Request: Grid size setup, guidelines and other nice features

[outckast]

Hi,

I'm using paint.NET for a few versions now, mostly for image manipulation rather than photo editing, thus my needs go more towards fast and easy usage of the tools. I would personally (perhaps others too) benefit a lot from some ergonomy-improving features like:

- a way to modify the grid size (say every 10 pixels on horizontal and every 15 on vertical)

- guidelines support

- a one-click show/hide floating toolbars feature

- when selection tool active move selected pixels when click on selection and dragging (not having to switch to move tool and back)

- a way to flip selected pixels (not only layer or image)

- a way to hide/show the selection marquee

- force 100% zoom step when zooming in and out using ctrl-mouse wheel

Maybe some of these are already in and I apologize if they are - though I did try to find them in the application, help and forum feature requests.

Thank you, and hope you'll take the valid ones into account for future versions.

[bEPIK]

Hey. I've got a few fixes if you'd like to use them.

Modify the grid size - I would recommend rendering a grid on a new layer using Madjik's Grid Maker Plugin. With the correct grid and layer settings I think it could work rather well. Just remember that when you change the 'Grid Step' that if you set horizontal and vertical to '10' you will have a 9x9 space in between the lines. I won't explain it all... you'll be able to figure it out.

Guidelines support - Sorry I don't know what this is and cannot help

One-click show/hide floating toolbars feature - I just press F5 F6 F7 and F8 with four fingers. It quite literally takes less half a second. To see which window is assigned to which shortcut look to the 'Window' menu.

Merge Move selected pixel and move section tools -That wouldn't work... unless you hold a hotkey (like ctrl, alt or shift) and drag to move the pixel but just drag to move the selection. Hmmmm :?

Flip selected pixels - Boltbait has made a plugin that does that

Hide/show the selection marquee - If I'm understanding you correctly a quick fix for this would be Ctrl+D (deselect) to hide Ctrl+Z (undo) to reshow the selection

I hope this helps. :wink:

[outckast]

thanks a lot for the answers.

- Grid plugin - looks really good. I'll give it a shot

- Guidelines - to clarify this - are the line-like things you usually drag out of the rullers to align stuff - same functionality as the grid more or less but you can put them wherever you like (I'll search for a plugin now that I see that there are some for this type of things)

- One-click show/hide floating toolbars feature - cool workaround but then I still think it would be a reasonably small job to have it done automatically by pressing Tab or something

- Merge Move selected pixel and move section tools - it would work but you're right it will imply that for changing the selection by starting another from inside the existing one will not anymore. You would have to press Escape first. And although I still think it's worth it over changing the current tool twice for select/move/select again, I also would not mind it working only when pressing a control key like you suggested.

- Flip selected pixels plugin really need to start looking at plugins for solutions

- Hide/show the selection marquee - you are correct to some extent - but suppose you want to play with an effect on an existing selection and don't want the marquee to be in the way for that - for small things like icons it's really important.

BTW: a "Save All" option would be nice, but I'll look at plugins first maybe there's something for this too

[bEPIK]

Glad to help. I love thought provoking questions and comments.

A "Save All" option would be nice, but I'll look at plugins first maybe there's something for this too

No there's not a plugin that does this and I think I've read somewhere that they can't do this sort of thing. I'm pretty sure the only things a plugin can add to are the variety of FileTypes, and the 'Effects' and 'Adjustments' menus. A 'Save All' option probably won't happen until 4.0, if at all.

Poplar Feature Requests[/url] Rick":x5l73l5g]Auto-Save -- For example, Paint.NET will save every 5 minutes (for example) to better prevent data loss. Technical feasibility is low for the current design of Paint.NET (at least not without really annoying the user), but a future version should enable it. No ETA. See this thread: http://paintdotnet.12.forumer.com/viewtopic.php?t=3679

Although it's not the same thing, I assume the same rule applies... it would take a very long time to save a complex image, let alone six of them and that would annoy the user (us). But then again Rick wrote "but a future version should enable it" so while I probably shouldn't completely rule it out, I personally don't think it will happen because I don't think it's possible "at least not without really annoying the user". Unless Photoshop can do it... but I've never used it so I don't know. :?

[outckast]

Thank you and please let's continue this - even if just for the sake of the conversation

About the save all thing - I think that with the autosave they are referring to the fact that a save operation takes time and processor speed and (I would guess) they are unable to do it on a different execution thread (this being the architecture issue) - thus every save operation will trigger an application hang up to several seconds and be very annoying to the user?

Save All however would be triggered by the user so the user will expect to have to wait for it to complete and would not be annoying at all. What do you think?

But, as long as we are discussing features: how about a "Repeat" command? Like for example you are in "image1" and you do a contrast/brightness correction. Then you go to "image2" and do the same thing (same correction, same parameters). It would be nice if you could do this sort of thing with a shortcut (think about resize image, resize canvas, sharpen). This would be fairly easy to do if the undo stack contains commands rather than image states.

[Ash]

I still think it would be a reasonably small job to have it done automatically by pressing Tab or something

Don't say it's easy unless you are the one coding and finished it.

But, as long as we are discussing features: how about a "Repeat" command? Like for example you are in "image1" and you do a contrast/brightness correction. Then you go to "image2" and do the same thing (same correction, same parameters). It would be nice if you could do this sort of thing with a shortcut (think about resize image, resize canvas, sharpen). This would be fairly easy to do if the undo stack contains commands rather than image states.

Try ScriptLab

Again, don't say it's easy unless you can and already have done it.

As shown in this post and earlier post.

Maybe a better idea is....play around with Paint.NET a bit longer, get to know all the functions, effects, plugins.

Before making requests.

[Crimson]

But, as long as we are discussing features: how about a "Repeat" command? Like for example you are in "image1" and you do a contrast/brightness correction. Then you go to "image2" and do the same thing (same correction, same parameters). It would be nice if you could do this sort of thing with a shortcut (think about resize image, resize canvas, sharpen). This would be fairly easy to do if the undo stack contains commands rather than image states.

Try ScriptLab

Again, don't say it's easy unless you can and already have done it.

But he doesn't have to! Pyrochild has already developed a plugin that does this.

[Ash]

But, as long as we are discussing features: how about a "Repeat" command? Like for example you are in "image1" and you do a contrast/brightness correction. Then you go to "image2" and do the same thing (same correction, same parameters). It would be nice if you could do this sort of thing with a shortcut (think about resize image, resize canvas, sharpen). This would be fairly easy to do if the undo stack contains commands rather than image states.

Try ScriptLab

Again, don't say it's easy unless you can and already have done it.

But he doesn't have to! Pyrochild has already developed a plugin that does this.

Ahem..?

[Crimson]

:wink:

[bEPIK]

About the Save thing, you make a good point. I have a 8 year old computer (around there) and didn't really think of what most computers can now do.

Repeat command? Isn't that just Ctrl+F. If you look to your 'Effects' menu, after you've used an effect, you will see that at the top it says what effect you last used. However there are no built in options for repeating the stuff under other menus. Before you ask - No, you can't use an effect you used the time before last.

So while we're on suggestions, (and because this is linked with what I just wrote) may I suggest that it is made possible to right click on the last effect used (at the top) and select "Effect History" (instead of "Choose settings for last Effect used"). An effect/adjustment window would open up and perhaps have a drop down box with the last effect used in it - and the time it was used [hours] on the right. When the dropdown box is clicked it could show the last ten, twenty, or all of them - in order from last used. Choose the preferred effect and click OK. This effect could then be recorded to the latest one. It's just an idea but I think it would be pretty cool none the less.

[outckast]

Sorry if anyone was offended, I was just trying to make some (I thought helpful) suggestions. But I guess I'll just stop here and thank everyone that had a constructive attitude about it and tried to help. I did learn here that a lot of things can be achieved by using plugins, so I also have to give a big thank you to the contributors.

@Ash: I am a professional developer myself with some experience. I did not want to offend anyone, much less to put "deadlines" or "complexity labels" on the tasks. Again: those were just suggestions. However... It's true that I don't know the internal architecture of your product - you are correct about that - but if someone would ask me to estimate the complexity of a task consisting in hiding/showing windows at the touch of a key I would say easy. But that's just me. For the redo part I think it could be fairly easy or extremely complicated depending on the internal architecture and that's all I wanted to say.

I will play with the software some more - great suggestion - but again my interest was not mainly aimed towards image processing (effects and such), but image manipulation (moving pixels, painting/filling small areas) and that is where I thought there were things missing, compared to other software I used before. But I will be patient and wait for future improved versions of PdN that might fix it for me.

@brad.pike: Thanks for the advice . Yes that Repeat Effect command is what I'm talking about (and I was aware of it). But think of it applied to anything that makes sense to repeat (New Layer, Resize Canvas, Auto-Level, Black and White, ...). What you are suggesting on the other hand is "command history" (with redo, undo...) just like you have in highly expensive Adobe or Corel products - but only applied to effects.

[Ash]

But think of it applied to anything that makes sense to repeat (New Layer, Resize Canvas, Auto-Level, Black and White, ...).

I have to ask you again, have you tried ScriptLab yet?

[oma]

@Ash: I am a professional developer myself with some experience. .. .......

I will play with the software some more - great suggestion - but again my interest was not mainly aimed towards image processing (effects and such), but image manipulation (moving pixels, painting/filling small areas) and that is where I thought there were things missing, compared to other software I used before. But I will be patient and wait for future improved versions of PdN that might fix it for me.

.

Moving pixels around and painting in and filling areas take a look at my gallery there are many examples of that!