[Sugar-devel] [DESIGN] Background selection in Journal

[Gonzalo Odiard]

These are the reasons I would prefer add a option to get images from the
Journal in the control panel,
than add a option to set the image as background in the Journal Object
palette:
* Performance: create the Object palette is a relatively slow task. This
feature add the need of check
the mime type of the object, and is slow too.
* Would be much easier to implement, and keep the background feature code
contained.
* The Journal code is already complex enough.
* The actual implementation is a quick hack: in particular on this patch
[1]:
  * Use get_uid_list_cb as a function to get the list of uid selected, and
do not work in that way,
    think on multiple selections in the Journal.
  * Modify VolumeMenu adding a parameter to set if will set the background.
Would be better
    create another class and keep the code separated.
  * The modifications on model.py need a deep review. But by example the
destination_path
     is not returned for all the operations.

If we land the replacement of the GtkMenu, then we would solve the
performance part of the problem,
because we delay the check of the mimetype until the Modal window is
created.
Would be good have a  cleaner implementation anyway.

[1]
https://github.com/i5o/sugar/commit/d43c95d6b44e33d7cc2b71e7fd4e9cf7ad01b487

[2] http://wiki.sugarlabs.org/go/Features/Replace_GtkMenu

On Wed, Aug 5, 2015 at 8:38 PM, James Cameron <quozl at sugarlabs.org> wrote:

> G'day,
>
> Thanks for asking.
>
> In 0.106 we have a background control panel which offers images from
> either the system or the documents path.
>
> So for the learner to use a photograph in the journal as background
> they must open the journal, locate the photograph, copy it to the
> documents directory, then switch to home view, and open the control
> panel, choose background, and then locate the photograph again, where
> it appears twice instead of once.
>
> I'd like to see "Use as background" in the journal, because it is a
> learner-desired method of a journal object, and the journal lists the
> objects.  It will lower the barrier for learning and save time.
>
> At the moment, the journal object context menu has Resume, Resume
> with, Copy to, Duplicate, Send to, View Details, and Erase.
>
> I'd like to see "Use as background" in this menu, or in the "Copy to"
> submenu as you suggest.
>
> Also, after or in combination with the above, I'd like to see "Choose
> from journal" feature in the background control panel.  It will be a
> redundant feature, providing an extra path to the same function.  We
> already have several instances of redundant usage paths, and they
> serve a good purpose.
>
> I'd like to see either a button to press which opens the object
> picker, or the background control panel to show three groups of
> images; journal, documents, system.
>
> There is an opportunity to review common uses of the object picker to
> ensure they are all included in the journal object context menu.
>
> The other questions you ask are uninteresting implementation details
> unrelated to design:
>
> - whether it qualifies as a Feature in the release process, instead of
>   a defect, (to my mind it is a defect, because you will have added
>   nothing new to Sugar, only fixed a learner experience problem),
>
> - moving code around,
>
> - access to background model by activities,
>
> - whether to keep a redundant copy of the background separate to where
>   it was chosen from.
>
> --
> James Cameron
> http://quozl.linux.org.au/
> _______________________________________________
> Sugar-devel mailing list
> Sugar-devel at lists.sugarlabs.org
> http://lists.sugarlabs.org/listinfo/sugar-devel
>



-- 
Gonzalo Odiard

SugarLabs - Software [for | by] children learning
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