Re: Linguistic work on rgbPaint.
Dumped HTML output attached, along with a patch to your latest XML.
I ended up not doing s/thin/fuzzy/, but I'm still hoping to find
something.
Mats Erik Andersson wrote:
>> Squeeze comes in more flavours than just Linux. On the other hand
>> if you didn't have this fact in mind when you wrote the manual, that
>> means it's accurate anyway...
>
> This is tricky. I am already contributing to the GNU/kFreeBSD port
> on other matters, but the phrasing
>
> Debian GNU/Linux and GNU/kFreeBSD
>
> is not to my taste. Besides I have not yet tested this software with
> Debian GNU/kFreeBSD. The alternative "Debian system" might come close
> to a policy violation. I need advice on the proper naming here.
Maybe you're allowed to say that Debian is a Linux distro until
Squeeze has gone stable, and wait until then to have a big
unproductive argument about it on debian-devel? Options include:
* "for the Debian GNU/Linux system"
counting kFreeBSD as one of the "others" it's going to
* "for the Debian GNU/Linux or Debian GNU/kFreeBSD system"
impossibly longwinded
* "for the Debian GNU/Linux or GNU/kFreeBSD system"
still fairly bad
* "for the Debian GNU/Linux or /kFreeBSD system"
you can do this with hyphens but not I think with slashes
* "for the Debian GNU/Linux/kFreeBSD system"
mixing up two subtly different kinds of slash
* "for the Debian GNU/* system"
beginning to turn into line noise
* "for the Debian GNU system"
may or may not be popular with the GNU project
* "for the Debian operating system"
but is it in fact a single OS?
Alternatively you could sidestep the whole issue by just saying "and
was originally intended for Debian, but..."
> - The second group picks the main mode &software; should enter. When
> - it is in <emphasis>Paint</emphasis> mode, the cursor will become a
> - pencil symbol, while <emphasis>Fill</emphasis> mode displays as a
> - bucket being emptied. <emphasis>Selection</emphasis> mode is more
> - complicated, using more than one icon - see
> + The second group picks the main mode, which <command>&prog;</command>
> + should enter. When it is in <emphasis>Paint</emphasis> mode, the cursor
> + will become a pencil symbol, while <emphasis>Fill</emphasis> mode
> + displays as a bucket being emptied. <emphasis>Selection</emphasis> mode
> + is more complicated, using more than one icon - see
> <xref linkend="select.mode.en"/>.
>
> I found " ... main mode, which ... " to meet my expectancy better. Correct?
> Again, it is the executable that displays this behaviour. Line breaking
> follows suite.
No, putting a comma there implies that it's an incidental detail
rather than a defining feature ("the second group picks the main
mode, which also happens to be the one that rgbPaint should enter").
This is a common gotcha for people used to the continental rules -
see "http://www.xibalba.demon.co.uk/jbr/linux/esl.html#c1"; for
details. But now you point it out, the use of that streamlined
construction in the first line is a bad idea - make it
The second group picks the main mode that &software; should enter.
> - Any <keycap><Arrow></keycap> key moves the mouse pointer in small
> - steps across the canvas - steps which can be made larger by pressing
> + Any <keycap>Arrow</keycap> key moves the mouse pointer in small
> + steps across the canvas; steps which can be made larger by pressing
>
> Ought not "Arrow" have precedence over "<Arrow>" in running prose?
> I would personally be more forgiving with "<arrow>".
Yes, I'm not sure why this one word got treated inconsistently.
(Earlier in the file there's a reference to "arrow keys", but I
don't think there's any need to make *that* bit consistent; there
are no other uses of <keycap> in its vicinity.)
> + <refsect1>
> + <title>Files</title>
> + <para>
> + At launch time, <command>&prog;</command> will record the current
> + working directory as the default location where to fetch and store
> + image files. This is the directory suggested every time a file
> + dialogue is brought into action. Using the command line option
> + <option>-d</option>, it is possible to set another location.
> + A reasonable choice is
> + "<option>-d</option> <filename class="directory">~</filename>"
> + for accessing the home directory of the user.
"Location where to [do X]" doesn't work, and any attempt to fix it
by getting more elaborate bogs down in stuff like "from and to which
to fetch and store image files", so go the other way and make it
"the default location for fetching and storing image files".
> </para>
> <para>
> The command line switch <option>-svg</option> allows a directory to be
> - specified where &software; should look for particular vector image files
> - in SVG format. Their names must all be of the form "stock-XXX.svg",
> - where the <replaceable>XXX</replaceable> is one of the following words:
> - new, open, save, saveas, cut, copy, paste, undo, redo, text, paint, fill,
> - select, pan, or zoom. Each will provide an icon for the obvious
> - corresponding function, and all must be present.
> + specified where <command>&prog;</command> should look for particular
> + vector image files in SVG format. Their names must all be of the form
> + "stock-XXX.svg", where the <replaceable>XXX</replaceable>
> + is one of the following key words: new, open, save, saveas, cut, copy,
> + paste, undo, redo, text, paint, fill, select, sun, or zoom.
> + Each will provide an icon for the obvious corresponding function.
Or as I suggested in my previous message
Each will provide an icon for the corresponding function in the top panel.
> + A missing icon will be replaced by a default choice, but there is
> + no guarantee that the fall-back icon will be unique, nor be relevant
> + for the intended purpose.
No hyphen in "fallback", and you can't use "nor" there (the clause
it's an alternative to isn't negated).
> + <citerefentry>
> + <refentrytitle>mtpaint</refentrytitle>
> + <manvolnum>1</manvolnum>
> + </citerefentry>, the more extensive kin of &software;.
"Extensive" and "kin" are... odd, not quite wrong, but put them
together and it sounds as if you're talking about rgbPaint's
"extended family". Maybe:
</citerefentry>, &software;'s more featureful relative
--
JBR with qualifications in linguistics, experience as a Debian
sysadmin, and probably no clue about this particular package
--- rgbpaint.xml.mea 2010-12-07 21:56:50.000000000 +0000
+++ rgbpaint.xml.jbr 2010-12-07 22:24:13.000000000 +0000
@@ -261,7 +261,7 @@
check in order not to lose unsaved data.
</para>
<para>
- The second group picks the main mode, which <command>&prog;</command>
+ The second group picks the main mode that <command>&prog;</command>
should enter. When it is in <emphasis>Paint</emphasis> mode, the cursor
will become a pencil symbol, while <emphasis>Fill</emphasis> mode
displays as a bucket being emptied. <emphasis>Selection</emphasis> mode
@@ -587,7 +587,7 @@
<title>Files</title>
<para>
At launch time, <command>&prog;</command> will record the current
- working directory as the default location where to fetch and store
+ working directory as the default location for fetching and storing
image files. This is the directory suggested every time a file
dialogue is brought into action. Using the command line option
<option>-d</option>, it is possible to set another location.
@@ -602,9 +602,9 @@
"stock-XXX.svg", where the <replaceable>XXX</replaceable>
is one of the following key words: new, open, save, saveas, cut, copy,
paste, undo, redo, text, paint, fill, select, sun, or zoom.
- Each will provide an icon for the obvious corresponding function.
+ Each will provide an icon for the corresponding function in the top panel.
A missing icon will be replaced by a default choice, but there is
- no guarantee that the fall-back icon will be unique, nor be relevant
+ no guarantee that the fallback icon will be unique, or be relevant
for the intended purpose.
</para>
</refsect1>
@@ -626,7 +626,7 @@
<citerefentry>
<refentrytitle>mtpaint</refentrytitle>
<manvolnum>1</manvolnum>
- </citerefentry>, the more extensive kin of &software;.
+ </citerefentry>, &software;'s more featureful relative.
</para>
</refsect1>
rgbpaint
Prev Manual for rgbpaint.
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Name
rgbpaint — A simple pixel-based painting program.
Synopsis
rgbpaint [ options ] [ image-file ] [ -stamps file ... ]
Description
rgbPaint is a very basic painting program created by forking mtPaint at version
3.09, and then simplifying the user interface. It relies on a small but
modifiable palette for pixel-based image editing. Images can be saved in ICO,
JPEG and PNG formats; files in other image formats can be loaded, but not saved
in the original format.
Options
The program accepts the following options:
--help
Print usage information.
-d dir
Use dir as the default directory for loading and saving image files.
-s
Grab a screen shot during launch.
-stamps
Any file names remaining on the command line will be loaded as stamps.
-svg dir
Load program icons in SVG format from the directory dir.
-thumb size
Set size in pixels that stamp thumbnails should be scaled to (up or down
depending on original size). The default is 40 pixels on a side; permitted
values are in the range 32–256.
-u limit
Set the maximum size of the undo buffer to limit MB. The default is 32 MB;
permitted values are in the range 1–500.
--version
Print version information.
Appearance
When launched, rgbpaint will use most of its available window area to present a
view of a large Canvas. At the top there will be a Tasks panel, and a Brushes/
Colours panel will be at the left edge. It is also possible for a rather narrow
Stamps panel containing iconised images to be inset at the bottom edge.
The Tasks panel
This panel is used for selecting actions. The available actions can be
classified into the following groups:
● New image, Load image file, Save image file, Save image file as
● Paint, Flood fill, Make selection
● Cut, Copy, Paste, Paste text
● Undo, Redo, Transform colour, Pan window, Scaling
The first group deals with creating new blank images and reading from or
writing to image files. Each action conducts its own safety check in order not
to lose unsaved data.
The second group picks the main mode that rgbpaint should enter. When it is in
Paint mode, the cursor will become a pencil symbol, while Fill mode displays as
a bucket being emptied. Selection mode is more complicated, using more than one
icon - see the section called “Making and using selections”.
The third group covers actions that operate on a selected portion of the
canvas: Cutting out a shape from the canvas, making a Copy in memory of the
content within the marked area, Pasting the copy back from memory onto the
canvas, or opening a dialogue window for Text, which will deploy a new
selection area just large enough to hold the snippet of text specified using
the dialogue window.
The final group lists miscellaneous actions: Undo an editing step, Redo an
undone step, Transform the overall colour settings, Pan the window across the
canvas (a miniature window is shown with a pane whose movements are controlled
by the arrow keys), or finally, set the Scaling of the canvas.
Making and using selections
The Selection main mode is intended for grabbing and manipulating portions of
the full canvas. It can itself be thought of as being divided into three
further states:
Resting
is indicated by a cross-hairs icon and happens when no corner marker has
been set.
Marking
shows one out of four corner icons. They all indicate how the next point
selected will be used to lay down a rectangle together with the previously
set corner. To get a feeling for this, it is best to experiment a little by
moving the pointer around.
A corner is set by left clicking, and two set corners show up as a
rectangle outlined by dashed lines. A right click will cancel all corners,
and will return to the resting state.
Moving
means that the pointer is hovering above a selected area, and that this
area may be moved around. The icon consists of two crossed double-ended
arrows, but can look similar to a diamond shape with four small, internal
squares.
The selected area can be moved around using the keyboard shortcuts (see the
section called “Keyboard shortcuts”), or by holding the left mouse button
down and moving the pointer around.
The Brushes/Colours panel
Here the user chooses a brush and colour for painting, or colour only for flood
filling. The upper part of the panel holds the ten different brushes, six solid
and four thin ones. The solid brushes can give a square or a round outline in
any of three thicknesses. Out of the four available thin brushes, the smallest
is so thin as to paint one pixel at a time, making possible very accurate brush
work. The other three are of larger sizes, but they all colour pixels in a
random fashion within their outline, so they act somewhat like staining a
surface.
In the lower part of the panel there are twenty buttons displaying a palette of
available colours. Clicking on any of these chooses the corresponding colour
for painting, until it is replaced.
An elongated button, between the upper and the lower areas, will always display
the active colour, and has a further useful function. Clicking the left mouse
button on it will summon a colour editor. This allows the user to blend a new
colour, which will, once accepted, replace the colour that was previously
active.
The Stamps panel
This extra panel, at the bottom of the program window, comes to life only if
rgbpaint was launched using the command line switch -stamps, followed by the
names of existing image files. The displayed size of any thumbnail image is
determined by the switch -thumb, or set to 40 pixels in both width and height.
If the user left-clicks on a thumbnail image, a copy of the image will appear
in the middle of the canvas, with the size of the original image, not that of
the thumbnail. The copy is in fact only a marked area (see the section called
“Making and using selections”), and can be moved around at will with the left
mouse button, until a final right click will deposit a copy on the canvas. The
marked area is still sitting on top, so it may again be moved around to make
additional imprints.
Keyboard shortcuts
Some handy keyboard shortcuts are available. The keys 1–9 change image scaling
in pre-determined steps. The keys + and - give a fine-grained scaling up or
down.
Any Arrow key moves the mouse pointer in small steps across the canvas; steps
which can be made larger by pressing Shift-Arrow. When instead using Ctrl-Arrow
, the whole canvas will shift in the implied direction.
Actions
1–9
Change scaling to fixed levels.
+, -
Scale up, scale down.
Ins
Summon the Transform colour dialogue.
End
Summon the Pan Window dialogue.
f
Select Flood fill mode.
p
Select the Paint mode.
q
Quit the program.
s
Activate Make Selection mode.
t
Summon the Text paste dialogue.
Movement
Arrow
Move pointer slightly.
Shift-Arrow
Move pointer in larger steps.
Ctrl-Arrow
Move canvas rather than pointer.
Home
Go to the top of the canvas.
Ctrl-Home
Go to the far left of the canvas.
PgUp, PgDn
Move the canvas up or down, one page at a time.
Ctrl-PgUp, Ctrl-PgDn
Move the canvas left or right, one page at a time.
Customised task icons
There is a built-in facility for customising the appearance of the task icons
as they appear in the Tasks panel. This is mostly an issue for the
administrators of kiosk systems or similar, not for the casual user. It can
also make sense to use this in the rgbpaint command string registered with the
Debian menu system for systems where this is the only way users are expected to
access the program. See next section for the details.
Files
At launch time, rgbpaint will record the current working directory as the
default location for fetching and storing image files. This is the directory
suggested every time a file dialogue is brought into action. Using the command
line option -d, it is possible to set another location. A reasonable choice is
"-d ~" for accessing the home directory of the user.
The command line switch -svg allows a directory to be specified where rgbpaint
should look for particular vector image files in SVG format. Their names must
all be of the form "stock-XXX.svg", where the XXX is one of the following key
words: new, open, save, saveas, cut, copy, paste, undo, redo, text, paint,
fill, select, sun, or zoom. Each will provide an icon for the corresponding
function in the top panel. A missing icon will be replaced by a default choice,
but there is no guarantee that the fallback icon will be unique, or be relevant
for the intended purpose.
Homepage
http://mtpaint.sourceforge.net/rgbpaint.html
See also
mtpaint(1), rgbPaint's more featureful relative.
Program Authors
Mark Tyler, Dmitry Groshev
Manual Authors
The original manual page stub was taken as starting point for a complete
rewrite as Docbook source, and was substantially extended by Mats Erik
Andersson and Justin B Rye. The new format was chosen in order to simplify
translations, and was originally intended for the Debian GNU/Linux system, but
the text may be used by others. Permission is granted to copy, distribute and/
or modify this document under the same terms as rgbPaint itself.
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