Hi all,
This is a list of features that I hope to be in synfig:
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Asset manager (collector): a special panel that stores, sort & organize user assets, the user can add images, sounds, *.sif files etc to it.
After that, user can drag & drop asset into the canvas.
Any imported file by legacy methods (file > import) should be added to assets automatically. -
Portable file format: as synfig link assets not embedding it, so we need another portable format that contains all necessary data to run the project in another computer or by another user computer.
The suggested format is a renamed zip file that stores the *.sif file with its assets.
Synfig shoulld know how to pack its portable file & unpack it to produce work ready directory ( may be hidden ). -
Synfig cloud ( custom git support ): I suggest to support basic git operations ( pull, push, commit ) to the
synfig cloudwhich is a custom .git repository that is managed by synfig developers. It should be paid ( few dollars annually
) to support the development.
The portable file format will be used to store files and perform some extendable list of actions ( plan to move all synfig features to cloud one by one. ) -
Project management: synfig should has the ability to manage the project from the top view.
I suggest that each synfig project is a simple *.sif file that link the locations of its children multiple *.sif files ( normally appears in the layer panel )
It set each *.sif defaultoffset timeto the end time of the previous one.
There is a new layer calledsceneorsif(whatever the name) to create a new *.sif file & add it to the project layers.
The new created *.sif file should inherit some feature from its project for example: the canvas size, the assets dir etc.
When the user choose to save the project file in a portable format, its output should contains a work ready file ( no links to its children ) -
Custom layer: user can create custom layer that compose of generic layers with custom configs & animation, this will give users the ability to share something like wave effect, smoke effect, fire effect etc. synfig cloud or usual .git repository can be used to store this files. later, we will need index & widget to browse the shared files.
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Improve the plugin engine: I know it is completely rewritten short time ago, but I suggest to include this features in the upcoming build: plugin can add icon to the tools, layer to the layers menu, action to the canvas menu, custom window panel. also, plugin can run in a specific object by right clicking on it & choosing the plug in action.
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Reference layer: a small feature
, reference layer is a layer that contains image or group. by default it has disable render option set to true & opacity set to less than 1. -
Action preview: when user moves/scales/rotates layer he needs to see a dashed line that preview the layer boundary and location, so, user can scale layers by handle from the first time.
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Convert layer to spline: I suggest to add the ability to convert generic layer to a spline layer, this give a chance to create more advanced shapes based on circles, rectangle, polygons etc …
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Join multiple layers to polygon: similar to the last feature, with additional feature of joining layers into single polygon ( this will decrease the group hirerachy & complexity ).
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Waypoint description: I suggest to give the ability to describe the waypoints by a description text, by this means the user can diferentiate waypoints from each others rapidly.
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Improved keyframe panel: I suggest to add the ability of the keyframe panel to show a tree of waypoints that belongs to each frame, so the user can has a text that illustrate what is going on.
This is a suggested appearance:
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Good looking parameters: I suggest to add graphical controllers to the oarameters panel. For example: a simple slider for the float values like opacity oarameter, selection widget for blend method instead of simple select box etc.
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Small fix: some actions not working as expected if the file not saved before executing it. For this action, it is better to do automatic save befor executing it. Examples: run plugin, import image etc
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Cut raster images: I suggest to enable cutting raster images into parts inside synfig. This will discard the nned to use gimp or other programs to do it. The following work flow is suggested: select the cut tool, mark part of the image, press enter, the marked part should be saved as a new raster image beside the original one. The residual part should be saved also in another image. Both new images should be imported beside each other in the same place of the imported image, the imported image is deleted frrom synfig layers .
Thanks