qtquick-exporting-qml.qdoc

/****************************************************************************
**
** Copyright (C) 2015 The Qt Company Ltd.
** Contact: http://www.qt.io/licensing
**
** This file is part of Qt Creator
**
**
** GNU Free Documentation License
**
** Alternatively, this file may be used under the terms of the GNU Free
** Documentation License version 1.3 as published by the Free Software
** Foundation and appearing in the file included in the packaging of this
** file.
**
**
****************************************************************************/

// **********************************************************************
// NOTE: the sections are not ordered by their logical order to avoid
// reshuffling the file each time the index order changes (i.e., often).
// Run the fixnavi.pl script to adjust the links to the index order.
// **********************************************************************

/*!

    \contentspage {Qt Creator Manual}
    \previouspage qmldesigner-connections.html
    \page quick-export-to-qml.html
    \nextpage creator-qml-modules-with-plugins.html

    \title Exporting Designs from Graphics Software

    You can export designs from graphics software, such as Adobe Photoshop and
    GIMP, to QML files. Each scene is converted into a single QML file with an
    Image or a Text item for each layer and saved on the development PC.
    Top-level layer groups are converted into merged QML Image types.

    \note GIMP does not support grouping, and therefore, each layer is exported
    as an item in GIMP.

    You can open the QML file in \QC for editing. If you edit the file in Adobe
    Photoshop and export it to the same directory again, any changes you made in
    \QC are overwritten. However, you can re-export graphical assets without
    recreating the QML code.

    If you create vector graphics with other tools that have an Adobe Photoshop
    export option, such as Adobe Illustrator, you can export them first to
    Photoshop and then to QML.

    \section1 Conversion Rules

    The following rules apply to the conversions:

    \list

        \li Layer names are used as item names. Spaces and hash marks (#) are
            replaced with underscore characters to create valid ids for the
            items.

        \li Layer styles, such as drop shadows, are converted to images.

        \li Offset, size, ordering and opacity are preserved.

        \li Text layers are converted to Text items, unless you specify that
            they be converted to Image items.

        \li Hidden layers can be exported, and their visibility is set to
            hidden.

        \li PNG images are copied to the images subirectory.

    \endlist

    \section1 Preparing Files for Conversion

    To create QML files that are easy to use, prepare the Adobe Photoshop or
    GIMP designs for exporting, as follows:

    \list

        \li To minimize the number of items, minimize the number of layers or
            use top-level layer groups, because each layer or layer group is
            exported as a Text or Image item.

        \li To make sure that all related items are exported to the same
            item, use top-level layer groups.

        \li To determine that some layers are not exported, hide them, and
            deselect the \uicontrol {Export hidden} check box during exporting.

        \li To make it easier to find the layers and layer groups after
            exporting them, use descriptive names for them.

        \li To make sure that image dimensions are preserved during export,
            create at least one fully filled layer (which can be hidden), such
            as a background layer. If the export script does not find a fully
            filled layer, it resizes all images to the size of the canvas.

        \li To prevent errors during export, make sure that the layers are not
            locked. Locked layers cannot be exported.

        \li To avoid unexpected results, do not use Blending Mode effects. They
            are not exported.

    \endlist

    \section1 Exporting from Adobe Photoshop to QML

    \image qml-export-photoshop.png

    The script has been tested to work on Adobe Photoshop CS 4 and 5, but it
    might also work on other versions.

    \list 1

        \li Download the export script, \e{Export QML.jx}, from
            \l{https://code.qt.io/cgit/qt-labs/photoshop-qmlexporter.git/}
            {code.qt.io}.

            \note Read the README.txt file in the repository for latest
            information about the script.

        \li Double-click the export script to add the export command to the
            \uicontrol Scripts menu. You can also copy the script file to the Adobe
            Photoshop scripts directory (typically, \c{\Presets\Scripts} in the
            Photoshop installation directory).

        \li In Adobe Photoshop, choose \uicontrol {File > Scripts > Export to QML} to
            export the scene to a QML file.

        \li In the \uicontrol {Export Document to QML} dialog, enter a name and
            location for the QML file.

        \li Select the \uicontrol {Rasterize text} check box to export text layers as
            images, not as Text items.

        \li Select the \uicontrol {Group layers} check box to export each top-level
            group as a merged QML Image item.

        \li Select the \uicontrol {Export hidden} check box to export hidden layers
            and to set their visibility property to hidden.

        \li Deselect the \uicontrol {Export QML} check box if you have modified the
            QML document in \QC, but still want to re-export graphical assets.

        \li Click \uicontrol Export.

    \endlist

    The QML file is saved to the location that you specified. In \QC, choose
    \uicontrol {File > Open File or Project} to open the QML file.

    \note Existing files are replaced without warning.

    \section1 Exporting from GIMP to QML

    \image qml-export-gimp.png

    The script has been tested to work on GIMP 2. You can download GIMP 2 from
    \l{http://www.gimp.org/downloads/}{GIMP Downloads}.

    To use the export script on Microsoft Windows, you also need to install the
    GIMP Python extension (Python, PyCairo, PyGobject, PyGTK). However, GIMP is
    not officially supported on Windows, so we cannot guarantee that this will
    work.

    \list 1

        \li On Microsoft Windows, you must first add Python support to your GIMP
            installation, as instructed in
            \l {http://www.gimpusers.com/tutorials/install-python-for-gimp-2-6-windows}
            {Tutorial: Installing Python for GIMP 2.6 (Windows)}.

        \li Download the export script, \e qmlexporter.py, from
            \l{https://code.qt.io/cgit/qt-labs/gimp-qmlexporter.git/}
            {code.qt.io}.

            \note Read the INSTALL.txt in the repository for latest information
            about the script.

        \li Copy the export script to the plug-ins directory in the GIMP
            installation directory.

        \li Check the properties of the file to make sure that it is executable.

            On Linux, run the following command: \c {chmod u+rx}

        \li Restart GIMP to have the export command added to the \uicontrol File menu.

        \li Choose \uicontrol {File > Export to QML} to export the design to a QML
            file.

        \li In the \uicontrol {Export Layers to a QML Document} dialog, enter a name
            and location for the QML file, and click \uicontrol Export.

    \endlist

    The QML file is saved to the location that you specified. In \QC, choose
    \uicontrol {File > Open File or Project} to open the QML file.

    \note Existing files are replaced without warning.

*/