Release Notes

Inkscape 0.91

The Inkscape community announces the release of Inkscape 0.91. Inkscape is an multi-platform, Open-Source Vector Graphics Editor that uses SVG as its native file format. Digital artists use it to produce professional quality work. Engineers and scientists use it to create clear drawings to explain their ideas. Everyday people use it to create simple drawings, develop their design skills, and just have fun. This new version features faster and more accurate rendering, new and improved tools, as well as better and wider file-format support.

Release highlights

Released on 2015-01-28 .

Rendering and performance

Inkscape 0.91 includes a new renderer based on the Cairo library. This work was done mainly during Google Summer of Code 2010 and 2011 projects.

Color display mode

A grayscale display color mode has been added, that shows a preview of your drawing in grayscale. Shift+numpad5 toggles the color display mode between normal and grayscale.

Tools

Node tool

The tool control bar for the Node Tool features a new dropdown to insert new nodes on the selected segments extreme values. For example, (as demonstrated in the image below) it is possible to add a new node at the highest point in a curve using Insert Node at Max Y

Add nodes at max.gif

Measurement tool

The Measurement tool is a new feature for the artist to measure the elements in their drawing. To use the measurement tool, simply choose the tool, click anywhere on the drawing and drag the ruler out. The measurement tool will live-update with measurements of length and angles as you pass over objects in your drawing.

Ruler.png

Text tool

Gradients

Dialogs, etc.

Arrange (was rows and columns)

Align and Distribute

Document Properties

Optionally disable antialiasing (bug #170356, interface partially implemented)

Find/Select

Selectsame.gif

The new feature is a menu choice under Edit -> Select Same or as a Context menu if you right click on a selected object. Also there are other choices available to select same, including: matching both Fill and Stroke, matching just stroke, matching stroke style, or matching on object type.

Fill and Stroke

Layers

Symbols

Inkscape has a new Symbols dialog. The dialog displays symbols from a symbol library. Inkscape 0.91 includes five example libraries: logic symbols, AIGA/DOT transportation symbols, map symbols, flow chart shapes and word balloons. The dialog will also create a pseudo-library of all existing symbols in the current Inkscape drawing. (A symbol is defined by an SVG <symbol> element.) Symbols can be dragged from the dialog onto the Inkscape canvas.

Any document with symbols can serve as a source for a symbol library. Simply copy it to the symbols directory in your configuration directory (typically share/inkscape ). If proper care is taken, symbols can be provided with default fill and stroke colors that later can be overridden by the user.

Visio Stencil files ( .vss ) can also be used by dropping them in the same symbols directory. Results may not be as satisfactory as using SVG symbol libraries.

See the Symbols Dialog Wiki page for more details.

Text and Font

Transform

Markers

Trace Bitmap

Live Path Effects

An object’s Live Path Effects are now forked upon object duplication.

PowerStroke

Here a list of the current state. Note that this is very much work in progress and anything can change . I think this is the most efficient place of keeping track how the powerstroke LPE works.

example screenshot

Clone Original

The Clone original LPE ignores the path data of the path it has been applied to; instead, it copies the original-d path data , i.e. the path data before LPE calculation, from the path linked to by the Linked path parameter.

The Clone original LPE is made to be used in conjunction with powerstroke. Powerstroke creates a path with a variable stroke, but this path can then not be filled (because the fill is used as the stroke). To fill a powerstroked path, one must create a second path (dummy path), apply the Clone original LPE and link it to the powerstroked path. Because this second path clones the original path data before the Powerstroke LPE, it can be used to fill the powerstroked path.

To quickly create a dummy path and apply this effect, one can select the path to ‘clone’ and click the menu item Edit -> Clone -> Clone original path (LPE) .

Like for normal clones, pressing Shift+D , when the selected path has the Clone original LPE applied, selects the path referred to by the LPE.

Another very useful ability of the Clone original LPE is to create a clone with a different style than its referred path. To facilitate this, the LPE dialog will add the Clone original LPE when a clone is selected and the “+” button is pressed.

Filters

The new Custom predefined filters allow users to create predefined filters with custom parameters. See SpecCustomPredefinedFilters .

Trace Pixel Art ( libdepixelize )

A new library developed for Inkscape to automatically vectorize raster images specialized in Pixel Art was integrated in the form of the “Trace Pixel Art” dialog (menu item Path -> Trace Pixel Art… ). Good and old general “Trace Bitmap” is still there. Check the supplementary material of the algorithm authors to see a preview of how the algorithm behaves.

Other User Interface

General

Guides

Preferences

Dialogs

Simple calculations in spinboxes

In most spinboxes (a spinbox is an entry field with up and down “spinbuttons” next to it) you can now write simple calculations. Some examples:

Moreover, you can use units in entering values, like 2 + 2 cm . The result will be converted to the selected unit for the particular entry.

Configurable Control Handles

New preferences have been added to allow for the size of the on-canvas controls to be increased or decreased. The “Input Devices” section has been updated to control this.

Translations

File format support

EMF/WMF

EMF and WMF input and output filters have been completely rewritten and are now cross-platform. It is now possible to copy and paste EMF files between Windows applications running in Wine and a native Linux version of Inkscape.

Gimp XCF

PDF

PDF/EPS/PS + LaTeX

Extensions

Units: Breaking change

Due to the implementation of proper document units, the functions inkex.unittouu and inkex.uutounit had to be modified and moved to the inkex.Effect class.

Unit conversion calls should be replaced with inkex.Effect.unittouu and inkex.Effect.uutounit calls (usually self.unittouu and self.uutounit ).

See also: Notes On Units Handling in Extensions in 0.91

New

Improvements

SVG Support

Rendering of the following properties is now supported (without UI except via XML editor):

Snapping

The default snap settings have changed, and therefore Inkscape might not always snap as expected. Specifically, please enable the 10th button on the snap controls bar (“Snap cusp nodes”). Please make sure that also these buttons are enabled: “Enable snapping” (the topmost button), “Snap nodes, paths, and handles” (the 7th button), and “Snap to grids” and “Snap to guides” (the lowest two buttons) . This should get you started again:

Notable bug fixes

Notable bug fixes since last bug fix release (0.48.5): Images are no longer recompressed when embedding or exporting them. https://bugs.launchpad.net/inkscape/+bug/871563 Relative image paths are no longer stored as absolute (regression introduced with 0.47. Many rendering glitches were fixed. The rendering of the stroke on transformed objects now matches the SVG specification. Values entered in the numeric input boxes for the selector tool ( X , Y , width , height ) are much more accurately applied. Inkscape launches faster due to new icon cache (on disk) and improved font loading. (Bug # 488247 )

Known issues