In the documentproperties (Ctrl+Shift+D) > on the tab Page > Background > Background Colour. Click in that rectangle behind Background colour.
A new window pops up and lets you choose the background colour. > A: drag the little arrows to the right. You can also type 100 in the field behind it. A is Alpha and is the transparency of the colour.
Inkscape backgrounds are transparent by default. So if you've never changed it, it still should be. If you prefer a checkboard background to indicate transparency, you can do that on the same page which Kirstie referenced, just above or below that option.
Brynn/Kirstie, just for clarification purposes for the OP - isn't the background color that Kirstie is indicating for purposes of drawing in inkscape only, and even if you change the page color, isn't the background still transparent?
The default backgroundcolour in Inkscape is white & transparent. If Zaks follows my instructions, all the documents created with these settings will have a non- transparent white background. If you export as png, pdf, etc. these documents will also have white opaque (= non transparent) backgrounds. So these settings are not only for working in Inkscape.
A different approach is to draw a white rectangle under everything else and as big as the page. If you export the page all wil have a white background.
Perhaps I don't understand the meaning of 'clear background' correct. I assumed white and non- transparent.
Hah, I thought "clear" probably meant transparent.
Even if you set Inkscape background as opaque, it's only opaque in Inkscape. It might not necessarily be opaque in an exported PNG.
I remember once in the old forum, several people tested it. Sometimes the exported PNG picked up the opaque background and sometimes it didn't. If I had some time to waste, I might try searching for that topic (and probably never find it). It must have been....more than 5 years ago, I guess, maybe as long as 8 years.
Hi that is really funny. And it turns out to be important to understand what the topicstarter means. And I thought, as the background is transparent by default, it would not be a question for someone how to make such a document. It automatically has a transparent background.
If you set the background to, let's say pink, but keep the Alpha setting at 0, it will look pink in Inkscape. If you export it as a png, that will have a transparent background (and pink, but you do not see it as it is completely transparent). I have used this process many times in Inkscape 0.91 and 0.92.4. It always worked for me.
Now I am curious if Zaks has got his/her answer...
Thx Kirstie/Brynn, that's why I suggested clarification, I'm thinking he wanted it to end up with no background vs just drawing in Inkscape, but who knows. Maybe he'll come back and clarify if it's not what he wants.
Some of that also depends on where you are using it, for example, I need to put a white background on my website where I sell or else I end up with a black background (their default).
Beginners' Questions Design Question
Inkscape.org
I'm needing to create files with clear backgrounds.
Hi Zaks,
In the documentproperties (Ctrl+Shift+D) > on the tab Page
> Background > Background Colour. Click in that rectangle behind Background colour.
A new window pops up and lets you choose the background colour.
> A: drag the little arrows to the right. You can also type 100 in the field behind it.
A is Alpha and is the transparency of the colour.
Inkscape backgrounds are transparent by default. So if you've never changed it, it still should be. If you prefer a checkboard background to indicate transparency, you can do that on the same page which Kirstie referenced, just above or below that option.
Brynn/Kirstie, just for clarification purposes for the OP - isn't the background color that Kirstie is indicating for purposes of drawing in inkscape only, and even if you change the page color, isn't the background still transparent?
Hi Flamingolady,
The default backgroundcolour in Inkscape is white & transparent. If Zaks follows my instructions, all the documents created with these settings will have a non- transparent white background. If you export as png, pdf, etc. these documents will also have white opaque (= non transparent) backgrounds. So these settings are not only for working in Inkscape.
A different approach is to draw a white rectangle under everything else and as big as the page. If you export the page all wil have a white background.
Perhaps I don't understand the meaning of 'clear background' correct. I assumed white and non- transparent.
Hah, I thought "clear" probably meant transparent.
Even if you set Inkscape background as opaque, it's only opaque in Inkscape. It might not necessarily be opaque in an exported PNG.
I remember once in the old forum, several people tested it. Sometimes the exported PNG picked up the opaque background and sometimes it didn't. If I had some time to waste, I might try searching for that topic (and probably never find it). It must have been....more than 5 years ago, I guess, maybe as long as 8 years.
Hi that is really funny. And it turns out to be important to understand what the topicstarter means. And I thought, as the background is transparent by default, it would not be a question for someone how to make such a document. It automatically has a transparent background.
If you set the background to, let's say pink, but keep the Alpha setting at 0, it will look pink in Inkscape. If you export it as a png, that will have a transparent background (and pink, but you do not see it as it is completely transparent). I have used this process many times in Inkscape 0.91 and 0.92.4. It always worked for me.
Now I am curious if Zaks has got his/her answer...
Thx Kirstie/Brynn, that's why I suggested clarification, I'm thinking he wanted it to end up with no background vs just drawing in Inkscape, but who knows. Maybe he'll come back and clarify if it's not what he wants.
Some of that also depends on where you are using it, for example, I need to put a white background on my website where I sell or else I end up with a black background (their default).