Major Feature: Status Bar

Frequently, I want to know exactly where a point is. I also often know exactly where a point should be and want to put it there. This was particularly noticeable while making the eyes on the Froggum icons, which needed to be symmetrical. I had to count spaces, which is not the easiest thing to do.

The Solution

I want to add a status bar to the bottom of the screen. This will show the coordinates of the selected point, in every reference frame (not always the same when elements or groups are transformed). It will also be directly editable, so you can put points exactly where you want them.

Implementation

Part 1: Handles

In order to show information on the selected handle, that handle needs to be selectable. The first part of this major feature will be converting every draggable control to use a new Handle class that wraps a Point. This should be easier to share across Segments than the current method of syncronizing property updates, but it will make drawing slightly harder.

A Handle out argument will be added to the clicked method on Elements. This will simplify some checking, as the check_controls method will become redundant, and dragging will always use the internal Point on a clicked Handle rather than trying to use the reference attribute on a Path. Handles will also have an options method, allowing point-specific context menu options like “Split Loop” to convert from Polygons to Polylines.

Objects holding Handles can connect to the notify signal to know when to update.

new class Handle: Object, Undoable

property Point point

This holds the location of the handle, in local coordinates.
method options ()

As a proof of concept, I will add a “Split Loop” option to Polygons. More options will come in later updates.
method void begin (string prop)
method void finish (string prop)

These save the point and add it to the command stack, just like all other Undoables.

Checklist:

Add Handle class
Make all Elements, Transforms, and Patterns use Handles for all control points
Add a Handle out parameter to the clicked method on Elements, and similar methods on sub-items.
Move the check_controls method implementation into the clicked method. For elements, this will check internally if handles should be checked (when the element is selected), and will pass this on to sub-items.
Make drag checks use the Handle argument from clicked.
Add options from Handles to the context menu.
Add option to split Polygons.
Make all Handle manipulations undoable.
Fix bugs
Anything else I think of during development

Part 1.5: Port to Gtk4

This is mostly independent of Handles, but it will allow a few useful changes for the status bar. Specifically, it has the EditableLabel widget, and a better method of storing Trees.

Checklist:

Use version 7 of the elementary flatpak sdk
Use gtk4 instead of gtk3
Fix the many bugs introduced by this change.

Part 2: The Status Bar

This will be a simple line of text running along the bottom of the screen. I will decide during development whether it should go under or next to the sidebar.

The status bar will always start with the name of the file.

When no handle is selected, the status bar will say “No handle selected.”

When a handle is selected, the status bar will list all groups containing the selected element, then the selected element, then the name of the sub-item (if present), then a name for the handle. These will be separated by small arrows indicating the hierarchy. After all of these, there will be editable labels specifying the handle’s x and y coordinates.

When one of the labels is opened for editing, the other label will also open for editing. When one finishes editing, the other will also close, unless the other was then focused, in which case both will remain in editing mode. The handle’s position will update as the user types, but will not add a command until both labels are deselected.

Example:

bobby.svg > Group > Body: Fill: Gradient Stop (15, 3)

bobby.svg > No handle selected.

Checklist:

Add a StatusBar widget
Add the StatusBar to the bottom of the EditorView
Detect when a handle is selected
Find the path to the selected handle
Put the path to the selected handle in the StatusBar
Put the handle’s coordinates in the StatusBar
Make the handle’s coordinates in the StatusBar editable (together)
Update the handle’s coordinates in the Statusbar when dragging in the Viewport
Update the handle’s coordinates in the Viewport when editing them in the StatusBar
Make the StatusBar add an undoable command after both entries have been defocused
Fix bugs
Anything else I think of during development

Part 3: Interactive Transformed Coordinates

When using transforms, the local coordinate is not always the same as the final visible coordinate. Usually the final visible coordinate is the one that needs to be changed, but Froggum only allows changing the local coordinate. This will be further improved in the next major feature, but first, in the status bar, each group will list the handle’s coordinate with every lower transform applied. Each coordinate will be separately editable, with all becoming editable at the same time.

Example:

bobby.svg (5, 5) > Group (3, 3) > Body: Fill: Stop 2 (13, 3)

Checklist:

Find the transformed position of the handle for each transformation
Add editable coordinate controls to the StatusBar
Transform the edited coordinates to set them on the Handle
Add an undo command after finishing editing any coordinate, unless another coordinate is focused immediately instead
Fix bugs
Anything else I think of during development

This will be followed by a few more minor features, including adding more context menu options to Handles, then the final major feature. (If anyone cares to guess, Part 3 is a direct preparation for the next major feature.) Release 0.3 is nearly ready.