[scribus] DockWidgets and Workspaces

[Christoph Schäfer]

Am Donnerstag, 26. August 2010, 23:17:28 schrieb Rob Oakes:
>   Dear Scribus Users,
> 
> A couple of days ago, I spent some time working on a solution to a
> Scribus annoyance that has been bugging me for some time: the inability
> to organize top-level windows.  After I got everything working well (or
> at least acceptably), one of the people in the Scribus IRC recommended
> that I share the solution on the mailing list.  I thought that was a
> good idea, which is why I am writing now.
> 
> Using the awesome power of the Scripter plugin (and a very good example
> written by one of the develoeprs), I created a series of scripts to
> mimic the "Workspaces" feature of the Adobe Creative Suite.  In case
> you've never used the Creative Suite apps before, Adobe has included the
> ability to save save your window layout as a "Workspace."  This means
> that you can configure certain toolbars and palettes and then load them
> whenever you are working on a particular type of content.  It can be a
> wonderful time saver.
> 
> Using a series of python scripts, I've tried to get Scribus to behave
> similarly.  The first python script I wrote (actually, stole would be
> more accurate) converts several top level windows to PyQt dock widgets.
> You can then organize these how you would like to your Scribus window.
> Once you have finished organizing the widgets, you can then save the
> layout (workspace) by using a second script.  After a workspace has been
> saved, you can then load it again, through the use of the third script.
> If you, like me, keep a lot of different windows open at the same time,
> this system might help you to be slightly more organized.
> 
> A detailed writeup about the scripts, including links for downloads and
> configuration structures can be found at:
> 
> http://blog.oak-tree.us/index.php/2010/08/25/scribus-dockwidgets
> 
> If you have any problems or questions, please let me know.  I'd like to
> make them as useful as possible.
> 
> In closing, I'd just like to say thanks to the developers for creating a
> fantastic program.  I've used Scribus for years to create scientific
> posters, and I absolutely love it.  While it might not be perfect, for
> my needs, it's pretty damn close.
> 
> Though if you were to make use of dock widgets and workspaces in the
> next release, I would hardly complain ;)
> 
> Cheers,
> 
> Rob
> 

Hi Rob,

First, thanks a lot for your efforts! Unfortunately, your scripts don't seem 
to work here (OpenSUSE 11.3, Scribus 1.3.9svn), but I'm sure we will be able 
to figure out what the problem is, and of course we have to test them across a 
variety of platforms. We also need to make sure that users have the correct 
Python and PyQt versions installed.

Once this is done, we should find a way to add your scripts to a default 
installation of 1.3.9+ (I don't think we can use a C++-Version in this branch, 
only in the experimental 1.5svn), so that they can be used from a menu 
directly. I'm planning to write a help file that describes the functionality 
of all scripts that are available from the "Scribus Scripts" submenu. For the 
time being, here's a hint for your blog entry: To run a script as an extension 
script, users have to enable the feature under File > Preferences > Scripter 
("Enable Extension Scripts"). Otherwise they won't find the option in the 
"Execute Script" dialog ;)

Thanks again for your efforts. I hope we can release the scripts with 1.4!

Christoph

P.S.: It would be great if you could add a copyright and licensing notice to 
the files :)