Yes, but this discussion is really only about arranging existing commands in the menus, since this is about all that PL users can change in the PL UI.greenmorpher hat geschrieben:You guys are thinking hard about the menus so I'll give you some more food for thought. Some examples of the Canvas menus with some explanations. Canvas is a valid comparison because it is an integrated program as is PhotoLine. Canvas started from the vector end of things, though, and PL from the raster end -- and the difference shows as you would expect. For all that, though, on the question of menus there is -- or could be -- much common ground.
Frankly, I don't see the advantage of having different objects in the same layer - as opposed to putting them together in a group in PL. You can easily move objects in and out of the group and change the stacking, simply by dragging layers around in the Layers dialog. How would you do that in Canvas?greenmorpher hat geschrieben:As noted, in Canvas you work on the page all the time. Different objects and different kinds of objects can all be on the same layer unless you wish to separate them, but on that layer, they are in a stacking order.
I imagine the first kind is like the layer tool in PL. But I don't understand the second one.greenmorpher hat geschrieben:There are two kinds of selection for both vector and raster objects -- the object selection (where you do the overall stuff) and the editing selection (where you do the detail stuff). Kind of.
This would have been my naïve interpretation of an image menu as well.greenmorpher hat geschrieben:All the stuff in the Image menu has to do only with images or with image-orientated stuff when images interact with vectors. One example -- "Trim to Path". You put a vector path/outline on a photo then select both, go Trim to Path, and the result is a photo clipped as in using a Clipping Path (in the Object menu, Path sub-menu), but the result is rendered as a new image with transparent surround, and the original and path are disposed of. (At least, that's how I see it working -- I suspect it is really a script behind the tool. A really handy thing.)
To do something like "Trim to path" in PL, you'd convert the vector path to a layer mask (the equivalent of a clipping path), then use "Reduce to one layer".
Alternatively, you convert the vector path to a lasso, and then crop the resulting selection.
Now "Reduce to one layer" works for whatever complicated combination of layers you have created previously, not just in the particular case of a layer mask. And converting a vector path to a selection can be used for many purposes, not just for cropping. Frankly, I prefer a simple combination of more universal commands like "Reduce to One Layer" or "Convert Layer to Lasso" to having shortcuts like "Trim to path". But maybe this is a matter of taste.
From your description, the Properties Bar seems a combination of the Tool Settings panel and the Attributes panel. For bitmap images, I think that it makes sense to separate properties of the selected layer (object) from those of the chosen tool (for objects to be created). For vector objects, the situation is different, and a properties bar might make more sense. For me personally, it doesn't make much difference if these are two panels or just one, since I always seem to need both, anyway.greenmorpher hat geschrieben:Note how the Properties Bar is similar to the PL Tool Settings palette but goes further bringing in information from various tools or palettes, being oriented towards the object selected rather than any particular tool.
Cheers,
Burkhard.
But as far as I understand it seems to have a similar idea as geoffrey describes. There's a mode to grab objects and change them as whole. And there's a mode to get into the details of the objects, move surfaces and stuff like that. Ther are some more modes, all display different buttons and menus.
