Re: None

[Mark Rose]

> On Mon, Dec 09, 2002 at 05:45:14PM +0000, matthias entenmann wrote:
> > What is still missing to make sketch a _real_ drawing program is the
> > implementaion of a multiline text object. Over a year ago, Mark Rose
> > posted a solution which is (at least in my eyes) great. However, it is
> > still not included in sketch (what I don't really understand).
>
> Christof Ecker's multiline text object is part of sketch since 0.6.13.
> This should not keep anybody from trying Mark's work, though. :)
>
> Quite some work is needed to make a better multiline text
> integration for sketch 0.7.x, too.
> AFAIK Mark is helping with 0.7.x development.
> He contributed good dialogs for editing properties and color
> selection for 0.7.10. 


Ok, I thought my ears were burning.

Matthias, I'm glad you like the textbox tool.  I still think it would be
a good addition to Sketch.

I'm not actively involved in any Sketch development at this time, or in
the foreseeable future.  I need to use Sketch a lot less often at work now, 
so I don't have such a strong motivation to add features.  That, and all my 
free time is committed to other projects.

I felt that I left the patches for the textbox code in a fairly complete
state.  Saving and loading was one conspicuous omission, because there was
resistance at the time to modifying Sketch's file format.  The argument,
if I recall correctly, was that any changes would need to be supported
perpetually, and that Bernhard wasn't ready to commit to that.  I think he 
also had reservations about the internal implementation of the textbox, 
which required some small but fundamental changes to the core of Sketch.  
Of course things may look different a year later, I don't know.

The textbox patch for 0.6.13 was primarily a proof of concept.  The patch
for 0.7.x was my main effort and the most fully developed/integrated.  I
did backport some of the 0.7.x textbox features to the 0.6.13 patch, but
that was just to allow more people to test it out.  As far as I recall, the
textbox tool should be completely functional in 0.7.x if the patch is still
on the project server.

If you have any further questions I can try to answer them, although the
whole topic is getting a bit fuzzy in my mind after a year of neglect.

Mark