6 ms·
Hi, We are glad you are trying out GWD. You are correct that it seems like a bit of overhead just to render a simple rectangle. However, as alphakappa astutely
by gwdengineer 13y ago
Hi,
We are glad you are trying out GWD. You are correct that it seems like a bit of overhead just to render a simple rectangle. However, as alphakappa astutely observed, there is some overhead to parse the JSON data which describes the various shapes and to render those shapes in canvas(es).
What you see is the entire canvas rendering library used by GWD. That code will be reused for additional shapes you create, including more complex shapes you can create with the Pen tool.
You bring up a great point though. In most cases, you probably don't need to draw shapes (and the overhead that comes with the runtime). If you want to rectangle elements on stage, a much better option is to use the Tag tool (the fourth tool from the top) and add HTML elements such as DIV and give them background colors and modify the border styles using the Properties panel.
We are working on our help documentation to educate our users in how to optimize their content in both size and performance.
Thanks,
Google Web Designer team - aka the ones tasked with making this application. ;o)
- ubershmekel 13y agoI understand you guys want to serialize data efficiently. But perhaps you can pretty print the rectangle information? It would make designs a lot nicer when version controlled (esp so if you sort the content consistently). Also, it would make manually meddling easier.
- JacksonGariety 13y agoI'm curious, why not... <div id="rectangle"></div> #rectangle { width: 200px; height: 150px; background #FF0000; } ...by default?
- teleclimber 13y agoBecause you used the "shape" tool and not the "tag" tool.
- gwdengineer 13y agoHi, Great observation! We have had this discussion internally as well. For now, we wanted to have a clear separation in the types of content the user is creating on a canvas, since canvas enables different types of content. And, in some cases, there isn't a 1-1 fallback between a canvas shape definition and an HTML element, e.g., an oval with inner radius. However, we realize that in a lot of cases users just want elements that look like rectangles, and a DIV with certain styles will suffice. We will work to direct users towards that workflow in such cases. Thanks, Google Web Designer team
- camus 13y agoCan you make the lib used to render the animation and the drawings opensource so developpers can understand it more easily and "hack" it when the designer goes overboard? thanks. Regards Mparaiso.