I'm new to Inkscape, but I've used it a few times now (on Mac).
One thing that trips me up is that when I open an existing file, Inkscape opens and shows me that project. However, the user interface is completely unresponsive. Nothing is grayed out, but clicking anywhere on the window or client area does nothing. Eventually I discovered that behind that window was another start screen dialog window asking if I wanted to open an existing document or create a new document. (And yes, I did finally notice the option checkbox to disable that startup dialog.)
The question is, why is the default behavior this way? Why, when I launch by opening an existing document, do I get a hidden window (which locks the focus) and prevents me from working on the document I opened and which I see in front of me?
It seems to me that if Inkscape is launched by opening an existing document, then that open/new dialog window should not be shown at all.
I can say with reasonable wisdom that this behavior is going to keep a lot of newbies from choosing to take time to learn Inkscape. It make the app seem from the very start to be broken (since you see your document open, but none of the UI - even the normal window buttons like the red X - work).
Ahh indeed @TylerDurden , that bug report exactly describes the problem. I guess it's just a matter of time then.
And yes, thanks @Paddy_CAD . I did finally notice the checkbox which prevents the welcome dialog from opening. This is definitely going to be an issue for new Mac users...
I'm new to Inkscape, but I've used it a few times now (on Mac).
One thing that trips me up is that when I open an existing file, Inkscape opens and shows me that project. However, the user interface is completely unresponsive. Nothing is grayed out, but clicking anywhere on the window or client area does nothing. Eventually I discovered that behind that window was another start screen dialog window asking if I wanted to open an existing document or create a new document. (And yes, I did finally notice the option checkbox to disable that startup dialog.)
The question is, why is the default behavior this way? Why, when I launch by opening an existing document, do I get a hidden window (which locks the focus) and prevents me from working on the document I opened and which I see in front of me?
It seems to me that if Inkscape is launched by opening an existing document, then that open/new dialog window should not be shown at all.
I can say with reasonable wisdom that this behavior is going to keep a lot of newbies from choosing to take time to learn Inkscape. It make the app seem from the very start to be broken (since you see your document open, but none of the UI - even the normal window buttons like the red X - work).
Maybe related to this bug report: https://gitlab.com/inkscape/inkscape/-/issues/2831
Go to [Inkscape > Preferences > Interface > Windows] and uncheck [Miscellaneous > Show Welcome Dialog]. Close Inkscape then double-click any svg file.
Ahh indeed @TylerDurden , that bug report exactly describes the problem. I guess it's just a matter of time then.
And yes, thanks @Paddy_CAD . I did finally notice the checkbox which prevents the welcome dialog from opening. This is definitely going to be an issue for new Mac users...