Re: themes for GNOME2 docs

["Eugene O'Connor" <eugene oconnor sun com>]

Hi Dan,

I have been planning on writing a section for the Style Guide on how to
take screenshots, and how to add callouts to screenshots. The attached
file represents the bones of this section. I originally wrote this
process as Sun's screenshot process, and I have modified it for GDP
requirements. The callout part of the process was designed to facilitate
the localization of screenshots with callouts.

I will also make a sample XCF file available. I have structured the
image layers in a particular way, again to facilitate localization work.
I can do this in the next couple of days.

The Style Guide section I propose covers some of the guidelines that you
mention. Perhaps we should split this information into Style Issues
(Style Guide) and Processes (GDP Handbook).

Eugene


Dan Mueth wrote:
> 
> Hi,
> 
> I basically agree with you'all, but to summarize...
> 
> We should use the default window manager, window manager theme, Gtk+ font
> and theme, and any other default themes and configurations that ships with
> plain GNOME. As to what this is, I think we have to punt this to the
> usability team.  Since many people on this list have good thoughts on this
> topic, we should all feel free to fill the usability mailing list with our
> thoughts on the topic :)
> 
> When do we need to start taking our final screenshots for our documents?
> We should set a date and "strongly encourage" the usability folks to
> decide in advance of this date.  John - since you are on the GNOME 2
> release team and know the schedule well, could you suggest a date and urge
> the usability folks to decide in time for us to get our screenshots done?
> 
> As for screenshot decorations (eg. drop shadows), I think they look really
> nice but make the screenshot process *much* more complicated and
> time-consuming.  It also makes it very difficult to localize since
> translators are busy enough translating po files.  When they find out we
> have lots of new XML documentation and screenshots for them to localize
> too, they will certainly not feel like firing up the GIMP for each of
> hundreds of screen shots.  So, sadly, I think we have to keep it simple.
> 
> As Chris pointed out, we should expand our guidelines to go beyond just
> themes and fonts.  We can use the "General Guidelines" page of
> /usr/share/gnome/help/nautilus-screenshot-guidelines/C/index.html as a
> starting point, copying it into the GDP Handbook, and then changing and
> adding to it as needed.  We should have a look at the recommendations in
> the Sun style manual and other sources and decide how we want to do the
> callouts.
> 
> Dan
> 
> On 17 Dec 2001, Gregory Leblanc wrote:
> 
> > On Mon, 2001-12-17 at 11:36, Eugene O'Connor wrote:
> > > I think the most sensible option is to use the default settings for the
> > > desktop when you take a screenshot. Currently, the default frame style
> > > is Crux, and the default theme is Default. If the screenshots reflect
> > > non-default settings, users will become confused if the screenshots in
> > > the documentation do not match what appears on the desktop. This would
> > > impact first time users in particular.
> >
> > Ah, but which default settings?  The ones from the original source, the
> > ones from Red Hat, the ones from Ximian, the ones from Sun, the ones
> > from Debian...
> >
> > If we say "use the defaults", we're not going to have consistent
> > screenshots, because different people will have different defaults.  I
> > think we need to specify what themes and such to use, to ensure that our
> > documentation is consistent.  Offhand, it makes the most sense to me to
> > use whatever the default that ships from source is.  Havoc just posted a
> > mail on this topic to the gnome-redhat-list, but I think it's relevant
> > in a lot more places than just there.  Here's a link to that message.
> > http://mail.gnome.org/archives/gnome-redhat-list/2001-December/msg00030.html
> >
> > > I suggest that the GDP handbook should state that screenshots should use
> > > the default settings rather than specify a particular frame style and
> > > theme. It might be a good idea to document the default settings
> > > somewhere - so that when we are taking screenshots, we can ensure that
> > > our desktops use the default settings.
> >
> > Yeah, this sounds great, if we can get the default themes to all be
> > fairly consistent and work well with each other.  Right now, I don't
> > think they do this very well.  Hmm, perhaps this is something to be
> > mentioned to the usability people.
> > [snipped, for brevity]
> >       Greg
> >
> >
> 
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Title: Screenshot Process

Screenshot Process

The following process describes the procedure to follow to create a screenshot for the documentation for GNOME 2.0.

Style Issues

• As far as possible, use the default settings for the desktop when you set up a screenshot. Include the window frame when you are taking a screenshot of a window. The default window frame style is Crux. The default UI theme is Default.
• For documentation that will be available online, PNG format is required.
• For documentation that will be printed and available online, PNG and EPS format are required.
• The maximum width of images is 510 pixels. At this width, images will fit on a printed page. Ensure that images with callouts are not wider than 510 pixels. You can use GIMP to scale images before you add callouts. It is recommended that you use GIMP to scale images to this size. To scale an image in GIMP, right-click on the image, then choose Image > Scale image.
  
• Question: Should EPS images be in greyscale? I understand that this gives a better quality image for printing.
• Only use callouts to graphically identify key features. For example, do not use callouts to give instructions such as "Click here to close the window". Instead, identify the feature and give the instructions in text.
• Use straight horizontal and vertical lines only (see Notes 1 and 2 below). Beware that straight callout lines may not be very clear if they closely parallel lines in the window display that represent edges of window elements.
• Keep callout lines as simple as possible. Try to restrict the callout line to one straight line. Where possible, avoid creating a perpendicular angle on the callout line that leads into the text.
• Do not create callout lines that fold back on themselves. If a callout line must be more complex than one straight line, ensure that the callout "flows" in one direction. For an example of callout lines not flowing in one direction, click here [Example to be added here].
• Do not use drop shadow or any other special graphical effects on the screenshot. Special graphical effects can be complex to create. If the screenshot is localized, the effort to create the special effect must be reproduced nine times.

Process for Creating Screenshots for Print and Online

1. Set the properties of the Screen-Shooter applet as follows:
   • Compressed Quality: 75
   • Image filename: filename.png
2. Use the Screen-Shooter applet to take the screenshot. Screen-Shooter creates the screenshot in PNG format.
3. Open the PNG file in GIMP. If necessary, scale the image down and save it as PNG.
4. Question: Greyscale the image?
   Save the file in EPS format. To do this, right-click on the image, then choose File > Save As.
5. On the Save Image dialog, choose PostScript from the Determine File Type drop-down list box.
6. On the Save as PostScript dialog, select the Encapsulated PostScript option.

Process for Creating Screenshots with Callouts for Print and Online

1. Set the properties of the Screen-Shooter applet as follows:
   • Compressed Quality: 75
   • Image filename: filename.png
2. Use the Screen-Shooter applet to take the screenshot. Screen-Shooter creates the screenshot in PNG format.
3. Open the PNG file in GIMP. To create space in which to add the callouts you can create a new image in GIMP with plenty of space around it, then paste in the screenshot. When you are finished you can use the Crop tool to resize the image.
4. Save the file in XCF format. XCF is GIMP's native format and allows you to use complex graphical features such as layers.
5. Create the callout lines in a new layer. To create a new layer, right-click on the image, then choose Layers > Layers, Channels & Paths. Click on the New Layer button. Name the layer "Callout lines".

   Use the pencil tool to draw the callout lines. To keep the lines straight, click to start drawing the line, then press-and-hold Shift. Format the lines as follows:

   • Brush: pixel (1x 1 square)
   • Foreground colour: Black (Hex triplet: #000000)
   Use straight horizontal and vertical lines only. See Notes 1 and 2 below.

6. Use the dynamic text plugin to create the callout text. To access the Dynamic Text plugin, right-click on an image, then choose Filters > Render > Dynamic Text. This creates a new layer for each text item. Rename the layers so that the name of the layer matches the text that appears in the callout. Format the text as follows:
   • helvetica(adobe)
   • medium
   • 11-point
   • anti-aliased
7. Save the image as PNG (right-click on the image and choose File > Save As). An Export File dialog is displayed. This warns that you are about to flatten the layers in the image. Click on the Export button. A Save As PNG dialog is displayed. Deselect the Save background color option. Ensure that you do not overwrite the XCF file!
8. Close the PNG image. Open the XCF again. Save the image as EPS (right-click on the image and choose File > Save As). An Export File dialog is displayed. This warns that you are about to flatten the layers in the image. Click on the Export button. A Save as PostScript dialog is displayed. Select the Encapsulated PostScript option. Ensure that you do not overwrite the XCF file!

Note 1: Due to the limitations of raster formats such as PNG, lines drawn at an oblique angle to the screenshot appear jagged. So do not draw lines at an oblique angle to the screenshot.

Note 2: I have not been able to figure out how to use the Gfig plugin for line drawing to use the drawing tools in a precise, closely-controlled manner. I have also found it difficult to ensure that the lines drawn are at consistent angles to the image. To access the Gfig plugin, right-click on an image, then choose Filters > Render > Gfig.