Hi, Jeremy. > I did send in an email indicating that I was looking at the problem. No > response from anyone! Hmm, I can't seem to find the email in question. Which one was this? (There was one which I responded to, " Is there a single repo for all the current icons in netbeans".)
Are you interested in doing drawing work for this project? > We need a different approach to the icons, they should be held in a single > place. At the moment they are littered throughout the code like discarded > toffee wrappers. > They are inconsistently named. This is an issue can be discussed and handled entirely independently from the SVG redrawing effort. No need for one effort to block the other. > Many have no real relationship with what they are trying to represent. Perhaps, but a large number of the existing icons actually follow a quite consistent scheme. From what I understand, they were made by a single designer (Leos Tronicek) who spent a lot of time inventing a common visual language for e.g. the Java-related icons. For the SVG redrawing effort, I'd be inclined to keep the existing visual language (basic object shapes and color scheme), while removing some ornaments that have become out-of-fashion (unnecessary drop shadows, bevels, gradients etc.). Trying to change the shapes would significantly increase the effort involved and increase the risk of visual inconsistencies. > You can't just replace the gifs and pngs with svgs because the code won't > handle them I suspect quite a lot of rewriting will be required. But, I > haven't got far enough in my investigation to be sure. SVG files were > originally developed to use in websites and not in stand-alone apps. I implemented SVG support in the NetBeans ImageLoader a while back. There's a few places where existing code will need to be changed to use general Icon instances instead of ImageIcon instances. I've done so in my NetBeans Platform application and can push patches upstream. But this is easy stuff compared to the redrawing task. > Other problems are the tools all graphic design apps output the svgs slightly > different but they can also tune them for a specific purpose, so their > production needs to be done with great care. Absolutely! I went through this process in my NetBeans Platform application. > Don't forget the current set of icons has been around for a while can stay > for a few more months without a real problem. Agreed. -- Eirik -----Original Message----- From: Jeremy Cavanagh <jeremy.cavan...@orange.fr> Sent: Friday, September 18, 2020 12:04 PM To: dev@netbeans.apache.org Subject: SVG icon graphics Hi All, I'm going to get a bit ratty about these exchanges over svg icons. I did send in an email indicating that I was looking at the problem. No response from anyone! Yet, there is a continuous drivel of discussion about this topic and not many people have got the point. THIS IS NOT SIMPLY A MATTER OF CONVERTING EXISTING GIF AND PNG FILES TO SVG. IT WON"T WORK!!!! I have spent nearly 50 hours this week looking at the problem. In my opinion the whole lot needs to be redrawn. We need a different approach to the icons, they should be held in a single place. At the moment they are littered throughout the code like discarded toffee wrappers. They are inconsistently named. Inconsistently drawn. There are multiple different versions of the same thing. Many have no real relationship with what they are trying to represent. There is more... You can't just replace the gifs and pngs with svgs because the code won't handle them I suspect quite a lot of rewriting will be required. But, I haven't got far enough in my investigation to be sure. SVG files were originally developed to use in websites and not in stand-alone apps. Other problems are the tools all graphic design apps output the svgs slightly different but they can also tune them for a specific purpose, so their production needs to be done with great care. We need to create a coherent and consistent set of icons which will improve the visual appearance of NetBeans and enhance the user experience. This will be NO SIMPLE or QUICK task. In my view the earliest we should aim for is release 13.0. Any earlier and everything will be rushed and unsatisfactory. Don't forget the current set of icons has been around for a while can stay for a few more months without a real problem. I could say more but I'm tired. Please respond to this email. Even if you don't I will continue for my personal satisfaction. Regards to all. Jeremy P.S., Stay Home, Stay Safe bu, above all Stay Healthy --------------------------------------------------------------------- To unsubscribe, e-mail: dev-unsubscr...@netbeans.apache.org For additional commands, e-mail: dev-h...@netbeans.apache.org For further information about the NetBeans mailing lists, visit: https://cwiki.apache.org/confluence/display/NETBEANS/Mailing+lists --------------------------------------------------------------------- To unsubscribe, e-mail: dev-unsubscr...@netbeans.apache.org For additional commands, e-mail: dev-h...@netbeans.apache.org For further information about the NetBeans mailing lists, visit: https://cwiki.apache.org/confluence/display/NETBEANS/Mailing+lists
