Inkscape Wiki - User contributions [en]

User manual information

2007-03-02T06:32:23Z

Kwixson: /* Where can I find the latest update? */

This is mainly a scratchpad to begin working out the [[UserManual]]. We can post ideas and fragments of text up here, but the real deal will be in CVS so that it can be checked out and worked on.

Other manuals and tutorials are [http://inkscape.org/cgi-bin/wiki.pl?OtherProjects#outsidetut listed here].

: Why not write the manual here? Use wiki as a versioning & collaboration tool -- that's what it's for :) You can then use a script to turn raw wiki pages into whatever format you need for the distribution

* [[VectorAndBitmap]]
* [[IllustratorUsers|Inkscape for Illustrator Converts]]
* [[TricksAndTips]]
* [[KeyboardShortcuts]]
* [[InkscapeColor]]

We need to work now on an update of this Manual and have a specific version for Inkscape.

* Queries about Manual can be added here or sent to cedric@le-radar.com

== Translations of the manual ==

Currently in CVS there is a manual (or beginnings of a manual) that was written in French for SodiPodi. Has anyone looked at it? What are your thoughts?

[http://inkscape.org/doc/ Manuals are available in many languages]:
english
English,
deutsch
German,
français
French,
Italian,
espanol
Spanish,
Nynorsk
Norwegian,
and
Japanese.

* [http://wiki.inkscape-forum.de/handbuch German] already started by [[User:Fzap]]

== Inkscape tutorial paginated for printing ==

In SVG, each page is a layer. Make one page visible and others invisible. (The Wiki would not accept the PDF because the files are too big.)

These tutorials were adapted from Inkscape 0.41.

* upload:inkscape-tutorial-basic.svgz
* upload:inkscape-tutorial-shapes.svgz

== Where can I find the latest update? ==
* If you want to contribute, download the USER_MANUAL part of SVN (http://svn.sourceforge.net/viewcvs.cgi/inkscape/user_manual/trunk/)
* If you just want to browse to find a subject, you can go to http://www.le-radar.com/?mm/inkscape_inkscape.rss and choose your language. It is the most up2date.
* An alternative, in-progress, unofficial version can be found at http://www.usinginkscape.com/usermanual

== How to Help ==

* Adding new information to the manual : write your files in docbook or in plain text that we'll convert (please follow [[Manualguidelines.html|guidelines]])
* translating pages
* contact a contributor or add your name in the follow list and have a look at the [[Manualwip.Html|WIP]]

* If you want to contribute, download the USER_MANUAL part of SVN
* To view actual state in html, type "make your_language" (notice that xsltproc is needed). If nothing is generated, it is that your language is actually not added to the manual. Thanks to begin one, ad become responsible for this part ;)
* edit the trunk/xml/inkscapeUTF.xml file. All languages are inside.
* Just read the file, choose the language reference you want to use (en, fr...) and translate by duplicating the node and changing lang attribute to yours.
* For pictures, you may use the "images/sshot_yourlanguage" directory or create it if necessary".
* when finishing editing, if necessary edit the Makefile and add your language to the Makefile. In every case test your file with some tools (xmllint...) or just type again "make your_language" : syntax errors will be displayed : please correct them.
* svn commit

== FAQ ==
'''Why is there only one xml file?'''
The single XML file has now been split into language-specific versions, please only edit these.

'''How can I produce HTML output from the XML file?'''
Type "make your_language" to have truncated html file (one file per sect1), or "make singleYour_language" to have all the manual in one html file.

'''Can I export to PDF?'''
Yes. Make a single HTML file as described above and run "make pdfYour_language". This depends on htmldoc. If anyone wants to work on a different XSL stylesheet that produce language specific XML file and use db2pdf, it is welcome.

== Misc ==
* automated screenshot taking: maybe via [http://people.redhat.com/zcerza/dogtail/ Dogtail] (see [http://www.redhat.com/magazine/020jun06/features/dogtail/] and [http://www.redhat.com/magazine/021jul06/features/dogtail/]) or [http://ldtp.freedesktop.org/ LDTP]?

The [http://inkscape.org/doc/inkscape-man.html Inscape "man page"].

== People ==
'''[[User:Cedric|Cedric Gemy]]''' - main contributor - ''cedric at le-radar.com''

'''John''' - Author and French/British translation

'''Ernesto''' - Spanish translation - ''celise at prodigy.net.mx''

'''Antonio''' - Italian translation - ''antonio.angelo at poste.it''

'''Bryce''' - English translation/editing - ''bryce at bryceharrington.com''

'''Kevin''' - English translation/editing - ''inkscape.docs at wixsonit.com''

'''[[User:Colin Marquardt|Colin Marquardt]]''' - volunteer for a German translation from English, help with xml2po if needed. Especially interested in [[Embedded_Help]].

'''[[User:vonHalenbach|vonHalenbach-de]]''' - volunteer for a translation of pygmees manual from English to the german language.

[[Category:User Documentation]]
[[Category:Needs Work]]

IllustratorUsers

2005-09-01T21:03:42Z

Kwixson: some migrating to new version based on discussion

::''The composition of this page is being discussed via the developer mailing list. Please provide any comments you have regarding this document to that mailing list. Once all of the major issues have been resolved a new version will be posted here. Thanks, -kw''

With Inkscape an artist can create most of the same illustrations that can be made with Adobe Illustrator. However, many of the functions and tools that the two applications share are used in different ways.

== Terminology ==

*'''Anchor Points''': in Inkscape, anchor points are known as "Nodes"
*'''Palettes''': in Inkscape, "palettes" are called "dialogs", such as the Fill and Stroke dialog.
*'''Marquee''': this is called "the rubberband" when selecting
*'''Tools''': see [AdobeToolMap Adobe Tool Map] for complete tool equivalency reference.

== Things Illustrator can do that Inkscape can not do: ==

* Gradient mesh (planned for future release via multiple transparent gradient fills)
* Multiple strokes and fills for one object
* Filters & effects (guassian blur, etc.)
* Select line segments by clicking on the segment
* Blend objects
* Color management for print (ICC Profiles, etc.)
* PMS color
* Save swatches
* Wireframe mode
* Natively work with graphs based on data
* Free transform and perspective transform

== Things Inkscape can do that Illustrator can not: ==

* Edit SVG source directly
* Clones, Tile clones, edit clones on canvas
* Keys to move/rotate/scale by screen pixels
* Live shapes
* Edit gradients with handles on-canvas
* Edit nodes with keyboard

== Getting Things Done In Inkscape ==

=== Hand Tool : Navigating the Canvas ===

Instead of using the Spacebar for panning around a document, in Inkscape an artist can press and hold the middle mouse button (or mouse wheel) and drag the canvas in any direction. {''This doesn't work for me. -kw Are you pressing the mouse wheel (which is usually the same as middle button) or just rotating it? If still does not work, please file a bug. --bb I'm using a three button mouse that doesn't have a scroll wheel. It's not a bug so much as it is a feature request, I would guess. In any event, for people with three button mice, it just doesn't work like you describe. --kw''} Alternatively, rotate mouse wheel to pan vertically, rotate with shift to pan horizontally. In Inkscape, the artist can also pan around the canvas by holding the Ctrl key and pressing the arrow keys. Holding the arrow key speeds up the pan in that direction.

=== Zooming : Plus and Minus Keys ===

Instead of holding down the Ctrl key and pressing + or - to zoom the canvas, in Inkscape the artist simply presses the + or - key to zoom.

=== Selecting : Selector and Nodes Tool ===

In order to select objects with the rubberband in Inkscape, an artist must completely select the entire area of the object, not just select over part of it, to include it in the selection. Individual nodes of paths can be selected with the Node tool rubberband, the same as in Illustrator; however the object must be selected first, and only the nodes from one object (which may combine several subpaths) can be selected. Unlike Illustrator, nodes from multiple uncombined objects cannot be selected at the same time.

=== Group Select : Selector ===

In Inkscape there is no special group select tool. To select an individual object in a group of objects, hold the Ctrl key and click on the object with the Selector. Or you can right-click the group and do "Enter group" after which objects in the group can be selected as if they are not grouped.

=== Fill & Stroke : Fill and Stroke Window ===

Since fill and stroke are not a tool, they do no appear on the Toolbox, as is the case in Adobe Illustrator. Instead there is a Fill and Stroke window, activated through the Fill and Stroke icon on the Commands bar, or through the Menu, or by Ctrl+Shift+F.

=== Styles : Cut 'N Paste ===

There's no palette of stored styles yet. However you can copy style from one object to another: select the source object, do Edit > Copy (Ctrl+C), select the destination object, do Edit > Paste Style (Ctrl+Shift+V). These copied styles are not linked to the original as they are in Illustrator.

=== Symbols : Cloning ===

Inkscape is capable of creating "clones" of objects, which are similar to Illustrator's Symbols. When you edit the original, the changes are propagated to all of its clones. Clones can be transformed, but their nodes cannot be edited. Clones can themselves be cloned. You can use the Edit > Tile clones command to create patterns and arrangements of clones.
::{''The keyboard shortcuts and all the various ways to accomplish a given task will be documented in the appropriate places in the documentation. It is not necessary, or desirable, to document them here. I want to go through this document later, after it has settled down some, and reduce each solution to one method, without the shortcuts, and leave the shortcuts and whatnot to the pages of the documentation that detail that specific tool or feature. --kw''}
::{''At the very least, a link to the appropriate place in the documentation needs to be included for each feature, if how to achieve it is not described. Plus, if this is for seasoned AI veterans, they know how to do it in AI and would most likely want to know how to achieve said function in Inkscape. --ja''}

=== Proportional Scaling and Center Point : Shift and Control Keys ===

In Inkscape, the keys to maintain proportions while scaling, and to center on point are reversed. To scale objects proportionally in Inkscape, press and hold the Ctrl key, and to use the center point for scaling, hold the Shift key.

=== Rotate & Skew : The Second Click ===

Inkscape does not have special skew or rotate tools. Instead, with the Selector tool, click on an object to select it, then click on it again to change the handles to Rotate and Skew handles. Dragging the corner handles will rotate and dragging the middle handles will skew.

=== Palettes ===

Instead of palettes, Inkscape has dialogs that can be called up by various commands through which the artist communicates with the program. Dialogs function similarly to palettes. (In Windows, they do not stay on top of the Document window; this is a known problem.) You can toggle visibility of all active dialogs with F12 key.
::These are traditionally called dialogs. I don't see a reason to rename them. Just "windows" is too vague. --bb
::You're going to have to duke this out with Cedric (the head documentor guy) et al. I got it from him, the developers I was chatting with on IRC the other night didn't have a problem with it as far as I know, and it seems to make sense. A dialog requires a response before the command can continue--it's having a dialog (two way interaction) with the user. Everyting else ''is'' technically just a window. It's not vague if they have a name, like the Document Preferences window. How is that any more vague than the Document Preferences dialog. Sounds like a stylistic bias. I frankly don't care, as long as it's consistent and I was simply going with what had already been established. See the style guide for more detials. --kw
:: "traditionally called dialogs" a tradition from the GIMP. Nothing else in Gnome really has the same kind of widgets as this very specific subset of Dialogs (just as dialogs are a subset of Windows) and what Gnome normally means by Dialogs can be very different so I hope you will consider that using the term Palettes could help reduce ambiguity -- Alan
::I think palettes is more appropriate. Dialogs have "OK" buttons. And that F12 trick needs to use the html "blink" attribute (j/k)... I've been so irked using Inkscape on windows and didn't know about the F12 trick until I was reading this doc. Inkscape is significantly more tolerable on Windows now. --ja

=== Working with Nodes (Anchor Points) and Paths ===

{''Note: this section was very carefully constructed to make the most sense to long time users of Illustrator. It is aimed at acclimatizing a recent convert as gently as possible while at the same time remaining honest about Inkscape's limitations with respect to node editing as compared to Illustrator. Due to the relative importance of node editing, please do not hack and slash this section; edit with care.''}
::I have no problem with making sense for AI users, but I have a problem with incorrect and vague statements. What is "responsive" for example? Please be specific. Deselecting is done by many ways, but NOT by rubberband. This section applies to paths, not shapes, and the tool is Node tool, not Nodes (use the correct terminology please). What do you mean by "you must click only on nodes"? Will it break if you won't? No. etc, etc. --bb
::For someone who uses AI professionally day after day, AI is more "responsive" by any objective measure. Again, this is legacy text that I left in place because it makes sense to AI users. In AI you can add a node, convert a node from a smooth to a corner and back again, go back and tack on another node (or fifty), edit the node handles, add some more nodes, and so on, all without moving the cursor away from the path (to click on a command icon, or select another tool). This makes creating paths in Illustrator more responsive. In actual fact it is perhaps more appropriately called "more context sensitive." You can replace "responsive" with "context sensitive" if you want, but it doesn't help reader comprehension, so why do it? You're right to correct my mistake at using "Nodes" instead of "Node", but I've used "Node" most of the time so it's obviously just a mistake. I wrote that section of the Terminology reference, so please tone it down a touch.
::The only way you can say that Inkscape is not as responsive as Illustrator is on the application level and it seems like it is mostly due to rendering. On topic, I think that the node tool has significantly changed since this document was last updated, and until all of the changes are done to that tool, we should hold off on this part. --ja

Editing paths post drawing is done with the Node tool, N key. Selecting nodes is done by clicking on them, by Tab/Shift+Tab keys, or by the rubberband around several nodes. To deselect nodes, press Esc or click in an empty space. While in the node tool, you can also select a different object by clicking on it, after which its nodes become selectable.

{BB version:} To continue a path, select its endnode and duplicate it (Shift+D), then drag the new node. You can break the path at any selected node(s), or join two end nodes, using the correspondint toolbar buttons. You can edit the nodes of only one path object at a time, but that path object may consist of any number of distinct subpaths. Use the Break Apart and Combine commands to break a path into its subpaths and combine separate paths into a single path.

{KW version:} An artist will need to continue a line segment by creating two paths distinctly. When the second path has been created, select both paths and "Combine" them Control+K. Then edit nodes in the newly combined shape and attach those nodes to each other. Joining nodes is a two step process. First, join the nodes, then select whether or not the join should be a corner, or a smooth curve.
::This paragraph is very strange. Why go to all this length if you can duplicate nodes in Node tool, as well as continue the path or create new subpaths in Pen tool, all without doing any combining and joining? Please explain better what you're trying to achieve by this process. --bb
::This paragraph is legacy text from the original author, by the way, but I understood why he/she wrote it that way...becaue in AI it is common to start a path by putting down a few anchor points, go back and edit them a little, then pick back up where the path left off and continue to add a few (or a dozen) more anchor points, go back and edit them a bit, and so on until the complete path for the shape is built. In AI when you hover the pen tool over the end anchor point of an open path and click the anchor point, AI knows you are continuing the same path. This is the work flow that AI users are used to. Duplicating a node a dozen or a hundred times in order to continue a path is not productive. It is much faster, and more like the workflow that AI users are already used to, to simply start a new path segment near the end of the previous, and go back and join them later. Groovy? In short, this paragraph makes sense to people used to using AI. --kw
::methods for continuing a path are now outdated at this point -ja

{BB version:} To convert a straight path segment to a curve, select both endnodes of the segment and press the "Make selected segments curves" button on the toolbar. Conversely, you can convert a segment from a curve to a straight line with the "Make selected segments lines" button.

{KW version:} Converting a straight node to a curve node is not as intuitive in Inkscape as it is in Illustrator. To convert a straight node to a curve, the line segments on either side must be converted. To select a line segment, select one node with the Node tool, then Shift+Click the connecting node so that both ends of the segment are selected. Then click the "Make selected segments curves" conversion command. This procedure adds Node Vector Handles (or simply handles) to both nodes on the line segment. Repeat this process with the line segment on the other side of the node being converted to give it handles on both sides. The node can then be converted to corner, smooth or symmetrical as needed. The nodes on either side will have handles, and they cannot be converted to straight nodes again, since only line segments can be converted, but placing the handle on the node will work to emulate straight node behavior.
::Again a very strange advice. In my version I have described how to easily convert segments from curve to straight (real straight, not "emulated") and back. What you describe is 10 times more difficult and sounds like a mess. Please read my version carefully and add to it if you have something to add, or propose a different version. This one won't do. --bb
::In Illustrator you can convert a single node without affecting the nodes on either side in any way. In IS, you can't. The way node conversion is done in IS ''is'' hack, looking at it as an AI user does. Sorry, just the truth. Again, what I'm describing here is what an AI user should do to in order do something in IS that they do in AI, from an AI POV. Again, this paragraph is written based on user feedback, not just some rabbit I'm pulling out of my own hat. You can rest assured that the description of converting nodes (it's actually converting line segments) won't be like this on the page of the actual docs that talks about that feature. It's just the way it needs to be for this document, which is written for AI users trying IS, not IS users who happen to get their hands on AI. --kw
::converting node types and working with nodes is now outdated thanks to recent improvements to the node tool --ja

The Node tool currently has some limitations; notably, you can only drag nodes, not path fragments between nodes; and you can only add new nodes over the old ones or in the middle between them, instead of an arbitrary point on path.

==== Working with nodes in Inkscape has several distinct advantages over Illustrator: ====
# The node appearance changes according to the kind of node it is. When a corner node is converted to a smooth node, it changes from a diamond shape to a square. Thus, without a particular node selected it is still possible to tell what kind of node it is.
# Inkscape can restrain node movement to the handle vector or to the adjacent straight line segment (dragging node with Ctrl+Alt).
# Inkscape can lock the handle length (dragging handle with Alt).
# You can move nodes, rotate handles, scale handles, and move selection from one node to the next using keyboard shortcuts. For moves, scales, and rotates, use Alt to move by one screen pixel.
::See above for why I restored this. Keyboard control is the cornerstone of Inkscape usability. If AI users are not used to it, they need to be taught about it because it matters. --bb
::I understand, but we're not documenting shortcuts on this page. Nor are we proselytizing for IS directly. Nor are we teaching AI users how to use IS in its full glory. We are (or should be,) simply making a transition from AI to IS easier for the user, in the first few moments of using the program. These other fine features you want to include are dandy indeed, and when an AI users happens across them in the docs I'm sure they'll go "Oh, neat!" but it's not our job here to cover things in that detail. I would agree to a more emphatically worded general note at the begining of the doc that says something to the effect of "The key to productivity in Inkscape is use of the keyboard shortcuts." I agree that that's a strength of IS. I don't agree that it's necessary for this page that we mention every shortcut and every cool feature. Our scope is very narrow. --kw
::The more I use Inkscape, the more I fall in love with the shortcuts. I've learned many shortcuts recently that I wish I had known about sooner and they have significantly eased my workflow (more time with my mouse on the canvas, versus going to toolbars or menus). I think that the items that Bulia restored here are very informative as they are, and need no modification (maybe expansion, but no reduction). --ja

=== Editing Shapes ===

::In this section you again fail to take a wider perspective. AI does not seem to have any distinction between path and shapes, but this is NOT an advantage. This is a big problem with AI. We must explain to users why Inkscape treats shapes differently, and why this is an advantage. Instead you only tell them how to quickly degrade higher level abstractions (shapes) to low level (paths), seemingly implying that the fact that you can't edit nodes in shapes is some king of a "problem" that needs to be "fixed" asap by Shift+Ctrl+C. No it's NOT a problem. I restored my version --bb
::This isn't about a wider perspective, it's a very narrow one: What do AI users care about when they're taking a look at Inkscape for the first time? Period. I appreciate the fact that you are so passionate about the virtues of Inkscape, I really am. But the best thing you can do to convince AI users to use IS is to tell them how to do what they do every day in AI in IS and leave it at that. My version is a direct response to multiple questions from actual AI users. I've sat them down in front of IS and watched them try to take the Node tool to a square they just created and get frustrated when it didn't work. To them it ''is'' a problem. They'll learn the virtues you want to express with your version eventually, but only if they don't have so much frustration at first that they give up and go back to AI. In a sense I'm taking a wider perspective than you are, because I'm recognizing that there are other pages of documentation, pages where some of this stuff you want to add is better put, and I'm looking at documentation as a whole. I'm putting it back the way I had it. -kw
::This is most definitely about wider perspective. What they care about when using the program for the first time is how usable and powerful our software is. Can they achieve what they're looking to do? I can see the issue with the example of the drawn square and node tool. BUT, if it is explained as to why it is different and what the benefits of our shape tools are it will make more sense to them (instead of it's unnecessarilly a 2-step process). First impressions make a difference, and if things are explained more clearly it will only benefit everyone in the end. --ja

{BB version:} Shapes created with the shapes tools (i.e., Rectangle, Ellipse, Star, Spiral) can be immediately edited in the same tool which created them. Each kind of shape has its own handles which you can drag, possibly with keyboard modifiers, to achieve various effects (such as rounding corners of a rectangle). There are also various numeric fields in the controls bars of the shape tools. Consult the Shapes tutorial (in Help menu) for details on Inkscape shapes. Overall, shapes in Inkscape are more rich and flexible than in Illustrator.

You can also convert any shape to path, to be able to edit its nodes freely. Select the object with the Selector or Nodes tool, and then select Path>Object To Path (Shift+Ctrl+C) or if the Nodes Tool Controls bar is visible, click on the Object To Path command icon.

{KW version:} The nodes of basic shapes created with the shapes tools (i.e., Rectangle, Ellipse, Spiral) can not be immediately edited. Before editing nodes of a shape created with the shape tool, it must first be converted to paths. Select the object with the Selector or Nodes tool, and then select Path>Object To Path (Shift+Ctrl+C) or if the Nodes Tool Controls bar is visible, click on the Object To Path command icon. Then the nodes on of the object can be edited normally.

::BB version is more appropriate. And perhaps a combination of the two versions would actually be the best way to go. --ja

=== Pathfinder ===

Inkscape calls Pathfinder operations "boolean operations" on paths.

=== Working with Layers ===

Inkscape has perfectly serviceable layers, although working with layers in Inkscape is not yet very convenient. Layers are located in the Status bar, with the lock and visibility toggle located beside it. An artist can select the layer from the spinbox, and then select its visibility and lock status. Previews are not shown, and art is moved from one layer to another by means of a key command (Shift+PgUp / Shift+PgDn.) Layers can nest, and you can enter a group making it a temporary layer.

=== Working with Text ===

==== Create Outlines ====

Converting a text object to outlines (i.e. to path) in Inkscape produces a single path object. If you want to manipulate each letter separately, you can break this path into subpaths (Path>Break Apart, Shift+Ctrl+K) and, for letters with holes, reselect parts of each letter and recombine them (Path>Combine, Ctrl+K) to fix the holes.

{''Note: the above selection describes a process frequently employed in AI to embed text in the document so that the document is no longer dependent on fonts being installed. "Text to outlines" is the actual AI wording, by the way. It's hack, but is routinely done in AI, so that's why it's written as it is. Please edit with care.''}
::I don't understand why you need to always do Break Apart and Combine. Simply converting text to outlines works fine in Inkscape without it. If you have to do this "hack" in AI, why are you saying Inkscape is "not very productive"??? It needs this hack ONLY in specific circumstances, as I explained. Restored. --bb
::Okay, you're right. I had been playing around with it (because the process doesn't seem to be documented anywhere as far as I could tell,) and it seemed like the first step wasn't doing the trick. It was just IS was being slower than I expected and I thought you had to do the break apart step too, because I was trying different things and it worked when I did that and then combine again. You're right. It only takes that first step, and that's okay.

==== Text Boxes ====

While putting text in shapes is possible in Inkscape, it is not yet well supported. Briefly, you select the object you want the text to flow into, select 'Flow Text into Shape' from the context menu, and edit the text with the XML editor. See documentation for Flow Text into Shape for more information.

==== Guides ====

Guides can be hidden in Inkscape with the Shift+| key combination. The | symbol is called a pipe and is generally paired with the backslash character on the keyboard. Ctrl+; does not do anything in Inkscape. A guide cannot be selected by drawing a rubberband through it, as is done in Illustrator. Rather, to move or delete a guide the artist must use the Selector to grab the guide and move it to another location or to the ruler. Guides cannot be locked, and guides are global to the layers instead of bound to individual layers as they are in Illustrator. Double clicking a guide will open a dialog where you can set the guide position precisely.

FeatureNotePad

2005-05-24T00:05:19Z

Kwixson: Added two "working with text" ideas fixed someone's rudeness

Here is a notepad for quickly noting down good ideas (newest first please). If you're bored, feel free to write these as full feature requests and add to the tracker, or as separate Wiki pages.

FeatureNotePadArchive (dupes, already implemented ideas, those with acceptable workarounds, those that cannot be implemented at all)

----------
WIREFRAME MODE

"Outline" mode. "Draft" mode. "X-Ray" mode. You know what I'm talking about. The mode where only the edges of the paths are drawn, stroked at constant width. Turn it off, and you have everything visible normally again.

I've seen this in Adobe Illustrator (Ctrl+Y), Sketch, Corel Draw!, even the good ole 1991 vintage Arts & Letters.

I think this is pretty important because I love to work with lots of overlapping, same-or-nearly-same-color objects that don't have strike at all. Would make drawing easier...

----------

kwixson writes:

Some little ideas that I haven't had time to fully spec yet, but I don't want to forget...

* Text tool can optionally draw (with click and drag, as opposed to just click) a text box of defined dimensions, into which text is flowed automatically.
* Edge offsets in flowed text with automatically drawn linked offsets of the object with no fill or stroke properties.
* Cursor icons for Pen, Pencil and Calligraphy tools
* Visual cues for Pen tool cursor in append mode, and other modes (i.e., +, -, ^, etc.)
* Visual cue for selected groups (i.e., solid marquee instead of dashed)
* Terminiate continuous draw mode when a path is closed in append mode
DONE
* Undo in draw mode removes last node, not the entire path, same as backspace key
* Set the ruler 0, 0 coordinates by dragging a cross out of the rulers' corner / double click to set precisely, according to 0,0 index of page dimensions.
* Make space bar held down transform cursor to Selector tool until spacebar is released, with any tool except Text.

Bulia: I'm not seeing the DONE features in current builds. What am I missing? -kw

<HR>

Björn writes:
1.) _Pressure sensitivity_
- Everybody else got it (Xara, Illustrator, even Gimp) and it is almost necessary for professional drawing.

2.) Sub-pixel resolution in drawing, is possible with XInput i think?
- Again, improves drawing by hand
3.) Smooth drawing, smooth over small irrelegularities from mouse/drawing board
- Same as all of the above, improves drawing, makes it a whole lot more fun! :)

It doesn't seem so hard to implement but it would make a huge diffrence!

Aside from that, I love where Inkscape is going, the interface is great to work with and it just keeps getting better!
I find myself building from CVS so I dont't miss out.

GREAT WORK GUYS! :)
<HR>

Ilja writes:

1.) Extrusion of Objects
2.) Dropshadow, kind of a clone - a bit fuzzy and little shifted behind

<HR>

Daddio writes: 
A couple of Small features that would help those of us a lot that like to draw a basic shape and then tweak it in the xml editor: 
1) the ablility to convert the SVG coordinates in a path to and fromrelative coordinates (small case m's l's c's a's) except perhaps the initial M 
2) the ability to truncate (or even better, round) the SVG coordinates to 1, 2 or zero (etc) decimal places. 
3) Set a decimal place limit so the generated SVG will stay within that limit. I don't usually need or want 0.0006 precision! 

fantasai seconds these and suggests a way of saving as Plain SVG with metadata, since
things like the title, author, and license terms -- which are applicable to published images but not so
much to in-process drafts -- shouldn't be thrown out with the "last used zoom level" data, which are just
junk in a publication-ready image.

-----

Slapo writes:

it would be nice to have features like obejct shadows, round corners and square gradient in Sodipodi. I think those are the things I am missing in it and other users would appreciate as well. If you need some SVG code examples, I'll e-mail it to you.

-------------------------

njh writes:

Orthogonal lines best-fit to a pen path would be useful for quickly sketching diagrams.

-------------------------
-Scribus is a DTP coded in C++ (but with Qt). it can work with Python Script.
May be have a look at this could help doing the same in Inkscape.
-If the later can be done, this will help eventually include some of good
Sketch
(written in Python) possibilities in Inkscape.
- Also Scribus has good NodeTool, and good text tool featuring textbox (frame)
or text on a path.

cheers
Cédric

-------------------------
plugins for ways to warp and bend things
-------------------------

What I can expect from this project is a better integration with gnome-office.
I dream for a really integrated gnome-office with a lot of code sharing via libraries.
For example, a vectorial drawing soft has lot of things in common with glabels, AbiShow, etc ...
We have a lot to learn from Koffice in this respect.

So please create a fully capable GtkVectDraw library !
-------------------------
''Emphasis on a small core plus modular extensions for features (a la Mozilla Firebird)''

But *please* maintain a plugin-pack, and ship it with Inkscape. The way Firebird works sucks. Firebird has poor tab-implementation, and there are >10 extensions that try to improve it, while only 1 good version is needed. The list with extensions is chaos, don't let it be so with Inkscape...

-------------------------
If you want to add new features, think about layers a la gimp. Sketch uses them and it's very convenient.

: In a vector drawing program, what would be the actual difference between a "layer" and a "group"? -- kaj

Ease of use mostly. If you have a complicated drawing, layers are very usefull to organize your work, move them up or down, make them invisible, apply layer transformations, etcetera. Groups could be used in theory to make a Gimp-like layer toolbox, but its not very practical.

If, for example, you have an image with layers and want to save it to SVG, you just export it whilst flattening the layers, just like you export a PNG from the Gimp today.

I'm I alone in thinking that a Vectorbased drawing program, with the interface built like the Gimp 1.3 series, would be very wanted and usefull? Similar to how Adobe's Photoshop and Illustrator have a similar GUI concept?
-- anonymous

: I disagree... all they need is a little widget that shows all the groups as a tree of layers. And if you group, two groups, : you'd create a new layer, with the two original groups/layers as a child of the new layer....
: voila, best of all worlds.
This behaviour of hierarchycal tree of objects, calling the highest hierarchycal level the 'layers' level, and the other hierarchical levels called 'groups' or 'subgroups'. It would be good some layer/group operations like changing the visibility of the hole layer/group, being capable of selecting on subelement, working with the hole layer or with a group or with an element. With all these behaviour and a hierarchical tree to work with it, it would resemble the Adobe Illustrator object model that (I think) is the most powerfull and flexible one.

I asked a very similar question about why use layers to the Dia project and here is one of the responses

The ability to be able to easily hide, move and remove layers is certainly a factor that could be mitigated by a more powerful tree view of the document but at the very least there are users who find it convenient so no vector program should remove Layers without adding a bettter alternative

http://www.mail-archive.com/dia-list@gnome.org/msg05072.html

---------------

The below is in regards to Sodipodi 0.32:

2. The XML viewer doesn't appear to allow selecting multiple items.
Often times I want to makes changes to many items at once and sometimes
I'll be working in the XML viewer. Since this was the only way I could
figure out how to select individual items in a group it seems completely
impossible to select several items in a group.

Some notes on feel:

4. The mouse event system feels a bit wonky. For example, if I take a
fairly complex design which can be a little bit sluggish when editing and

make adjustments to a path node the cursor doesn't release as soon as I
let go of the mouse button. So when I'm working quickly what happens is I
tweak a node, let go of the mouse button, then move the mouse and it keeps
adjusting the node even though I'm not holding the button. This slows me
down considerably because I have to wait after letting go of the mouse
button each time. It also does this when scrolling the main view using
the middle mouse button. I'll scroll the view over, let go of the mouse
button, then when I move the mouse the view still scrolls for a second or
two. Very annoying. :)

Feature "wants":

9. More powerful selection commands. Some examples (from Illustrator):

Select by fill color
Select by same stroke and fill
etc...

11. More and user defined hot-keys. Can I set any command/mode to a
hot-key?

-------------------------
I noticed that gimp does a cool hack today, they use an image thumbnail of the drawing as the window manager icon for the drawing window, you should do that with inkscape too
and it is actually usefull, consider I have fix inkscape windows with different flags, with this hack I will be able to identify each window in the tasklist and don't have to search so much

Also, I really wish inkscape where session aware like gedit, so that when I asks nautilus to open a new image it does so in the existing inkscape session instead of starting a new instance

http://bugzilla.gnome.org/show_bug.cgi?id=107668 - the discussion in that bug report might be of interest to you guys too. the participants are Dom (librsvg), Owen and the Gimp guys

-- Uraeus

------

when given a nonexisting file name on the command line, create that file (with an error report too)

------

Ability to export to uncompressed TIFF.

------

Add multi-page support, default layouts for all pages, etc.

------

Ability to import Dia objects.
Restricted Inkscape mode to work like Dia. There's nothing that Dia can do that is not possible to
do in Inkscape.

------

Export .eps. Enough said.

------

However you gave me an idea: I can store past viewport not only before I do zoom, but also after that; later, when a next zoom is started, I will compare the current viewport with the last stored and, if it's the same, not store it. This way I will be adding one viewport record if there was no panning between zooms and two records if there was panning, these records storing the first and last viewports at this zoom. I think it will be a bit more convenient this way.

:Well, what I had in mind is that viewport undo steps would be separated by editing operations -- so e.g. consecutive pans/zooms with no edits in between them would be coalesced into a single zoom undo step.

-------

Exporting vectors as swf files. While this is probably not on the top of everyone's wishlist, it would make inkscape the tool of choice for editing shapes for flash, which is an area where the flash editor does a horrible job. Flash import capabilities for vectors are also very limited, making AI a requirement in order to convert between flash and svg.

Given that svg is going to be replacing flash very (very) soon, a flash import capability would also make life easier for a lot of people...

Ming library: [[http://ming.sourceforge.net/]]
Svg2Swf python script (uses Ming): [[http://www.eskimo.com/~robla/svg2swf/]]

-------

Add support for mouse gestures.
I have used the Mentor Graphics CAD tools for editing
schematics and PCB layouts, and the built-in support for mouse
gesture has helped the productivity a lot. Granted CAD drawing
is not exactly vector drawing, but it is not too far apart.
There is a library libstroke that provides gestures support,
but I don't have any idea how usable that would be for inkscape.

-------

Find dialog: collapsable panes: Size & Position (X, Y, W, H; tolerance), Attribute (Name, Value). Pasting in the id, style, size/position fields (add buttons for pasting?) pastes the id, style, size/position of the object on clipboard. Add a regexp checkbox, when it's on matches are always exact but with a regexp matcher. Checkboxes: limit search to selection, (later) to current layer, possibly in (in)visible or (in)sensitive only.

-------

Plan for fill&stroke:

First:

* remove "get from dropper" (always on, via SetColorSignal) (DONE, no signal necessary, just picks new color from selection)

* remove "mode", make global preference "Store colors as rgb/cmyk" (DONE, it's not about storing color actually, so just removed)

* remove redundant color picker selector (DONE)

* transientize, remember size&position, remove Close in the color selector window from Doc props; find if there are others like it (DONE)

* Make evenodd switch a pair of toggle buttons inside colorselector

Then:

* remove "apply to"; make all shapes use current color, but on prefs page for each tool, make a switch between "use current" (default on for shapes) or "use its own style" (default on for pens & text), plus a button "take style from the selection". (DONE)

* enable partial color settings (bug http://sourceforge.net/tracker/index.php?func=detail&aid=937393&group_id=93438&atid=604306; actually that will be a separate "adjust colors" dialog)

* add master opacity from object props (DONE), add fill opacity/stroke opacity sliders common to all fill/stroke types (gradients, patterns, color)

* maybe separate it into Color and Stroke dialogs

* change gradient display/controls to match those of the toolbar!

---------

A new "transform with selection" toggle: font (see FontKerning, toggle between [0 or 1, depending on optimize/preserve] and 2).

----------
Filter to import Corel Draw Files and Adobe Illustrator Files
(very important at my opinion)

:Probabbly to dificult to do well, just export to svg

FeatureNotePad

2005-03-30T22:27:51Z

Kwixson: seven new little things

Here is a notepad for quickly noting down good ideas (newest first please). If you're bored, feel free to write these as full feature requests and add to the tracker, or as separate Wiki pages.

FeatureNotePadArchive (dupes, already implemented ideas, those with acceptable workarounds, those that cannot be implemented at all)

kwixson writes:

Some little ideas that I haven't had time to fully spec yet, but I don't want to forget...

* Cursor icons for Pen, Pencil and Calligraphy tools
* Visual cues for Pen tool cursor in append mode, and other modes (i.e., +, -, ^, etc.)
* Visual cue for selected groups (i.e., solid marquee instead of dashed)
* Terminiate continuous draw mode when a path is closed in append mode
* Undo in draw mode removes last node, not the entire path, same as backspace key
* Set the ruler 0, 0 coordinates by dragging a cross out of the rulers' corner / double click to set precisely, according to 0,0 index of page dimensions.
* Make space bar held down transform cursor to Selector tool until spacebar is released, with any tool except Text.

<HR>

Björn writes:
1.) _Pressure sensitivity_
- Everybody else got it (Xara, Illustrator, even Gimp) and it is almost necessary for professional drawing.

2.) Sub-pixel resolution in drawing, is possible with XInput i think?
- Again, improves drawing by hand
3.) Smooth drawing, smooth over small irrelegularities from mouse/drawing board
- Same as all of the above, improves drawing, makes it a whole lot more fun! :)

It doesn't seem so hard to implement but it would make a huge diffrence!

Aside from that, I love where Inkscape is going, the interface is great to work with and it just keeps getting better!
I find myself building from CVS so I dont't miss out.

GREAT WORK GUYS! :)
<HR>

Ilja writes:

1.) Extrusion of Objects
2.) Dropshadow, kind of a clone - a bit fuzzy and little shifted behind

<HR>

Daddio writes: 
A couple of Small features that would help those of us a lot that like to draw a basic shape and then tweak it in the xml editor: 
1) the ablility to convert the SVG coordinates in a path to and fromrelative coordinates (small case m's l's c's a's) except perhaps the initial M 
2) the ability to truncate (or even better, round) the SVG coordinates to 1, 2 or zero (etc) decimal places. 
3) Set a decimal place limit so the generated SVG will stay within that limit. I don't usually need or want 0.0006 precision! 

fantasai seconds these and suggests a way of saving as Plain SVG with metadata, since
things like the title, author, and license terms -- which are applicable to published images but not so
much to in-process drafts -- shouldn't be thrown out with the "last used zoom level" data, which are just
junk in a publication-ready image.

-----

Slapo writes:

it would be nice to have features like obejct shadows, round corners and square gradient in Sodipodi. I think those are the things I am missing in it and other users would appreciate as well. If you need some SVG code examples, I'll e-mail it to you.

-------------------------

njh writes:

Orthogonal lines best-fit to a pen path would be useful for quickly sketching diagrams.

-------------------------
-Scribus is a DTP coded in C++ (but with Qt). it can work with Python Script.
May be have a look at this could help doing the same in Inkscape.
-If the later can be done, this will help eventually include some of good
Sketch
(written in Python) possibilities in Inkscape.
- Also Scribus has good NodeTool, and good text tool featuring textbox (frame)
or text on a path.

cheers
Cédric

-------------------------
plugins for ways to warp and bend things
-------------------------

What I can expect from this project is a better integration with gnome-office.
I dream for a really integrated gnome-office with a lot of code sharing via libraries.
For example, a vectorial drawing soft has lot of things in common with glabels, AbiShow, etc ...
We have a lot to learn from Koffice in this respect.

So please create a fully capable GtkVectDraw library !
-------------------------
''Emphasis on a small core plus modular extensions for features (a la Mozilla Firebird)''

But *please* maintain a plugin-pack, and ship it with Inkscape. The way Firebird works sucks. Firebird has poor tab-implementation, and there are >10 extensions that try to improve it, while only 1 good version is needed. The list with extensions is chaos, don't let it be so with Inkscape...

-------------------------
If you want to add new features, think about layers a la gimp. Sketch uses them and it's very convenient.

: In a vector drawing program, what would be the actual difference between a "layer" and a "group"? -- kaj

Ease of use mostly. If you have a complicated drawing, layers are very usefull to organize your work, move them up or down, make them invisible, apply layer transformations, etcetera. Groups could be used in theory to make a Gimp-like layer toolbox, but its not very practical.

If, for example, you have an image with layers and want to save it to SVG, you just export it whilst flattening the layers, just like you export a PNG from the Gimp today.

I'm I alone in thinking that a Vectorbased drawing program, with the interface built like the Gimp 1.3 series, would be very wanted and usefull? Similar to how Adobe's Photoshop and Illustrator have a similar GUI concept?
-- anonymous

: I disagree... all they need is a little widget that shows all the groups as a tree of layers. And if you group, two groups, : you'd create a new layer, with the two original groups/layers as a child of the new layer....
: voila, best of all worlds.
This behaviour of hierarchycal tree of objects, calling the highest hierarchycal level the 'layers' level, and the other hierarchical levels called 'groups' or 'subgroups'. It would be good some layer/group operations like changing the visibility of the hole layer/group, being capable of selecting on subelement, working with the hole layer or with a group or with an element. With all these behaviour and a hierarchical tree to work with it, it would resemble the Adobe Illustrator object model that (I think) is the most powerfull and flexible one.

I asked a very similar question about why use layers to the Dia project and here is one of the responses

The ability to be able to easily hide, move and remove layers is certainly a factor that could be mitigated by a more powerful tree view of the document but at the very least there are users who find it convenient so no vector program should remove Layers without adding a bettter alternative

http://www.mail-archive.com/dia-list@gnome.org/msg05072.html

---------------

The below is in regards to Sodipodi 0.32:

2. The XML viewer doesn't appear to allow selecting multiple items.
Often times I want to makes changes to many items at once and sometimes
I'll be working in the XML viewer. Since this was the only way I could
figure out how to select individual items in a group it seems completely
impossible to select several items in a group.

Some notes on feel:

4. The mouse event system feels a bit wonky. For example, if I take a
fairly complex design which can be a little bit sluggish when editing and
make adjustments to a path node the cursor doesn't release as soon as I
let go of the mouse button. So when I'm working quickly what happens is I
tweak a node, let go of the mouse button, then move the mouse and it keeps
adjusting the node even though I'm not holding the button. This slows me
down considerably because I have to wait after letting go of the mouse
button each time. It also does this when scrolling the main view using
the middle mouse button. I'll scroll the view over, let go of the mouse
button, then when I move the mouse the view still scrolls for a second or
two. Very annoying. :)

Feature "wants":

9. More powerful selection commands. Some examples (from Illustrator):

Select by fill color
Select by same stroke and fill
etc...

11. More and user defined hot-keys. Can I set any command/mode to a
hot-key?

-------------------------
I noticed that gimp does a cool hack today, they use an image thumbnail of the drawing as the window manager icon for the drawing window, you should do that with inkscape too
and it is actually usefull, consider I have fix inkscape windows with different flags, with this hack I will be able to identify each window in the tasklist and don't have to search so much

Also, I really wish inkscape where session aware like gedit, so that when I asks nautilus to open a new image it does so in the existing inkscape session instead of starting a new instance

http://bugzilla.gnome.org/show_bug.cgi?id=107668 - the discussion in that bug report might be of interest to you guys too. the participants are Dom (librsvg), Owen and the Gimp guys

-- Uraeus

------

when given a nonexisting file name on the command line, create that file (with an error report too)

------

Ability to export to uncompressed TIFF.

------

Add multi-page support, default layouts for all pages, etc.

------

Ability to import Dia objects.
Restricted Inkscape mode to work like Dia. There's nothing that Dia can do that is not possible to
do in Inkscape.

------

Export .eps. Enough said.

------

However you gave me an idea: I can store past viewport not only before I do zoom, but also after that; later, when a next zoom is started, I will compare the current viewport with the last stored and, if it's the same, not store it. This way I will be adding one viewport record if there was no panning between zooms and two records if there was panning, these records storing the first and last viewports at this zoom. I think it will be a bit more convenient this way.

:Well, what I had in mind is that viewport undo steps would be separated by editing operations -- so e.g. consecutive pans/zooms with no edits in between them would be coalesced into a single zoom undo step.

-------

Exporting vectors as swf files. While this is probably not on the top of everyone's wishlist, it would make inkscape the tool of choice for editing shapes for flash, which is an area where the flash editor does a horrible job. Flash import capabilities for vectors are also very limited, making AI a requirement in order to convert between flash and svg.

Given that svg is going to be replacing flash very (very) soon, a flash import capability would also make life easier for a lot of people...

Ming library: [[http://ming.sourceforge.net/]]
Svg2Swf python script (uses Ming): [[http://www.eskimo.com/~robla/svg2swf/]]

-------

Add support for mouse gestures.
I have used the Mentor Graphics CAD tools for editing
schematics and PCB layouts, and the built-in support for mouse
gesture has helped the productivity a lot. Granted CAD drawing
is not exactly vector drawing, but it is not too far apart.
There is a library libstroke that provides gestures support,
but I don't have any idea how usable that would be for inkscape.

-------

Find dialog: collapsable panes: Size & Position (X, Y, W, H; tolerance), Attribute (Name, Value). Pasting in the id, style, size/position fields (add buttons for pasting?) pastes the id, style, size/position of the object on clipboard. Add a regexp checkbox, when it's on matches are always exact but with a regexp matcher. Checkboxes: limit search to selection, (later) to current layer, possibly in (in)visible or (in)sensitive only.

-------

Plan for fill&stroke:

First:

* remove "get from dropper" (always on, via SetColorSignal) (DONE, no signal necessary, just picks new color from selection)

* remove "mode", make global preference "Store colors as rgb/cmyk" (DONE, it's not about storing color actually, so just removed)

* remove redundant color picker selector (DONE)

* transientize, remember size&position, remove Close in the color selector window from Doc props; find if there are others like it (DONE)

* Make evenodd switch a pair of toggle buttons inside colorselector

Then:

* remove "apply to"; make all shapes use current color, but on prefs page for each tool, make a switch between "use current" (default on for shapes) or "use its own style" (default on for pens & text), plus a button "take style from the selection". (DONE)

* enable partial color settings (bug http://sourceforge.net/tracker/index.php?func=detail&aid=937393&group_id=93438&atid=604306; actually that will be a separate "adjust colors" dialog)

* add master opacity from object props (DONE), add fill opacity/stroke opacity sliders common to all fill/stroke types (gradients, patterns, color)

* maybe separate it into Color and Stroke dialogs

* change gradient display/controls to match those of the toolbar!

---------

A new "transform with selection" toggle: font (see FontKerning, toggle between [0 or 1, depending on optimize/preserve] and 2).

----------
Filter to import Corel Draw Files and Adobe Illustrator Files
(very important at my opinion)

:Probabbly to dificult to do well, just export to svg

IllustratorUsers

2005-03-09T08:39:47Z

Kwixson: agreement to take discussion to dev and user list.

::{''Buliabyak, dude. I've spent hours and hours working to make a really good document from what was an unfinished page that hadn't been touched in over six months, and I know what I'm doing. Why you messing with me so bad? I appreciate your input, but maybe this isn't the best way to discuss our differences. Please email me at the address I have listed on the UserManual documentation page under ''People'' and we can work together and come up with something we can both be happy with. Thx. -kw''}

::I think we can both benefit from a wider discussion, not just talking to each other. What if we both post to the devel mailing list (and maybe user too) describing our premises and disagreements, and see what others will say. --bb

::I'd prefer for us to come to a concensus first and then reopen the document to discussion and revision by the community, but I'm the new kid on the block, so ... umm ... Guess this means I need to sign up for the dev list. -kw

With Inkscape an artist can create most of the same illustrations that can be made with Adobe Illustrator. However, many of the functions and tools that the two applications share are used in different ways.

== Terminology ==

*'''Anchor Points''': in Inkscape, anchor points are known as "Nodes"
*'''Palettes''': in Inkscape, "palettes" are called "dialogs", such as the Fill and Stroke dialog.
*'''Marquee''': this is called "the rubberband" when selecting
*'''Tools''': see [AdobeToolMap Adobe Tool Map] for complete tool equivalency reference.

== Things Illustrator can do that Inkscape can't: ==

* Gradient mesh (planned for future release via multiple transparent gradient fills)
* Multiple strokes and fills for one object
* Filters & effects (guassian blur, etc.)
* Select line segments by clicking on the segment
* Blend objects
* Color management for print (ICC Profiles, etc.)
* PMS color
* Save swatches
* Wireframe mode
* Natively work with graphs based on data
* Free transform and perspective transform

== Things Inkscape can do that Illustrator can't: ==

* Edit SVG source directly

{Buliabyak, please remove these below after you've read, my comments. Thx!}

* Clones, Tile clones (''Yes it can. Illustrator calls cloned objects Symbols. Symbols can be modified and all instances of the symbol will be changed. Illustrator actually does this better than Inkscape because of the multitude of tools and uses for symbols in Illustrator, and the availability of a symbol library.'')
::I don't see symbols in AI9. Can you create a linked copy from the selected object? Can you make it move in parallel when you move the original? Can you edit the original right on canvas and have its clones update? If not, it's not the same, and this item should stay. --bb
::Yes. In CS (AI10) all this is can be done with symbols, according to the docs (except that there's a two step process to updating symbol instances.) I haven't actually tested it, and it sounds harder in AI than it is in IS, but it's still roughly functionally equivalent. -kw
* Keys to move/rotate/scale by screen pixels (''Plain ol' arrow keys navigate the document in Illustrator, and the step and units can be set in preferences. It can't be reduced to screen pixels, just document pixels, but the difference is too insignificant to mention here. Otherwise, there is a bunch of similarly minor features to be added to the above list for Illustrator.'')
::Have you read Jimmac's review of Inkscape? He's an old AI user, and he wrote that screen-pixel-size transformations in Inkscape "absolutely rock". It was one of the things that won him over. Besides I'm speaking about rotates and scales too, while AI can only do moves. So this IS important. Please do not judge from your AI perspective only. As for adding minor features of AI, please do! What seems minor to you may be major for some other user. I want this document to be complete -- bb
::This is not and cannot be full documentation of AI and IS and every little difference between them. The resulting document, were it otherwise, would be massive, unwieldy and unread. The rest of IS's features will be documented in the documentation, not this one page. AI has already documented all of their features in their docs. Anyone interested in a play by play can pull up the two sets of docs side by side and go to it. This document ''must'' remain limited to just the highlights, and take a macro view at IS ''from an AI POV''. So, yes, there is some editorial judgement rightly involved. And I'm not just basing what I've chosen to include simply on my own experience. I've presented Inkscape in a number of venues, including a local professional association of graphic designers and a college class, and I'm hitting the bases they defined in those presentations with their questions.
* Richer shape controls (''This is intended to be a boolean feature comparison, not a qualitative one. Again, if we go there then there's a lot to add to the above list for Illustrator, and this shouldn't be a "which program is better" kind of document, don't you think?'')
::OK, I agree that this item needs to be detailed. There are many advantages to Inkscape shapes that can be listed. And seeing that this document is for users who are comparing two programs, I don't see why it cannot be a detailed objective comparison listing _everything_. Please add as much as you can for AI and I will do the same for Inkscape. BTW you may want to look at the Xara_X page in this wiki too, which I'm working on. --bb
::Again, we can't go into '''all''' the features of both programs, or even all of our favorites, or else this document will get bogged down. If you're really that interested in creating such a document then you're working on a different project than I am, you're working on a book about Inkscape for Illustrator users and not what amounts to an overview, because it would just about take a book to explain it all. Let's leave the "What X program can do that Y program can't" sections strictly to those large things that the other program can't do in any way shape or form, and only those things that AI users will care about (since that is who this particular page is written for, after all.) In fact, I wouldn't mind dropping the "Things That Inkscape Can Do..." section altogether, since there's really (with all due respect to Jimmac) nothing that die hard AI professionals are going to care about. -kw

== Getting Things Done In Inkscape ==

=== Hand Tool : Navigating the Canvas ===

Instead of using the Spacebar for panning around a document, in Inkscape an artist can press and hold the middle mouse button (or mouse wheel) and drag the canvas in any direction. {''This doesn't work for me. -kw Are you pressing the mouse wheel (which is usually the same as middle button) or just rotating it? If still does not work, please file a bug. --bb I'm using a three button mouse that doesn't have a scroll wheel. It's not a bug so much as it is a feature request, I would guess. In any event, for people with three button mice, it just doesn't work like you describe. --kw''} Alternatively, rotate mouse wheel to pan vertically, rotate with shift to pan horizontally. In Inkscape, the artist can also pan around the canvas by holding the Ctrl key and pressing the arrow keys. Holding the arrow key speeds up the pan in that direction.

=== Zooming : Plus and Minus Keys ===

Instead of holding down the Ctrl key and pressing + or - to zoom the canvas, in Inkscape the artist simply presses the + or - key to zoom.

=== Selecting : Selector and Nodes Tool ===

In order to select objects with the rubberband in Inkscape, an artist must completely select the entire area of the object, not just select over part of it, to include it in the selection. Individual nodes of paths can be selected with the Node tool rubberband, the same as in Illustrator; however the object must be selected first, and only the nodes from one object (which may combine several subpaths) can be selected. Unlike Illustrator, nodes from multiple uncombined objects cannot be selected at the same time.

=== Group Select : Selector ===

In Inkscape there is no special group select tool. To select an individual object in a group of objects, hold the Ctrl key and click on the object with the Selector. Or you can right-click the group and do "Enter group" after which objects in the group can be selected as if they are not grouped.

=== Fill & Stroke : Fill and Stroke Window ===

Since fill and stroke are not a tool, they do no appear on the Toolbox, as is the case in Adobe Illustrator. Instead there is a Fill and Stroke window, activated through the Fill and Stroke icon on the Commands bar, or through the Menu, or by Ctrl+Shift+F.

=== Styles : Cut 'N Paste ===

There's no palette of stored styles yet. However you can copy style from one object to another: select the source object, do Edit > Copy (Ctrl+C), select the destination object, do Edit > Paste Style (Ctrl+Shift+V). These copied styles are not linked to the original as they are in Illustrator.

=== Symbols : Cloning ===

Inkscape is capable of creating "clones" of objects, which are similar to Illustrator's Symbols. When you edit the original, the changes are propagated to all of its clones. Clones can be transformed, but their nodes cannot be edited. Clones can themselves be cloned. You can use the Edit > Tile clones command to create patterns and arrangements of clones.
::{''The keyboard shortcuts and all the various ways to accomplish a given task will be documented in the appropriate places in the documentation. It is not necessary, or desirable, to document them here. I want to go through this document later, after it has settled down some, and reduce each solution to one method, without the shortcuts, and leave the shortcuts and whatnot to the pages of the documentation that detail that specific tool or feature. --kw''}

=== Proportional Scaling and Center Point : Shift and Control Keys ===

In Inkscape, the keys to maintain proportions while scaling, and to center on point are reversed. To scale objects proportionally in Inkscape, press and hold the Ctrl key, and to use the center point for scaling, hold the Shift key.

=== Rotate & Skew : The Second Click ===

Inkscape does not have special skew or rotate tools. Instead, with the Selector tool, click on an object to select it, then click on it again to change the handles to Rotate and Skew handles. Dragging the corner handles will rotate and dragging the middle handles will skew.

=== Palettes ===

Instead of palettes, Inkscape has dialogs that can be called up by various commands through which the artist communicates with the program. Dialogs function similarly to palettes. (In Windows, they do not stay on top of the Document window; this is a known problem.) You can toggle visibility of all active dialogs with F12 key.
::These are traditionally called dialogs. I don't see a reason to rename them. Just "windows" is too vague. --bb
::You're going to have to duke this out with Cedric (the head documentor guy) et al. I got it from him, the developers I was chatting with on IRC the other night didn't have a problem with it as far as I know, and it seems to make sense. A dialog requires a response before the command can continue--it's having a dialog (two way interaction) with the user. Everyting else ''is'' technically just a window. It's not vague if they have a name, like the Document Preferences window. How is that any more vague than the Document Preferences dialog. Sounds like a stylistic bias. I frankly don't care, as long as it's consistent and I was simply going with what had already been established. See the style guide for more detials. --kw

=== Working with Nodes (Anchor Points) and Paths ===

{''Note: this section was very carefully constructed to make the most sense to long time users of Illustrator. It is aimed at acclimatizing a recent convert as gently as possible while at the same time remaining honest about Inkscape's limitations with respect to node editing as compared to Illustrator. Due to the relative importance of node editing, please do not hack and slash this section; edit with care.''}
::I have no problem with making sense for AI users, but I have a problem with incorrect and vague statements. What is "responsive" for example? Please be specific. Deselecting is done by many ways, but NOT by rubberband. This section applies to paths, not shapes, and the tool is Node tool, not Nodes (use the correct terminology please). What do you mean by "you must click only on nodes"? Will it break if you won't? No. etc, etc. --bb
::For someone who uses AI professionally day after day, AI is more "responsive" by any objective measure. Again, this is legacy text that I left in place because it makes sense to AI users. In AI you can add a node, convert a node from a smooth to a corner and back again, go back and tack on another node (or fifty), edit the node handles, add some more nodes, and so on, all without moving the cursor away from the path (to click on a command icon, or select another tool). This makes creating paths in Illustrator more responsive. In actual fact it is perhaps more appropriately called "more context sensitive." You can replace "responsive" with "context sensitive" if you want, but it doesn't help reader comprehension, so why do it? You're right to correct my mistake at using "Nodes" instead of "Node", but I've used "Node" most of the time so it's obviously just a mistake. I wrote that section of the Terminology reference, so please tone it down a touch.

Editing paths post drawing is done with the Node tool, N key. Selecting nodes is done by clicking on them, by Tab/Shift+Tab keys, or by the rubberband around several nodes. To deselect nodes, press Esc or click in an empty space. While in the node tool, you can also select a different object by clicking on it, after which its nodes become selectable.

An artist will need to continue a line segment by creating two paths distinctly. When the second path has been created, select both paths and "Combine" them Control+K. Then edit nodes in the newly combined shape and attach those nodes to each other. Joining nodes is a two step process. First, join the nodes, then select whether or not the join should be a corner, or a smooth curve.
::This paragraph is very strange. Why go to all this length if you can duplicate nodes in Node tool, as well as continue the path or create new subpaths in Pen tool, all without doing any combining and joining? Please explain better what you're trying to achieve by this process. --bb
::This paragraph is legacy text from the original author, by the way, but I understood why he/she wrote it that way...becaue in AI it is common to start a path by putting down a few anchor points, go back and edit them a little, then pick back up where the path left off and continue to add a few (or a dozen) more anchor points, go back and edit them a bit, and so on until the complete path for the shape is built. In AI when you hover the pen tool over the end anchor point of an open path and click the anchor point, AI knows you are continuing the same path. This is the work flow that AI users are used to. Duplicating a node a dozen or a hundred times in order to continue a path is not productive. It is much faster, and more like the workflow that AI users are already used to, to simply start a new path segment near the end of the previous, and go back and join them later. Groovy? In short, this paragraph makes sense to people used to using AI. --kw

Converting a straight node to a curve node is not as intuitive in Inkscape as it is in Illustrator. To convert a straight node to a curve, the line segments on either side must be converted. To select a line segment, select one node with the Node tool, then Shift+Click the connecting node so that both ends of the segment are selected. Then click the "Make selected segments curves" conversion command. This procedure adds Node Vector Handles (or simply handles) to both nodes on the line segment. Repeat this process with the line segment on the other side of the node being converted to give it handles on both sides. The node can then be converted to corner, smooth or symmetrical as needed. The nodes on either side will have handles, and they cannot be converted to straight nodes again, since only line segments can be converted, but placing the handle on the node will work to emulate straight node behavior.
::Again a very strange advice. In my version I have described how to easily convert segments from curve to straight (real straight, not "emulated") and back. What you describe is 10 times more difficult and sounds like a mess. Please read my version carefully and add to it if you have something to add, or propose a different version. This one won't do. --bb
::In Illustrator you can convert a single node without affecting the nodes on either side in any way. In IS, you can't. The way node conversion is done in IS ''is'' hack, looking at it as an AI user does. Sorry, just the truth. Again, what I'm describing here is what an AI user should do to in order do something in IS that they do in AI, from an AI POV. Again, this paragraph is written based on user feedback, not just some rabbit I'm pulling out of my own hat. You can rest assured that the description of converting nodes (it's actually converting line segments) won't be like this on the page of the actual docs that talks about that feature. It's just the way it needs to be for this document, which is written for AI users trying IS, not IS users who happen to get their hands on AI. --kw

The Node tool currently has some limitations; notably, you can only drag nodes, not path fragments between nodes; and you can only add new nodes over the old ones or in the middle between them, instead of an arbitrary point on path.

==== Working with nodes in Inkscape has several distinct advantages over Illustrator: ====
# The node appearance changes according to the kind of node it is. When a corner node is converted to a smooth node, it changes from a diamond shape to a square. Thus, without a particular node selected it is still possible to tell what kind of node it is.
# Inkscape can restrain node movement to the handle vector or to the adjacent straight line segment (dragging node with Ctrl+Alt).
# Inkscape can lock the handle length (dragging handle with Alt).
# You can move nodes, rotate handles, scale handles, and move selection from one node to the next using keyboard shortcuts. For moves, scales, and rotates, use Alt to move by one screen pixel.
::See above for why I restored this. Keyboard control is the cornerstone of Inkscape usability. If AI users are not used to it, they need to be taught about it because it matters. --bb
::I understand, but we're not documenting shortcuts on this page. Nor are we proselytizing for IS directly. Nor are we teaching AI users how to use IS in its full glory. We are (or should be,) simply making a transition from AI to IS easier for the user, in the first few moments of using the program. These other fine features you want to include are dandy indeed, and when an AI users happens across them in the docs I'm sure they'll go "Oh, neat!" but it's not our job here to cover things in that detail. I would agree to a more emphatically worded general note at the begining of the doc that says something to the effect of "The key to productivity in Inkscape is use of the keyboard shortcuts." I agree that that's a strength of IS. I don't agree that it's necessary for this page that we mention every shortcut and every cool feature. Our scope is very narrow. --kw

=== Editing Shapes ===

::In this section you again fail to take a wider perspective. AI does not seem to have any distinction between path and shapes, but this is NOT an advantage. This is a big problem with AI. We must explain to users why Inkscape treats shapes differently, and why this is an advantage. Instead you only tell them how to quickly degrade higher level abstractions (shapes) to low level (paths), seemingly implying that the fact that you can't edit nodes in shapes is some king of a "problem" that needs to be "fixed" asap by Shift+Ctrl+C. No it's NOT a problem. I restored my version --bb
::This isn't about a wider perspective, it's a very narrow one: What do AI users care about when they're taking a look at Inkscape for the first time? Period. I appreciate the fact that you are so passionate about the virtues of Inkscape, I really am. But the best thing you can do to convince AI users to use IS is to tell them how to do what they do every day in AI in IS and leave it at that. My version is a direct response to multiple questions from actual AI users. I've sat them down in front of IS and watched them try to take the Node tool to a square they just created and get frustrated when it didn't work. To them it ''is'' a problem. They'll learn the virtues you want to express with your version eventually, but only if they don't have so much frustration at first that they give up and go back to AI. In a sense I'm taking a wider perspective than you are, because I'm recognizing that there are other pages of documentation, pages where some of this stuff you want to add is better put, and I'm looking at documentation as a whole. I'm putting it back the way I had it. -kw

The nodes of basic shapes created with the shapes tools (i.e., Rectangle, Ellipse, Spiral) can not be immediately edited. Before editing nodes of a shape created with the shape tool, it must first be converted to paths. Select the object with the Selector or Nodes tool, and then select Path>Object To Path (Shift+Ctrl+C) or if the Nodes Tool Controls bar is visible, click on the Object To Path command icon. Then the nodes on of the object can be edited normally.

=== Pathfinder ===

Inkscape calls Pathfinder operations "boolean operations" on paths.

=== Working with Layers ===

Inkscape has perfectly serviceable layers, although working with layers in Inkscape is not yet very convenient. Layers are located in the Status bar, with the lock and visibility toggle located beside it. An artist can select the layer from the spinbox, and then select its visibility and lock status. Previews are not shown, and art is moved from one layer to another by means of a key command (Shift+PgUp / Shift+PgDn.) Layers can nest, and you can enter a group making it a temporary layer.

=== Working with Text ===

==== Create Outlines ====

Converting a text object to outlines (i.e. to path) in Inkscape produces a single path object. If you want to manipulate each letter separately, you can break this path into subpaths (Path>Break Apart, Shift+Ctrl+K) and, for letters with holes, reselect parts of each letter and recombine them (Path>Combine, Ctrl+K) to fix the holes.

{''Note: the above selection describes a process frequently employed in AI to embed text in the document so that the document is no longer dependent on fonts being installed. "Text to outlines" is the actual AI wording, by the way. It's hack, but is routinely done in AI, so that's why it's written as it is. Please edit with care.''}
::I don't understand why you need to always do Break Apart and Combine. Simply converting text to outlines works fine in Inkscape without it. If you have to do this "hack" in AI, why are you saying Inkscape is "not very productive"??? It needs this hack ONLY in specific circumstances, as I explained. Restored. --bb
::Okay, you're right. I had been playing around with it (because the process doesn't seem to be documented anywhere as far as I could tell,) and it seemed like the first step wasn't doing the trick. It was just IS was being slower than I expected and I thought you had to do the break apart step too, because I was trying different things and it worked when I did that and then combine again. You're right. It only takes that first step, and that's okay.

==== Text Boxes ====

While putting text in shapes is possible in Inkscape, it is not yet well supported. See documentation for Flow Text into Shape for more information.

==== Guides ====

Guides can be hidden in Inkscape with the Shift+| key combination. The | symbol is called a pipe and is generally paired with the backslash character on the keyboard. Ctrl+; does not do anything in Inkscape. A guide cannot be selected by drawing a rubberband through it, as is done in Illustrator. Rather, to move or delete a guide the artist must use the Selector to grab the guide and move it to another location or to the ruler. Guides cannot be locked, and guides are global to the layers instead of bound to individual layers as they are in Illustrator. Double clicking a guide will open a dialog where you can set the guide position precisely.

IllustratorUsers

2005-03-09T06:14:20Z

Kwixson: Mostly discussion responses and notes

::{''Buliabyak, dude. I've spent hours and hours working to make a really good document from what was an unfinished page that hadn't been touched in over six months, and I know what I'm doing. Why you messing with me so bad? I appreciate your input, but maybe this isn't the best way to discuss our differences. Please email me at the address I have listed on the UserManual documentation page under ''People'' and we can work together and come up with something we can both be happy with. Thx. -kw''}

With Inkscape an artist can create most of the same illustrations that can be made with Adobe Illustrator. However, many of the functions and tools that the two applications share are used in different ways.

== Terminology ==

*'''Anchor Points''': in Inkscape, anchor points are known as "Nodes"
*'''Palettes''': in Inkscape, "palettes" are called "dialogs", such as the Fill and Stroke dialog.
*'''Marquee''': this is called "the rubberband" when selecting
*'''Tools''': see [AdobeToolMap Adobe Tool Map] for complete tool equivalency reference.

== Things Illustrator can do that Inkscape can't: ==

* Gradient mesh (planned for future release via multiple transparent gradient fills)
* Multiple strokes and fills for one object
* Filters & effects (guassian blur, etc.)
* Select line segments by clicking on the segment
* Blend objects
* Color management for print (ICC Profiles, etc.)
* PMS color
* Save swatches
* Wireframe mode
* Natively work with graphs based on data
* Free transform and perspective transform

== Things Inkscape can do that Illustrator can't: ==

* Edit SVG source directly

{Buliabyak, please remove these below after you've read, my comments. Thx!}

* Clones, Tile clones (''Yes it can. Illustrator calls cloned objects Symbols. Symbols can be modified and all instances of the symbol will be changed. Illustrator actually does this better than Inkscape because of the multitude of tools and uses for symbols in Illustrator, and the availability of a symbol library.'')
::I don't see symbols in AI9. Can you create a linked copy from the selected object? Can you make it move in parallel when you move the original? Can you edit the original right on canvas and have its clones update? If not, it's not the same, and this item should stay. --bb
::Yes. In CS (AI10) all this is can be done with symbols, according to the docs (except that there's a two step process to updating symbol instances.) I haven't actually tested it, and it sounds harder in AI than it is in IS, but it's still roughly functionally equivalent. -kw
* Keys to move/rotate/scale by screen pixels (''Plain ol' arrow keys navigate the document in Illustrator, and the step and units can be set in preferences. It can't be reduced to screen pixels, just document pixels, but the difference is too insignificant to mention here. Otherwise, there is a bunch of similarly minor features to be added to the above list for Illustrator.'')
::Have you read Jimmac's review of Inkscape? He's an old AI user, and he wrote that screen-pixel-size transformations in Inkscape "absolutely rock". It was one of the things that won him over. Besides I'm speaking about rotates and scales too, while AI can only do moves. So this IS important. Please do not judge from your AI perspective only. As for adding minor features of AI, please do! What seems minor to you may be major for some other user. I want this document to be complete -- bb
::This is not and cannot be full documentation of AI and IS and every little difference between them. The resulting document, were it otherwise, would be massive, unwieldy and unread. The rest of IS's features will be documented in the documentation, not this one page. AI has already documented all of their features in their docs. Anyone interested in a play by play can pull up the two sets of docs side by side and go to it. This document ''must'' remain limited to just the highlights, and take a macro view at IS ''from an AI POV''. So, yes, there is some editorial judgement rightly involved. And I'm not just basing what I've chosen to include simply on my own experience. I've presented Inkscape in a number of venues, including a local professional association of graphic designers and a college class, and I'm hitting the bases they defined in those presentations with their questions.
* Richer shape controls (''This is intended to be a boolean feature comparison, not a qualitative one. Again, if we go there then there's a lot to add to the above list for Illustrator, and this shouldn't be a "which program is better" kind of document, don't you think?'')
::OK, I agree that this item needs to be detailed. There are many advantages to Inkscape shapes that can be listed. And seeing that this document is for users who are comparing two programs, I don't see why it cannot be a detailed objective comparison listing _everything_. Please add as much as you can for AI and I will do the same for Inkscape. BTW you may want to look at the Xara_X page in this wiki too, which I'm working on. --bb
::Again, we can't go into '''all''' the features of both programs, or even all of our favorites, or else this document will get bogged down. If you're really that interested in creating such a document then you're working on a different project than I am, you're working on a book about Inkscape for Illustrator users and not what amounts to an overview, because it would just about take a book to explain it all. Let's leave the "What X program can do that Y program can't" sections strictly to those large things that the other program can't do in any way shape or form, and only those things that AI users will care about (since that is who this particular page is written for, after all.) In fact, I wouldn't mind dropping the "Things That Inkscape Can Do..." section altogether, since there's really (with all due respect to Jimmac) nothing that die hard AI professionals are going to care about. -kw

== Getting Things Done In Inkscape ==

=== Hand Tool : Navigating the Canvas ===

Instead of using the Spacebar for panning around a document, in Inkscape an artist can press and hold the middle mouse button (or mouse wheel) and drag the canvas in any direction. {''This doesn't work for me. -kw Are you pressing the mouse wheel (which is usually the same as middle button) or just rotating it? If still does not work, please file a bug. --bb I'm using a three button mouse that doesn't have a scroll wheel. It's not a bug so much as it is a feature request, I would guess. In any event, for people with three button mice, it just doesn't work like you describe. --kw''} Alternatively, rotate mouse wheel to pan vertically, rotate with shift to pan horizontally. In Inkscape, the artist can also pan around the canvas by holding the Ctrl key and pressing the arrow keys. Holding the arrow key speeds up the pan in that direction.

=== Zooming : Plus and Minus Keys ===

Instead of holding down the Ctrl key and pressing + or - to zoom the canvas, in Inkscape the artist simply presses the + or - key to zoom.

=== Selecting : Selector and Nodes Tool ===

In order to select objects with the rubberband in Inkscape, an artist must completely select the entire area of the object, not just select over part of it, to include it in the selection. Individual nodes of paths can be selected with the Node tool rubberband, the same as in Illustrator; however the object must be selected first, and only the nodes from one object (which may combine several subpaths) can be selected. Unlike Illustrator, nodes from multiple uncombined objects cannot be selected at the same time.

=== Group Select : Selector ===

In Inkscape there is no special group select tool. To select an individual object in a group of objects, hold the Ctrl key and click on the object with the Selector. Or you can right-click the group and do "Enter group" after which objects in the group can be selected as if they are not grouped.

=== Fill & Stroke : Fill and Stroke Window ===

Since fill and stroke are not a tool, they do no appear on the Toolbox, as is the case in Adobe Illustrator. Instead there is a Fill and Stroke window, activated through the Fill and Stroke icon on the Commands bar, or through the Menu, or by Ctrl+Shift+F.

=== Styles : Cut 'N Paste ===

There's no palette of stored styles yet. However you can copy style from one object to another: select the source object, do Edit > Copy (Ctrl+C), select the destination object, do Edit > Paste Style (Ctrl+Shift+V). These copied styles are not linked to the original as they are in Illustrator.

=== Symbols : Cloning ===

Inkscape is capable of creating "clones" of objects, which are similar to Illustrator's Symbols. When you edit the original, the changes are propagated to all of its clones. Clones can be transformed, but their nodes cannot be edited. Clones can themselves be cloned. You can use the Edit > Tile clones command to create patterns and arrangements of clones.
::{''The keyboard shortcuts and all the various ways to accomplish a given task will be documented in the appropriate places in the documentation. It is not necessary, or desirable, to document them here. I want to go through this document later, after it has settled down some, and reduce each solution to one method, without the shortcuts, and leave the shortcuts and whatnot to the pages of the documentation that detail that specific tool or feature. --kw''}

=== Proportional Scaling and Center Point : Shift and Control Keys ===

In Inkscape, the keys to maintain proportions while scaling, and to center on point are reversed. To scale objects proportionally in Inkscape, press and hold the Ctrl key, and to use the center point for scaling, hold the Shift key.

=== Rotate & Skew : The Second Click ===

Inkscape does not have special skew or rotate tools. Instead, with the Selector tool, click on an object to select it, then click on it again to change the handles to Rotate and Skew handles. Dragging the corner handles will rotate and dragging the middle handles will skew.

=== Palettes ===

Instead of palettes, Inkscape has dialogs that can be called up by various commands through which the artist communicates with the program. Dialogs function similarly to palettes. (In Windows, they do not stay on top of the Document window; this is a known problem.) You can toggle visibility of all active dialogs with F12 key.
::These are traditionally called dialogs. I don't see a reason to rename them. Just "windows" is too vague. --bb
::You're going to have to duke this out with Cedric (the head documentor guy) et al. I got it from him, the developers I was chatting with on IRC the other night didn't have a problem with it as far as I know, and it seems to make sense. A dialog requires a response before the command can continue--it's having a dialog (two way interaction) with the user. Everyting else ''is'' technically just a window. It's not vague if they have a name, like the Document Preferences window. How is that any more vague than the Document Preferences dialog. Sounds like a stylistic bias. I frankly don't care, as long as it's consistent and I was simply going with what had already been established. See the style guide for more detials. --kw

=== Working with Nodes (Anchor Points) and Paths ===

{''Note: this section was very carefully constructed to make the most sense to long time users of Illustrator. It is aimed at acclimatizing a recent convert as gently as possible while at the same time remaining honest about Inkscape's limitations with respect to node editing as compared to Illustrator. Due to the relative importance of node editing, please do not hack and slash this section; edit with care.''}
::I have no problem with making sense for AI users, but I have a problem with incorrect and vague statements. What is "responsive" for example? Please be specific. Deselecting is done by many ways, but NOT by rubberband. This section applies to paths, not shapes, and the tool is Node tool, not Nodes (use the correct terminology please). What do you mean by "you must click only on nodes"? Will it break if you won't? No. etc, etc. --bb
::For someone who uses AI professionally day after day, AI is more "responsive" by any objective measure. Again, this is legacy text that I left in place because it makes sense to AI users. In AI you can add a node, convert a node from a smooth to a corner and back again, go back and tack on another node (or fifty), edit the node handles, add some more nodes, and so on, all without moving the cursor away from the path (to click on a command icon, or select another tool). This makes creating paths in Illustrator more responsive. In actual fact it is perhaps more appropriately called "more context sensitive." You can replace "responsive" with "context sensitive" if you want, but it doesn't help reader comprehension, so why do it? You're right to correct my mistake at using "Nodes" instead of "Node", but I've used "Node" most of the time so it's obviously just a mistake. I wrote that section of the Terminology reference, so please tone it down a touch.

Editing paths post drawing is done with the Node tool, N key. Selecting nodes is done by clicking on them, by Tab/Shift+Tab keys, or by the rubberband around several nodes. To deselect nodes, press Esc or click in an empty space. While in the node tool, you can also select a different object by clicking on it, after which its nodes become selectable.

An artist will need to continue a line segment by creating two paths distinctly. When the second path has been created, select both paths and "Combine" them Control+K. Then edit nodes in the newly combined shape and attach those nodes to each other. Joining nodes is a two step process. First, join the nodes, then select whether or not the join should be a corner, or a smooth curve.
::This paragraph is very strange. Why go to all this length if you can duplicate nodes in Node tool, as well as continue the path or create new subpaths in Pen tool, all without doing any combining and joining? Please explain better what you're trying to achieve by this process. --bb
::This paragraph is legacy text from the original author, by the way, but I understood why he/she wrote it that way...becaue in AI it is common to start a path by putting down a few anchor points, go back and edit them a little, then pick back up where the path left off and continue to add a few (or a dozen) more anchor points, go back and edit them a bit, and so on until the complete path for the shape is built. In AI when you hover the pen tool over the end anchor point of an open path and click the anchor point, AI knows you are continuing the same path. This is the work flow that AI users are used to. Duplicating a node a dozen or a hundred times in order to continue a path is not productive. It is much faster, and more like the workflow that AI users are already used to, to simply start a new path segment near the end of the previous, and go back and join them later. Groovy? In short, this paragraph makes sense to people used to using AI. --kw

Converting a straight node to a curve node is not as intuitive in Inkscape as it is in Illustrator. To convert a straight node to a curve, the line segments on either side must be converted. To select a line segment, select one node with the Node tool, then Shift+Click the connecting node so that both ends of the segment are selected. Then click the "Make selected segments curves" conversion command. This procedure adds Node Vector Handles (or simply handles) to both nodes on the line segment. Repeat this process with the line segment on the other side of the node being converted to give it handles on both sides. The node can then be converted to corner, smooth or symmetrical as needed. The nodes on either side will have handles, and they cannot be converted to straight nodes again, since only line segments can be converted, but placing the handle on the node will work to emulate straight node behavior.
::Again a very strange advice. In my version I have described how to easily convert segments from curve to straight (real straight, not "emulated") and back. What you describe is 10 times more difficult and sounds like a mess. Please read my version carefully and add to it if you have something to add, or propose a different version. This one won't do. --bb
::In Illustrator you can convert a single node without affecting the nodes on either side in any way. In IS, you can't. The way node conversion is done in IS ''is'' hack, looking at it as an AI user does. Sorry, just the truth. Again, what I'm describing here is what an AI user should do to in order do something in IS that they do in AI, from an AI POV. Again, this paragraph is written based on user feedback, not just some rabbit I'm pulling out of my own hat. You can rest assured that the description of converting nodes (it's actually converting line segments) won't be like this on the page of the actual docs that talks about that feature. It's just the way it needs to be for this document, which is written for AI users trying IS, not IS users who happen to get their hands on AI. --kw

The Node tool currently has some limitations; notably, you can only drag nodes, not path fragments between nodes; and you can only add new nodes over the old ones or in the middle between them, instead of an arbitrary point on path.

==== Working with nodes in Inkscape has several distinct advantages over Illustrator: ====
# The node appearance changes according to the kind of node it is. When a corner node is converted to a smooth node, it changes from a diamond shape to a square. Thus, without a particular node selected it is still possible to tell what kind of node it is.
# Inkscape can restrain node movement to the handle vector or to the adjacent straight line segment (dragging node with Ctrl+Alt).
# Inkscape can lock the handle length (dragging handle with Alt).
# You can move nodes, rotate handles, scale handles, and move selection from one node to the next using keyboard shortcuts. For moves, scales, and rotates, use Alt to move by one screen pixel.
::See above for why I restored this. Keyboard control is the cornerstone of Inkscape usability. If AI users are not used to it, they need to be taught about it because it matters. --bb
::I understand, but we're not documenting shortcuts on this page. Nor are we proselytizing for IS directly. Nor are we teaching AI users how to use IS in its full glory. We are (or should be,) simply making a transition from AI to IS easier for the user, in the first few moments of using the program. These other fine features you want to include are dandy indeed, and when an AI users happens across them in the docs I'm sure they'll go "Oh, neat!" but it's not our job here to cover things in that detail. I would agree to a more emphatically worded general note at the begining of the doc that says something to the effect of "The key to productivity in Inkscape is use of the keyboard shortcuts." I agree that that's a strength of IS. I don't agree that it's necessary for this page that we mention every shortcut and every cool feature. Our scope is very narrow. --kw

=== Editing Shapes ===

::In this section you again fail to take a wider perspective. AI does not seem to have any distinction between path and shapes, but this is NOT an advantage. This is a big problem with AI. We must explain to users why Inkscape treats shapes differently, and why this is an advantage. Instead you only tell them how to quickly degrade higher level abstractions (shapes) to low level (paths), seemingly implying that the fact that you can't edit nodes in shapes is some king of a "problem" that needs to be "fixed" asap by Shift+Ctrl+C. No it's NOT a problem. I restored my version --bb
::This isn't about a wider perspective, it's a very narrow one: What do AI users care about when they're taking a look at Inkscape for the first time? Period. I appreciate the fact that you are so passionate about the virtues of Inkscape, I really am. But the best thing you can do to convince AI users to use IS is to tell them how to do what they do every day in AI in IS and leave it at that. My version is a direct response to multiple questions from actual AI users. I've sat them down in front of IS and watched them try to take the Node tool to a square they just created and get frustrated when it didn't work. To them it ''is'' a problem. They'll learn the virtues you want to express with your version eventually, but only if they don't have so much frustration at first that they give up and go back to AI. In a sense I'm taking a wider perspective than you are, because I'm recognizing that there are other pages of documentation, pages where some of this stuff you want to add is better put, and I'm looking at documentation as a whole. I'm putting it back the way I had it. -kw

The nodes of basic shapes created with the shapes tools (i.e., Rectangle, Ellipse, Spiral) can not be immediately edited. Before editing nodes of a shape created with the shape tool, it must first be converted to paths. Select the object with the Selector or Nodes tool, and then select Path>Object To Path (Shift+Ctrl+C) or if the Nodes Tool Controls bar is visible, click on the Object To Path command icon. Then the nodes on of the object can be edited normally.

=== Pathfinder ===

Inkscape calls Pathfinder operations "boolean operations" on paths.

=== Working with Layers ===

Inkscape has perfectly serviceable layers, although working with layers in Inkscape is not yet very convenient. Layers are located in the Status bar, with the lock and visibility toggle located beside it. An artist can select the layer from the spinbox, and then select its visibility and lock status. Previews are not shown, and art is moved from one layer to another by means of a key command (Shift+PgUp / Shift+PgDn.) Layers can nest, and you can enter a group making it a temporary layer.

=== Working with Text ===

==== Create Outlines ====

Converting a text object to outlines (i.e. to path) in Inkscape produces a single path object. If you want to manipulate each letter separately, you can break this path into subpaths (Path>Break Apart, Shift+Ctrl+K) and, for letters with holes, reselect parts of each letter and recombine them (Path>Combine, Ctrl+K) to fix the holes.

{''Note: the above selection describes a process frequently employed in AI to embed text in the document so that the document is no longer dependent on fonts being installed. "Text to outlines" is the actual AI wording, by the way. It's hack, but is routinely done in AI, so that's why it's written as it is. Please edit with care.''}
::I don't understand why you need to always do Break Apart and Combine. Simply converting text to outlines works fine in Inkscape without it. If you have to do this "hack" in AI, why are you saying Inkscape is "not very productive"??? It needs this hack ONLY in specific circumstances, as I explained. Restored. --bb
::Okay, you're right. I had been playing around with it (because the process doesn't seem to be documented anywhere as far as I could tell,) and it seemed like the first step wasn't doing the trick. It was just IS was being slower than I expected and I thought you had to do the break apart step too, because I was trying different things and it worked when I did that and then combine again. You're right. It only takes that first step, and that's okay.

==== Text Boxes ====

While putting text in shapes is possible in Inkscape, it is not yet well supported. See documentation for Flow Text into Shape for more information.

==== Guides ====

Guides can be hidden in Inkscape with the Shift+| key combination. The | symbol is called a pipe and is generally paired with the backslash character on the keyboard. Ctrl+; does not do anything in Inkscape. A guide cannot be selected by drawing a rubberband through it, as is done in Illustrator. Rather, to move or delete a guide the artist must use the Selector to grab the guide and move it to another location or to the ruler. Guides cannot be locked, and guides are global to the layers instead of bound to individual layers as they are in Illustrator. Double clicking a guide will open a dialog where you can set the guide position precisely.

Features of Inkscape

2005-03-08T23:55:23Z

Kwixson: *

It is difficult to assess a program without knowing what it can and cannot do. Here is an overview of the features that are available in Inkscape, as well as features which are planned for the near future.

== Current Features ==

=== Object creation ===

* Drawing: pencil tool (freehand drawing with simple paths), pen tool (creating Bezier curves and straight lines), calligraphy tool (freehand drawing using filled paths representing calligraphic strokes)
* Shape tools: rectangles (may have rounded corners), ellipses (includes circles, arcs, segments), stars/polygons (can be rounded and/or randomized), spirals
* Text tool (multiline text, full on-canvas editing)
* Embedded bitmaps (with a command to create and embed bitmaps of selected objects)
* Clones ("live" linked copies of objects), including a tool to create patterns and arrangements of clones

=== Object manipulation ===

* Affine transformations (moving, scaling, rotating, skewing), both interactively and by specifying exact numeric values
* Z-order operations
* Grouping objects, with a way to "select in group" without ungrouping, or "enter the group" making it a temporary layer
* Layers, with a way to lock and/or hide individual layers, rearrange them, etc; layers can form a hierarchical tree
* Copying and pasting objects
* Alignment and distribution commands

=== Fill and stroke ===

* Color selector (RGB, HSV, color wheel)
* Color picker tool
* Copy/paste style
* A gradient editor capable of multi-stop gradients
* Pattern fills
* Dashed strokes, with many predefined dash patterns
* Path markers (e.g. arrowheads)

=== Operations on paths ===

* Node editing: moving nodes and Bezier handles, node alignment and distribution, etc.
* Converting to path (for text objects or shapes), including converting stroke to path
* Boolean operations
* Path simplification, with variable threshold
* Path insetting and outsetting, including dynamic and linked offset objects
* Bitmap tracing (both color and b/w)

=== Text support ===

* Multi-line text
* Uses any installed outline fonts, including right-to-left scripts
* Kerning, letterspacing, linespacing adjustments
* Text on path (both text and path remain editable)

=== Rendering ===

* Fully anti-aliased display
* Alpha transparency support for display and PNG export
* Complete "as you drag" rendering of objects during interactive transformations

=== Misc ===

* Live watching and editing the document tree in the XML editor
* PNG and PostScript export
* Command line options for export and conversions
* Perfectly compliant SVG format file generation and editing

:''The above lifted from the'' [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Inkscape Wikipedia].

== Planned Features ==

* ... more features

== SourceForge Tracker ==

[ http://sourceforge.net/tracker/?atid=604309&group_id=93438&func=browse | Feature Requests on the SourceForge.net tracker]

Features of Inkscape

2005-03-08T23:54:35Z

Kwixson: *

It is difficult to assess a program without knowing what it can and cannot do. Here is an overview of the features that are available in Inkscape, as well as features which are planned for the near future.

== Current Features ==

=== Object creation ===

* Drawing: pencil tool (freehand drawing with simple paths), pen tool (creating Bezier curves and straight lines), calligraphy tool (freehand drawing using filled paths representing calligraphic strokes)
* Shape tools: rectangles (may have rounded corners), ellipses (includes circles, arcs, segments), stars/polygons (can be rounded and/or randomized), spirals
* Text tool (multiline text, full on-canvas editing)
* Embedded bitmaps (with a command to create and embed bitmaps of selected objects)
* Clones ("live" linked copies of objects), including a tool to create patterns and arrangements of clones

=== Object manipulation ===

* Affine transformations (moving, scaling, rotating, skewing), both interactively and by specifying exact numeric values
* Z-order operations
* Grouping objects, with a way to "select in group" without ungrouping, or "enter the group" making it a temporary layer
* Layers, with a way to lock and/or hide individual layers, rearrange them, etc; layers can form a hierarchical tree
* Copying and pasting objects
* Alignment and distribution commands

=== Fill and stroke ===

* Color selector (RGB, HSV, color wheel)
* Color picker tool
* Copy/paste style
* A gradient editor capable of multi-stop gradients
* Pattern fills
* Dashed strokes, with many predefined dash patterns
* Path markers (e.g. arrowheads)

=== Operations on paths ===

* Node editing: moving nodes and Bezier handles, node alignment and distribution, etc.
* Converting to path (for text objects or shapes), including converting stroke to path
* Boolean operations
* Path simplification, with variable threshold
* Path insetting and outsetting, including dynamic and linked offset objects
* Bitmap tracing (both color and b/w)

=== Text support ===

* Multi-line text
* Uses any installed outline fonts, including right-to-left scripts
* Kerning, letterspacing, linespacing adjustments
* Text on path (both text and path remain editable)

=== Rendering ===

* Fully anti-aliased display
* Alpha transparency support for display and PNG export
* Complete "as you drag" rendering of objects during interactive transformations

=== Misc ===

* Live watching and editing the document tree in the XML editor
* PNG and PostScript export
* Command line options for export and conversions
* Perfectly compliant SVG format file generation and editing

'''The above lifted from the''' [ http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Inkscape | Wikipedia].

== Planned Features ==

* ... more features

== SourceForge Tracker ==

[ http://sourceforge.net/tracker/?atid=604309&group_id=93438&func=browse | Feature Requests on the SourceForge.net tracker]

IllustratorUsers

2005-03-08T23:34:07Z

Kwixson: *

With Inkscape an artist can create most of the same illustrations that can be made with Adobe Illustrator. However, many of the functions and tools that the two applications share are used in different ways.

== Terminology ==

*'''Anchor Points''': in Inkscape, anchor points are known as "Nodes"
*'''Palettes''': in Inkscape, "palettes" are called "dialogs", such as the Fill and Stroke dialog.
*'''Marquee''': this is called "the rubberband" when selecting
*'''Tools''': see [AdobeToolMap Adobe Tool Map] for complete tool equivalency reference.

== Things Illustrator can do that Inkscape can't: ==

* Gradient mesh (planned for future release via multiple transparent gradient fills)
* Multiple strokes and fills for one object
* Filters & effects (guassian blur, etc.)
* Select line segments by clicking on the segment
* Blend objects
* Color management for print (ICC Profiles, etc.)
* PMS color
* Save swatches
* Wireframe mode
* Natively work with graphs based on data
* Free transform and perspective transform

== Things Inkscape can do that Illustrator can't: ==

* Edit SVG source directly

{Buliabyak, please remove these below after you've read, my comments. Thx!}

* Clones, Tile clones (''Yes it can. Illustrator calls cloned objects Symbols. Symbols can be modified and all instances of the symbol will be changed. Illustrator actually does this better than Inkscape because of the multitude of tools and uses for symbols in Illustrator, and the availability of a symbol library.'')
* Keys to move/rotate/scale by screen pixels (''Plain ol' arrow keys navigate the document in Illustrator, and the step and units can be set in preferences. It can't be reduced to screen pixels, just document pixels, but the difference is too insignificant to mention here. Otherwise, there is a bunch of similarly minor features to be added to the above list for Illustrator.'')
* Richer shape controls (''This is intended to be a boolean feature comparison, not a qualitative one. Again, if we go there then there's a lot to add to the above list for Illustrator, and this shouldn't be a "which program is better" kind of document, don't you think?'')

== Getting Things Done In Inkscape ==

=== Hand Tool : Navigating the Canvas ===

Instead of using the Spacebar for panning around a document, in Inkscape an artist can press and hold the middle mouse button (or mouse wheel) and drag the canvas in any direction. {''This doesn't work for me. -kw''} Alternatively, rotate mouse wheel to pan vertically, rotate with shift to pan horizontally. In Inkscape, the artist can also pan around the canvas by holding the Ctrl key and pressing the arrow keys. Holding the arrow key speeds up the pan in that direction.

=== Zooming : Plus and Minus Keys ===

Instead of holding down the Ctrl key and pressing + or - to zoom the canvas, in Inkscape the artist simply presses the + or - key to zoom.

=== Selecting : Selector and Nodes Tool ===

In order to select objects with the rubberband in Inkscape, an artist must completely select the entire area of the object, not just select over part of it, to include it in the selection. Individual nodes of paths can be selected with the Node tool rubberband, the same as in Illustrator, however the object must be selected with the Nodes tool first, and only the nodes from one (combined) object can be selected. Nodes from multiple, uncombined objects cannot be selected with the rubberband as is done in Illustrator.

=== Group Select : Selector ===

In Inkscape there is no special group select tool. To select an individual object in a group of objects, hold the Ctrl key and click on the object with the Selector.

=== Fill & Stroke : Fill and Stroke Window ===

Since fill and stroke are not a tool, they do no appear on the Toolbox, as is the case in Adobe Illustrator. Instead there is a Fill and Stroke window, activated through the Fill and Stroke icon on the Commands bar, or through the Menu, or by Ctrl+Shift+F.

=== Styles : Cut 'N Paste ===

There's no palette of stored styles yet. However you can copy style from one object to another: select the source object, do Edit > Copy (Ctrl+C), select the destination object, do Edit > Paste Style (Ctrl+Shift+V). These copied styles are not linked to the original as they are in Illustrator.

=== Symbols : Cloning ===

Inkscape is capable of creating "clones" of objects, which are similar to Illustrator's Symbols. When you edit the original, the changes are propagated to all of its clones. Clones can be transformed, but their nodes cannot be edited. Clones can themselves be cloned. You can use the Edit > Tile clones command to create patterns and arrangements of clones.

=== Proportional Scaling and Center Point : Shift and Control Keys ===

In Inkscape, the keys to maintain proportions while scaling, and to center on point are reversed. To scale objects proportionally in Inkscape, press and hold the Ctrl key, and to use the center point for scaling, hold the Shift key.

=== Rotate & Skew : The Second Click ===

Inkscape does not have special skew or rotate tools. Instead, with the Selector tool, click on an object to select it, then click on it again to change the handles to Rotate and Skew handles. Dragging the corner handles will rotate and dragging the middle handles will skew.

=== Palettes ===

Instead of palettes, Inkscape has windows that can be called up by various commands through which the artist communicates with the program. Dialogs function similarly to palettes. (In Windows, they do not stay on top of the Document window; this is a known problem.) You can toggle visibility of all active windows with F12 key.

=== Working with Nodes (Anchor Points) and Paths ===

{''Note: this section was very carefully constructed to make the most sense to long time users of Illustrator. It is aimed at acclimatizing a recent convert as gently as possible while at the same time remaining honest about Inkscape's limitations with respect to node editing as compared to Illustrator. Due to the relative importance of node editing, please do not hack and slash this section; edit with care.''}

Editing shapes post drawing must be done with the "Nodes" tool, N key. Shapes can be tweaked using this tool but it is by no means as responsive as the Illustrator counterpart. You must click on only the control nodes, and deselecting nodes is done by dragging a rubberband (marquee) with the "Nodes" tool.

An artist will need to continue a line segment by creating two paths distinctly. When the second path has been created, select both paths and "Combine" them Control+K. Then edit nodes in the newly combined shape and attach those nodes to each other. Joining nodes is a two step process. First, join the nodes, then select whether or not the join should be a corner, or a smooth curve.

Converting a straight node to a curve node is not as intuitive in Inkscape as it is in Illustrator. To convert a straight node to a curve, the line segments on either side must be converted. To select a line segment, select one node with the Node tool, then Shift+Click the connecting node so that both ends of the segment are selected. Then click the "Make selected segments curves" conversion command. This procedure adds Node Vector Handles (or simply handles) to both nodes on the line segment. Repeat this process with the line segment on the other side of the node being converted to give it handles on both sides. The node can then be converted to corner, smooth or symmetrical as needed. The nodes on either side will have handles, and they cannot be converted to straight nodes again, since only line segments can be converted, but placing the handle on the node will work to emulate straight node behavior.

Editing shapes and paths after drawing is done with the Node tool, N key. It currently has some limitations; notably, you can only drag nodes, not path fragments between nodes; and you can only add new nodes over the old ones or in the middle between them, instead of an arbitrary point on path.

==== Working with nodes in Inkscape has several distinct advantages over Illustrator: ====
# The node appearance changes according to the kind of node it is. When a corner node is converted to a smooth node, it changes from a diamond shape to a square. Thus, without a particular node selected it is still possible to tell what kind of node it is.
# Inkscape can restrain node movement to the handle vector or to the adjacent straight line segment (dragging node with Ctrl+Alt).
# Inkscape can lock the handle length (dragging handle with Alt).

=== Editing Shapes ===

The nodes of basic shapes created with the shapes tools (i.e., Rectangle, Ellipse, Spiral) can not be immediately edited. Before editing nodes of a shape created with the shape tool, it must first be converted to paths. Select the object with the Selector or Nodes tool, and then select Path>Object To Path (Shift+Ctrl+C) or if the Nodes Tool Controls bar is visible, click on the Object To Path command icon. Then the nodes on of the object can be edited normally.

=== Pathfinder ===

Inkscape calls Pathfinder operations "boolean operations" on shapes.

=== Working with Layers ===

Inkscape has perfectly serviceable layers, although working with layers in Inkscape is not yet very convenient. Layers are located in the Status bar, with the lock and visibility toggle located beside it. An artist can select the layer from the spinbox, and then select its visibility and lock status. Previews are not shown, and art is moved from one layer to another by means of a key command (Shift+PgUp / Shift+PgDn.) Layers can nest, and you can enter a group making it a temporary layer.

=== Working with Text ===

==== Create Outlines ====

Converting large blocks of text to outlines in Inkscape is not very productive. Text is converted to vector shapes in a three part process:
1.) With the text selected, select Path>Object to Path (Shift+Ctrl+C)
2.) Select Path>Break Apart (Shift+Ctrl+K)
3.) Select Path>Combine (Ctrl+K)

{''Note: the above selection describes a process frequently employed in AI to embed text in the document so that the document is no longer dependent on fonts being installed. "Text to outlines" is the actual AI wording, by the way. It's hack, but is routinely done in AI, so that's why it's written as it is. Please edit with care.''}

==== Text Boxes ====

While putting text in shapes is possible in Inkscape, it is not yet well supported. See documentation for Flow Text into Shape for more information.

==== Guides ====

Guides can be hidden in Inkscape with the Shift+| key combination. The | symbol is called a pipe and is generally paired with the backslash character on the keyboard. Ctrl+; does not do anything in Inkscape. A guide cannot be selected by drawing a rubberband through it, as is done in Illustrator. Rather, to move or delete a guide the artist must use the Selector to grab the guide and move it to another location or to the ruler. Guides cannot be locked, and guides are global to the layers instead of bound to individual layers as they are in Illustrator. Double clicking a guide will open a dialog where you can set the guide position precisely.

IllustratorUsers

2005-03-08T23:30:27Z

Kwixson: Restored previous version and reintroduced acceptable edits.

IllustratorUsers

2005-03-08T06:11:28Z

Kwixson: *

With Inkscape an artist can create most of the same illustrations that can be made with Adobe Illustrator. However, many of the functions and tools that the two applications share are used in different ways.

== Terminology ==

*'''Anchor Points''': in Inkscape, anchor points are known as "Nodes"
*'''Pallets''': in Inkscape, pallets are simply "Windows" i.e., the Fill and Stroke window.
*'''Marquee''': this is called the Rubberband effect when selecting
*'''Tools''': see [AdobeToolMap Adobe Tool Map] for complete tool equivalency reference.

== Things Illustrator can do that Inkscape can't: ==

* Gradient mesh (planned for future release via multiple transparent gradient fills)
* Multiple stokes and fills for one object (planned for future release)
* Filters & effects (guassian blur, etc.)
* Select line segments by clicking on the segment
* Rubberband select multiple anchor points
* Blend objects
* Cut (Knife/Scissors) line segment
* Color management for print (ICC Profiles, etc.)
* PMS color
* Save swatches
* Wireframe mode
* Natively work with graphs based on data
* Free transform and perspective transform

== Things Inkscape can do that Illustrator can't: ==

* Edit SVG source directly

== Getting Things Done In Inkscape ==

=== Hand Tool : Navigating the Canvas ===

Instead of using the Spacebar for panning around a document, in Inkscape an artist presses and holds the middle mouse button (or mouse wheel) and drags the mouse up and down to pan vertically; shift-middle mouse button pans horizontally. Curiously, in order to pan horizontally the mouse must be dragged up and down the same way as vertical panning. In Inkscape, the artist can also pan around the canvas by holding the Ctrl key and pressing the arrow keys. Holding the arrow key speeds up the pan in that direction.

=== Zooming : Plus and Minus Keys ===

Instead of holding down the Ctrl key and pressing + or - to zoom the canvas, in Inkscape the artist simply presses the + or - key to zoom.

=== Selecting : Selector and Nodes Tool ===

In order to select objects with the Rubberband in Inkscape, an artist must completely select the entire area of the object, not just select over part of it, to include it in the selection. Individual nodes cannot be selected with the Nodes tool rubberband, as can be done in Adobe Illustrator.

=== Group Select : Selector ===

In Inkscape there is no special group select tool. To select an individual object in a group of objects, hold the Ctrl key and click on the object.

=== Fill & Stroke : Fill and Stroke Window ===

Since fill and stroke are not a tool, they do no appear on the Toolbox, as is the case in Adobe Illustrator. Instead there is a Fill and Stroke window, activated through the Fill and Stroke icon on the Commands bar or through the Menu.

=== Styles : Cloning ===

There are no "styles" as such in Inkscape. Instead, Inkscape is capable of creating "clones" of object, which when edited result in the changes being propagated to all of the linked elements. Clones can be transformed, but nodes cannot be edited.

=== Proportional Scaling and Center Point : Shift and Control Keys ===

In Inkscape, the keys to maintain proportions while scaling, and to center on point are reversed. To scale objects proportionally in Inkscape, press and hold the Ctrl key, and to use the center point for scaling, hold the Shift key.

=== Rotate & Skew : Double Clicking Objects ===

Inkscape does not have special skew or rotate tools. Instead, with the Selector tool, click on an object to select it, then click on it again to change the handles to Rotate and Skew handles. Dragging the corner handles will rotate and dragging the middle handles will skew.

=== Pallets ===

Instead of Pallets, Inkscape simply has windows that can be called up by various commands through which the artist communicates with the program. Inkscape can maintain open windows, so they function similarly to pallets, but they do not always stay on top of the Document window and sometimes need to be recalled with the F12 key.

=== Working with Nodes (Anchor Points) and Paths ===

Editing shapes post drawing must be done with the "Nodes" tool, N key. Shapes can be tweaked using this tool but it is by no means as responsive as the Illustrator counterpart. You must click on only the control nodes, and deselecting nodes is done by dragging a rubberband (marquee) with the "Nodes" tool.

An artist will need to continue a line segment by creating two paths distinctly. When the second path has been created, select both paths and "Combine" them Control+K. Then edit nodes in the newly combined shape and attach those nodes to each other. Joining nodes is a two step process. First, join the nodes, then select whether or not the join should be a corner, or a smooth curve.

Converting a straight node to a curve node is not as intuitive in Inkscape as it is in Illustrator. To convert a straight node to a curve, the line segments on either side must be converted. To select a line segment, select one node with the Node tool, then Shift+Click the connecting node so that both ends of the segment is selected. Then click the Smooth Node conversion command. This procedure adds Node Vector Handles (or simply handles) to both nodes on the line segment. Repeat this process with the line segment on the other side of the node being converted to give it handles on both sides. The node can then be converted to corner, smooth or symmetrical as needed. The nodes on either side will have handles, and they cannot be converted to straight nodes again, since only line segments can be converted, but placing the handle on the node will work to emulate straight node behavior.

Nodes cannot be added to a path with a tool. Instead the artist must select a line segment by selecting both nodes on either end, and selecting the Add Node command from the Tool Controls bar. This will place a node in the center of the line segment.

==== Working with nodes in Inkscape has several distinct advantages over Illustrator: ====
# The node appearance changes according to the kind of node it is. When a corner node is converted to a smooth node, it changes from a diamond shape to a square. Thus, without a particular node selected it is still possible to tell what kind of node it is.
# Inkscape can restrain node movement to the handle vector.
# Inkscape can lock the handle length.

=== Editing Shapes ===

Basic shapes created with the shapes tools (i.e., Rectangle, Ellipse, Spiral) can not be immediately edited. Before editing a shape created with the shape tool, it must first be converted to paths. Select the object with the Selector or Nodes tool, and then select Path>Object To Path (Shift+Ctrl+C) or if the Nodes Tool Controls bar is visible, click on the Object To Path command icon. Then the nodes on of the object can be edited normally.

=== Pathfinder ===

Inkscape calls Pathfinder operations "boolean operations" on shapes.

=== Working with Layers ===

Inkscape has perfectly serviceable layers, although working with layers in Inkscape is not as convenient as it is in Illustrator. Layers are located in the Status bar, with the lock and visibility toggle located beside it. An artist can select the layer from the spinbox, and then select its visibility and lock status. Previews are not shown, and art is moved from one layer to another by means of a key command (Shift+PgUp / Shift+PgDn.)

=== Working with Text ===

==== Create Outlines ====

Converting large blocks of text to outlines in Inkscape is not very productive. Text is converted to vector shapes in a three part process:
1.) With the text selected, select Path>Object to Path (Shift+Ctrl+C)
2.) Select Path>Break Apart (Shift+Ctrl+K)
3.) Select Path>Combine (Ctrl+K)

==== Text Boxes ====

While putting text in shapes is possilbe in Inkscape, it is not yet well supported. See documentation for Flow Text into Shape for more information.

==== Guides ====

Guides can be hidden in Inkscape with the Shift+| key combination. The | symbol is called a pipe and is generally paired with the backslash character on the keyboard. Ctrl+; does not do anything in Inkscape. A guide cannot be selected by drawing a rubberband through it, as is done in Illustrator. Rather, to move or delete a guide the artist must use the Selector to grab the guide and move it to another location or to the ruler. Guides cannot be locked, and guides are global to the layers instead of bound to individual layers as they are in Illustrator.

IllustratorUsers

2005-03-08T06:07:33Z

Kwixson: *

With Inkscape an artist can create most of the same illustrations that can be made with Adobe Illustrator. However, many of the functions and tools that the two applications share are used in different ways.

== Terminology ==

*'''Anchor Points''': in Inkscape, anchor points are known as "Nodes"
*'''Pallets''': in Inkscape, pallets are simply "Windows" i.e., the Fill and Stroke window.
*'''Marquee''': this is called the Rubberband effect when selecting
*'''Tools''': see [AdobeToolMap Adobe Tool Map] for complete tool equivalency reference.

== Things Illustrator can do that Inkscape can't: ==

* Gradient mesh (planned for future release via multiple transparent gradient fills)
* Multiple stokes and fills for one object (planned for future release)
* Filters & effects (guassian blur, etc.)
* Select line segments by clicking on the segment
* Rubberband select multiple anchor points
* Blend objects
* Cut (Knife/Scissors) line segment
* Color management for print (ICC Profiles, etc.)
* PMS color
* Save swatches
* Wireframe mode
* Natively work with graphs based on data
* Free transform and perspective transform

== Things Inkscape can do that Illustrator can't: ==

* Edit SVG source directly

== Getting Things Done In Inkscape ==

=== Hand Tool : Navigating the Canvas ===

Instead of using the Spacebar for panning around a document, in Inkscape an artist presses and holds the middle mouse button (or mouse wheel) and drags the mouse up and down to pan vertically; shift-middle mouse button pans horizontally. Curiously, in order to pan horizontally the mouse must be dragged up and down the same way as vertical panning. In Inkscape, the artist can also pan around the canvas by holding the Ctrl key and pressing the arrow keys. Holding the arrow key speeds up the pan in that direction.

=== Zooming : Plus and Minus Keys ===

Instead of holding down the Ctrl key and pressing + or - to zoom the canvas, in Inkscape the artist simply presses the + or - key to zoom.

=== Selecting : Selector and Nodes Tool ===

In order to select objects with the Rubberband in Inkscape, an artist must completely select the entire area of the object, not just select over part of it, to include it in the selection. Individual nodes cannot be selected with the Nodes tool rubberband, as can be done in Adobe Illustrator.

=== Group Select : Selector ===

In Inkscape there is no special group select tool. To select an individual object in a group of objects, hold the Ctrl key and click on the object.

=== Fill & Stroke : Fill and Stroke Window ===

Since fill and stroke are not a tool, they do no appear on the Toolbox, as is the case in Adobe Illustrator. Instead there is a Fill and Stroke window, activated through the Fill and Stroke icon on the Commands bar or through the Menu.

=== Styles : Cloning ===

There are no "styles" as such in Inkscape. Instead, Inkscape is capable of creating "clones" of object, which when edited result in the changes being propagated to all of the linked elements. Clones can be transformed, but nodes cannot be edited.

=== Proportional Scaling and Center Point : Shift and Control Keys ===

In Inkscape, the keys to maintain proportions while scaling, and to center on point are reversed. To scale objects proportionally in Inkscape, press and hold the Ctrl key, and to use the center point for scaling, hold the Shift key.

=== Rotate & Skew : Double Clicking Objects ===

Inkscape does not have special skew or rotate tools. Instead, with the Selector tool, click on an object to select it, then click on it again to change the handles to Rotate and Skew handles. Dragging these handles will

=== Pallets ===

Instead of Pallets, Inkscape simply has windows that can be called up by various commands through which the artist communicates with the program. Inkscape can maintain open windows, so they function similarly to pallets, but they do not always stay on top of the Document window and sometimes need to be recalled with the F12 key.

=== Working with Nodes (Anchor Points) and Paths ===

Editing shapes post drawing must be done with the "Nodes" tool, N key. Shapes can be tweaked using this tool but it is by no means as responsive as the Illustrator counterpart. You must click on only the control nodes, and deselecting nodes is done by dragging a rubberband (marquee) with the "Nodes" tool.

An artist will need to continue a line segment by creating two paths distinctly. When the second path has been created, select both paths and "Combine" them Control+K. Then edit nodes in the newly combined shape and attach those nodes to each other. Joining nodes is a two step process. First, join the nodes, then select whether or not the join should be a corner, or a smooth curve.

Converting a straight node to a curve node is not as intuitive in Inkscape as it is in Illustrator. To convert a straight node to a curve, the line segments on either side must be converted. To select a line segment, select one node with the Node tool, then Shift+Click the connecting node so that both ends of the segment is selected. Then click the Smooth Node conversion command. This procedure adds Node Vector Handles (or simply handles) to both nodes on the line segment. Repeat this process with the line segment on the other side of the node being converted to give it handles on both sides. The node can then be converted to corner, smooth or symmetrical as needed. The nodes on either side will have handles, and they cannot be converted to straight nodes again, since only line segments can be converted, but placing the handle on the node will work to emulate straight node behavior.

Nodes cannot be added to a path with a tool. Instead the artist must select a line segment by selecting both nodes on either end, and selecting the Add Node command from the Tool Controls bar. This will place a node in the center of the line segment.

==== Working with nodes in Inkscape has several distinct advantages over Illustrator: ====
# The node appearance changes according to the kind of node it is. When a corner node is converted to a smooth node, it changes from a diamond shape to a square. Thus, without a particular node selected it is still possible to tell what kind of node it is.
# Inkscape can restrain node movement to the handle vector.
# Inkscape can lock the handle length.

=== Editing Shapes ===

Basic shapes created with the shapes tools (i.e., Rectangle, Ellipse, Spiral) can not be immediately edited. Before editing a shape created with the shape tool, it must first be converted to paths. Select the object with the Selector or Nodes tool, and then select Path>Object To Path (Shift+Ctrl+C) or if the Nodes Tool Controls bar is visible, click on the Object To Path command icon. Then the nodes on of the object can be edited normally.

=== Pathfinder ===

Inkscape calls Pathfinder operations "boolean operations" on shapes.

=== Working with Layers ===

Inkscape has perfectly serviceable layers, although working with layers in Inkscape is not as convenient as it is in Illustrator. Layers are located in the Status bar, with the lock and visibility toggle located beside it. An artist can select the layer from the spinbox, and then select its visibility and lock status. Previews are not shown, and art is moved from one layer to another by means of a key command (Shift+PgUp / Shift+PgDn.)

=== Working with Text ===

==== Create Outlines ====

Converting large blocks of text to outlines in Inkscape is not very productive. Text is converted to vector shapes in a three part process:
1.) With the text selected, select Path>Object to Path (Shift+Ctrl+C)
2.) Select Path>Break Apart (Shift+Ctrl+K)
3.) Select Path>Combine (Ctrl+K)

==== Text Boxes ====

While putting text in shapes is possilbe in Inkscape, it is not yet well supported. See documentation for Flow Text into Shape for more information.

==== Guides ====

Guides can be hidden in Inkscape with the Shift+| key combination. The | symbol is called a pipe and is generally paired with the backslash character on the keyboard. Ctrl+; does not do anything in Inkscape. A guide cannot be selected by drawing a rubberband through it, as is done in Illustrator. Rather, to move or delete a guide the artist must use the Selector to grab the guide and move it to another location or to the ruler. Guides cannot be locked, and guides are global to the layers instead of bound to individual layers as they are in Illustrator.

IllustratorUsers

2005-03-08T06:06:57Z

Kwixson: *

With Inkscape an artist can create most of the same illustrations that can be made with Adobe Illustrator. However, many of the functions and tools that the two applications share are used in different ways.

== Terminology ==

*'''Anchor Points''': in Inkscape, anchor points are known as "Nodes"
*'''Pallets''': in Inkscape, pallets are simply "Windows" e.i, the Fill and Stroke window.
*'''Marquee''': this is called the Rubberband effect when selecting
*'''Tools''': see [AdobeToolMap Adobe Tool Map] for complete tool equivalency reference.

== Things Illustrator can do that Inkscape can't: ==

* Gradient mesh (planned for future release via multiple transparent gradient fills)
* Multiple stokes and fills for one object (planned for future release)
* Filters & effects (guassian blur, etc.)
* Select line segments by clicking on the segment
* Rubberband select multiple anchor points
* Blend objects
* Cut (Knife/Scissors) line segment
* Color management for print (ICC Profiles, etc.)
* PMS color
* Save swatches
* Wireframe mode
* Natively work with graphs based on data
* Free transform and perspective transform

== Things Inkscape can do that Illustrator can't: ==

* Edit SVG source directly

== Getting Things Done In Inkscape ==

=== Hand Tool : Navigating the Canvas ===

Instead of using the Spacebar for panning around a document, in Inkscape an artist presses and holds the middle mouse button (or mouse wheel) and drags the mouse up and down to pan vertically; shift-middle mouse button pans horizontally. Curiously, in order to pan horizontally the mouse must be dragged up and down the same way as vertical panning. In Inkscape, the artist can also pan around the canvas by holding the Ctrl key and pressing the arrow keys. Holding the arrow key speeds up the pan in that direction.

=== Zooming : Plus and Minus Keys ===

Instead of holding down the Ctrl key and pressing + or - to zoom the canvas, in Inkscape the artist simply presses the + or - key to zoom.

=== Selecting : Selector and Nodes Tool ===

In order to select objects with the Rubberband in Inkscape, an artist must completely select the entire area of the object, not just select over part of it, to include it in the selection. Individual nodes cannot be selected with the Nodes tool rubberband, as can be done in Adobe Illustrator.

=== Group Select : Selector ===

In Inkscape there is no special group select tool. To select an individual object in a group of objects, hold the Ctrl key and click on the object.

=== Fill & Stroke : Fill and Stroke Window ===

Since fill and stroke are not a tool, they do no appear on the Toolbox, as is the case in Adobe Illustrator. Instead there is a Fill and Stroke window, activated through the Fill and Stroke icon on the Commands bar or through the Menu.

=== Styles : Cloning ===

There are no "styles" as such in Inkscape. Instead, Inkscape is capable of creating "clones" of object, which when edited result in the changes being propagated to all of the linked elements. Clones can be transformed, but nodes cannot be edited.

=== Proportional Scaling and Center Point : Shift and Control Keys ===

In Inkscape, the keys to maintain proportions while scaling, and to center on point are reversed. To scale objects proportionally in Inkscape, press and hold the Ctrl key, and to use the center point for scaling, hold the Shift key.

=== Rotate & Skew : Double Clicking Objects ===

Inkscape does not have special skew or rotate tools. Instead, with the Selector tool, click on an object to select it, then click on it again to change the handles to Rotate and Skew handles. Dragging these handles will

=== Pallets ===

Instead of Pallets, Inkscape simply has windows that can be called up by various commands through which the artist communicates with the program. Inkscape can maintain open windows, so they function similarly to pallets, but they do not always stay on top of the Document window and sometimes need to be recalled with the F12 key.

=== Working with Nodes (Anchor Points) and Paths ===

Editing shapes post drawing must be done with the "Nodes" tool, N key. Shapes can be tweaked using this tool but it is by no means as responsive as the Illustrator counterpart. You must click on only the control nodes, and deselecting nodes is done by dragging a rubberband (marquee) with the "Nodes" tool.

An artist will need to continue a line segment by creating two paths distinctly. When the second path has been created, select both paths and "Combine" them Control+K. Then edit nodes in the newly combined shape and attach those nodes to each other. Joining nodes is a two step process. First, join the nodes, then select whether or not the join should be a corner, or a smooth curve.

Converting a straight node to a curve node is not as intuitive in Inkscape as it is in Illustrator. To convert a straight node to a curve, the line segments on either side must be converted. To select a line segment, select one node with the Node tool, then Shift+Click the connecting node so that both ends of the segment is selected. Then click the Smooth Node conversion command. This procedure adds Node Vector Handles (or simply handles) to both nodes on the line segment. Repeat this process with the line segment on the other side of the node being converted to give it handles on both sides. The node can then be converted to corner, smooth or symmetrical as needed. The nodes on either side will have handles, and they cannot be converted to straight nodes again, since only line segments can be converted, but placing the handle on the node will work to emulate straight node behavior.

Nodes cannot be added to a path with a tool. Instead the artist must select a line segment by selecting both nodes on either end, and selecting the Add Node command from the Tool Controls bar. This will place a node in the center of the line segment.

==== Working with nodes in Inkscape has several distinct advantages over Illustrator: ====
# The node appearance changes according to the kind of node it is. When a corner node is converted to a smooth node, it changes from a diamond shape to a square. Thus, without a particular node selected it is still possible to tell what kind of node it is.
# Inkscape can restrain node movement to the handle vector.
# Inkscape can lock the handle length.

=== Editing Shapes ===

Basic shapes created with the shapes tools (i.e., Rectangle, Ellipse, Spiral) can not be immediately edited. Before editing a shape created with the shape tool, it must first be converted to paths. Select the object with the Selector or Nodes tool, and then select Path>Object To Path (Shift+Ctrl+C) or if the Nodes Tool Controls bar is visible, click on the Object To Path command icon. Then the nodes on of the object can be edited normally.

=== Pathfinder ===

Inkscape calls Pathfinder operations "boolean operations" on shapes.

=== Working with Layers ===

Inkscape has perfectly serviceable layers, although working with layers in Inkscape is not as convenient as it is in Illustrator. Layers are located in the Status bar, with the lock and visibility toggle located beside it. An artist can select the layer from the spinbox, and then select its visibility and lock status. Previews are not shown, and art is moved from one layer to another by means of a key command (Shift+PgUp / Shift+PgDn.)

=== Working with Text ===

==== Create Outlines ====

Converting large blocks of text to outlines in Inkscape is not very productive. Text is converted to vector shapes in a three part process:
1.) With the text selected, select Path>Object to Path (Shift+Ctrl+C)
2.) Select Path>Break Apart (Shift+Ctrl+K)
3.) Select Path>Combine (Ctrl+K)

==== Text Boxes ====

While putting text in shapes is possilbe in Inkscape, it is not yet well supported. See documentation for Flow Text into Shape for more information.

==== Guides ====

Guides can be hidden in Inkscape with the Shift+| key combination. The | symbol is called a pipe and is generally paired with the backslash character on the keyboard. Ctrl+; does not do anything in Inkscape. A guide cannot be selected by drawing a rubberband through it, as is done in Illustrator. Rather, to move or delete a guide the artist must use the Selector to grab the guide and move it to another location or to the ruler. Guides cannot be locked, and guides are global to the layers instead of bound to individual layers as they are in Illustrator.

IllustratorUsers

2005-03-08T06:05:54Z

Kwixson: Completed and rewritten

With Inkscape an artist can create most of the same illustrations that can be made with Adobe Illustrator. However, many of the functions and tools that the two applications share are used in different ways.

== Terminology ==

Anchor Points: in Inkscape, anchor points are known as "Nodes"
Pallets: in Inkscape, pallets are simply "Windows" e.i, the Fill and Stroke window.
Marquee: this is called the Rubberband effect when selecting
Tools: see [AdobeToolMap Adobe Tool Map] for complete tool equivalency reference.

== Things Illustrator can do that Inkscape can't: ==

* Gradient mesh (planned for future release via multiple transparent gradient fills)
* Multiple stokes and fills for one object (planned for future release)
* Filters & effects (guassian blur, etc.)
* Select line segments by clicking on the segment
* Rubberband select multiple anchor points
* Blend objects
* Cut (Knife/Scissors) line segment
* Color management for print (ICC Profiles, etc.)
* PMS color
* Save swatches
* Wireframe mode
* Natively work with graphs based on data
* Free transform and perspective transform

== Things Inkscape can do that Illustrator can't: ==

* Edit SVG source directly

== Getting Things Done In Inkscape ==

=== Hand Tool : Navigating the Canvas ===

Instead of using the Spacebar for panning around a document, in Inkscape an artist presses and holds the middle mouse button (or mouse wheel) and drags the mouse up and down to pan vertically; shift-middle mouse button pans horizontally. Curiously, in order to pan horizontally the mouse must be dragged up and down the same way as vertical panning. In Inkscape, the artist can also pan around the canvas by holding the Ctrl key and pressing the arrow keys. Holding the arrow key speeds up the pan in that direction.

=== Zooming : Plus and Minus Keys ===

Instead of holding down the Ctrl key and pressing + or - to zoom the canvas, in Inkscape the artist simply presses the + or - key to zoom.

=== Selecting : Selector and Nodes Tool ===

In order to select objects with the Rubberband in Inkscape, an artist must completely select the entire area of the object, not just select over part of it, to include it in the selection. Individual nodes cannot be selected with the Nodes tool rubberband, as can be done in Adobe Illustrator.

=== Group Select : Selector ===

In Inkscape there is no special group select tool. To select an individual object in a group of objects, hold the Ctrl key and click on the object.

=== Fill & Stroke : Fill and Stroke Window ===

Since fill and stroke are not a tool, they do no appear on the Toolbox, as is the case in Adobe Illustrator. Instead there is a Fill and Stroke window, activated through the Fill and Stroke icon on the Commands bar or through the Menu.

=== Styles : Cloning ===

There are no "styles" as such in Inkscape. Instead, Inkscape is capable of creating "clones" of object, which when edited result in the changes being propagated to all of the linked elements. Clones can be transformed, but nodes cannot be edited.

=== Proportional Scaling and Center Point : Shift and Control Keys ===

In Inkscape, the keys to maintain proportions while scaling, and to center on point are reversed. To scale objects proportionally in Inkscape, press and hold the Ctrl key, and to use the center point for scaling, hold the Shift key.

=== Rotate & Skew : Double Clicking Objects ===

Inkscape does not have special skew or rotate tools. Instead, with the Selector tool, click on an object to select it, then click on it again to change the handles to Rotate and Skew handles. Dragging these handles will

=== Pallets ===

Instead of Pallets, Inkscape simply has windows that can be called up by various commands through which the artist communicates with the program. Inkscape can maintain open windows, so they function similarly to pallets, but they do not always stay on top of the Document window and sometimes need to be recalled with the F12 key.

=== Working with Nodes (Anchor Points) and Paths ===

Editing shapes post drawing must be done with the "Nodes" tool, N key. Shapes can be tweaked using this tool but it is by no means as responsive as the Illustrator counterpart. You must click on only the control nodes, and deselecting nodes is done by dragging a rubberband (marquee) with the "Nodes" tool.

An artist will need to continue a line segment by creating two paths distinctly. When the second path has been created, select both paths and "Combine" them Control+K. Then edit nodes in the newly combined shape and attach those nodes to each other. Joining nodes is a two step process. First, join the nodes, then select whether or not the join should be a corner, or a smooth curve.

Converting a straight node to a curve node is not as intuitive in Inkscape as it is in Illustrator. To convert a straight node to a curve, the line segments on either side must be converted. To select a line segment, select one node with the Node tool, then Shift+Click the connecting node so that both ends of the segment is selected. Then click the Smooth Node conversion command. This procedure adds Node Vector Handles (or simply handles) to both nodes on the line segment. Repeat this process with the line segment on the other side of the node being converted to give it handles on both sides. The node can then be converted to corner, smooth or symmetrical as needed. The nodes on either side will have handles, and they cannot be converted to straight nodes again, since only line segments can be converted, but placing the handle on the node will work to emulate straight node behavior.

Nodes cannot be added to a path with a tool. Instead the artist must select a line segment by selecting both nodes on either end, and selecting the Add Node command from the Tool Controls bar. This will place a node in the center of the line segment.

==== Working with nodes in Inkscape has several distinct advantages over Illustrator: ====
# The node appearance changes according to the kind of node it is. When a corner node is converted to a smooth node, it changes from a diamond shape to a square. Thus, without a particular node selected it is still possible to tell what kind of node it is.
# Inkscape can restrain node movement to the handle vector.
# Inkscape can lock the handle length.

=== Editing Shapes ===

Basic shapes created with the shapes tools (i.e., Rectangle, Ellipse, Spiral) can not be immediately edited. Before editing a shape created with the shape tool, it must first be converted to paths. Select the object with the Selector or Nodes tool, and then select Path>Object To Path (Shift+Ctrl+C) or if the Nodes Tool Controls bar is visible, click on the Object To Path command icon. Then the nodes on of the object can be edited normally.

=== Pathfinder ===

Inkscape calls Pathfinder operations "boolean operations" on shapes.

=== Working with Layers ===

Inkscape has perfectly serviceable layers, although working with layers in Inkscape is not as convenient as it is in Illustrator. Layers are located in the Status bar, with the lock and visibility toggle located beside it. An artist can select the layer from the spinbox, and then select its visibility and lock status. Previews are not shown, and art is moved from one layer to another by means of a key command (Shift+PgUp / Shift+PgDn.)

=== Working with Text ===

==== Create Outlines ====

Converting large blocks of text to outlines in Inkscape is not very productive. Text is converted to vector shapes in a three part process:
1.) With the text selected, select Path>Object to Path (Shift+Ctrl+C)
2.) Select Path>Break Apart (Shift+Ctrl+K)
3.) Select Path>Combine (Ctrl+K)

==== Text Boxes ====

While putting text in shapes is possilbe in Inkscape, it is not yet well supported. See documentation for Flow Text into Shape for more information.

==== Guides ====

Guides can be hidden in Inkscape with the Shift+| key combination. The | symbol is called a pipe and is generally paired with the backslash character on the keyboard. Ctrl+; does not do anything in Inkscape. A guide cannot be selected by drawing a rubberband through it, as is done in Illustrator. Rather, to move or delete a guide the artist must use the Selector to grab the guide and move it to another location or to the ruler. Guides cannot be locked, and guides are global to the layers instead of bound to individual layers as they are in Illustrator.

AdobeToolMap

2005-03-08T06:03:56Z

Kwixson: Added map of Illustrator tools to Inkscape equivalents

These are all the tools in the Adobe Illustrator CS toolbox, with their associated Inkscape equivalency, if any.

Note: many tools in Illustrator are not tools in the toolbox in Inkscape, but accomplished via commands and options)

== Tools ==
* Selection (arrow) tool = Selector tool
* Direct Selection tool = Nodes tool
* Group Selection tool = n/a (use Ctrl+Selector)
* Magic Wand tool = n/a
* Lasso tool = n/a
* Pen tool = Pen tool
* Add Anchor Point tool = n/a (see Nodes tool Tool Controls)
* Subtract Anchor Point tool = n/a (see Nodes tool Tool Controls)
* Convert Anchor Point tool = n/a (see Nodes tool Tool Controls)
* Type tool = Text tool
* Area Type tool = n/a (see Text to Shape command)
* Path Type tool = n/a (see Text to Path command)
* Vertical Type tool = n/a (see Text Tool Controls bar)
* Vertical Area Type = n/a (see Text Tool Controls bar)
* Line Segment tool = n/a
* Arc tool = n/a
* Spiral tool = Spiral tool
* Rectangular Grid tool = n/a
* Polar Grid tool = n/a
* Rectangle tool = Rectangle tool
* Rounded Rectangle tool = Rectangle tool (see Tool Controls bar)
* Ellipse tool = Ellipse tool
* Polygon tool = Star tool
* Star tool = Star tool
* Flare tool = n/a
* Paintbrush tool = Calligraphy tool
* Pencil tool = Pencil tool
* Smooth tool = n/a
* Erase tool = n/a
* Rotate tool = n/a (see Selector tool)
* Reflect tool = n/a (see Selector tool)
* Scale tool = n/a (see Selector tool)
* Shear tool = n/a (see Selector tool)
* Reshape tool = n/a
* Warp tool = n/a
* Twirl tool = n/a
* Pucker tool = n/a
* Bloat tool = n/a
* Scallop tool = n/a
* Crystallize tool = n/a
* Wrinkle tool = n/a
* Free Transform tool = n/a
* Symbol Sprayer tool = n/a
* Symbol Shifter tool = n/a
* Symbol Scruncher tool = n/a
* Symbol Sizer tool = n/a
* Symbol Spinner tool = n/a
* Symbol Stainer tool = n/a
* Symbol Screener tool = n/a
* Symbol Styler tool = n/a
* Column Graph tool = n/a
* Stacked Column graph tool = n/a
* Bar Graph tool = n/a
* Stacked Bar Graph tool = n/a
* Line Graph tool = n/a
* Area Graph tool = n/a
* Scatter Graph tool = n/a
* Pie Graph tool = n/a
* Radar Graph tool = n/a
* Mesh tool = n/a
* Gradient tool = Gradient tool
* Eyedropper tool = Dropper tool
* Paint Bucket tool = n/a
* Measure tool = n/a
* Blend tool = n/a
* Auto Trace tool = n/a (see Trace Bitmap command)
* Slice tool = n/a
* Slice Selection tool = n/a
* Scissors tool = n/a
* Knife tool = n/a
* Hand tool = n/a (see canvas navigation help)
* Page tool n/a
* Zoom tool = Zoom tool

Manualguidelines.Html

2005-03-08T04:59:43Z

Kwixson: *

== INKSCAPE MANUAL : GUIDELINES FOR AUTHORS AND TRANSLATORS ==

=== Style Guide ===

This Manual of Style has the simple purpose of making things easy to read by following a consistent format — it is a style guide. The following rules don't claim to be the last word. One way is often as good as another, but if everyone does it the same way, user documentation will be easier to read and use, not to mention easier to write and edit. In this regard the following quote from The Chicago Manual of Style deserves notice:

"Rules and regulations such as these, in the nature of the case, cannot be endowed
with the fixity of rock-ribbed law. They are meant for the average case, and must
be applied with a certain degree of elasticity."

(Above quoted from [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wikipedia:Manual_of_Style Wikipedia:Manual Of Style])

* Refer to the terms defined at [[InkscapeTerminology | Inkscape Terminology]]
* Use good writing and documentation practices and maintain a neutral point of view
* Write in a platform and hardware agnostic view, delineate differences where appropriate in a neutral way
* Do not use first or second person pronouns, i.e, I, you, etc.
* Refer to users as "Inkscape artists" or simply, "artists"
* Remain consistent in terminology
* Keys on the keyboard are never "button" they are always "key"
* The Control key should be written "Ctrl"
* Key combinations should be written "Ctrl+Alt+Shift+<key>"
* Tool names capitalize each word before "tool" but "tool" is not a proper noun and is not capitalized
* A panel in the Document window is a "bar" (Tool Controls bar) and is not concatenated with the name, (i.e., "Status bar" not "Statusbar")
* A "dialog" is a confirmation window, while other option dialogs are referred to as "window," and "window" is not capitalized
* Refer to Menu selections with the ">" separator, a users "selects" a Menu "option" (or "command") and where possible include the keyboard shortcut in parentheses immediately after. For example: "...and then select Path>Object To Path (Shift+Ctrl+C) or if the..." It is not desirable to use the "/" character to denote levels of the Menu since / appears in the Menu and > does not. Capitalize each Menu option.

Help file should be minimally structured to make it easy to use and comprehend. We propose that each page should be structured according to the base:

1. Tool Name or Page Theme name
2. Image (screenshot of a dialog ...)
3. Methods for tool activation, eventually with step by step demonstration
4. Keydings, modifiers , eventually with step by step demonstration
5. Tool options, eventually with a screenshot of the Dialog, and , eventually with step by step demonstration
6. Additionnal Information
7. Links to other related pages

=== DocBook ===

We have decided to use, for good compliance, the most popular documentation system present in OpenSource. Help file may be written in Docbook (the XML one) format, that can be converted with different tools. For more informations, follow the links placed at the end of this page.

Help Structure

The Manual should be one unique big XML file, in which content can be separated in multiple included files by mean of entities. Each one of the included files will treat a unique point (a tool for example) and may have at least one link to access to it. Each one should also begin with the

<sect1>

root element to keep the hierarchy of the content. This root element can be changed into

<sect2>

in case of use of intermediate index (for example, some dialogs are full of options or manipulations advises that justify to have an index for its own).

Help file should be minimally structured to make it easy to use and comprehend. We propose that each page should be structured according to the base:

1. Tool Name or Page Theme name
2. Image (screenshot of a dialog ...)
3. Methods for tool activation, eventually with step by step demonstration
4. Keydings, modifiers , eventually with step by step demonstration
5. Tool options, eventually with a screenshot of the Dialog, and , eventually with step by step demonstration
6. Additionnal Information
7. Links to other related pages

DocBook Tags

Please, have a look at the Docbook Advice page and to the Websites listed below.

We also ask that contributors make a good use of indentation, in order to have more readable and useable source files.

1. Each tag containing visitor-readable-text should be placed on a new line with an additional indent;
2. Open and close tag of an element should be placed in the same indent.

Useful (Necessary for newbies to Docbook!!) Links

* [[http://wiki.gimp.org/ |Wiki Gimp Proposing advises in creating help file with Docbook]]
* [[http://docbook.org/ |Docbook Site]]
* [[http://www.nwalsh.com/ |Norman Walsh's WebSite, very complete about Docbook]]
* [[http://docbook.sourceforge.net/ |Tools for Docbook transformations]]
* [[http://i18n.kde.org/doc/markup/index.html |Advises for creating KDE compliant help files]]

Manualguidelines.Html

2005-03-07T21:45:00Z

Kwixson: *

== INKSCAPE MANUAL : GUIDELINES FOR AUTHORS AND TRANSLATORS ==

=== Style Guide ===

This Manual of Style has the simple purpose of making things easy to read by following a consistent format — it is a style guide. The following rules don't claim to be the last word. One way is often as good as another, but if everyone does it the same way, user documentation will be easier to read and use, not to mention easier to write and edit. In this regard the following quote from The Chicago Manual of Style deserves notice:

"Rules and regulations such as these, in the nature of the case, cannot be endowed
with the fixity of rock-ribbed law. They are meant for the average case, and must
be applied with a certain degree of elasticity."

(Above quoted from [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wikipedia:Manual_of_Style Wikipedia:Manual Of Style])

* Refer to the terms defined at [[InkscapeTerminology | Inkscape Terminology]]
* Use good writing and documentation practices and maintain a neutral point of view
* Do not use first or second person pronouns, i.e, I, you, etc.
* Refer to users as "Inkscape artists" or simply, "artists"
* Remain consistent in terminology

Help file should be minimally structured to make it easy to use and comprehend. We propose that each page should be structured according to the base:

1. Tool Name or Page Theme name
2. Image (screenshot of a dialog ...)
3. Methods for tool activation, eventually with step by step demonstration
4. Keydings, modifiers , eventually with step by step demonstration
5. Tool options, eventually with a screenshot of the Dialog, and , eventually with step by step demonstration
6. Additionnal Information
7. Links to other related pages

=== DocBook ===

We have decided to use, for good compliance, the most popular documentation system present in OpenSource. Help file may be written in Docbook (the XML one) format, that can be converted with different tools. For more informations, follow the links placed at the end of this page.

Help Structure

The Manual should one unique big XML file, in which content can be separated in multiple included files by mean of entities. Each one of the included files will treat a unique point (a tool for example) and may have at least one link to access to it. Each one should also begin with the

<sect1>

root element to keep the hierarchy of the content. This root element can be changed into

<sect2>

in case of use of intermediate index (for example, some dialogs are full of options or manipulations advises that justify to have an index for its own).

Help file should be minimally structured to make it easy to use and comprehend. We propose that each page should be structured according to the base:

1. Tool Name or Page Theme name
2. Image (screenshot of a dialog ...)
3. Methods for tool activation, eventually with step by step demonstration
4. Keydings, modifiers , eventually with step by step demonstration
5. Tool options, eventually with a screenshot of the Dialog, and , eventually with step by step demonstration
6. Additionnal Information
7. Links to other related pages

DocBook Tags

Please, have a look at the Docbook Advice page and to the Websites listed below.

We also ask that contributors make a good use of indentation, in order to have more readable and useable source files.

1. Each tag containing visitor-readable-text should be placed on a new line with an additional indent;
2. Open and close tag of an element should be placed in the same indent.

Useful (Necessary for newbies to Docbook!!) Links

* [[http://wiki.gimp.org/ |Wiki Gimp Proposing advises in creating help file with Docbook]]
* [[http://docbook.org/ |Docbook Site]]
* [[http://www.nwalsh.com/ |Norman Walsh's WebSite, very complete about Docbook]]
* [[http://docbook.sourceforge.net/ |Tools for Docbook transformations]]
* [[http://i18n.kde.org/doc/markup/index.html |Advises for creating KDE compliant help files]]

Manualguidelines.Html

2005-03-07T21:42:15Z

Kwixson: *

INKSCAPE MANUAL : GUIDELINES FOR AUTHORS AND TRANSLATORS
Beginning

'''STYLE GUIDE'''

This Manual of Style has the simple purpose of making things easy to read by following a consistent format — it is a style guide. The following rules don't claim to be the last word. One way is often as good as another, but if everyone does it the same way, user documentation will be easier to read and use, not to mention easier to write and edit. In this regard the following quote from The Chicago Manual of Style deserves notice:

"Rules and regulations such as these, in the nature of the case, cannot be endowed
with the fixity of rock-ribbed law. They are meant for the average case, and must
be applied with a certain degree of elasticity."

(Above quoted from [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wikipedia:Manual_of_Style Wikipedia:Manual Of Style])

* Refer to the terms defined at [[InkscapeTerminology | Inkscape Terminology]]
* Use good writing and documentation practices and maintain a neutral point of view
* Do not use first or second person pronouns, i.e, I, you, etc.
* Refer to users as "Inkscape artists" or simply, "artists"
* Remain consistent in terminology

Help file should be minimally structured to make it easy to use and comprehend. We propose that each page should be structured according to the base:

1. Tool Name or Page Theme name
2. Image (screenshot of a dialog ...)
3. Methods for tool activation, eventually with step by step demonstration
4. Keydings, modifiers , eventually with step by step demonstration
5. Tool options, eventually with a screenshot of the Dialog, and , eventually with step by step demonstration
6. Additionnal Information
7. Links to other related pages

'''DOCBOOK'''

We have decided to use, for good compliance, the most popular documentation system present in OpenSource. Help file may be written in Docbook (the XML one) format, that can be converted with different tools. For more informations, follow the links placed at the end of this page.

Help Structure

The Manual should one unique big XML file, in which content can be separated in multiple included files by mean of entities. Each one of the included files will treat a unique point (a tool for example) and may have at least one link to access to it. Each one should also begin with the

<sect1>

root element to keep the hierarchy of the content. This root element can be changed into

<sect2>

in case of use of intermediate index (for example, some dialogs are full of options or manipulations advises that justify to have an index for its own).

Help file should be minimally structured to make it easy to use and comprehend. We propose that each page should be structured according to the base:

1. Tool Name or Page Theme name
2. Image (screenshot of a dialog ...)
3. Methods for tool activation, eventually with step by step demonstration
4. Keydings, modifiers , eventually with step by step demonstration
5. Tool options, eventually with a screenshot of the Dialog, and , eventually with step by step demonstration
6. Additionnal Information
7. Links to other related pages

DocBook Tags

Please, have a look at the Docbook Advice page and to the Websites listed below.

We also ask that contributors make a good use of indentation, in order to have more readable and useable source files.

1. Each tag containing visitor-readable-text should be placed on a new line with an additional indent;
2. Open and close tag of an element should be placed in the same indent.

Useful (Necessary for newbies to Docbook!!) Links

* [[http://wiki.gimp.org/ |Wiki Gimp Proposing advises in creating help file with Docbook]]
* [[http://docbook.org/ |Docbook Site]]
* [[http://www.nwalsh.com/ |Norman Walsh's WebSite, very complete about Docbook]]
* [[http://docbook.sourceforge.net/ |Tools for Docbook transformations]]
* [[http://i18n.kde.org/doc/markup/index.html |Advises for creating KDE compliant help files]]

Manualguidelines.Html

2005-03-07T21:41:36Z

Kwixson: *

INKSCAPE MANUAL : GUIDELINES FOR AUTHORS AND TRANSLATORS
Beginning

'''STYLE GUIDE'''

This Manual of Style has the simple purpose of making things easy to read by following a consistent format — it is a style guide. The following rules don't claim to be the last word. One way is often as good as another, but if everyone does it the same way, user documentation will be easier to read and use, not to mention easier to write and edit. In this regard the following quote from The Chicago Manual of Style deserves notice:

"Rules and regulations such as these, in the nature of the case, cannot be endowed
with the fixity of rock-ribbed law. They are meant for the average case, and must
be applied with a certain degree of elasticity."

(Above quoted from [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wikipedia:Manual_of_Style Wikipedia:Manual Of Style])

* Refer to the terms defined at [[InkscapeTerminology | Inkscape Terminology]]
* Use good writing and documentationpractices and maintain a neutral point of view
* Do not use first or second person pronouns, i.e, I, you, etc.
* Refer to users as "Inkscape artists" or simply, "artists"
* Remain consistent in terminology

Help file should be minimally structured to make it easy to use and comprehend. We propose that each page should be structured according to the base:

1. Tool Name or Page Theme name
2. Image (screenshot of a dialog ...)
3. Methods for tool activation, eventually with step by step demonstration
4. Keydings, modifiers , eventually with step by step demonstration
5. Tool options, eventually with a screenshot of the Dialog, and , eventually with step by step demonstration
6. Additionnal Information
7. Links to other related pages

'''DOCBOOK'''

We have decided to use, for good compliance, the most popular documentation system present in OpenSource. Help file may be written in Docbook (the XML one) format, that can be converted with different tools. For more informations, follow the links placed at the end of this page.

Help Structure

The Manual should one unique big XML file, in which content can be separated in multiple included files by mean of entities. Each one of the included files will treat a unique point (a tool for example) and may have at least one link to access to it. Each one should also begin with the

<sect1>

root element to keep the hierarchy of the content. This root element can be changed into

<sect2>

in case of use of intermediate index (for example, some dialogs are full of options or manipulations advises that justify to have an index for its own).

Help file should be minimally structured to make it easy to use and comprehend. We propose that each page should be structured according to the base:

1. Tool Name or Page Theme name
2. Image (screenshot of a dialog ...)
3. Methods for tool activation, eventually with step by step demonstration
4. Keydings, modifiers , eventually with step by step demonstration
5. Tool options, eventually with a screenshot of the Dialog, and , eventually with step by step demonstration
6. Additionnal Information
7. Links to other related pages

DocBook Tags

Please, have a look at the Docbook Advice page and to the Websites listed below.

We also ask that contributors make a good use of indentation, in order to have more readable and useable source files.

1. Each tag containing visitor-readable-text should be placed on a new line with an additional indent;
2. Open and close tag of an element should be placed in the same indent.

Useful (Necessary for newbies to Docbook!!) Links

* [[http://wiki.gimp.org/ |Wiki Gimp Proposing advises in creating help file with Docbook]]
* [[http://docbook.org/ |Docbook Site]]
* [[http://www.nwalsh.com/ |Norman Walsh's WebSite, very complete about Docbook]]
* [[http://docbook.sourceforge.net/ |Tools for Docbook transformations]]
* [[http://i18n.kde.org/doc/markup/index.html |Advises for creating KDE compliant help files]]

Inkscape glossary

2005-03-07T20:53:47Z

Kwixson: *

This is a beginning of an Inkscape glossary. Please respect it and contribute to it if you work on Inkscape UI. If you are doing translations, please create and link below a similar glossary for your language.

* RussianTerminology

------
'''GENERAL'''

* '''Node''': a point on a ''path'' that you can drag. It is displayed as gray (when not selected) or blue (when selected) square on a path when you are in node tool. ''Shapes'' do not display nodes; they have ''handles''. A node may also have one or two ''handles'' - these are the small circles connected to the node to adjust bezier tangents.

* '''Handle''': 1) one of two points around a ''node'', displayed (for selected nodes) as a circle connected with its node by a line (node handles); 2) the arrows around the selected object in selector (scale handles, rotation handles); 3) points on a ''shape'' that can be dragged by node tool to edit the shape, displayed as small white diamonds (shape handles); 4) the things that you drag on canvas to set the placement, direction, and size of a gradient or pattern (gradient handles, pattern handles). (Internally this is called a '''Knot''', but this is a deprecated term in user documentation.)

* '''Path''': an object that has editable ''nodes'' but does not have ''controls'' (when in node editor). An example is a line created by the freehand tool.

* '''Shape''': an object that does not display ''nodes'' but may have ''controls''. An example is a circle or star. A shape can be converted to ''path'' by Convert to Path command.

* '''Stroke''': a visible outline of a ''shape'' or ''path''. Not the same as ''path''; a path may or may not have a stroke. If the stroke is present, it can be converted to path by Convert Stroke to Path command.

** '''Stroke shape''' (''to be implemented''): the dependency of the stroke width on distance along the stroke. Currently only constant-width strokes are supported.

** '''Stroke pattern''' (''to be implemented''): the representation of a stroke as a sequence of arbitrary objects positioned along the path.

* '''Object''': an independent editable thing on the canvas. May be a ''path'', a ''shape'', a text object, a group, etc.

'''USER INTERFACE'''

* '''Document window''': the window with a Canvas, Menu, Commands bar, etc. Note that the same instance of the program may have several document windows. Some dialog are referred to as "windows" therefore it is important to distinguish between them and the Document window.

** '''Menu''', bar at the top.

** '''Commands bar''', beneath the Menu, with buttons for commands like New, Open, ... Note that this one will likely be broken into many smaller toolbars, each covering one topic, so the user will be able to switch them on/off and rearrange. So this name is temporary.

** '''Tool Controls bar''', beneath the Commands bar. Has the controls for the currently active tool. Note the capitalization. One should not refer to it as the "Tool bar," nor is it a "Tool" edition of the "controls" variety of "bar". It's proper name should be "Tool Controls" bar.

** '''Toolbox''', along the left side
*** '''Selector tool''', or simply '''Selector'''
*** '''Node tool'''
*** '''Zoom tool'''
*** '''Rectangle tool'''
*** '''Ellipse tool'''
*** '''Star tool'''
*** '''Spiral tool'''
*** '''Pencil tool''': please, for consistency, do not refer to this as the ''Freehand tool'', or ''Freehand (pencil) tool''. However, you can (and probably should) use ''Pencil (freehand) tool'' when you refer to it for the first time.
*** '''Pen tool''': please, for consistency, do not refer to this as the ''Bezier tool'', or ''Bezier (pen) Tool''. However, you can (and probably should) use ''Pen (Bezier) tool'' when you refer to it for the first time.
*** '''Calligraphy tool'''
*** '''Text tool'''
*** '''Gradient tool'''
*** '''Dropper tool'''

** '''Canvas''', the main area optionally bordered with '''rulers''' and '''scrollbars'''

** '''Statusbar''', along the bottom

'''DEPRECATED TERMS''': these are for the code only. Never use them in user documentation.
** knot (this may be a "handle", "control", "node" etc as seen by the user)
** item (use "object")
** desktop (use "canvas" or "document window" depending on context)
** event contexts (they are known to users as "tools")

Inkscape glossary

2005-03-07T20:36:37Z

Kwixson: *

This is a beginning of an Inkscape glossary. Please respect it and contribute to it if you work on Inkscape UI. If you are doing translations, please create and link below a similar glossary for your language.

* RussianTerminology

------
'''GENERAL'''

* '''Node''': a point on a ''path'' that you can drag. It is displayed as gray (when not selected) or blue (when selected) square on a path when you are in node tool. ''Shapes'' do not display nodes; they have ''handles''. A node may also have one or two ''handles'' - these are the small circles connected to the node to adjust bezier tangents.

* '''Handle''': 1) one of two points around a ''node'', displayed (for selected nodes) as a circle connected with its node by a line (node handles); 2) the arrows around the selected object in selector (scale handles, rotation handles); 3) points on a ''shape'' that can be dragged by node tool to edit the shape, displayed as small white diamonds (shape handles); 4) the things that you drag on canvas to set the placement, direction, and size of a gradient or pattern (gradient handles, pattern handles). (Internally this is called a '''Knot''', but this is a deprecated term in user documentation.)

* '''Path''': an object that has editable ''nodes'' but does not have ''controls'' (when in node editor). An example is a line created by the freehand tool.

* '''Shape''': an object that does not display ''nodes'' but may have ''controls''. An example is a circle or star. A shape can be converted to ''path'' by Convert to Path command.

* '''Stroke''': a visible outline of a ''shape'' or ''path''. Not the same as ''path''; a path may or may not have a stroke. If the stroke is present, it can be converted to path by Convert Stroke to Path command.

** '''Stroke shape''' (''to be implemented''): the dependency of the stroke width on distance along the stroke. Currently only constant-width strokes are supported.

** '''Stroke pattern''' (''to be implemented''): the representation of a stroke as a sequence of arbitrary objects positioned along the path.

* '''Object''': an independent editable thing on the canvas. May be a ''path'', a ''shape'', a text object, a group, etc.

'''USER INTERFACE'''

* '''Document window''': the window with a document. Note that the same instance of the program may have several document windows. None of them is more main than others.

** '''Menu''', bar at the top.

** '''Commands bar''', beneath the Menu, with buttons for commands like New, Open, ... Note that this one will likely be broken into many smaller toolbars, each covering one topic, so the user will be able to switch them on/off and rearrange. So this name is temporary.

** '''Tool controls bar''', beneath the Commands bar. Has the controls for the currently active tool.

** '''Toolbox''', along the left side
*** '''Selector tool''', or simply '''Selector'''
*** '''Node tool'''
*** '''Zoom tool'''
*** '''Rectangle tool'''
*** '''Ellipse tool'''
*** '''Star tool'''
*** '''Spiral tool'''
*** '''Pencil tool''': please, for consistency, do not refer to this as the ''Freehand tool'', or ''Freehand (pencil) tool''. However, you can (and probably should) use ''Pencil (freehand) tool'' when you refer to it for the first time.
*** '''Pen tool''': please, for consistency, do not refer to this as the ''Bezier tool'', or ''Bezier (pen) Tool''. However, you can (and probably should) use ''Pen (Bezier) tool'' when you refer to it for the first time.
*** '''Calligraphy tool'''
*** '''Text tool'''
*** '''Gradient tool'''
*** '''Dropper tool'''

** '''Canvas''', the main area optionally bordered with '''rulers''' and '''scrollbars'''

** '''Statusbar''', along the bottom

'''DEPRECATED TERMS''': these are for the code only. Never use them in user documentation.
** knot (this may be a "handle", "control", "node" etc as seen by the user)
** item (use "object")
** desktop (use "canvas" or "document window" depending on context)
** event contexts (they are known to users as "tools")

Inkscape glossary

2005-03-07T20:34:41Z

Kwixson: *

This is a beginning of an Inkscape glossary. Please respect it and contribute to it if you work on Inkscape UI. If you are doing translations, please create and link below a similar glossary for your language.

* RussianTerminology

------
==GENERAL==

* '''Node''': a point on a ''path'' that you can drag. It is displayed as gray (when not selected) or blue (when selected) square on a path when you are in node tool. ''Shapes'' do not display nodes; they have ''handles''. A node may also have one or two ''handles'' - these are the small circles connected to the node to adjust bezier tangents.

* '''Handle''': 1) one of two points around a ''node'', displayed (for selected nodes) as a circle connected with its node by a line (node handles); 2) the arrows around the selected object in selector (scale handles, rotation handles); 3) points on a ''shape'' that can be dragged by node tool to edit the shape, displayed as small white diamonds (shape handles); 4) the things that you drag on canvas to set the placement, direction, and size of a gradient or pattern (gradient handles, pattern handles). (Internally this is called a '''Knot''', but this is a deprecated term in user documentation.)

* '''Path''': an object that has editable ''nodes'' but does not have ''controls'' (when in node editor). An example is a line created by the freehand tool.

* '''Shape''': an object that does not display ''nodes'' but may have ''controls''. An example is a circle or star. A shape can be converted to ''path'' by Convert to Path command.

* '''Stroke''': a visible outline of a ''shape'' or ''path''. Not the same as ''path''; a path may or may not have a stroke. If the stroke is present, it can be converted to path by Convert Stroke to Path command.

** '''Stroke shape''' (''to be implemented''): the dependency of the stroke width on distance along the stroke. Currently only constant-width strokes are supported.

** '''Stroke pattern''' (''to be implemented''): the representation of a stroke as a sequence of arbitrary objects positioned along the path.

* '''Object''': an independent editable thing on the canvas. May be a ''path'', a ''shape'', a text object, a group, etc.

==USER INTERFACE==

* '''Document window''': the window with a document. Note that the same instance of the program may have several document windows. None of them is more main than others.

** '''Menu''', bar at the top.

** '''Commands bar''', beneath the Menu, with buttons for commands like New, Open, ... Note that this one will likely be broken into many smaller toolbars, each covering one topic, so the user will be able to switch them on/off and rearrange. So this name is temporary.

** '''Tool controls bar''', beneath the Commands bar. Has the controls for the currently active tool.

** '''Toolbox''', along the left side
*** '''Selector tool''', or simply '''Selector'''
*** '''Node tool'''
*** '''Zoom tool'''
*** '''Rectangle tool'''
*** '''Ellipse tool'''
*** '''Star tool'''
*** '''Spiral tool'''
*** '''Pencil tool''': please, for consistency, do not refer to this as the ''Freehand tool'', or ''Freehand (pencil) tool''. However, you can (and probably should) use ''Pencil (freehand) tool'' when you refer to it for the first time.
*** '''Pen tool''': please, for consistency, do not refer to this as the ''Bezier tool'', or ''Bezier (pen) Tool''. However, you can (and probably should) use ''Pen (Bezier) tool'' when you refer to it for the first time.
*** '''Calligraphy tool'''
*** '''Text tool'''
*** '''Gradient tool'''
*** '''Dropper tool'''

** '''Canvas''', the main area optionally bordered with '''rulers''' and '''scrollbars'''

** '''Statusbar''', along the bottom

'''DEPRECATED TERMS''': these are for the code only. Never use them in user documentation.
** knot (this may be a "handle", "control", "node" etc as seen by the user)
** item (use "object")
** desktop (use "canvas" or "document window" depending on context)
** event contexts (they are known to users as "tools")

User manual information

2005-03-07T07:58:56Z

Kwixson: *

This is mainly a scratchpad to begin working out the UserManual. We can post ideas and fragments of text up here, but the real deal will be in CVS so that it can be checked out and worked on.

: Why not write the manual here? Use wiki as a versioning & collaboration tool -- that's what it's for :) You can then use a script to turn raw wiki pages into whatever format you need for the distribution

Currently in CVS there is a manual (or beginnings of a manual) that was written in French for SodiPodi. Has anyone looked at it? What are your thoughts?

* VectorAndBitmap
* [IllustratorUsers Inkscape for Illustrator Converts]
* TricksAndTips
* KeyboardShortcuts
* InkscapeColor

We need to work now on an update of this Manual and have a specific version for Inkscape.

* Queries about Manual can be added here or sent to cedric@le-radar.com

== Inkscape tutorial paginated for printing ==

In SVG, each page is a layer. Make one page visible and others invisble. (The Wiki would not accept the PDF because the files are too big.)

These tutorials were adapted from Inkscape 0.41.

* upload:inkscape-tutorial-basic.svgz
* upload:inkscape-tutorial-shapes.svgz

== Where can I find the latest update? ==
* If you want to contribute, download the CVS
* If you just want to browse to find a subject, you can go to http://www.le-radar.com/?mm/inkscape. It is the most up2date.
* An alternate, in-progress, unofficial version can be found at http://www.angelfire.com/mi/kevincharles/inkscape/

== How to Help ==

* Adding new information to the manual : write your files in docbook or in plain text that we'll convert (please follow [[Manualguidelines.html|guidelines]])
* translating pages
* contact a contributor or add your name in the follow list and have a look at the [[Manualwip.Html|WIP]]

== People ==
<table border="0">
<tr><td valign="top">Cedric</td><td>main contributor</td><td>cedric at le-radar.com</td></tr>
<tr><td valign="top">John</td><td>uthor and fr/gb translation </td><td></td></tr>
<tr><td valign="top">Ernesto</td><td>spanish translation </td><td>celise at prodigy.net.mx</td></tr>
<tr><td valign="top">Antonio</td><td>italian translation </td><td>antonio.angelo at poste.it</td></tr>
<tr><td valign="top">Bryce</td><td>english translation/editing </td><td>bryce at bryceharrington.com</td></tr>
<tr><td valign="top">Kevin</td><td>english translation/editing </td><td>inkscape.docs at wixsonit.com</td></tr>
</table>