Better integration with Mac OS X

[Tim]

Zim is basically functional in Mac OS X, but some things are broken (e.g. distraction-free, task lists showing the task when clicked, etc.) and lacks proper integration. This is a feature request for Zim to be packaged as an OS X .pkg that includes "gtk-mac-integration" so that it looks like a native application and benefits from the OS X-specific features, like integrated menus and fullscreen/dedicated screen capabilities. See here for more: https://wiki.gnome.org/GTK+/OSX/Integration

[Jaap Karssenberg (jaap.karssenberg)]

Willing to support this, but it will require volunteers that actually own
mac devices to do the packaging and submit patches.

Regards,

Jaap

On Thu, Sep 26, 2013 at 5:23 PM, Tim <email address hidden> wrote:

> Public bug reported:
>
> Zim is basically functional in Mac OS X, but some things are broken
> (e.g. distraction-free, task lists showing the task when clicked, etc.)
> and lacks proper integration. This is a feature request for Zim to be
> packaged as an OS X .pkg that includes "gtk-mac-integration" so that it
> looks like a native application and benefits from the OS X-specific
> features, like integrated menus and fullscreen/dedicated screen
> capabilities. See here for more:
> https://wiki.gnome.org/GTK+/OSX/Integration
>
> ** Affects: zim
> Importance: Undecided
> Status: New
>
> --
> You received this bug notification because you are subscribed to Zim.
> https://bugs.launchpad.net/bugs/1231514
>
> Title:
> Better integration with Mac OS X
>
> To manage notifications about this bug go to:
> https://bugs.launchpad.net/zim/+bug/1231514/+subscriptions
>

[Tim (cyboreal)]

I have not found anything like Zim in the OS X world and I would like to get it fully functional. I am considering getting a bid from a freelance Mac developer (anyone else want to chip in?) to fix the bugs and integrate Zim into OS X. I would like to set things up so that the patches go back to your source tree, with a view to keeping future versions of Zim functional on OS X. I think a lot of Mac users would benefit from the simple & open nature of Zim.

I have run test.py (results attached) and have also noticed a number of bugs when Zim is running. What would you recommend is the best way for how to fix these bugs and submit patches to you?

[Jaap Karssenberg (jaap.karssenberg)]

Hi Tim,

Thanks for reporting the test results. Seems like number of small things
that should be fixable. Afraid I'm not in a position myself to work on this
though.

If you want to see if there are other users interested in this, please try
the mailing list. Also from our general bounty fund I could contribute some
money if you have someone who could work on this.

For patches by far the easiest is to create a new branch on launchpad and
simply open a "merge request" once the new branch is functional on OS X.
Current advise would be to branch from my "pyzim-refactor" branch, but
unless you start right now it is best to confirm with me at the start what
revision to use as a starting point.

Regards,

Jaap

On Thu, Jan 9, 2014 at 9:17 PM, Tim <email address hidden> wrote:

> I have not found anything like Zim in the OS X world and I would like to
> get it fully functional. I am considering getting a bid from a freelance
> Mac developer (anyone else want to chip in?) to fix the bugs and
> integrate Zim into OS X. I would like to set things up so that the
> patches go back to your source tree, with a view to keeping future
> versions of Zim functional on OS X. I think a lot of Mac users would
> benefit from the simple & open nature of Zim.
>
> I have run test.py (results attached) and have also noticed a number of
> bugs when Zim is running. What would you recommend is the best way for
> how to fix these bugs and submit patches to you?
>
>
> ** Attachment added: "Run on Mac OS X Mavericks with PyGTK 2.24"
>
> https://bugs.launchpad.net/zim/+bug/1231514/+attachment/3944647/+files/zim-on-osx_test-report.txt
>
> --
> You received this bug notification because you are subscribed to Zim.
> https://bugs.launchpad.net/bugs/1231514
>
> Title:
> Better integration with Mac OS X
>
> To manage notifications about this bug go to:
> https://bugs.launchpad.net/zim/+bug/1231514/+subscriptions
>

[Earl Chew (earl.chew)]

In addition to running test.py, I tried loading a notebook I created on Linux. I am using PyGTK 2.24 from http://macpkg.sourceforge.net/.

While the notebook did load, and the functionality it there, the overall stability is low. Problems I saw included:

o Many warning messages about missing fonts, themes, icons, etc.
o Configuration (eg default notebook) doesn't seem to persist
o Unable to resize window
o Instability with crashes in libgdk-quartz-2.0.0.dylib

[Jaap Karssenberg (jaap.karssenberg)]

I got two reports that zim seems to work fine when installed according to this procedure: http://docs.gz.ro/node/183

Would by interested to know if the problems reported above persist when installed that way, or whether some are gone.

Regards,

Jaap

[Agustin Lobo (aloboaleu)]

The guide is very useful. It should have a link in the zim web page.

Platypus works fine to create the app, which I was missing.

I do not know if PyGTK is working or not: I installed it but could not
find directions
on what to do next. I installed the requirements through Macports
also, so I do not
know which I'm actually using when I run zim.py

./test.py still reports some errors, but zim seems to work.
I'm just using zim on Mac ocasionally, I use linux most of the time,
so I'm not the best
tester for zim on mac. But I'll do my best for reporting problems.

Agus

[Agustin Lobo (aloboaleu)]

Well actually, the app created with Platypus does not work after
re-starting the mac.
After clicking, I get:
This version of Zotero is older than the version last used with your
database. Please upgrade to the latest version from zotero.org.

Current version: 3.0b2.1

See http://zotero.org/support/kb/newer_db_version for more information.
I have zim-06 in both linux and mac, so the message does not make sense to me.

Also, zim does work from the terminal with ./zim.py, albeit with
occasional crashes (of long report log). Will keep them in dropbox and post them as a link
from now on. Errors messages come up kind of erratically.
Agus

[Agustin Lobo (aloboaleu)]

I think you should raise the importance of this issue. zim *almost* works on mac, but the current installation deters 99.99% of
mac users. I'm going through these problems on mac just because I use zim mostly on linux (and there no problem at all!) and want to have access to my notes from the mac
from time to time, but I must recognize I could not recommend it to a *normal* only-mac user. On the other hand, I'm sure
zim would be pretty appreciated by many mac users if the installation were easier.

Agus

[Jaap Karssenberg (jaap.karssenberg)]

@Agustin, I can change the prio, but that will not magically get these
things fixed. I'm myself not using a Mac and I have no desire to switch to
Mac either. So what is required for proper Mac support is a volunteer who
is a Mac user and understnads some python / gtk to help out with that. As
long as there are no Mac developers helping out, I'm afraid I can't do much
for Mac users.

Regards,

Jaap

On Sat, Feb 22, 2014 at 7:06 PM, Agustin Lobo <email address hidden>wrote:

> I think you should raise the importance of this issue. zim *almost* works
> on mac, but the current installation deters 99.99% of
> mac users. I'm going through these problems on mac just because I use zim
> mostly on linux (and there no problem at all!) and want to have access to
> my notes from the mac
> from time to time, but I must recognize I could not recommend it to a
> *normal* only-mac user. On the other hand, I'm sure
> zim would be pretty appreciated by many mac users if the installation were
> easier.
>
> Agus
>
> --
> You received this bug notification because you are subscribed to Zim.
> https://bugs.launchpad.net/bugs/1231514
>
> Title:
> Better integration with Mac OS X
>
> To manage notifications about this bug go to:
> https://bugs.launchpad.net/zim/+bug/1231514/+subscriptions
>

[Jim Kalafut (p-jim-x)]

FYI, I use a Mac and would like to see zim working well on it. I'm a developer and am fairly comfortable with python, though I've never used GTK. With two little ones and a full time job I won't have a ton of time to actively fix bugs, but I might be able to contribute by running tests and doing somewhat more than report a bug. I'd be able to get into a debugger and hopefully flesh out some details of what's going on.

Let me know if you're interested. I use zim at work (on Win 7) and really like it. Getting it beefed up on Mac would be great.

Thanks,
Jim

[coreyp (socialpein+launchpad)]

I'd just like to express support for GTK+ integration on OS X. Zim is good enough to jump through the installation hoops, but the inability to resize windows without a crash is a bummer.

[Josef Dalcolmo (josef-dalcolmo)]

I second this too and even propose to rise the importance level. I would like to use zim for collaboration over SVN within small teams, on a variety of projects, but in my company we run Linux, Windows and OSX. Without being able to use this program on all three OS'es, the benefit of using zim will be rather limited. However, we are not software developers and cannot provide much help towards the solution.

[Ipeacocks (ipeacocks)]

ZIM is working well for me with PyGTK from brew.

http://i.imgur.com/BrVRowL.png

Sure it is not perfect integration in OS X, but not bad anyway.

[reagle (joseph.reagle)]

@ipeacocks, were you able to get the spell checker working? I can't figure out how to install pygtkspell using homebrew.

[Ipeacocks (ipeacocks)]

@joseph.reagle, I dont use spellchecker so I dont know.

[John SB (jsudbang)]

Does anyone know if any progress has been made on this front? @Ipeacocks what procedure did you follow to install everything? I've been having a number of path issues

[Shivam Sharma (shivam-src)]

Someone recently has been able to use fully compatible Zim Wiki with all its features, including gtkspell. He has done it using macports. See the link here:

http://reagle.org/joseph/zwiki/Archives/2015/Zim_on_Mac_OSX.html

I am trying out this method and will update how it worked for me. Meanwhile others can try it out.

[Stefan Bethge (kjyv)]

I've been using zim on OS X for many years now, always installed through macports which has a Portfile since a while. The installation is basically "port install zim" and previously setting the macports wide +quartz variant option. That way GTK and everything else is using the native backend so no XQuartz is necessary. It works pretty well, also has an app in Applications but there still is no proper menu bar integration, open windows vs. program running, icon etc. and it's using whatever GTK theme is set instead of native looks.

[Jaap Karssenberg (jaap.karssenberg)]

menubar integration is in 0.65 (broken in 0.66 but will restore for 0.67)

no further integration planned at this time