which should have been replied to different reply of the same thread; cutting off the thread of replies so that you have to open 6 or 8 different messages to find an original comment; the heavy load to the inboxes of some of the lists; the blatant spam, which SF appends to every single message..... Omg, the difficulties never end for me, which forums solve almost entirely (in my view).

And I absolutely cringe whenever I have to refer people to the Inkscape lists, as the best way to contact developers. I have a secret suspicion that the developers stubbornly stick to mailing lists and apparently actively avoid forums (as far as I can tell), because it keeps them isolated from the hum-drum, day to day, user questions. It's my goal, in becoming more involved in the development side of Inkscape, to try to create a stronger connection between the developement community and the user community - particularly forums, which seem to be all but ignored by developers.
/end rantish opinion/

Anyway, ianp5a, the Docs list is not very active. I think it's because docs issues overlap with development and user issues and often the posts go to other lists.

Sorry I wasn't very clear about my suggestion to post to the mailing list. I was thinking to post a message to Devel list, introduce yourself, saying you had found this issue, and you've proposed these changes and giving links to your mockups and blueprints. Or posting to the User list usually gets a message read by developers, without interrupting dev discussion as much. I tend to post new subjects there, rather than the devel list (unless the issue is really, really a core program issue).

While your mockups and blueprints are more like documentation themselves....well, as far as I understand, the changes you are proposing are to the gui. We were just discussing a UI/UX team, on the mailing list. It seems there are many people willing to pariticpate, but no one seems to have time and/or interest in leading and organizing it. But I certainly hope it can be figured out, because I think Inkscape really needs some good work on the UX.

Actually, the UX discussion has just wrapped up on the Docs list. So depending on when you set up your inbox, you should have received a couple of messages. But again, I'm not sure if Docs is the best list for this. ("Documentation" refers to the official tutorials, manuals, and loosely includes the website itself. You can check the archives to see what kind of issues are generally covered there https://sourceforge.net/p/inkscape/mail ... cape-docs/)

Edit - fyi, the project is hoping to leave Sourceforge for mailing lists pretty soon.... Actually, mailing lists are the last thing the Inkscape project has on SF. We hope the mailing lists will be able to move soon, and we will be done with SF (which in recent years made some semi-shady moves).

I'm not sure though. Are we moving to gitlab mailing lists? I thought the deal through SFC wasn't going to work after all. But I could be wrong. I'm not sure where the lists will be moving. Moini can probably give more accurate info on that.

Edit #2 - sorry, I missed this

Surely their issue tracker is where this is supposed to go.

Yes, that's another option. Just post a bug report/feature request on LP, with links and etc.. I guess it depends on how involved you would like to be. Maybe the mailing list it too much involvement for where you want to be right now?

Thanks everyone. I'm keen to get involved. And will try to digest what has been said.

@brynn: you can find more on the current server planning in the board mailing list archives: https://sourceforge.net/p/inkscape/mail ... ape-board/