UserManualOutline

Future manual outline

(Introduction to Inkscape)

• About SVG
• State of available SVG software
• Inkscape Goals

Basics (already outlined, needs some refinement)

• Interface (no real depth here - just a basic overview of how these things work, where they are, what they look like...)
  • Menus
  • Command Bar
  • Toolbars
  • Tool Options
  • Working with the Canvas
  • Rulers, Guides and Grids
  • Palette
  • Information Bar
  • Dialogs (at least the difference between floating/docked)

Documents

• Document properties
• Creating templates
• Metadata

Toolbox

• Selector
• Navigation tools
• Drawing tools
• Transformation tools
• Color tools
• Text
• Connector

Objects

• copying and pasting (+ styles)
• transformations
• grouping
• cloning
• whatever else

Layers

• you know what we need here

Paths

Colors

• fill'n'stroke
• swatches
• color management
• link to gradient tool
• probably "clean up defs"

Patterns

Effects

• modification effects
• raster effects
• Live Path Effects
• SVG filters
• creating new effects (i.e. Python scripts tutorial)

Setting up Inkscape (Preferences)

Additional help resources

• everything from Help menu
• copy of the page that links to international sites
• mailing lists

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Here's a more detailed outline proposal. I know it's missing some stuff. If you have any suggestions, feel free to add and/or comment on them. -JF

• Introduction to Inkscape
  • About SVG
  • State of available SVG software
  • Inkscape Goals
  • Interface (no real depth here - just a basic overview of how these things work, where they are, what they look like...)
    • Menus
    • Command Bar
    • Toolbars
    • Tool Options
    • Working with the Canvas
    • Rulers, Guides and Grids
    • Palette
    • Information Bar
    • Dialogs (at least the difference between floating/docked)

For me, dialogs, how to work with canvas, how to work with tool, it's after. (/elisa) Hum, i'm not sure : it depends if you think of the manual as a tutorial or as a help system. In the first case you're right, in the second, one usually first explain the environnment before going further because the reader simply don't read it from A to Z. So the TOC is not thought as a learning path but a logical. (/pygmee)

(elisa) ok JF and you are ok to put working with canvas here. 2 yes and 1 no. Then it's ok :-) So, we are near our definitively TOC (just wait proposition of Alexandre). (/elisa)

I like your layout. I moved a few things (Tool Options after toolbars, since it makes more sense to have the subordinate come second). I think we still need to make mention of the Dialogs here, but just general mention of how they work. The specifics of each dialog will come in following sections. You still have Working with the Canvas above, though you said you thought it should come later. I think it should be briefly described above, more specifically later. -JF

• Toolbox (In depth, but limited to what you can do simply by clicking on the tool and using its toolbar controls)
  • Selector
  • Node Tool
  • Tweak Tool
  • Magnification Tool
  • Object Tools
    • Box Tool
    • Elipse Tool
    • Shape Tool
    • Spiral Tool
  • 3D Tool
  • Drawing Tools
    • Freehand Tool
    • Bezier Tool
    • Calligraphy Tool
      • Engraving Tool
  • Paint Bucket / Fill Tool
  • Text Tool
  • Diagram Tool
  • Color Tools
    • Gradient Tool
    • Color Picker / Dropper

(elisa) for me color bar not here, but at the begining in presentation of interface. (/elisa)

I took it out - since there's not much to talk about anyway it will be taken care of in the interface section. -JF

• Advanced Topics (Stuff in menus and dialogs)
  • Fill / Stroke
  • Display
    • Display modes
    • Icon preview
  • Effects
    • Filter (Different from path effects?)
    • Path
    • Raster
  • Arrangement of Objects
    • Coordinates (?)
    • Layers
    • Aligning / Distributing
    • Grids, Guides & Snapping
  • Object Operations
    • Path Operations
    • Selecting / Copying / Pasting
    • Grouping
    • Duplicating / Cloning / Tile Cloning
    • Transforming
    • Clip / Mask
    • Bitmap Functions (any operation particular to bitmaps not covered elsewhere)
      • Make Bitmap Copy
      • Tracing Bitmap
  • Text (Detailed)
  • Input (Mouse, Keyboard, Pen Tablet, Telekinesis :)
  • Document Properties
  • (Vacuum Defs)
  • Import / Export / Saving As (detailed)
    • Openclipart Import / Export Script
    • File Format spec and inkscape conformity
  • Printing
  • Inkscape Preferences

(elisa) For me, all ok,all the dialogs and the effects here.(/elisa)

• Super Advanced Topics ("Power User" stuff, hidden options, etc)
  • XML Editor
  • Color Profiling (Color Management)
  • Whiteboard
  • Hidden Options
  • Command Line
  • Scripting
  • Using Inkview (Can it do anything besides display a file?)

• Resources
  • Tutorials (Either included or linked to online version)
  • Website / Wiki
  • Forums / Mailing Lists
  • SVG Spec Reference
  • Other Pertinent Links