I've been using inkscape for many years, but I've never really used the symbols function, and to my surprise I have not found any description regarding their benefit.
What happens in the background when a symbol is put into the canvas? A predefined shape is copied into the canvas? Is it a clone? Is it better than simply copying the symbol from another SVG file? If it is better then in which way? Will inkscape be faster?
(My best guess is that a clone is put into the canvas, which is immutable and reduces file size if multiple instances of the same type are used. On the other hand the icon in the Layers and Objects tab is different from the icon of a clone...)
Beginners' Questions Purpose of Symbols
Inkscape.org
I've been using inkscape for many years, but I've never really used the symbols function, and to my surprise I have not found any description regarding their benefit.
What happens in the background when a symbol is put into the canvas? A predefined shape is copied into the canvas? Is it a clone? Is it better than simply copying the symbol from another SVG file? If it is better then in which way? Will inkscape be faster?
(My best guess is that a clone is put into the canvas, which is immutable and reduces file size if multiple instances of the same type are used. On the other hand the icon in the Layers and Objects tab is different from the icon of a clone...)
Yes, you are correct.
Symbols are a special type of clone, where the parents are kept separate from the body of the document.
These can be used as libraries for instances of objects being used frequently.
Common uses include:
A symbol library can be generated within a particular document, or as a separate file to be used across documents.