Right clicking scribus icon in the task bar not showing recent files

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donjohnson24

Can this feature be made to work with Scribus, and if so, how?
Thanks,  Don

GarryP

Don, you didn't say which OS you're using but this seems to be working for me with Scribus 1.4.6 on Windows 10.

However, I think the list is only updated if you load a file via Windows (e.g. double-clicking on the file) rather than from within Scribus.

I don't know if it's possible for the OS - and it would probably have to be coded different ways for different OSes - to look into the internal Scribus recent files list.

a.l.e

personally, i'm for removing -- by default? -- that part of the toolbar.

the scribus UI is already busy enough and screen space is often scarce.
(personally, i only have the tools toolbar docked to the left...)

in my eyes, the "file > open recent..." menu entry is more than enough

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GarryP

Sorry a.l.e, have I got this all mixed up? Which part of the toolbar are you talking about?

I thought Don was asking about the task bar, as in the part of the OS GUI where your most-used application icons are held for quick use. I didn't think he was talking about anything in Scribus itself.

Don, have I got this the wrong way round?

a.l.e

ok, i see...

indeed, os x as such a feature... i've never used it :-(

i think that it's worth filling a bug report for it.

don: would you mind adding it to https://bugs.scribus.net ?


(i was thinking that he wanted to right click on the open icon in the toolbar and be able to see a list of recent files...)

GarryP

This page http://doc.qt.io/qt-5/qtwinextras-overview.html gives an overview of some Windows-specific Qt extras including jumplists (which is what, I think, Don was talking about) but I don't know what kind of similar thing would be available to other OSes.

Isn't it better to let the OS sort this kind of thing out?

For example: If you want something to be in the jumplist then you load the file - and you only have to do it once - via the OS (File Explorer or whatever). If you don't want the file to be in the jumplist then you just load it via Scribus in the normal way. That way you have total control over what is in the jumplist and Scribus doesn't have to handle anything extra.

It sounds like this is more of a user training thing rather than a Scribus issue.

a.l.e: Which part of the toolbar were you think that should be removed? It's not the one with the Save button on it is it? I only ask as I use the save button a lot and having to go "File -> Save" would be more awkward. (I know there's a keyboard shortcut but I don't use shortcuts much.)

a.l.e

yes, that icon.

the button in the "non tools" toolbar are for actions that are very rarely used (and the detour through the menus is not really an issue) or used so often that their shortcuts are common to (almost) all applications and OSes.

that's why i would like those toolbars not to be shown by default. not in scribus.

and i really wonder, if we are helping our users (you included :-) by providing a half way solution, instead of helping them to learn ctrl-s, ctrl-w, ctrl-p, ctrl-c, and ctrl-v for saving, closing, printing (in the case of scribus rather producing a pdf...), copy and paste...

in my eyes those toolbars give a false "home" feeling (and do not help them to look for the important buttons in the PP), distract the users and visually overstrain them.

there are too many people who are stuck in the story editor and don't find their way to the properties palette (which should be shown by default!).
i'm pretty sure, that the toolbars are one (not the main) reasons of it.

have a look at the screenshot i've posted in a previous post and judge by yourself if it does not show a scribus that looks friendlier and easier to use.
(to my "defense": most people i know that use scribus regularly way have a similar setup... and it took very long before i got convinced to move my toolbar to the left side... but now it just feels right that way; this is the default in inkscape and gimp, too)

donjohnson24

Quote from: GarryP on October 10, 2016, 01:41:12 PM
Don, you didn't say which OS you're using but this seems to be working for me with Scribus 1.4.6 on Windows 10.

However, I think the list is only updated if you load a file via Windows (e.g. double-clicking on the file) rather than from within Scribus.

I don't know if it's possible for the OS - and it would probably have to be coded different ways for different OSes - to look into the internal Scribus recent files list.

I'm also on Win10 - using 1.5.2, and yes, loading via Windows DOES populate the list .

When I posed the question, I was sure that I already knew a solution, but could not bring it to mind.   I can only use the excuse of advanced years  ::)

Thanks for the info', but I'll leave the rest of the in-depth discussion to you experts!   

GarryP

Don, I'm glad that we seem to have answered your question. Sorry about hijacking the thread but I hope you - and other people - are finding the conversation interesting, if not useful.

a.l.e, I think I can see where you are coming from with the "non tools" toolbars.

I sill use the open and save buttons quite a lot but, on the other hand, I don't ever use any of the copy/paste buttons, and I sometimes use some keyboard shortcuts but not a lot of them. (Come to think of it, I can't remember the last time I ever used a copy/paste function from a toolbar in any application.) I use a mix of all three which is something I've got used to doing from the very early days of GUIs. People just use what they're used to using.

Having said that, I think you're also right that most of the file functions are the same in most applications. Again, back to early GUI days, operations like opening files and copy and paste were not things that most people were used to doing and so the designers put the tools up-front where people could see them.

Nowadays, however, if someone doesn't know about stuff like opening files and pasting then they're probably so new to computers that they really need to learn how to do the basics first and Scribus is not for people who know so little. That might sound a bit harsh but an application shouldn't have to teach people how to use GUIs, not these days.

So I can see your point about not having the file and edit toolbars shown. As an experiment I've changed my Scribus configuration to match what was in your screenshot. If I haven't tried it I can't complain about it. I'll see how I get on with things.

As you say, this matches how applications like Inkscape and GIMP work. It does seem to have a more "modern" feel and getting Scribus to look more modern is normally going to be a good thing. To be blunt the Scribus UI is still very much stuck in the mid-to-late 90's and it could do with a bit of a spruce-up. I'm hoping that the excellent work that Martin has been doing on the IndigoDock will eventually make it into mainstream Scribus (people can find it here http://forums.scribus.net/index.php/topic,1617.0.html if they don't know about it). That will be a huge step in the right direction.

So, anyway, yeah - I think you're right. There should always be a way for people to get whichever toolbars they need but they don't all need to be there from the start.

P.S. And yes, the PP should always be displayed every time that Scribus starts up. Scribus isn't very usable without the PP and it can confuse some users who close it simply because it can be closed. The PP is the Scribus tools really. Thought: Could the tools on the toolbar be integrated into the PP in some way? Hmm... Drag a text frame icon from the text tab to create a text frame, drag a colours icon from the colours tab to use the eyedropper, etc. Interesting...