Gradient editor now unusable

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Orimdam
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Joined: Fri Jan 25, 2013 7:31 pm

Gradient editor now unusable

Postby Orimdam » Thu Apr 14, 2016 8:18 pm

How the heck Am I supposed to modify gradients now in versio 0.91??

When I click "modify gradient" icon (wich now is very hard to notice), instead of opening a new tab like in old versions of inkscape a new toolbar menu is added on top, the new location seems nice, however I cannot longer edit color of Stops, there's something really bugged there.

When I choose the first stop I'm able to change its color (there's the color tab on right), but after that I'm no longer able to change the color of other stop points, nor to add them.

Can someone point me to a Inkscape version with usable gradients or at least give some info about the bug status? (already known bug? fix pending?)

Orimdam
Posts: 11
Joined: Fri Jan 25, 2013 7:31 pm

Re: Gradient editor now unusable

Postby Orimdam » Thu Apr 14, 2016 8:22 pm

Never mind, seems I have to click on the gradient line (inside the canvas) to add points/remove points, and by selecting points I can edit their color. Guessing I have to get the grasp of new interface..

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brynn
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Re: Gradient editor now unusable

Postby brynn » Fri Apr 15, 2016 8:37 am

Yes, gradients can now be edited all on the canvas. The old gradient editor can still be used, if you really like it. But eventually, the developers are planning to drop it (the last I heard, although they've been saying that for 5 or 6 years now).

To find the old editor, double-click on the Gradient tool, to open Inkscape Preferences, then click "Use legacy gradient editor".

daarong
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Joined: Sat Nov 26, 2016 12:52 am

Re: Gradient editor now unusable

Postby daarong » Sun Nov 27, 2016 12:11 am

This isn't an attack or a smear - I really want people to continue using and liking Inkscape. I tell people about it relatively often.

My preference is very strongly leaning in the direction of the popup editor. I thought my Linux install was somehow messed up before I eventually noticed the gradient editing in the toolbar. From there I could not figure out how to make it work within a few minutes of fumbling. Even after figuring it out, I see that the toolbar gradient editing is "arbitrary" (aka: not intuitive, its behavior must be memorized, etc). I suggest that something about it needs to change, or continue showing the dialog by default.

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brynn
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Re: Gradient editor now unusable

Postby brynn » Sun Nov 27, 2016 6:38 am

Unfortunately, not many developers participate here. So if you want your message to reach developers, there are a couple of options. If you want a discussion, the mailing list is the best place. https://inkscape.org/en/community/mailing-lists/ You could use either the development list or the users list (developers will see it on the user's list, and by using the user's list you don't run the risk of your message getting overlooked) (because the user's list is much less active, and if a very involved discussion is happening on the dev list, your message might get bumped off the first page of messages fairly quickly).

Or you could use the bug tracker, which is Launchpad. The bug tracker also handles feature requests. But before you post a new report, be sure to search first, to make sure there's not already an existing report. https://launchpad.net/inkscape and https://inkscape.org/en/contribute/report-bugs/ I doubt if you'll find any exisiting reports, but read on.

This is one of the great benefits of open source software, which allows ordinary users to have a voice in development. However, I should say that I've tried a couple of times to bring up a discussion about the elimination of the Gradient Editor. Every time I've been shut down without much explanation. When I've posted a bug report/feature request, it's immediately marked as "Won't Fix" and it's moved into some area where it's not found in simple searches (I can only find it again by going through my user account). The only explanation I've ever seen is a statement that the developers have decided to eliminate it....period. Perhaps some intense discussion happened years ago, and they don't wan't to re-visit it. I'm not sure.

However, having said all that, I can say that I have been able to use the new Gradient tool control bar successfully, and no features have actually been lost. You just have to look somewhere else to find them. Like I'm guessing you had a hard time figuring out that you had to use the Fill and Stroke dialog, to change the colors of the gradient stops. I think this is a valid point that should be addressed in the manual.

But even more unfortunately, the current manual has not been updated to version 0.91. I don't know if it will be updated to 0.92 or not. But there is a movement afoot to create an "open manual" which can be edited by anyone. The current manual carries a copyright to a single author who is also a primary developer, who just hasn't had time (apparently) to update it. There's another long story behind this "open manual" issue, but I'm guessing you wouldn't be interested to hear it.

Actually it's been on my to-do list to make a tutorial for on-canvas gradient use. But I think it deserves a video tutorial, and I'm not very good with making videos. Maybe someone knows about such a tutorial that already exists?

Yes, sometimes open source development can be frustrating. Development by a community has good points and bad points, just like proprietary (or top-down) development has -- different points for each paradigm. It's really kind of "apples and oranges", but in this case regarding the gradient editor, we're running into a couple of the frustrating areas.


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