GSoC 2008 Picture Browser Concept

This is basically the concept i already posted on the mailinglist, with some minor changes/additions. As discussion evolves, i will update it.

= General =

all settings can be saved so the user can continue using the browser just as he left it
 * 1.1 All settings savable

keeps the window always on top
 * 1.2 Option "always on top"

= GUI =


 * 2.1 Clear hierachy of elements from left to right


 * 2.2 Divided up into 3 main categories, accessible via tabs
 * 2.2.1 Folderbrowser (search through mass storage)
 * 2.2.2 Collectionsbrowser (manage collections of images)
 * 2.2.3 Documentbrowser (manage images in current document)

"more" button which shows tabwindow to keep the picturebrowser slim
 * 2.3 Display additional content only on demand

for every "hidden" option (drag&drop, contextmenu, qtip etc) there will be a visible control element providing the same function so beginners won't get lost
 * 2.4 Suitable for beginners as well as for professionals

= Previews =

several zoom levels allow to set a custom size of the previewpictures
 * 3.1 Zoom levels


 * 3.2 Actions combobox with actions button
 * 3.2.1 "insert into page"
 * 3.2.2 "add to collection"
 * 3.2.3 "remove from collection"
 * 3.2.4 "show in original size"

Sorting of the previewpictures by various categories (filename, filesize, filetype, filedate, resolution etc)
 * 3.3 Sorting


 * 3.4 Different previewmodes
 * 3.4.1 "common previewlist" - only previewimages
 * 3.4.2 "previewlist with information" - additional information below each previewimage (filename, filesize, filetype, filedate, resolution etc)
 * 3.4.3 "Pictureflow" - Preview using PictureFlow

allows access to sorting/filter, add/remove collections etc
 * 3.5 Individual contextmenu

only visible previewimages will be loaded, resulting in faster load times after a set of images has been chosen
 * 3.6 Just in time caching of previewimages

on doubleclick, the previewimage is shown in orignal size (or resized to fullscreen) in a seperate window
 * 3.7 Option to show images in original size

images can be inserted into collections or into the document directly by drag&drop
 * 3.8 Drag&Drop

= Folderbrowser =

if activated, subfolders will be included
 * 4.1 Option "include subdirs"

allows quick access to digital camera, Desktop, My Documents etc as well as entering a path manually. May include auto completion.
 * 4.2 Editable shortcut combobox over folderbrowser

if the user is trying to reach a subfolder, loading may be very disturbing if the folders along the way contain many images. This option allows to refresh the previewlist only on demand by pressing a "refresh" button.
 * 4.3 Option "manually refresh previews"

allows to perform certain actions with all images of a specific folder (add to a collection etc)
 * 4.4 Individual contextmenu

= Collectionsbrowser =

allows creation, editing and removal of image collections
 * 5.1 Editing options

allows creation, editing and removal of image collections
 * 5.2 Individual contextmenu

= Documentbrowser =

jumps to the desired page of the current document
 * 6.1 "Go to page" Option

allows document specific actions
 * 6.2 Individual Contextmenu

= Expanded Picturebrowser =

shows all available image information of the chosen image as well as fileinformation
 * 7.1 Information

allows filtering/searching of images, since those functions are very similar they are united. Categories include filename, filedate, filesize, filetype and resolution. Use of wildcards and recursive filtering is possible.
 * 7.2 Filter/search

provides basic tools for image editing (already included in Scribus)
 * 7.3 Tools