ReleaseAnnounce039

Inkscape 0.39

We are pleased to announce the Inkscape 0.39 release. The most 
important change in this release is the  switch to the Pango 
library for font handling and Unicode support; a lot of work also went 
into new SVG features, export/import, UI, and usability. Here are 
the highlights:

  * Pango: smoother text display, auto kerning, better i18n (automatic 
    font substitution, right-to-left text, bi-directional text), less 
    platform dependence

  * New SVG features: markers (aka arrowheads), clones (svg:use), 
    pattern tiles, RDF metadata; many SVG compliance bugfixes

  * New dialogs: Preferences, Find, Metadata

  * New and improved import/export file formats:  PS, EPS, AI, PNG,
    JPEG, TIFF, BMP, Sketch, Dia, and more

  * Pure convenience: usable dropper, scale switches, Commands bar, 
    more tool controls (including rounded stars), more import formats, 
    more paper sizes, Revert command, edit inside group, better 
    selection cues, spell checking, window layout configurable, 
    streamlined Fill & Stroke, snapping improvements, better rounded 
    corners in rects, path reversing, persistent rotation crosshair, 
    per-object export hints, and much more

  * Internals: speedups, more C++ification, garbage collection, SigC++
    signals, wider use of new data structures, extensive cleanup

  * Plus: new documentation, new translations, lots of assorted bugfixes
    (the infamous "freeze when dragging outside of window" bug on Windows 
    is gone!)

The team has placed a great deal of scrutiny into fixing bugs, and while 
this was not a primary focus as it had been for 0.38.1, we expect this 
release will be at least as stable as the last.

For tons more details, see the Release Notes for 0.39:

    http://www.inkscape.org/cgi-bin/wiki.pl?ReleaseNotes039

Screenshots:

    http://www.inkscape.org/screenshots/

Download your packages (Linux, Windows, Mac OSX):

    http://sourceforge.net/project/showfiles.php?group_id=93438