[GSOC 2024] - Plugin Dialogue Manager

[neesaaa]

Hello!

I am looking forward to applying for [GSOC 2024] - Plugin Dialogue Manager. However, I have some ideas to discuss:

• I suggest implementing a bar featuring plugin icons, allowing users to activate or deactivate plugins similar to the setup in Blender. These icons could be sorted according to the most frequently used plugins.

• Plugins could be categorized to aid user navigation, such as by reminding users of their relevance, like "bones-related" or "color editing-related." Alternatively, users could create their own directories for categorization, which the dialogue manager would then display and allow navigation through.

• Each plugin could have an additional button beside it, redirecting users to relevant YouTube videos. This feature would help users learn about the plugin and how to use it effectively.

• Consider including a section called "Plugin Recommendations," where popular plugins' files are stored. This section would enable users to easily download these plugins offline, similar to the feature in Blender where plugins can be downloaded via unzip option for offline setup.

• Allow users to customize shortcuts for each plugin according to their preferences.

• Before installing a plugin, the Plugin Manager should perform Compatibility Checking to verify compatibility with the user's software version. This step helps prevent the installation of incompatible plugins that may cause errors or instability, as some versions of programs old one may not work with some plugins, i faced this issue once in blender.

Thank you for your time. I hope these additions are beneficial. I've drawn inspiration from various graphics programs that have already built Plugin Dialogue Managers.

Best regards,
Nassar, Synfig lover

[neesaaa]

I have more couple of ideas :

• Plugin Usage Statistics: Provide users with insights into how often installed plugins are being used and which features within each plugin are most commonly utilized. This information could help users make informed decisions about which plugins to keep or remove.
• Plugin Backup and Restore: Implement a feature for backing up and restoring plugin configurations, settings, and data. This would provide users with a convenient way to transfer their plugin setup between different computers or recover from data loss.
• Plugin Performance Monitor: Introduce a performance monitoring tool within the plugin dialog box that tracks the resource usage (such as CPU, memory, and disk usage) of installed plugins in real-time. This would help users identify and troubleshoot plugins that may be causing performance issues.
• plugin battery saver like custom settings for the plugins which can decrease its CPU consumption to save power in case no charger or electricity and the user need to work with the plugin or user needs the plugin but it affects performance .