[Digikam-devel] Digikam menu usability improvements

[Caulier Gilles]

Le mercredi 24 janvier 2007 22:18, Luka Renko a écrit :
> On Wednesday 24. of January 2007 21:48:23 Frank Siegert wrote:
> > This doesn't only not have much sense, but adds confusion, see this bug:
> >
> >   http://bugs.kde.org/show_bug.cgi?id=140304
> >
> > In there, I voted for removing the slideshow option from the Editor and
> > asked for thoughts of other developers. That would also remove yet
> > another configuration item from digikam settings :-)
> > And showfoto and digikam should use the same slideshow, preferably the
> > kipi plugins one (it is nicer in my opinion?), and hopefully in the View
> > menu soon ;)
>
> Frank, I was writing very similar conclusions into bug before reading
> this. ;-)
>
> > What do the other developers say? Somebody must have added that
> > digikam-own slideshow to ShowFoto and Editor. What was the reasoning?
>
> Reasoning is probably historical (as always ;-)), it is more of the
> question what is the right way for the future and how we can come there. I
> hope Gilles and Marcel can provide some thoughts about this topic.
>
> Regards,
> Luka

Frank, Luka,

This is the story of the Image Editor SlideShow :

I have added this feature with digiKam 0.8.0, especially for Showfoto. It have 
been a wish from lot of users (not from B.K.O if i remember)

In showfoto, you can load the content of an folder. All image will be 
previewed in Thumbar. If you start the slideshow, all pictures included in 
thumbbar will be display in the screen.

This is fine and mandatory. If you remove this feature, i'm sure than you will 
have a bug open in bugzilla.

Add kipi-plugins to showfoto is a non-sence. kipi-plugins are dedicaced to 
photo management program, not editor. Also, added kipi support in showfoto 
will descrease the startup to load kipi-plugins.

Another problems, depending especially of kipi Slideshow are listed below :

- This plugin use OpenGL : if opengl is not avaialble, the plugin is not 
compiled (this is the case for ex. in my suse 10.1 computer witch not include 
Glut API by default)
- This plugin do not support RAW file format. This point is very important for 
photograph.

This is the resume of this B.K.O file :

http://bugs.kde.org/show_bug.cgi?id=116518


Like the source code is now common betwen showfoto and digiKam image editor, 
the Slideshow feature is also available for last one.

But i'm agree with out than the SlideShow feature need to be improved in the 
future. This is my proposal :

- We don't need OpenGl to slide pictures. To show it a simple fullscreen 
display is enought

- The Preview feature from digiKam core can be used like a SlideShow. Since 
Marcel have added the cache stuff recently, it will be more suitable.

- The Preview feature support RAW file and IPTC preview generated by Image 
Editor. It very fast. For example, load a TIFF or PNG 16 bits image generated 
by editor to convert a camera RAW file. The file will be huge (here an MRW = 
8Mb ==> PNG = 30Mb). If you preview this file the loading is very fast 
because Editor store a preview JPEG file in IPTC Preview tag ! If you trying 
to load the whole image, i will take a while to load. I have planed to 
improve again this way to use JPEG2000 instead JPEG to have a better quality 
of preview image.

To resume, i would to improve the Preview feature to provide Fullscreen 
slideshow. There is a file in B.K.O about this subject :

http://bugs.kde.org/show_bug.cgi?id=135655

The current source code from image editor core need to be re-writted :

http://websvn.kde.org/trunk/extragear/graphics/digikam/utilities/imageeditor/tools/slideshow.cpp?rev=603261&view=auto

About the dupplicate feature between kipi SlideShow and Editor SlideShow, well 
it can be solved to rename kipi Slideshow menu something like "Advanced 
Slide" or "OpenGL Slide".

I think both tool are complement. Also if kipi-plugins slideshow is now 
installed, if Preview Slideshow is not avaialble, There will no way to Slide 
pictures... witch is not really great for a photomanagement program.

Try to use Gwenview and look the both tool already exist : there is a simple 
slideshow in viewer, and the kipi-plugin Slideshow in Tool menu entry.

Gilles