Draw module: Graphic Styles

[m.Th.]

One of the most important aspects which is lacking in XnView's draw module is the absence of the task-oriented tooling.

Nowadays there are many programs which provide some presets (or styles) which are ready made for certain tasks - in our case highlighting - which, in fact, are the same thing for the programmer but very important distinctions for the user.

For example let's took the drawing toolbar of a well known graphics software. That guy surely knows a lot the photography workflow. Look here at his draw toolbox - especially in the red circle:

FS-toolbox.png

What are these two buttons?

- Two very important buttons for the user – two highlight modes.
- Two very easy buttons to program for the programmer

However I would advise to do them in another way:

Add in the Draw Module a drop down to Line, Rectangle and Circle a drop down like in Microsoft Windows’ Snipping Tool with some predefined styles. Something like this:

Snip-toolbox.png

Which would simply load the appropriate color AND opacity in order to achieve the highlight effect. Don’t forget to update the values from the left.

Of course, if we want to be really professional, we can use the paradigm from the best program in the annotations market. It is just a pop-up grid but the effect is very very good:

OneNote-toolbox.jpg

A very good, but optional thing, would be an entry called “Recall last style”: when someone clicks on the above menu the current colors and transparency (and shadow?) will be saved in a buffer somewhere in order to allow the user to do an “Undo”. Easy to do and very usefull.

If we would provide to the user the possibility for the user to save several custom styles this would be a big plus.

[Sirio]

I completely agree with you.
Draw don't have to becomes a photoshop, but some essential tools are missing or could be improved:
Here some others ideas:
- Improve the UNDO adding the keyboard shortcut CTRL+Z and REDO CTRL+Y.

- Add a confirm/warning message when the key "Escape" is pressed or simply disable it. Now if accidentally you press Esc all your work will be erased.

- Add the function that pressing down the Shift key, the line/arrow is drawn only straight on the main angles:
0°, 45°,90°, 135°, 180°, 225°, 270°, 315° degrees.
Pressing down the Shift key while drawing a rectangle or a circle it will keep the "square" ratio.
Many soft get this trick.

- Adjust a better proportion of the arrow between the line and the head. Actually the head is too big, it looks more like a road panel:

Draw-02.jpg

[Sched]

+1 !

[samvise]

These features would be very convenient, indeed!
Is there any update or plan on this?

[m.Th.]

Bump!

[m.Th.]

Nowadays, it is much easier to implement from (G)UI point of view because we have a lot of space in Draw module underneath the Properties of each tool.

Note: In Styles we must save the properties of the current tool and ALSO the foreground and background colors:

XnView Styles UI (General).jpg

[m.Th.]

In the particular case of the Text tool, we can put the list of Styles underneath the Properties Tab group:

XnView Styles UI (Text).jpg

Of course, we will save both the Text properties AND the Background/Foreground Colors.

[xnview]

so something like 'preset list'/save/load?

[m.Th.]

so something like 'preset list'/save/load?

Yes

Properties of each tool (together with the current colors)

[m.Th.]

To be clearer, different properties for each tool - each set with a name.

[user0]

To be clearer, different properties for each tool - each set with a name.

tbh, I think this is overengineering
tools do not have that many settings to justify styles functionality

add tools:
- pen
- highlighter

+1

- Add the function that pressing down the Shift key, the line/arrow is drawn only straight on the main angles:
0°, 45°,90°, 135°, 180°, 225°, 270°, 315° degrees.
Pressing down the Shift key while drawing a rectangle or a circle it will keep the "square" ratio.
Many soft get this trick.

- Adjust a better proportion of the arrow between the line and the head. Actually the head is too big, it looks more like a road panel:
Draw-02.jpg

+1
Draw - objects - improve modifier keys

[m.Th.]

To be clearer, different properties for each tool - each set with a name.

tbh, I think this is overengineering
tools do not have that many settings to justify styles functionality

add tools:
- pen
- highlighter

+1

- Add the function that pressing down the Shift key, the line/arrow is drawn only straight on the main angles:
0°, 45°,90°, 135°, 180°, 225°, 270°, 315° degrees.
Pressing down the Shift key while drawing a rectangle or a circle it will keep the "square" ratio.
Many soft get this trick.

- Adjust a better proportion of the arrow between the line and the head. Actually the head is too big, it looks more like a road panel:
Draw-02.jpg

+1
Draw - objects - improve modifier keys

Sorry but it isn't. We will use it each day. We have a certain combination of colors and fonts for titles on our thumbnails and other combinations for other banners.

We must remember and change each time the font size (sometimes the font face) and the color which is custom color so we must save them somewhere.

In fact, ANY serious graphics program has it, or even programs which have important graphics parts in them (eg. PowerPoint). Even the very simplistic Snipping Tool. I gave above some screenshots. If you want, I can give more.

[m.Th.]

add tools:
- pen
- highlighter

+1

...related to this: „Pen” and „Highlighter” are (here - because we discuss how FastStone have them) just styles of line and rectangle, respectively.

Of course, if Pierre wants to implement a true Pen/Scribble engine this is an entirely different matter and it needs work (I don't know how much Qt supports it).

[xnview]

Sorry but it isn't. We will use it each day. We have a certain combination of colors and fonts for titles on our thumbnails and other combinations for other banners.

We must remember and change each time the font size (sometimes the font face) and the color which is custom color so we must save them somewhere.

Ok, for 'text', 'watermark' but is it needed for line, rectangle, circle?

[m.Th.]

Sorry but it isn't. We will use it each day. We have a certain combination of colors and fonts for titles on our thumbnails and other combinations for other banners.

We must remember and change each time the font size (sometimes the font face) and the color which is custom color so we must save them somewhere.

Ok, for 'text', 'watermark' but is it needed for line, rectangle, circle?

Sincerely, for me, no, but all the programs have it, and I definitely understand why.

For example, I need a certain frame or a certain arrow to highlight something. This implies not only different colors but also line thickness, style, opacity etc.

It is difficult to remember all these.