inkscape(1) Inkscape Commands Manual inkscape(1)
NAME
Inkscape - an SVG (Scalable Vector Graphics) editing program.
SYNOPSIS
"inkscape [options] [filename ...]"
options:
-?, --help
--usage
-V, --version
-f, --file=FILENAME
-e, --export-png=FILENAME
-a, --export-area=x0:y0:x1:y1
-C, --export-area-page
-D, --export-area-drawing
--export-area-snap
--export-margin=VALUE
-i, --export-id=ID
-j, --export-id-only
-t, --export-use-hints
-b, --export-background=COLOR
-y, --export-background-opacity=VALUE
-d, --export-dpi=DPI
-w, --export-width=WIDTH
-h, --export-height=HEIGHT
-P, --export-ps=FILENAME
-E, --export-eps=FILENAME
-A, --export-pdf=FILENAME
--export-pdf-version=VERSION-STRING
--export-latex
--export-ps-level={2,3}
-T, --export-text-to-path
--export-ignore-filters
-l, --export-plain-svg=FILENAME
-m, --export-wmf=FILENAME
-M, --export-emf=FILENAME
-p, --print=PRINTER
-I, --query-id=ID
-X, --query-x
-Y, --query-y
-W, --query-width
-H, --query-height
-S, --query-all
-x, --extension-directory
--verb-list
--verb=VERB-ID
--select=OBJECT-ID
--shell
-g, --with-gui
-z, --without-gui
--vacuum-defs
--no-convert-text-baseline-spacing
--convert-dpi-method=METHOD
--g-fatal-warnings
DESCRIPTION
Inkscape is a GUI editor for Scalable Vector Graphics (SVG) format
drawing files, with capabilities similar to Adobe Illustrator,
CorelDraw, Xara Xtreme, etc. Inkscape features include versatile
shapes, bezier paths, freehand drawing, multi-line text, text on path,
alpha blending, arbitrary affine transforms, gradient and pattern
fills, node editing, many export and import formats including PNG and
PDF, grouping, layers, live clones, and a lot more. The interface is
designed to be comfortable and efficient for skilled users, while
remaining conformant to GNOME standards so that users familiar with
other GNOME applications can learn its interface rapidly.
SVG is a W3C standard XML format for 2D vector drawing. It allows
defining objects in the drawing using points, paths, and primitive
shapes. Colors, fonts, stroke width, and so forth are specified as
`style' attributes to these objects. The intent is that since SVG is a
standard, and since its files are text/xml, it will be possible to use
SVG files in a sizeable number of programs and for a wide range of
uses.
Inkscape uses SVG as its native document format, and has the goal of
becoming the most fully compliant drawing program for SVG files
available in the Open Source community.
OPTIONS
-?, --help
Show help message
-V, --version
Show Inkscape version and build date.
-a x0:y0:x1:y1, --export-area=x0:y0:x1:y1
In PNG export, set the exported area in SVG user units
(anonymous length units normally used in Inkscape SVG). The
default is to export the entire document page. The point (0,0)
is the lower-left corner.
-C, --export-area-page
In SVG, PNG, PDF, PS, and EPS export, exported area is the
page. This is the default for SVG, PNG, PDF, and PS, so you
don't need to specify this unless you are using --export-id to
export a specific object. In EPS, however, this is not the
default; moreover, for EPS, the specification of the format
does not allow its bounding box to extend beyond its content.
This means that when --export-area-page is used with EPS
export, the page bounding box will be trimmed inwards to the
bounding box of the content if it is smaller.
-D, --export-area-drawing
In SVG, PNG, PDF, PS, and EPS export, exported area is the
drawing (not page), i.e. the bounding box of all objects of the
document (or of the exported object if --export-id is used).
With this option, the exported image will display all the
visible objects of the document without margins or cropping.
This is the default export area for EPS. For PNG, it can be
used in combination with --export-use-hints.
--export-area-snap
For PNG export, snap the export area outwards to the nearest
integer SVG user unit (px) values. If you are using the default
export resolution of 96 dpi and your graphics are pixel-snapped
to minimize antialiasing, this switch allows you to preserve
this alignment even if you are exporting some object's bounding
box (with --export-id or --export-area-drawing) which is itself
not pixel-aligned.
--export-margin=VALUE
Adds a margin around the exported area. The size of the margin
is specified in units of page size (for SVG) or millimeters
(for PS/EPS/PDF). The option currently has no effect for other
export formats.
-b COLOR, --export-background=COLOR
Background color of exported PNG. This may be any SVG
supported color string, for example "#ff007f" or "rgb(255, 0,
128)". If not set, then the page color set in Inkscape in the
Document Options dialog will be used (stored in the pagecolor=
attribute of sodipodi:namedview).
-d DPI, --export-dpi=DPI
The resolution used for PNG export. It is also used for
fallback rasterization of filtered objects when exporting to
PS, EPS, or PDF (unless you specify --export-ignore-filters to
suppress rasterization). The default is 96 dpi, which
corresponds to 1 SVG user unit (px, also called "user unit")
exporting to 1 bitmap pixel. This value overrides the DPI hint
if used with --export-use-hints.
-e FILENAME, --export-png=FILENAME
Specify the filename for PNG export. If it already exists, the
file will be overwritten without asking. Use `-' as filename to
write the image data to standard output.
-f FILENAME, --file=FILENAME
Open specified document(s). Option string may be omitted, i.e.
you can list the filenames without -f. Use `-' as filename to
read the vector data from standard input.
-g, --with-gui
Try to use the GUI (on Unix, use the X server even if $DISPLAY
is not set).
-h HEIGHT, --export-height=HEIGHT
The height of generated bitmap in pixels. This value overrides
the --export-dpi setting (or the DPI hint if used with
--export-use-hints).
-i ID, --export-id=ID
For PNG, PS, EPS, PDF and plain SVG export, the id attribute
value of the object that you want to export from the document;
all other objects are not exported. By default the exported
area is the bounding box of the object; you can override this
using --export-area (PNG only) or --export-area-page.
-j, --export-id-only
For PNG and plain SVG, only export the object whose id is given
in --export-id. All other objects are hidden and won't show in
export even if they overlay the exported object. Without
--export-id, this option is ignored. For PDF export, this is
the default, so this option has no effect.
-l, --export-plain-svg=FILENAME
Export document(s) to plain SVG format, without sodipodi: or
inkscape: namespaces and without RDF metadata. Use `-' as
filename to write the image data to standard output.
-x, --extension-directory
Lists the current extension directory that Inkscape is
configured to use and then exits. This is used for external
extension to use the same configuration as the original
Inkscape installation.
--verb-list
Lists all the verbs that are available in Inkscape by ID. This
ID can be used in defining keymaps or menus. It can also be
used with the --verb command line option.
--verb=VERB-ID, --select=OBJECT-ID
These two options work together to provide some basic scripting
for Inkscape from the command line. They both can occur as
many times as needed on the command line and are executed in
order on every document that is specified.
The --verb command will execute a specific verb as if it was
called from a menu or button. Dialogs will appear if that is
part of the verb. To get a list of the verb IDs available, use
the --verb-list command line option.
The --select command will cause objects that have the ID
specified to be selected. This allows various verbs to act
upon them. To remove all the selections use
"--verb=EditDeselect". The object IDs available are dependent
on the document specified to load.
Note that the --verb command requires a GUI, and thus cannot be
used with the --z option.
-p PRINTER, --print=PRINTER
Print document(s) to the specified printer using `lpr -P
PRINTER'. Alternatively, use `| COMMAND' to specify a
different command to pipe to, or use `> FILENAME' to write the
PostScript output to a file instead of printing. Remember to
do appropriate quoting for your shell, e.g.
inkscape --print='| ps2pdf - mydoc.pdf' mydoc.svg
-t, --export-use-hints
Use export filename and DPI hints stored in the exported object
(only with --export-id). These hints are set automatically
when you export selection from within Inkscape. So, for
example, if you export a shape with id="path231" as
/home/me/shape.png at 300 dpi from document.svg using Inkscape
GUI, and save the document, then later you will be able to
reexport that shape to the same file with the same resolution
simply with
inkscape -i path231 -t document.svg
If you use --export-dpi, --export-width, or --export-height
with this option, then the DPI hint will be ignored and the
value from the command line will be used. If you use
--export-png with this option, then the filename hint will be
ignored and the filename from the command line will be used.
-w WIDTH, --export-width=WIDTH
The width of generated bitmap in pixels. This value overrides
the --export-dpi setting (or the DPI hint if used with
--export-use-hints).
-y VALUE, --export-background-opacity=VALUE
Opacity of the background of exported PNG. This may be a value
either between 0.0 and 1.0 (0.0 meaning full transparency, 1.0
full opacity) or greater than 1 up to 255 (255 meaning full
opacity). If not set and the -b option is not used, then the
page opacity set in Inkscape in the Document Options dialog
will be used (stored in the inkscape:pageopacity= attribute of
sodipodi:namedview). If not set but the -b option is used,
then the value of 255 (full opacity) will be used.
-P FILENAME, --export-ps=FILENAME
Export document(s) to PostScript format. Note that PostScript
does not support transparency, so any transparent objects in
the original SVG will be automatically rasterized. Used fonts
are subset and embedded. The default export area is page; you
can set it to drawing by --export-area-drawing. You can specify
--export-id to export a single object (all other are hidden);
in that case export area is that object's bounding box, but can
be set to page by --export-area-page. Use `-' as filename to
write the image data to standard output.
-E FILENAME, --export-eps=FILENAME
Export document(s) to Encapsulated PostScript format. Note that
PostScript does not support transparency, so any transparent
objects in the original SVG will be automatically rasterized.
Used fonts are subset and embedded. The default export area is
drawing; you can set it to page, however see --export-area-page
for applicable limitation. You can specify --export-id to
export a single object (all other are hidden). Use `-' as
filename to write the image data to standard output.
-A FILENAME, --export-pdf=FILENAME
Export document(s) to PDF format. This format preserves the
transparency in the original SVG. Used fonts are subset and
embedded. The default export area is page; you can set it to
drawing by --export-area-drawing. You can specify --export-id
to export a single object (all other are hidden); in that case
export area is that object's bounding box, but can be set to
page by --export-area-page. Use `-' as filename to write the
image data to standard output.
--export-pdf-version=PDF-VERSION
Select the PDF version of the exported PDF file. This option
basically exposes the PDF version selector found in the PDF-
export dialog of the GUI. You must provide one of the versions
from that combo-box, e.g. "1.4". The default pdf export version
is "1.4".
--export-latex
(for PS, EPS, and PDF export) Used for creating images for
LaTeX documents, where the image's text is typeset by LaTeX.
When exporting to PDF/PS/EPS format, this option splits the
output into a PDF/PS/EPS file (e.g. as specified by
--export-pdf) and a LaTeX file. Text will not be output in the
PDF/PS/EPS file, but instead will appear in the LaTeX file.
This LaTeX file includes the PDF/PS/EPS. Inputting
(\input{image.tex}) the LaTeX file in your LaTeX document will
show the image and all text will be typeset by LaTeX. See the
resulting LaTeX file for more information. Also see GNUPlot's
`epslatex' output terminal.
-T, --export-text-to-path
Convert text objects to paths on export, where applicable (for
PS, EPS, PDF and SVG export).
--export-ignore-filters
Export filtered objects (e.g. those with blur) as vectors,
ignoring the filters (for PS, EPS, and PDF export). By
default, all filtered objects are rasterized at --export-dpi
(default 96 dpi), preserving the appearance.
-m FILENAME, --export-wmf=FILENAME
Export document(s) to Windows Metafile (WMF) format.
-M FILENAME, --export-emf=FILENAME
Export document(s) to Windows Enhanced Metafile (EMF) format.
-I, --query-id
Set the ID of the object whose dimensions are queried. If not
set, query options will return the dimensions of the drawing
(i.e. all document objects), not the page or viewbox
-X, --query-x
Query the X coordinate of the drawing or, if specified, of the
object with --query-id. The returned value is in px (SVG user
units).
-Y, --query-y
Query the Y coordinate of the drawing or, if specified, of the
object with --query-id. The returned value is in px (SVG user
units).
-W, --query-width
Query the width of the drawing or, if specified, of the object
with --query-id. The returned value is in px (SVG user units).
-H, --query-height
Query the height of the drawing or, if specified, of the object
with --query-id. The returned value is in px (SVG user units).
-S, --query-all
Prints a comma delimited listing of all objects in the SVG
document with IDs defined, along with their x, y, width, and
height values.
--shell With this parameter, Inkscape will enter an interactive command
line shell mode. In this mode, you type in commands at the
prompt and Inkscape executes them, without you having to run a
new copy of Inkscape for each command. This feature is mostly
useful for scripting and server uses: it adds no new
capabilities but allows you to improve the speed and memory
requirements of any script that repeatedly calls Inkscape to
perform command line tasks (such as export or conversions).
Each command in shell mode must be a complete valid Inkscape
command line but without the Inkscape program name, for
example:
file.svg --export-pdf=file.pdf
--vacuum-defs
Remove all unused items from the "<defs>" section of the SVG
file. If this option is invoked in conjunction with
--export-plain-svg, only the exported file will be affected.
If it is used alone, the specified file will be modified in
place.
--no-convert-text-baseline-spacing
Do not automatically fix text baselines in legacy (pre-0.92)
files on opening. Inkscape 0.92 adopts the CSS standard
definition for the 'line-height' property, which differs from
past versions. By default, the line height values in files
created prior to Inkscape 0.92 will be adjusted on loading to
preserve the intended text layout. This command line option
will skip that adjustment.
--convert-dpi-method=METHOD
Choose method used to rescale legacy (pre-0.92) files which
render slightly smaller due to the switch from 90 DPI to 96 DPI
when interpreting lengths expressed in units of pixels.
Possible values are "none" (no change, document will render at
94% of its original size), "scale-viewbox" (document will be
rescaled globally, individual lengths will stay untouched) and
"scale-document" (each length will be re-scaled individually).
-z, --without-gui
Do not open the GUI (on Unix, do not use X server); only
process the files from console. This is assumed for -p, -e,
-l, and --vacuum-defs options. It cannot be used in conjunction
with the --verb option.
--g-fatal-warnings
This standard GTK option forces any warnings, usually harmless,
to cause Inkscape to abort (useful for debugging).
--usage Display a brief usage message.
CONFIGURATION
The main configuration file is located in
~/.config/inkscape/preferences.xml; it stores a variety of
customization settings that you can change in Inkscape (mostly in the
Inkscape Preferences dialog). Also in the subdirectories there, you
can place your own:
$HOME/.config/inkscape/extensions/ - extension effects.
$HOME/.config/inkscape/icons/ - icons.
$HOME/.config/inkscape/keys/ - keyboard maps.
$HOME/.config/inkscape/templates/ - new file templates.
DIAGNOSTICS
The program returns zero on success or non-zero on failure.
A variety of error messages and warnings may be printed to STDERR or
STDOUT. If the program behaves erratically with a particular SVG file
or crashes, it is useful to look at this output for clues.
EXAMPLES
While obviously Inkscape is primarily intended as a GUI application, it
can be used for doing SVG processing on the command line as well.
Open an SVG file in the GUI:
inkscape filename.svg
Print an SVG file from the command line:
inkscape filename.svg -p '| lpr'
Export an SVG file into PNG with the default resolution of 96 dpi (one
SVG user unit translates to one bitmap pixel):
inkscape filename.svg --export-png=filename.png
Same, but force the PNG file to be 600x400 pixels:
inkscape filename.svg --export-png=filename.png -w600 -h400
Same, but export the drawing (bounding box of all objects), not the
page:
inkscape filename.svg --export-png=filename.png --export-area-drawing
Export to PNG the object with id="text1555", using the output filename
and the resolution that were used for that object last time when it was
exported from the GUI:
inkscape filename.svg --export-id=text1555 --export-use-hints
Same, but use the default 96 dpi resolution, specify the filename, and
snap the exported area outwards to the nearest whole SVG user unit
values (to preserve pixel-alignment of objects and thus minimize
aliasing):
inkscape filename.svg --export-id=text1555 --export-png=text.png --export-area-snap
Convert an Inkscape SVG document to plain SVG:
inkscape filename1.svg --export-plain-svg=filename2.svg
Convert an SVG document to EPS, converting all texts to paths:
inkscape filename.svg --export-eps=filename.eps --export-text-to-path
Query the width of the object with id="text1555":
inkscape filename.svg --query-width --query-id text1555
Duplicate the object with id="path1555", rotate the duplicate 90
degrees, save SVG, and quit:
inkscape filename.svg --select=path1555 --verb=EditDuplicate --verb=ObjectRotate90 --verb=FileSave --verb=FileClose
ENVIRONMENT
DISPLAY to get the default host and display number.
TMPDIR to set the default path of the directory to use for temporary
files. The directory must exist.
INKSCAPE_PROFILE_DIR to set the path of the directory to use for the
user profile.
THEMES
To load different icons sets instead of the default
$PREFIX/share/inkscape/icons/icons.svg file, the directory
$HOME/.config/inkscape/icons/ is used. Icons are loaded by name (e.g.
fill_none.svg), or if not found, then from icons.svg. If the icon is
not loaded from either of those locations, it falls back to the default
system location.
The needed icons are loaded from SVG files by searching for the SVG id
with the matching icon name. (For example, to load the "fill_none"
icon from a file, the bounding box seen for SVG id "fill_none" is
rendered as the icon, whether it comes from fill_none.svg or
icons.svg.)
OTHER INFO
The canonical place to find Inkscape info is at
<https://www.inkscape.org/>. The website has news, documentation,
tutorials, examples, mailing list archives, the latest released version
of the program, bugs and feature requests databases, forums, and more.
SEE ALSO
potrace, cairo, rsvg, batik, ghostscript, pstoedit.
SVG compliance test suite:
<https://www.w3.org/Graphics/SVG/WG/wiki/Test_Suite_Overview>
SVG validator: <https://validator.w3.org/>
Scalable Vector Graphics (SVG) 1.1 Specification W3C Recommendation 16
August 2011 <https://www.w3.org/TR/SVG11/>
Scalable Vector Graphics (SVG) 1.2 Specification W3C Working Draft 13
April 2005 <https://www.w3.org/TR/SVG12/>
Scalable Vector Graphics (SVG) 2 Specification W3C Candidate
Recommendation 15 September 2016 <https://www.w3.org/TR/SVG2/>
Document Object Model (DOM): Level 2 Core W3C Recommendation 13
November 2000 <https://www.w3.org/TR/DOM-Level-2-Core/>
GUI NOTES
To learn Inkscape's GUI operation, read the tutorials in Help >
Tutorials.
Apart from SVG, Inkscape can import (File > Import) most bitmap formats
(PNG, BMP, JPG, XPM, GIF, etc.), plain text (requires Perl), PS and EPS
(requires Ghostscript), PDF and AI format (AI version 9.0 or newer).
Inkscape exports 32-bit PNG images (File > Export PNG Image) as well as
AI, PS, EPS, PDF, DXF, and several other formats via File > Save as.
Inkscape can use the pressure and tilt of a graphic tablet pen for
width, angle, and force of action of several tools, including the
Calligraphic pen.
Inkscape includes a GUI front-end to the Potrace bitmap tracing engine
(<http://potrace.sf.net>) which is embedded into Inkscape.
Inkscape can use external scripts (stdin-to-stdout filters) that are
represented by commands in the Extensions menu. A script can have a GUI
dialog for setting various parameters and can get the IDs of the
selected objects on which to act via the command line. Inkscape comes
with an assortment of effects written in Python.
KEYBINDINGS
To get a complete list of keyboard and mouse shortcuts, view
doc/keys.html, or use the Keys and Mouse command in Help menu.
BUGS
Many bugs are known; please refer to the website
(<https://www.inkscape.org/>) for reviewing the reported ones and to
report newly found issues. See also the Known Issues section in the
Release Notes for your version (file `NEWS').
AUTHORS
This codebase owes its existence to a large number of contributors
throughout its various incarnations. The following list is certainly
incomplete, but serves to recognize the many shoulders on which this
application sits:
Maximilian Albert, Joshua A. Andler, Tavmjong Bah, Pierre Barbry-Blot,
Jean-FranASois Barraud, Campbell Barton, Bill Baxter, John Beard, John
Bintz, Arpad Biro, Nicholas Bishop, Joshua L. Blocher, Hanno BA9|ck,
Tomasz Boczkowski, Henrik Bohre, Boldewyn, Daniel Borgmann, Bastien
Bouclet, Hans Breuer, Gustav Broberg, Christopher Brown, Marcus
Brubaker, Luca Bruno, Brynn (brynn@inkscapecommunity.com), Nicu
Buculei, Bulia Byak, Pierre Caclin, Ian Caldwell, Gail Carmichael, Ed
Catmur, Chema Celorio, Jabiertxo Arraiza Cenoz, Johan Ceuppens,
Zbigniew Chyla, Alexander Clausen, John Cliff, Kees Cook, Ben Cromwell,
Robert Crosbie, Jon Cruz, AurA(C)lie De-Cooman, Kris De Gussem, Milosz
Derezynski, Daniel DAaz, Bruno Dilly, Larry Doolittle, Nicolas Dufour,
Tim Dwyer, Maxim V. Dziumanenko, Johan Engelen, Miklos Erdelyi, Ulf
Erikson, NoA(C) Falzon, Frank Felfe, Andrew Fitzsimon, Edward Flick,
Marcin Floryan, Fred, Ben Fowler, Cedric Gemy, Steren Giannini, Olivier
Gondouin, Ted Gould, Toine de Greef, Michael Grosberg, Bryce
Harrington, Dale Harvey, AurA(C)lio Adnauer Heckert, Carl Hetherington,
Jos Hirth, Hannes Hochreiner, Thomas Holder, Joel Holdsworth,
Christoffer Holmstedt, Alan Horkan, Karl Ove Hufthammer, Richard
Hughes, Nathan Hurst, inductiveload, Thomas Ingham, Jean-Olivier
Irisson, Bob Jamison, Ted Janeczko, Marc Jeanmougin, jEsuSdA, Lauris
Kaplinski, Lynn Kerby, Niko Kiirala, James Kilfiger, Nikita Kitaev,
Jason Kivlighn, Adrian Knoth, Krzysztof KosiAski, Petr Kovar, BenoA(R)t
Lavorata, Alex Leone, Julien Leray, Raph Levien, Diederik van Lierop,
Nicklas Lindgren, Vitaly Lipatov, Ivan Louette, Fernando Lucchesi
Bastos Jurema, Pierre-Antoine Marc, Aurel-AimA(C) Marmion, Colin
Marquardt, Craig Marshall, Ivan MasAir, Dmitry G. Mastrukov, David
Mathog, Matiphas, Patrick McDermott, Michael Meeks, Federico Mena,
MenTaLguY, Aubanel Monnier, Vincent Montagne, Tim Mooney, Derek P.
Moore, Chris Morgan, Peter Moulder, JA9|rg MA1/4ller, Yukihiro Nakai,
Victor Navez, Christian Neumair, Nick, Andreas Nilsson, Mitsuru Oka,
VinAcius dos Santos Oliveira, Martin Owens, Alvin Penner, Matthew
Petroff, Jon Phillips, Zdenko Podobny, Alexandre Prokoudine, Jean-
RenA(C) Reinhard, Alexey Remizov, Frederic Rodrigo, Hugo Rodrigues,
Juarez Rudsatz, Xavier Conde Rueda, Felipe CorrAaa da Silva Sanches,
Christian Schaller, Marco Scholten, Tom von Schwerdtner, Danilo A egan,
Abhishek Sharma, Shivaken, Michael Sloan, John Smith, BoAitjan A petiA,
Aaron Spike, Kaushik Sridharan, Ralf Stephan, Dariusz Stojek, Martin
Sucha, ~suv, Pat Suwalski, Adib Taraben, Hugh Tebby, Jonas Termeau,
David Turner, Andre Twupack, Aleksandar UroAieviA, Alex Valavanis,
Joakim Verona, Lucas Vieites, Daniel Wagenaar, Liam P. White, Sebastian
WA1/4st, Michael Wybrow, Gellule Xg, Daniel Yacob, David Yip, Masatake
Yamato, Moritz Eberl, Sebastian Faubel
This man page was put together by Bryce Harrington
<bryce@bryceharrington.org>.
HISTORY
The codebase that would become Inkscape began life in 1999 as the
program Gill, the GNOME Illustrator application, created by Raph
Levien. The stated objective for Gill was to eventually support all of
SVG. Raph implemented the PostScript bezier imaging model, including
stroking and filling, line cap style, line join style, text, etc.
Raph's Gill page is at <http://www.levien.com/svg/>. Work on Gill
appears to have slowed or ceased in 2000.
The next incarnation of the codebase was to become the highly popular
program Sodipodi, led by Lauris Kaplinski. The codebase was turned
into a powerful illustration program over the course of several year's
work, adding several new features, multi-lingual support, porting to
Windows and other operating systems, and eliminating dependencies.
Inkscape was formed in 2003 by four active Sodipodi developers, Bryce
Harrington, MenTaLguY, Nathan Hurst, and Ted Gould, wanting to take a
different direction with the codebase in terms of focus on SVG
compliance, interface look-and-feel, and a desire to open development
opportunities to more participants. The project progressed rapidly,
gaining a number of very active contributors and features.
Much work in the early days of the project focused on code
stabilization and internationalization. The original renderer
inherited from Sodipodi was laced with a number of mathematical corner
cases which led to unexpected crashes when the program was pushed
beyond routine uses; this renderer was replaced with Livarot which,
while not perfect either, was significantly less error prone. The
project also adopted a practice of committing code frequently, and
encouraging users to run developmental snapshots of the program; this
helped identify new bugs swiftly, and ensure it was easy for users to
verify the fixes. As a result, Inkscape releases have generally earned
a reputation for being robust and reliable.
Similarly, efforts were taken to internationalize and localize the
interface, which has helped the program gain contributors worldwide.
Inkscape has had a beneficial impact on the visual attractiveness of
Open Source in general, by providing a tool for creating and sharing
icons, splash screens, website art, and so on. In a way, despite being
"just an drawing program", Inkscape has played an important role in
making Open Source more visually stimulating to larger audiences.
COPYRIGHT AND LICENSE
Copyright (C) 1999-2019 by Authors.
Inkscape is free software; you can redistribute it and/or modify it
under the terms of the GPL version 2 or later.
0.92.5 2020-05-01 inkscape(1)
inkscape 0.92.5 - Generated Fri May 1 07:35:24 CDT 2020