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#698 Windows users should be offered a better first impression
Originally created by: *anonymous
Originally created by: v.villenave
The Windows installation launches the lilypad editor when clicking on
the LilyPond desktop icon or in the Start menu. This is what new users
are going to do, undoubtedly.
Here are some ideas to make them feel more comfortable from the first time
they give LilyPond a try.
== LILYPAD EDITOR ==
- this editor should "look" more specific: currently it looks too much like
the Windows NotePad, and tends to make users think the file is just some
kind of "ReadMe".
- this editor lacks some features, such as find&replace, syntax
highlighting, etc. See
http://lists.gnu.org/archive/html/lilypond-devel/2007-12/msg00174.html
and
http://lists.gnu.org/archive/html/lilypond-devel/2007-09/msg00322.html
- This editor could be better configured:
- save as UTF-8 by default
- preserve the original filename when users want to save the example file
(e.g. Welcome_to_LilyPond.ly); otherwise the given directions make no sense.
== WELCOME.LY ==
- The example file should be updated:
- as said above, it should say `Save this file on the Desktop with
the name test.ly', and then `open test.pdf' or whatever, in a more
"filename-agnostic" way.
- the input itself has a deprecated syntax: \relative lacks a reference
pitch
- the \version statement still reads 2.10.0.
- Ideally, the example file should be automatically generated:
- the \version statement should be internally generated by a @VERSION@
variable
- the example file should be localized accordingly to the user's language.
Some of these ideas have been raised on the list (by Francisco, Bertalan,
myself etc.) for a few years. I am willing to work on some of these
features personally as soon as I have some time, but any help would be
appreciated.
I am willing to give a €200 bounty for the LilyPad editor improvements, and
many users out there would certainly be glad to give more.
Originally posted by: paconet....@gmail.com
This patch tries to improve/update the welcome files that are shown to
the new user.
I have
- suggested a name to save the file with. This is necessary because
the save dialog of lilypad gets the default name lost.
- changed accordignly the name of the PDF to open.
- updated the syntax of the relative command in the minimal score
- encouraged the user to read the documentation
- changed the order of the version statement, it is used to put it
right at the beginning, I think. At the end where it was it seemed to
be optional, it *is* optional but highly recommended, so let's put
where it usually is.
Originally posted by: paconet....@gmail.com
I raise another EUR 200 the bounty for a point-and-click enabled, syntax highlighting
built-in editor for Windows.
Originally posted by: fodber
Why not make effort into making the full EasyLilyPond package the default for Windows
users?
Originally posted by: paconet....@gmail.com
IMHO, java + jedit + lilypondtool + complementary jedit plugins + another PDF viewer
(jpedal) + yet another PDF viewer (sumatra) is not exactly a minimal solution. I
really appreciate the effort put into LPT, but don't you think it relies too much on
third-party software?
Also, the GUI feel is *very* different from the usual GUI both for Windows and Linux
users. New fonts, new menu structure, new save and open dialogs, etc. etc. Just an
opinion...
Originally posted by: v.villenave
EasyLilyPond needs a face-lift anyway (it's on my TODO list for Christmas, if Santa
brings me a life).
Francisco's right, EasyLily is too heavy. But we definitely need a lightweight editor
with a bit more features included in the default Win distribution. This is on my
long-term TODO list too (maybe something based on https://code.google.com/p/qscite/,
with Python bindings).
In a perfect world, the default LilyPond installer should propose the users to
download and install a nice solution (jEdit/LPT bundle or LilyKDE or...).
Originally posted by: fodber
I think at least we should provide a direct link to EasyLilyPond on the Download page
as it was suggested numerous times.
Originally posted by: v.villenave
I think this will come up in January when we start working on the website seriously.
Until then, if I'm lucky enough I'll have time to improve EasyLily quite a bit -- and
to correctly maintain it, which I haven't been able to do for the past year.
Originally posted by: fodber
Well, then I suppose I also should release a LilyPondTool version upgraded for
LilyPond 2.12.
Originally posted by: ete...@leszer.net
Do you guys know this gui for windows ?
http://www.leszer.net/index.php/my-software/87-lilyeditor.html
Originally posted by: pnorcks@gmail.com
In response to Valentin's original post, I don't think it's worth working too much on
the *existing* LilyPad for Windows, per se. This editor is a nearly-identical
version of the Wine Notepad from 2005! The Wine Notepad has been improved since
then, but it's starting to rely on parts of the Windows API that MinGW has not yet
implemented. (I recently tried updating it to reflect Wine git, but it was too much
of a hassle for too little benefit.)
Rather, it might be better to write a cross-platform GUI (not Java based) so that
we're not stuck using the Windows API. I've been thinking about starting a project
like this for a while, but I'm not promising anything yet.
Originally posted by: nez...@gmail.com
(No comment was entered for this change.)
Labels: Patch
Originally posted by: v.villenave
If you add a "Patch" label, then please also remember to give a link to the codereview patch or mailing-list thread you're referring to, and ideally to also update the "Owner" field if the patch is from someone in the list of Google subscribers.
In other words: could you please be more specific? :-)
Owner: ---
Originally posted by: percival.music.ca@gmail.com
I wondered about that myself, but I think he's referring to Francisco's patch from two years ago; comment 1 in this issue.
I don't know if it applies cleanly, but that that we have a Patch label, I'll notice it the next time I'm checking for stuff, and review it.
Originally posted by: paconet....@gmail.com
Patch does not apply but the changes are already there. Removing label.
Labels: -Patch