[Scribus] Some queries

[Peter Linnell]

On Thu, 2003-09-18 at 18:16, Kevin Donnelly wrote:
> I've translated Scribus into Welsh, and as part of that I have also translated 
> and updated the tutorial by Yann Cecco.  While doing that, some useability 
> things came up, and I just want to check that I have them correct, in case I 
> mislead new users.  I am using an rpm of version 1.0, based on a build of 14 
> July 2003, made by Lenz Grimmer for SuSE 8.2, so if some of these points have 
> been picked up in the most recent version, my apologies.

See below. When starting some translation, please let the list know in
advance or the original writer, as I have translated half this
already..( 


> 
> 1.  Changes to Preferences do not seem to "take" over program restarts.  For 
> instance, the default fill for a polygon frame is black, and the default 
> measurement unit is picas, but if I change these to white and mm 
> respectively, close the app, and reopen it, they are back to the original 
> black and picas.  Is this a "feature", or more likely to be something to do 
> with the rpm or something I have failed to spot?

That is something specific to your machine and setup.  The preferences
should most definitely "stick". Check the permissions of your .scribus
directory. Perhaps caused by the rpm spec file.
> 
> 2.  I cannot see any way of editing the default "Normal" style - is this 
> possible?

Those defaults are set in preferences. 
> 
> 3.  Does Scribus support UTF-8?  I am assuming not, because some of the Welsh 
> words in the translations that used utf8 characters (eg a w or y with a 
> circumflex) are shown as a ?, and text import containing such characters also 
> fails to show them.  If it does support UTF-8, what might I be doing wrong?

Yes, with freetype2 and freetype-devel needs to be available when
compiled. With 1.1.0 it is a requirement to compile. When importing text
there is a panel in the bottom of the file dialog to specify encoding. 
> 
> 4.  Some of the interface seems not to be caught in the .po file - eg I can 
> remember off-hand kerning, intervall (sic), and the colour names (although 
> the last may be a KDE thing).  Is there any way to trap these? 

The .po file does need updating.
> 
> 5.  The Measurements panel is now much more versatile than it used to be, but 
> by the same token hasn't it outgrown its name?  Would it not be better to 
> refer to this now as a Properties panel?

Yes. See below..
> 
> 6.  It would be nice to migrate some stray items into that panel.  For 
> example, the only way to uncheck text flow around a line, or to enter a 0 
> degree angle for it to ensure a horizontal, is to right-click on it and 
> choose Modify.  From the point of view of consistent user interface, both 
> options should be in the panel.
> 
Ditto.

> 7.  A keyboard accelerator to show/hide frames (eg Ctrl+F) would be really 
> handy.

I use F-8 and this is set in Edit > Preferences > General > Keyboard
Shortcuts on the right corner of the first panel. 

See here:
http://www.atlantictechsolutions.com/scribusdocs/preferences.html

Note the online docs are effectively my CVS. I am migrating the new docs
to be more compatible with real CVS, but for the moment, when I make
updates to the docs, I post them right away. No need to keep them a
secret.;)


> 
> 8.  The Save As PDF option is terrific, but it doesn't alert the user to an 
> existing file of the same name.

Good idea, but I might export PDF ten times to proof for one file - I
would not want this mandatory. Pixels are cheap ;)

> 
> 9.  I take it that it is not possible to put a border around text frames.  
> (The workaround I have used, though, is simple - create a polygon frame of 
> the same shade, but 1mm bigger all around, and move it behind the text 
> frame.)
> 
> 10.  Is it possible to set a gutter around image frames?  I think not, but 
> what I have done as a workaround is set the image to fit in the frame, 
> adjusted the frame to the desired size, set the image to scale freely, 
> slightly enlarged the frame, and moved the image within the frame to give a 
> border between its edge and the text.
> 
> 11.  I take it that it is impossible to do certain things like rotate to a 
> grouped frame?

Of course. 
> 
> 12.  Clicking on the magnifying glass allows a mouse-click to zoom in on the 
> document.  Would it be possible to have left button zoom in and right button 
> zoom out?  At the moment, shift+button zooms out.  I also noticed that 
> zooming too far leaves Scribus twirling its wheels for a long time, so it 
> might be sensible to place a limit on the levels of zoom possible.
See below.
> 
> I hadn't used Scribus for some months, and I have to say it is both more 
> stable and more useable than the previous versions I tried - I think it is 
> shaping up to be a must-have Linux app, and I applaud the development team.

Thanks to Franz and Paul.

My "See below" comments are to strongly urge you to upgrade to 1.1.0 and
make sure you have libart_lgpl and libart-devel 2.3.16 and compile from
source. 

1.1.0 has a new rendering engine that is *much* better with text
display. 

A lot of work is going into 1.1.x including refactoring code and
improvements to the text handling, menus and adding more functionality
to the measurements palette. Already, it is much better and the new
rendering engine has to be seen to be believed.

Thanks for the Welsh translation.

Iechyd da,

Peter

PS No, I do not know Welsh, but a colleague does...