Software : : VectorInk - First Release & First Update
Posted By: ASiegel. on 2020/11/5 7:47:15
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VectorInk is a basic vector graphics editor that allows to create, save and load graphics in the widely used SVG file format. It offers common features such as Path, Text, Pencil, Line, Rectangle, Ellipse, and Shape Tools as well as a basic layering system for altering the order of elements.

The main purpose of the application is to assist in the creation and editing of icon designs and basic graphics to be used with other applications or document types.

VectorInk - First Release & First Update
Please note that, depending on their file format structure, drawings that were not created with VectorInk may only be partially editable via the graphical user interface. You can still alter those graphics by using the built-in SVG source code editor.

Download: vectorink.lha (21MB)

Update: Version 1.1 is now available. Changes are listed in the comments.
 
  • Order of the Butterfly
    Order of the Butterfly
    MoerBoer
    Joined: 2019/10/15
    Posts: 230
    From:
    Looks really good! Well done!
  • »2020/11/5 9:14
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  • Paladin of the Pegasos
    Paladin of the Pegasos
    koszer
    Joined: 2004/2/8
    Posts: 1250
    From: Poland
    This is great. Do you plan to add some boolean operations on SVG paths? Or quick transform options for shapes (like mirror horizontally or vertically)?

    Maybe it's not Inkscape, but definitely a long awaited app. Thanks a lot!
  • »2020/11/5 9:46
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  • Yokemate of Keyboards
    Yokemate of Keyboards
    takemehomegrandma
    Joined: 2003/2/24
    Posts: 2720
    From:
    Quote:

    "Requirement : PowerMac G5 or faster" :-)

    What is this hardware faster than a G5 ? :-D

    :-D

    [ Edited by takemehomegrandma On 2020/11/5 12:10 ]
    MorphOS is Amiga done right! :-)
    MorphOS NG will be AROS done right! :-)
  • »2020/11/5 11:09
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  • ASiegel
    Joined: 2003/2/15
    Posts: 1377
    From: Central Europe
    @Papiosaur
    Quote:

    "Requirement : PowerMac G5 or faster" :-)

    What is this hardware faster than a G5 ? :-D

    Thanks for the donation.

    Well, in terms of officially supported machines, X5000 owners will likely notice a performance boost thanks to the faster PCI-Express bus, especially in higher resolutions and with large application window sizes.

    Also, for those who will not read the included documentation, a PowerMac G5-class machine is by no means "required", it is merely "recommended" for optimal performance (in particular when dealing with more complex designs).

    I personally use VectorInk on a G4 machine and it is quite snappy for many uses.
  • »2020/11/5 12:08
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  • Priest of the Order of the Butterfly
    Priest of the Order of the Butterfly
    connor
    Joined: 2007/7/29
    Posts: 570
    From:
    Nice to have a tool like this. Why did you change the name from https://github.com/methodofaction/Method-Draw to VectorInk?
    And it is JavaScript together with WebKit in a MUI surface. Was it much more difficult to use https://github.com/SVG-Edit/svgedit insetad? svgedit has many more functions.
  • »2020/11/5 12:15
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  • ASiegel
    Joined: 2003/2/15
    Posts: 1377
    From: Central Europe
    @koszer

    Quote:

    This is great. Do you plan to add some boolean operations on SVG paths? Or quick transform options for shapes (like mirror horizontally or vertically)?

    "Mirroring" sounds like a good idea.

    I would agree that boolean operations for merging or subtracting shapes would generally be desirable but this would require quite some effort (which is why the feature is not already there).
  • »2020/11/5 12:17
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  • ASiegel
    Joined: 2003/2/15
    Posts: 1377
    From: Central Europe
    @connor

    Quote:

    Why did you change the name from https://github.com/methodofaction/Method-Draw to VectorInk?

    Because while it is based on the same engine, they are not the same thing. VectorInk features MorphOS-specific changes that will never find their way into the official MethodDraw code base.

    It is common practice to come up with a new name for project forks. In fact, it is the polite and morally right thing to do. Imagine someone forks a project, adds a ton of bugs and makes it harder to use but insists on using the original name, thus ruining the reputation of the original project...

    That said, if you think Method Draw is the same thing. Feel free to use it instead. But do not be surprised if it crashes your MorphOS machine sooner or later.

    Quote:

    And it is JavaScript together with WebKit in a MUI surface. Was it much more difficult to use https://github.com/SVG-Edit/svgedit insetad? svgedit has many more functions.

    Have you actually tried it? SVG-Edit is substantially slower on MorphOS-compatible hardware.

    That said, Method Draw and subsequently VectorInk are derived from SVG-Edit so they are certainly related.
  • »2020/11/5 12:33
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  • Yokemate of Keyboards
    Yokemate of Keyboards
    amigadave
    Joined: 2006/3/21
    Posts: 2795
    From: Northern Calif...
    Great news!

    I have been hoping for more drawing tools on MorphOS, and hope that someday we will get a basic architectural CAD program, nothing too complex or 3D enabled, just 2D and able to import and modify a few of the most common CAD file formats.

    I know that VectorInk isn't what I'm hoping for, but it is still good to see new software for MorphOS. If we want to get more users, new software development is how it will happen, and since the Dev Team seems to have done a great job at adding features to the core of MorphOS that help developers with more modern tools, I think we will see more new software in the near future.

    Great job ASiegel!

    [ Edited by amigadave On 2020/11/6 11:55 ]
    MorphOS - The best Next Gen Amiga choice.
  • »2020/11/6 19:54
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  • Acolyte of the Butterfly
    Acolyte of the Butterfly
    Joined: 2017/8/6
    Posts: 141
    From:
    As i am untalented, i downloaded an example from wikipedia. Maybe include some files with the next version?

    9k2Qxsh

    Some remarks:
    i find it weird that the tool buttons scrolling out of view instead of the canvas only.
    The canvas' scrollview doesn't shrink to the size of the picture if possible.
    There is no bubblehelp(yet) for the gadgets?
    The documents name should be visible in the window title.

    [ Edited by amifrog On 2020/11/6 21:05 ]
  • »2020/11/6 19:55
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  • ASiegel
    Joined: 2003/2/15
    Posts: 1377
    From: Central Europe
    @amifrog

    Quote:

    As i am untalented, i downloaded an example from wikipedia. Maybe include some files with the next version?

    It does include a "shape" tool that allows to quickly populate the canvas with various ready-to-use design elements.

    The picture you downloaded is not fully editable in VectorInk unless you use the built-in SVG code editor. As the news announcement explains, this is really about offering MorphOS users a convenient option for designing and editing SVG icon graphics, which they have not had before although MorphOS 3.10 first introduced OS-level support for vector graphics two and a half years ago.

    Quote:

    i find it weird that the tool buttons scrolling out of view instead of the canvas only.

    Well, the application is currently set to require a minimum window width of 1100 pixels and a minimum height of 600 pixels. These seemed like a reasonable default as most MorphOS users use higher screen resolutions.

    It is possible to make the top toolbar flow icons into a second row. Also, the sidebar on the right could be hidden in smaller window sizes and only be made to appear (overlapping the canvas) when a user clicks a button.

    That said, I prefer the approach of the UI scrolling out of view as opposed to making the canvas so small that it becomes unusable. Plus, showing these scrollbars should also be more user-friendly than preventing users from going below a certain window size altogether.

    Quote:

    The canvas' scrollview doesn't shrink to the size of the picture if possible.

    Zooming in or out can affect the speed of the software by a fair amount so there is an argument to be made that the user should be left in control. In fact, I am considering to add a small indicator that informs if performance may be hampered by the chosen zoom level.

    Quote:

    There is no bubblehelp(yet) for the gadgets?

    Not at this time.

    Quote:

    The documents name should be visible in the window title.

    This would require changes to the Kite runtime. File names are not being passed to VectorInk at this time.

    [ Edited by ASiegel On 2020/11/7 9:53 ]
  • »2020/11/7 8:52
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  • Acolyte of the Butterfly
    Acolyte of the Butterfly
    Joined: 2017/8/6
    Posts: 141
    From:
    Thanx for your response. i understand its not a fully fledged app yet and just wanted to suggest some bits.
    The required screen size would be a problem once one started to open multiple documents to compare/copy&paste etc. so workflow would get increasingly difficult. but we are not there yet.
    Looking forward to the next version.👍
  • »2020/11/7 9:31
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  • ASiegel
    Joined: 2003/2/15
    Posts: 1377
    From: Central Europe
    @amifrog

    This is really supposed to be more of a "single window" app. GPU memory is limited on MorphOS hardware and every new window eats up a lot so it is important to be vigilant about this.

    It would probably make sense to add "tabs" in the future in order to optimize use of GPU memory so multiple documents can be handled via a single window.

    For users with small screen solutions, I had already added a "Fullscreen" mode to the first release that maximizes the surface area of the program window. It is the icon on the far right of the top toolbar.

    That said, I just added what I described above and made the UI work a bit better on smaller resolutions. The changes should be included in a future update.

    Embedded image
  • »2020/11/7 10:10
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  • Acolyte of the Butterfly
    Acolyte of the Butterfly
    Joined: 2017/8/6
    Posts: 141
    From:
    Really not nitpicking your explanations, but, when you make a single window app you might consider making it a single screen app at all per default and remove the ability to resize the main window in the process. Like Kais PowerGoo, anyone remembers? Once you add multiple documents you are in UI hell, choose wisely.
  • »2020/11/7 17:07
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  • ASiegel
    Joined: 2003/2/15
    Posts: 1377
    From: Central Europe
    @amifrog

    People have had no issues with Odyssey of Wayfarer offering multiple tabs even though both applications allow to freely resize their windows.

    If you prefer to run the app on its own screen, you can easily move it to one or - as I stated earlier - just use its convenient "fullscreen" mode.
  • »2020/11/7 17:46
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  • Acolyte of the Butterfly
    Acolyte of the Butterfly
    Joined: 2017/8/6
    Posts: 141
    From:
    That issue got lost in translation, probably on my part. No harm, please continue.😉
  • »2020/11/7 20:39
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  • Moderator
    Kronos
    Joined: 2003/2/24
    Posts: 2334
    From:
    On startup it asks for "system:" which will be a nonissue for people not changing drive names after a clean install but is still bad practice.

    "SYS:" would be the right way to go.
  • »2020/11/8 10:11
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  • ASiegel
    Joined: 2003/2/15
    Posts: 1377
    From: Central Europe
    @Kronos

    Thanks. This had already been fixed.

    I just uploaded version 1.1 with the following changes:

    1. Enabled compact UI mode that allows to use the application in screen resolutions as low as 800x600 (as suggested by amifrog).

    2. Fixed absolute paths that referenced the default system partition name rather than the generic "SYS" (as reported by Geit/jPV).

    3. Added additional styling to node-related tool buttons for a more coherent appearance.

    4. Disabled leftover debug window that was triggered by clicking the fullscreen mode button.
  • »2020/11/8 11:12
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  • Acolyte of the Butterfly
    Acolyte of the Butterfly
    mahen
    Joined: 2003/2/24
    Posts: 118
    From: France (Rennes)
    Thank you ! Impressive piece of work indeed !
  • »2020/11/30 20:47
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  • Acolyte of the Butterfly
    Acolyte of the Butterfly
    Travis_H
    Joined: 2009/12/17
    Posts: 149
    From: Salem, Oregon,...
    Quote:

    This is great. Do you plan to add some boolean operations on SVG paths? Or quick transform options for shapes (like mirror horizontally or vertically)?

    Maybe it's not Inkscape, but definitely a long awaited app. Thanks a lot!


    I always wondered if any attempt was made to obtain and update the wonderful DrawStudio software. I used it for YEARS on Amithlon but it never ran quite right on MorphOS.

    I currently use Gravit Designer on ChromeOS and have to say much of the program is overkill for my uses.
  • »2020/12/20 12:44
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  • Just looking around
    Joined: 2021/8/15
    Posts: 4
    From:
    Thank you so much for this. However, I'm wondering where to get the Kite Hybrid-App Runtime that is needed for running the application? Any help would be appreciated.
  • »2021/8/15 19:03
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  • Andreas_Wolf
    Joined: 2003/5/22
    Posts: 12195
    From: Germany
    > where to get the Kite Hybrid-App Runtime that is needed for running the application?

    Kite is integral part of the VectorInk package.
  • »2022/4/12 10:36
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