Required PDF Support

1. What is level of Support/features are required?
2. What SVG features must be supported beyond the basics?
3. Should the deliverable be a library, a stand alone tool, or ...?
4. Other questions about requirements?

This page identifies exactly what sort of PDF support Inkscape needs. This information is essential to complete the plan for the PrintingConsensusPoll.

• Arbitrary .pdf and .ps files can be opened or imported directly into an inkscape document in exactly the way that .svg files are imported.
  • All shapes are editable
  • All text is rendered in the same font as the original .pdf
  • All text is appropriately sequential (multi-column pdfs are handled correctly)
  • Arbitrary "page to import" is selectable for multi-page documents.
• Arbitrary .svg files can be "saved as" .pdf files
  • What does the .pdf rendering model have that .svg does not?
  • What does the .svg rendering model have that .pdf does not?
  • Perhaps you would like to help EricWilhelm fill-out this table: xar/svg/ps/pdf/crs features (contact me to get the YAML source)
• Hyperlinks in the PDF file are preserved in the SVG.
• Exporting the SVG to .png produces a pixel accurate ...
• ... please refactor and refine ...

What Users Need from Inkscape PDF/PS Support

• SVG canvas size needs to be compatible with PDF canvas
• Color SVG's get turned black and white on export; needs to preserve colors
• Better gradient supports. Xara Xtreme does a nice trick with gradients by creating colored steps aligned to the shape/direction of the gradient.
• Better AI support. The Adobe Illustrator file format is a PDF-based format (after version 7), or postscript (before version 7). If Inkscape gains good PDF/PS support, it should also be able to load/save AI files.
• Support for alpha transparency everywhere (objects, gradient stops, etc.)
• Ability to tile one large image across multiple pages (cf. KDEPrint's poster utility http://printing.kde.org/downloads/)
• /What else?/