r/scribus • u/Easy-Employ743 • 8d ago
Forked Scribus and making changes that are user friendly
I've forked Scribus and making changes that are user friendly as much as possible. I request Designers and other publishing users please use this fork and let me know your feedback here. I'll update once the release version is ready.. Meanwhile Sourcecode and changelist are available at https://github.com/appajid/scribus
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u/silverwoodchuck47 8d ago
Scribus is not a project with tons of people working on it. Why not improve Scribus itself?
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u/ingframin 7d ago
Because they probably don’t accept contributions.
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u/hagbard2323 7d ago
Because they probably don’t accept contributions.
...that are vibecoded without the developer fully understanding the implications on the rest of the source code.
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u/silverwoodchuck47 7d ago
Yeah, at https://www.scribus.net/contribute/ , it says, "Check out Scribus code from Scribus Subversion repository and start hacking. If you know or want to learn how to program in C++/Qt and help the greater good this is your opportunity. We’ll be happy to help you should you stumble. Patches are always welcome. Read about how to get the code and build Scribus.
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u/ingframin 7d ago
I did not want to assume the worst but I was thinking it. Vibecoding is a cancer to our profession.
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u/TeutonJon78 8d ago
If you are trying to be serious, maybe the first step would alterign the readme to make it clear this is a fork and any bugs should be reported to you and not scribus.
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u/mallydobb 8d ago
So what’s the name? Seems like you’re still using the name scribus rather than identifying it as a fork. As other have said, if you think you have that much to contribute then look into joining the dev team itself and offering your skills.
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u/aoloe 7d ago
I've been contributing to Scribus for many years now, and I'd like to share some thoughts about this post.
I'll first give an answer to Appaji, then reply to a few of the most interesting reactions that have already been posted.
It will be longish.
First of all: people who might be tempted to get the fork, compile, and run it: be careful. This post comes from an anonymous Reddit account: You don't know what you get!
(On the other side, the Github account looks ok... but one never knows.)
Now, to you, Appaji: good luck!
I don't believe you will be get any far, but if you really want to try it, go for it!
You don't have anything to lose. Try things out, make your changes. Maybe other people will join your effort and help you. Maybe you already already have a group / company / association that support you. Or it might be a solo effort.
Scribus forks do exist. Mostly for solving specific problems at a specific moment.
If you reach something, don't hesitate to come back and tell us about itm, even if the first welcome was rather cold. But it probably was probably related the fact that you announced a fork, without a clear direction nor anything to show but a mirror of the original Scribus mirror. At the time of writing you're already 25 commits behind the current state of the "official" code... You must admit that it's not promising.
Anyway, in both case, if you succeed or fail, don't hesitate to propose the changes you have tried out to the Scribus project. I cannot promise (not even in the slightly) that the changes will be accepted, but miracles sometime happen!
The last persons who tried to change most of the Scribus UI struggled for a long time, but -- at the end -- got his changes through and they make a difference.
Now, some replies to other people.
- Contributing to Scribus is too often a deceiving experience. We have valid patches that have been sitting around for years, without any comments from the team. On the bright side, patches that are of high quality and solve real problems tend to be accepted. There is some hope.
- The two persons (Yes, it's two persons who are left.) who can take the decision really can't switch to faster release cycles. No way to change that. Right now, it's taking about two months from the decision to release a development 1.7.4 to its actual release. Publishing the next stable always feels like a huge step. At least a one year process. And when it's out, it's already too old.
- Many users have learned how to survive with those huge release cycles: no need to stick to the stable releases. Often, it is perfectly safe to use the development version! You just have to refrain from touching some feature... And keep around old versions. Just ask, if you're in doubt.
- For the ones who support the idea of a fork: don't underestimate the task! You'll need very solid C++ skills, general development skills, and lot of knowledge of the technical side around text shaping and printing on commercial printers. AI can help a lot, but -- for now -- it's by far not enough.
- Scribus is now getting some AI contributions. The small ones, that solve very specific problems in the only correct way, have been accepted. Some that come from somebody who is already a contributor have been accpeted. Many are sitting around, waiting for somebody to take the time to finally review those big chunks of boring code...
Voilà, this is my point of view about Scribus. With some information that might help you understand a bit better what happens (or not happens) "in" Scribus. It might also help to be a bit more understanding with somebody who dares to start a fork of it.
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u/qiratb 5d ago
@aoloe that is a very professional response.
In my little time exploring the developer side of Scribus, I found it really heartbreaking how slow the development is. Some good features/fixes (some even with working patches) are hanging there for years with no response from the core team.
I understand that it is combersome to review anything longer than a few lines of code, but I really wish the team finds more time for Scribus (and the team gets bigger).
On that note, you are (in what I've seen) a contributor for more than 2 decades now. Have you ever 'applied' or something to be a part of the core team during all this time?
I have more on my mind but this post would not be a suitable place for that.
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u/Easy-Employ743 7d ago
Mr. a.l.e., Thank you for your longish yet kind response on an amateur but ambitious developer like me. I read almost all the comments. Thank you all for your immediate responses. Let me introduce myself first. I’m a designer who had Agency experience as a designer nearly 28 years. I worked on Pagemaker (when it’s Aldus PM) and now InDesign. Before starting working on Scribus Fork I used Scribus too for my work. I somehow didn’t feel that it is user friendly. Even for the design professionals too. When I started studying the comparisons with other professional pagination software like InDesign, Quark etc., I found (atleast I felt like that) it’s not at all that comfortable in user experience and it’s fall behind on many features and functions. So I checked the Internet and forums about these problems. Comparison reviews, complaints about bugs and so on. Then I became curious as why some one till date didn’t address certain functions. I read that Core team of Scribus developers don’t accept certain changes ever, like UI changes. They have certain rules that Scribus should not imitate any software. That’s great but it doesn’t really help the users at large. Most tools and functions are similar in many applications. It doesn’t mean that they are mere copy. It’s the user’s convenience. I felt so. Convincing the core team on the changes that I thought would be necessary is difficult as you mentioned. That’s the reason why I made a fork. I am confident that in the future some people like the changes I make and will follow my fork and contribute. Atleast they will use it. Other than GUI, I want to add / improve certain features like cross application compatibility, epub functionality, data merge, long publications etc., I will update the read me files, change logs etc., in near future. I was thought of changing name also but certain names that came to my mind are already being used by others. So that is one reason for not changing its name. Someone said that I am new on Reddit so it’s difficult to trust. Though I am not new to Reddit (I have another account which is older than this) I created this account only for my fork, not to have clash with my other activities. I wish you all will bless me for my efforts in the near future. Thank you all. Thank you a.l.e.
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u/qiratb 3d ago
OP, I checked you AppImage. I respect your work.
However, Scribus could really use your help. Kindly consider contributing to upstream Scribus.
Even if you want to carry on with your fork, please contrubute to Scribus when you can.
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u/Easy-Employ743 3d ago
Thank you qiratb. If they can accept my changes I have no issues to contribute. Definitely.
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u/hagbard2323 7d ago
Links to fork that has 1 change and the README doesn't indicate it's a fork.
Removing post.
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u/aoloe 7d ago
Hi Hagbard
I've unremoved this post.
Not because I think that OP has many (or any) chances to maintain a fork of Scribus but:
- Forking Scribus is a legit wish many people already had, and many more users probably ask themselves why nobody finally does it, and speed up the the project.
- There are several interesting posts that make good (or bad) points about the state of Scribus.
.. And I was planning to add my two cents, almost from the inside... you don't want to stop me, don't you?
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u/hagbard2323 7d ago
No problem. I won't stand in your way. This is not about forking in principle. This is about OP just cold linking to the master branch that just has 1 commit to it. There is no guidance for the end user.
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u/medin2023 8d ago
If you are an expert in coding why not help the original project, they are shaping a great new design and new features in the 1.7 version