Ideas for New Improvements or Features

[KevinH]

Hi All,

My Sigil to-do list is almost empty. So if you have ideas for improvements or new features that will help the majority of users without adding too much bloat, please add them here in this thread:

Please ...

- do NOT include requests better done in plugins or that duplicate current plugin functionality.

- do NOT include "advanced" editor requests better handled via "Open With" and using your favourite editor.

Please do post ideas and any justifications as to why your request would help users.

Feedback on other people ideas (either positive or negative) is also welcome.

Thanks!

Your Sigil Development Team

p.s. No promises that these will be included into future Sigil builds, but they will be carefully considered.

[Turtle91]

There is a plugin that is more of a proof-of-concept that would be very convenient to have as a built-in function: be able to use a function in the find/replace. It would allow for a myriad of possibilities only limited by the users ability to create the function. With access to a "Saved Functions" list it would reduce time spent...

For example: making a function to replace text with Title Case

This idea is unabashedly stolen from Calibre with Kovid's blessing to use.

[KevinH]

There is a plugin that does function replacement for F&R that already exists and seems to work well. Unlike Calibre which is written in Python, Sigil is almost purely a C++ app with a one way interface to python for handling embedded routines. So adding user supplied python functions outside of Sigil's plugin framework would be a bit of an issue as would finding the required space to add a function interface to our current Find and Replace dialog.

Since I am not a Calibre user at all. I would need to see mock-ups of how to modify our current F&R dialog (without growing its height much if at all) to add in the interface elements required by a python function replace feature.

If you can provide those mock-ups here for everyone to see and comment on, I would be happy to look at integrating that functionality into mainline Sigil.

By the way... your idea violated the first "do NOT" rule provided by this announcement!

Oh well ...

[BetterRed]

Originally Posted by KevinH

There is a plugin that does function replacement for F&R that already exists and seems to work well. Unlike Calibre which is written in Python, Sigil is almost purely a C++ app with a one way interface to python for handling embedded routines. So adding user supplied python functions outside of Sigil's plugin framework would be a bit of an issue as would finding the required space to add a function interface to our current Find and Replace dialog.

Since I am not a Calibre user at all. I would need to see mock-ups of how to modify our current F&R dialog (without growing its height much if at all) to add in the interface elements required by a python function replace feature.

If you can provide those mock-ups here for everyone to see and comment on, I would be happy to look at integrating that functionality into mainline Sigil.

By the way... your idea violated the first "do NOT" rule provided by this announcement!

Oh well ...

Calibre adjusts the F&R dialogue to suit the Mode: Normal, Fuzzy, Regex and Regex-function… see attachments. Its F&R panel is 3 rows against Sigil's 4 rows.

Here's a shot of calibre alongside sigil that includes the function Create/Edit dialogue.



Doco ==>> https://manual.calibre-ebook.com/function_mode.html

BR

[KevinH]

@BetterRed

Where are these python function scripts located physically? Are they in the equivalent of our Sigil Preferences folder?

The create/edit button opens a python editor I assume. Is this just a simple text editor or is it python specific? Perhaps we require the user to select their own python editing app? When that happens? As providing a simple one in Qt would be a real pain.

Are there any predefined scripts provided out of the box?

[BetterRed]

Make Search->File & Replace (and its shortcut) a Show and Hide toggle.

BR

[KevinH]

Originally Posted by BetterRed

Make Search->File & Replace (and its shortcut) a Show and Hide toggle.

BR

You meant Find not File right? And you want a repeat of the open Find and Replace shortcut to toggle if visible or not?

[KevinH]

As for Python Function Replace - outside of numbering something or doing Title Case (or some other case conversion) how many people have actually used their own python function replace routines?

So is this overkill? For the few use cases, wouldn't just updating the current Plugin to work and adding a few common routines to it be better?

[BetterRed]

Originally Posted by KevinH

@BetterRed

Where are these python function scripts located physically? Are they in the equivalent of our Sigil Preferences folder?

Yep - editor-search-replace-functions.json

Originally Posted by KevinH

The create/edit button opens a python editor I assume. Is this just a simple text editor or is it python specific? Perhaps we require the user to select their own python editing app? When that happens? As providing a simple one in Qt would be a real pain.

Not sure what a python-specific editor looks like, but the one provided appears to be python-syntax aware.

Originally Posted by KevinH

Are there any predefined scripts provided out of the box?

Just a few simple ones, the doco has more complex examples.

BR

[BetterRed]

Originally Posted by KevinH

You meant Find not File right? And you want a repeat of the open Find and Replace shortcut to toggle if visible or not?

I just want to be able to dismiss it via the menu or keyboard, like I can dismiss the other optional panels… Book browser, Preview, ToC, Clips etc.



BR

[DiapDealer]

I'm on the fence about the usefulness of a Python replace function feature myself. I lean toward it being overkill, though. But then I rarely have a reason to transform content through F&R these days. I'd rather find a better source than to have to overhaul something via such granular, complex manipulation. *shrug*

[BetterRed]

Originally Posted by KevinH

As for Python Function Replace - outside of numbering something or doing Title Case (or some other case conversion) how many people have actually used their own python function replace routines?

I know of a couple of people who have made use of it in calibre, in one case to replicate some the features of Toxaris' ePUB tools and Transtools add-ins for Word.

Originally Posted by KevinH

So is this overkill?

IMO - YES… given it would be a non-trivial exercise to provide similar functionality within the Sigil eco-system, AND given there is nothing that precludes use of both editors.

BR

[Turtle91]

Sorry, I know it violated rule 1 in that it can be done as a plugin, but by that logic ALL find/replace could be done as a plugin. The current plugin is just a proof-of-concept, as stated in the plugin thread, it is not fleshed out or easily usable. If it is a built-in function then it can be easily used.

As for how many people have used their own functions in Calibre... that's hard/impossible to tell unless you monitor everyone's use of Calibre Editor

There are several examples in Calibre's documentation on how to do different functions, and I think there is/was a thread for people to share any creative functions they thought of. I don't know that we would need to provide more than a couple default functions...but it seems that this is a much easier/simpler way for someone to create/use a plugin-light function. I know people who have a great idea on something that they would use regularly but get scared away when told they need to create a whole plugin...they may be able/willing to create a simple function instead. We could even add these shared functions to a thread/sticky (like regex-examples) so others could use them.

Yes, it is possible to save the ePub, close Sigil, Open Editor, open the ePub, find/run the replace function, save the file, close Editor, Open Sigil, open the ePub, find where you were last editing and continue....oh, wait, There is another function I was supposed to do....

I honestly don't know all the particulars about C++, can it not import/run a python module? Doesn't the existing proof-of-concept Sigil plugin already show how to implement it in Sigil?

[KevinH]

The issue is the user interface given the constraints on size in Find and Replace, and if a Python text editor is needed to create and edit python code. I could easily do a function replace in C or C++ but few if any people would or could create those.

And no the importing and running of the current function replace plugin works because all Sigil plugins are python code already so importing and using python functions or modules is very straight forward. In C++ it requires bridge code to pull that off. We have existing one way C++ to python bridge code in the embedded python interpreter in Sigil used for some very specific tasks and to provide a plugin interface which has additional safeguards so that a plugin can not easily crash Sigil.

All things to consider but none preclude the updating the current Function Replace plugin as it is more than just a proof of concept. I tested it when it first came out and it did work well.

Let's wait to here what others think.

Also can you point me to a Calibre thread that gives working replacement function code examples to play with?

[Turtle91]

Here’s the Calibre user manual section: https://manual.calibre-ebook.com/function_mode.html

Here is the Calibre forum thread with function examples:https://www.mobileread.com/forums/sh...place+function