digiKam from KDE3 branch : Important changes here :

Image Editor usability improvements: embedding editor tools in main window instead to use separate dialog.

- Add new EditorViewStack which create a stack of widget to display over editor canvas (typically the full image canvas or the editor tool preview)
- Add new EditorTool QObject component. We will use this one for each tools.
- Add new EditorToolIface which interface an EditorTool to editor gui (EditorViewStack + right SideBar).

This interface plugin or unplugin a tool to editor. When a tool is pluged in editor, a new tab is created on Right Sidebar to display tool settings. The tool preview is displayed instead editor canvas.

Some editor action still avaialble when a tool is pluged as zoom in or zoom out for ex.

There is a screenshot of new RawImport tool in action which is the first one to be ported to EditorTool:
<a href="/issues/2008-08-24/files/rawimport5-EmbeddedInEditor.png">http://digikam3rdparty.free.fr/Screenshots/temp/rawimport/rawimport5-EmbeddedInEditor.png</a>;

The plan is to port all others tool used in editor, especially all image plugins.

TODO: finalize EditorToolInterafce to be able to use editor menu actions.