Release notes/1.4.3

These Release Notes are in Draft Status. Commit History Main Program Commit History Extensions Important Links: Commit History Documentation

Pending questions: …

Definitely not released yet.

Changes and Bug Fixes

Inkscape 1.4.3 is a maintenance and bugfix release, which brings you fixes for many critical or irritating bugs, and even a few new features.

It is also a bridge release in the sense that it can be used to convert the planned Inkscape 1.5 multipage file format to the pre-1.5 multipage format. Versions lower than Inkscape 1.4.3 will not be able to interpret pages created in Inkscape versions 1.5 and upwards. Opening a document in Inkscape 1.4.3 and saving it will convert it to the current ('old') page format (MR #7608).

Background: While the 'old' format of pages in Inkscape is a custom addition that only works in Inkscape, the new format will make use of the svg:view element, which is standardized and can work in other SVG viewers, too. Find more information about this in MR #7525.

The most important fixes and changes in this release are:

• …
• 23 crash/freeze fixes many of which prevented users from opening certain files or exporting certain objects with Inkscape 1.4.2
• and almost 100 bug fixes and small improvements, among them improvements to xx, xx, and xx
• and 23 updated interface languages and XX updated documentation languages!

Crash / Freeze Fixes

Fixed a crash …

• … when exporting clones using 'context-fill' or 'context-strokes' to define a color to PDF (MR 7169)
• … when trying to convert a text-along-path that uses the 'path' attribute to define the path, which is new in SVG2 (and not supported by Inkscape yet - Inkscape uses 'href' to link to where the path is defined) to a normal text (MR #7191, Bug #5229)
• … when trying to export one's custom keyboard shortcuts into a file (MR #7192, Bug #5746)
• … when pressing Ctrl + Space in the Filter dialog (MR #7176, Bug #5569)
• … when editing an SVG file that contains text that is not in a text object and the preference to check attributes and properties on editing is set to true (MR #7138, Bug #5337)
• … when opening or closing some files with the Export dialog open, or when opening the Export dialog with certain files open (MR #6989, Bug #4744, Bug inbox#12065, Bug #4786)
• … when trying to export text objects of the type 'text in a shape' that do not actually have a shape associated with them, and prevent those from being created in the first place (MR #7170, Bug #5433)
• … when trying to delete a page which contains both an object and its clone(s) and the option "Move Objects with Page" is selected via the toggle button on the Page Tool's toolbar (MR #7183, Bug #5753)
• … when trying to open a file containing an invalid pattern that only has a transform, but no actual pattern (MR #7162, Bug #5677)
• … when dragging a layer onto itself in the Layers and Objects dialog (MR #7344, Bug #5814)
• … when trying to import a document with symbols or markers (MR #7363)
• … or freeze / slowdown when trying to copy objects using certain clipboard managers (MR #7252, Bug #5528)
• … when trying to open an SVG image with linked images that can't be found in the debug build of Inkscape (MR #7270, Bug #5844)
• … when trying to align empty (text) objects or single objects on a circle MR #7422, Bug #5926, Bug #1095
• … when using the Pencil tool in sketch mode and ending up in the same place you started drawing (MR #7436, Bug #5908)
• … when double-clicking on a curve with the Bézier tool under specific circumstances (MR #7452, MR #7454, Bug #5938)
• … when trying to edit a Line, Polyline or Polygon SVG object in SVG files from other programs that have a Live Path Effect applied to them. Instead, Inkscape now offers to convert those to a path first (MR #7349, Bug #5793). HIGHLIGHT
• … when trying to delete any object in a file where a text-along-path was grouped together with its path (MR #7468, Bug #5010)
• … when trying to edit the curve of the Bend Live Path Effect (MR #7579, Bug #12890)

Fixed a freeze that occurred when

• … Inkscape was trying to render filtered objects with invalid bounding box sizes (MR #7187, Bug #5356)
• … trying to copy objects that contain clones and have a Live Path Effect applied (MR #7214, Bug #4963, Bug #5459)
• … trying to open the Document properties dialog on Windows while more than one document is open (MR #7599, Bug #5219)
• … trying to adjust a font parameter in a malformed variable font (MR #7601, Bug #5978)

General User Interface

• Handles (for rotation, shearing, ...) now look correct, even when the canvas is rotated (MR #7222, Bug #5278) or when the y-axis direction has been changed in the preferences (MR #7395, Bug inbox#12314).
• The LPE tool (or geometric construction tool) is now by default hidden from the toolbar. It is an experimental tool which is mostly not functioning well (MR #7037, Bug #5044)
• When using drag-and-drop to add a non-SVG-image file to an existing file, Inkscape no longer opens the file in a new window instead of adding it to the open file, believing that a raster image must be handled according to one's SVG import preference (MR #6929, Bug #5642).
• The pasting options from the Edit menu are now also available from the right-click menu on canvas, via the option 'Paste …' (MR #6914, Bug #4970). HIGHLIGHT
• Buttons in the various Tool Controls bars, Snap Controls bar XXX and hopefully soon Commands bar no longer keep the focus when they have been clicked, so work on the canvas can continue seamlessly (MR #7211, Bug #5771).
• A few texts in the user interface have been improved (MR #7152).
• Splash screens, About screen and Windows installer images have been updated for 1.4.3 (MR #7622, MR #7635).
• Cursor shadows can no longer accidentally get cut off (MR #7298, Bug #5849).
• When a document does not have any pages (on startup), Inkscape no longer shows the page selection widget in the status bar (MR #7519, Bug #5735).
• The icons in the Commands bar now show up individually when the window is made larger, instead of appearing in two chunks (MR #7504, Bug #5786). HIGHLIGHT
• Interface animations (e.g. for opening popup dialogs) are now optional and can be deactivated in Edit > Preferences > Interface : User interface, making Inkscape feel snappier (MR #7598).
• The on-canvas right-click menu does not use a popover dialog anymore, because those were causing problems with Gtk3 (e.g. flickering/missing highlight, MR #7617, Bug #5188).
• 'Stroke to path' no longer replaces gradients/mesh gradients/patterns with 'unset' fill or stroke color (MR #7460, Bug #5816). HIGHLIGHT
• When pressing Enter in a popover to confirm a numerical value, the popover no longer closes, so you can continue making adjustments until you press Escape or click somewhere else (this was most evident when trying to change text kerning, MR #7619).

Style

• Clones or markers that contain groups which are set to inherit their style via context-fill and context-stroke attributes now use the correct styles in Inkscape and also when exporting to PDF (MR #7169, Bug #5670, Bug #3458).
• Gradients and patterns no longer obstinately resist all attempts to make them opaque when the object previously had a color with an alpha value (stroke or fill, MR #7508, Bug #230, first filed in 2007, fixed just in time before it would have been allowed to vote). HIGHLIGHT

Dialogs

Align and Distribute Dialog

• When aligning objects on an arc, they now end up where the arc really is (MR #7422, Bug #5919).
• When aligning objects on a circle/ellipse, they are no longer sometimes clumped together on one side (MR #7422, Bug #2690). HIGHLIGHT?

Fill and Stroke Dialog

• Modifying a swatch color with the color sliders no longer creates dozens of entries in the Undo history (MR #6993, MR #7074, Bug #5486).
• The patterns 'Abstract 1' (the first pattern in the 'Geometrical' set), 'Polka dots, medium' and 'Polka dots, large' (in the 'Halftones' set) can now be colored by the user just like most other patterns MR #6618, MR #7514).
• The name for the pattern 'Red Button' can be translated now (MR #6975).

Preferences Dialog

• In the keyboard shortcut settings, the categories for the keyboard shortcuts can now be translated by our translation team (MR #6989, Bug #2285, Bug #5501).
• The default selection tool setting for whether to change the current layer along with the currently selected objects was set to true, so some confusing behavior that resulted from the current layer not being the one where you are currently working in (not being able to paste, pasting into the wrong layer, …) is removed for new installations / after a reset of your preferences (MR #7542, Bug #5856). HIGHLIGHT
• An option for changing the current page on selection has been added along with the previous MR. HIGHLIGHT
• Sliders are no longer unintentionally moved when scrolling in the preferences dialog's sections (MR #7624, Bug #5900).
• The settings for the Welcome dialog and the Splash screen have been decoupled, so you can now enable each one separately (MR #7620, Bug #12141).

Welcome Dialog

• Empty margins around the image at the top of the dialog that were visible when using certain themes have been removed (MR #7515, Bug #5842).
• Labels for document templates are now center-aligned properly with their template icon (MR #7517, Bug #5174).

XML Editor Dialog

• After editing an attribute in the undocked XML Editor dialog, the popup for the text field now closes automatically again (MR #7320, Bug #2445)

Tools

• The setting to use This tool's own style no longer creates lots of unnecessary style attributes in the SVG source code (MR #7151, Bug #5690).

Measure Tool

• The tool's end point now snaps to other objects again when snapping to those is active, so accurate measuring is possible again (MR #7378, Bug #5881). HIGHLIGHT

Mesh Gradient Tool

• The option to show or hide the gradient node handles works again (MR #7146, Bug #5668).

Node Tool

• Editing nodes no longer becomes slow when the Object Properties dialog is open (MR #7389, Bug #5312).

Page Tool

• When moving pages in their order in the document (using the 'Move page...' buttons / options in the right-click menu), pages no longer change in size sometimes (MR #7194, Bug #5334).

Selector Tool

• The number fields in the Selector tool's tool control bar now show the correct object width, height and position when the preferences setting for geometrical / visual bounding box is changed (MR #6932).
• Selecting objects close to or below text objects has become easier again (MR #7379, Bug #5846).
• The degree sign in the tool's tooltips displays correctly now (MR #7518).

Text Tool

• Directions of the buttons for right and left alignment for right-to-left text have been fixed (MR #7243, Bug #594).

Menus

• In the File menu, the Revert option has been moved to its own section a few entries further down to reduce the likelihood of accidentally reverting a file to its saved state instead of saving the current state and losing your work (MR #7260).

Import / Export

General

• The proliferation of file paths in the Export dialog has been stopped, so files now end up again where you meant to put them (MR #7253, Bug #5459)
• The Export dialog no longer always adds information about your folder structure to any opened file, regardless of whether you actually exported anything or not (MR #7287).
• When using a non-default setting for the y-axis direction, the export area is now calculated correctly (MR #7358, Bug #5887).

PDF Import

HIGHLIGHT

• In the PDF import dialog, the default font import strategy has been changed from 'Draw missing fonts' to 'Substitute missing fonts' (MR #6765, Bug #5281).
• The user's selections in the PDF import dialog will now be remembered for the next PDF import (MR #7233, Bug #5792).
• In the PDF import dialog, the options for the font import strategy now do what their label says (and not the opposite, MR #6787).
• When importing a PDF, Inkscape no longer imports lots of unnecessary (in SVG) clipping paths from the PDF file (MR #6766, MR #7289, Bug #11078, Bug #5153).
• To specify the PDF page that will be imported when using the 'Cairo import' method (which can only import one page at a time), one can now use the preview image for the page in the PDF import dialog (MR 7365, Bug #4878).
• When importing a (non-standard-compliant) PDF with text, the substitution fonts that Inkscape suggests are more often correct now (MR #7491, Bug #5300).

Live Path Effects

• Simplify: The button that decides whether multiple subpaths of the path are supposed to be treated separately by the effect has been turned into a checkbox (Commit #9470be6d, Bug #4894).

Path Operations

HIGHLIGHT

• Path > Break Apart now places smaller objects on top of their surrounding, larger objects again (MR #7207, Bug #3905).
• The shape resulting from the first Boolean operation after creating a group somewhere in one's drawing no longer ends up at the bottom (in z-order) of the drawing, either (MR #7563, Bug #4563).
• Path > Split Path now works better with shapes that have nested holes inside (MR #7207, Bug #4556).

Text

• Text-on-path can now also be applied to rectangles, the SVG 2 specification allows for this (MR #7042). HIGHLIGHT

Keyboard Shortcuts

• When selecting a different set of keyboard shortcuts than the default set in the Welcome dialog, this no longer breaks most keyboard shortcuts and also respects the user's choice (Commit #6a8399ba, Bug #5648)

Themeing

• It is now possible to override styles in your selected theme without having to modify the theme itself. For this, the file user.css (Windows + Linux) or mac.css (macOS) needs to be created in your Inkscape settings' ui folder and populated with the style changes you want (MR #7421). HIGHLIGHT

Extensions

New Extensions

• TODO

General Extension Fixes

• Multi-line text entry fields in extension dialogs now expand to show more lines of text when you type in them (if the dialog height allows for it - you still need to resize the dialog as a whole to give the text field space to expand into, MR #7182).
• Extensions that do not work because they need additional programs installed on the system will now tell you what is missing instead of just failing to start (MR #7217, Bug #5341).
• Labels in extension dialogs are now correctly aligned again (MR #7526, Bug #5365).

Improvements in Particular Extensions

• TODO

Extension Development

• Effect extensions can now also be written in the XSLT language, previously only output and input extensions could be written in XSLT (MR #7540).
• The Windows binaries now contain GtkSource-4.typelib, in order to allow extension developers working on Windows to use the library to, for example, use syntax highlighting in their extension (MR #7353).

Linux-specific Fixes

• Drag & Drop as well as 'Open file with Inkscape' from the file explorer now work for files in /home and /media if Inkscape is installed in snap format (but not for files saved in most other locations) ([1], Bug #3642)
• Inkscape can now be started from the Welcome dialog when using Wayland as a display server. The button row can now be reached (MR #7224, Bug #5692)

Windows-specific Fixes

• JPEG/JPG export works again (MR #7173, Bug #5728) HIGHLIGHT

MacOS-specific Fixes

• The macOS system is now aware of the fact that Inkscape can also open jpg, jpeg and webp files (MR #7593).

Improvements for Development / Deployment / Testing

• The Gitlab build pipelines for macOS have been updated (Commit #2cf3a72590, MR #7290).
• The Windows dependencies have been updated. Inkscape now also uses graphicsmagick from msys again and ccache works properly when building on Windows (MR #7561, MR #7612, MR #7628).
• Building Inkscape on systems shipping poppler library 25.06.0, 25.07.0, 25.09.0 and 25.10.0 has been fixed (MR #7261, MR #7449, MR #7497 Bug #5836, Bug #5917).
• A build failure when trying to build with a custom path for the poppler library has been fixed (MR 7264).
• A warning that showed up while building Inkscape has been fixed (MR #6835, Bug #5402).
• Building Inkscape 1.4.x no longer fails with libgc >= 8.3 ([2]).
• The po (translation file) directory has been replaced with a git submodule. If this causes problems for building Inkscape, make sure there are no remaining files in the po directory and run git submodule update --init --recursive (MR #7533). Many other infrastructure changes had to be made to make this possible (Weblate, separate repositories for translations, CI scheduling, ...).

Translations

Weblate TODO

The following user interface translations received updates (as of Dec. 8 2025):

• Brazilian Portuguese
• Bulgarian
• Croatian
• Dutch
• Esperanto
• French
• Greek
• Hungarian
• Icelandic
• Italian
• Korean
• Marathi
• Polish
• Portuguese
• Romanian
• Russian
• Serbian
• Slovak
• Slovenian
• Spanish
• Swedish
• Traditional Chinese
• Ukrainian

Contributing to interface translations

Want to help with translations? Learn how to help!

Documentation

Weblate TODO

The following documentation translations received updates:

• TODO

Contributing to documentation and documentation translation

Contributions to the documentation translations, as well as improvements to its contents, are welcome at the inkscape-docs repository.

Other releases

• Inkscape 1.5 — development branch
• Inkscape 1.4 — current stable release branch (1.4.1, 1.4.2 next bugfix release)
• Inkscape 1.3 (1.3.1, 1.3.2)
• Inkscape 1.2 (1.2.1, 1.2.2)
• Inkscape 1.1 (1.1.1, 1.1.2)
• Inkscape 1.0 (1.0.1, 1.0.2)
• Inkscape 0.92 (0.92.1, 0.92.2, 0.92.3, 0.92.4, 0.92.5)
• Inkscape 0.91
• Inkscape 0.48 (0.48.1, 0.48.2, 0.48.3, 0.48.4, 0.48.5)
• Inkscape 0.47
• Inkscape 0.46
• Inkscape 0.45
• Inkscape 0.44
• Inkscape 0.43
• Inkscape 0.42
• Inkscape 0.41
• Inkscape 0.40
• Inkscape 0.39
• Inkscape 0.38
• Inkscape 0.37
• Inkscape 0.36
• Inkscape 0.35