Inkscape User Manual

Un-official manual by Kevin Wixson

Table Of Contents

Table of Contents

Last Update: June 1, 2006

Inkscape
What is Inkscape ?
Inkscape Features
Vector and Bitmap
SVG
Interface updated!
Context
Dialogs
Document Window
Rulers
Guides
Units
File Menu
Create a document
Open a document
Open & Import file types updated!
Revert
Saving files
Import
Exporter
Print
Vacuum Defs
Document preferences
Edit
Undo
Redo
Cut
Copy
Paste
Paste in place
Paste style
Find
Duplicate
Clone
Tile clone
Unlink clone
Select original
Make a bitmap copy
Object(s) to patterns
Pattern to object(s)
Delete
Select all
Select all in layers
Invert selection
Deselect
XML Editor
 
 
View
Zoom (1:1, 1:2, 2:1)
Selection
Drawing
Page
Page width
Previous Zoom
Next Zoom
Show/Hide
Show/Hide Dialogs
Grid
Guides
Fullscreen
Messages
Scripts
Previous Window
Next Window
Duplicate Window
Icon Preview
Layer
Add Layer
Remove Layer
Switch To Layer Above
Switch To Layer Below
Move Selection To Layer Above
Move Selection To Layer Below
Raise Layer
Lower Layer
Layer to Top
Layer to Bottom
Delete Current Layer
Object
Fill and Stroke
Swatches
Object Properties
Group
Ungroup
Raise
Lower
Raise to Top
Lower to Bottom
Rotate 90 deg CW
Rotate 90 deg CCW
Flip Horizontal
Flip Vertical
Transform
Align and Distribute
Grid Arrange
Path
Object To Path
Stroke To Path
Trace Bitmap
Union
Difference
Intersection
Exclusion
Division
Cut Path
Combine
Break Apart
Inset new!
Outset new!
Dynamic Offset new!
Linked Offset
Simplify
Reverse
Cleanup
Text
Text and Font...
Put on Path
Remove from Path
Remove Manual Kerns
Unflow Text
Help
Keys & Mouse
Tutorials
About Extensions
About Inkscape
Commands Bar
Commands
Tools / Toolbox
Selector
Node
Zoom
Rectangle
Ellipse
Star
Spiral
Pencil
Pen
Calligraphy
Text
Gradient
Dropper
Live Shapes
Dialogs & Windows
Document Preferences
Inkscape Preferences
Font and Text
Stroke and Fill
Trace Bitmap
Transform
Appendix A
Inkscape for Adobe Illustrator Users
Theme/Icon Hacks
Color Management In Inkscape

 

Comments

Comments for the Site

Date: 06/06/2005
Nickname: Slobo
Subject: Guide
Message: Why not a pdf? Thanks
Date: 06/06/2005
Nickname: Kevski
Subject: Guide
Message: When I get a complete draft finished, I'll likely have it in a number of formats. Until then, just HTML works for the more fluid nature of these developing documents.
Date: 07/08/2005
Nickname: PaulOBear
Subject: Antialiasing
Message: Hi Kevin - I'm trying to generate bitmaps without antialiasing. I want only the colors I specify in the drawing. Can this be accomplished? Thanks in Advance, Paul
Date: 07/11/2005
Nickname: Kevin
Subject: Antialiasing
Message: No, antialiasing cannot be set for exports at this time. If Cairo is capable of non-aa, then it will likely show up in a future edition of Inkscape. The best thing you can do to ensure any feature you want is added to the project is to fully specify the feature and submit an RFE (Request For Enhancement) on the Sourceforge site, linked below.
Date: 09/16/2005
Nickname: Tom
Subject: PDF?
Message: You should include a downloadble manual that is saved as a pdf.
Date: 09/27/2005
Nickname: Itai
Subject: Snapping
Message: Hi Kevin. Is there a way to enable snapping in Inkscape? If so, to what objects can I snap during dragging? (Grid, Guides, Vertices, Vectors, Control Points etc...). Itai.
Date: 10/12/2005
Nickname: Derek
Subject: Javascript
Message: Is there a way to enter in javascript for the different mouse events possible for groups?
Date: 10/27/2005
Nickname: Bmud
Subject: Autosave
Message: It would be very helpful to know where files are autosaved in the case that inkscape crashes -- which it did today.
Date: 10/30/2005
Nickname: tech53
Subject: transparency?
Message: I've been trying to figure out how to set transparency, I'm not a regular user of inkscape/illustrator type tools, but gimp instead. I can't seem to find where the layer transparency settings are, and this may be a google it question but if anyone could email me some help on this it would be appreciated. I recently entered a logo contest on deviant art and need to get an svg version of my logo because I doubt the company will want a png or jpg without having something more scalable. Thanks. CS
Date: 11/16/2005
Nickname: User
Subject: Guide
Message: Why not a downloadable zipped html?
Date: 12/03/2005
Nickname: Andrew
Subject: Connectors
Message: I don't understand how to use connectors. Specifically, I don't know how to attach the connectors to an arbitrary point. It seems that a connector can only attach to one point in an object.
Date: 05/29/2006
Nickname: BILLYBOB
Subject: Inkscape Great!
Message: But could you put the documentation in a 1 page word or pdf document?
Date: 06/08/2006
Nickname: goa103
Subject: Moving this manual to the wiki
Message: Yes why not move this manual to the wiki ? I think there should be one place for the user to find help, actually it's hard for a beginner like me to learn something about the grid for example. The software doesn't even provide us with a link to the user manual, only tutorials. Keep up the good work !
Date: 06/24/2006
Nickname: Slice
Subject: Lameness filter
Message: Nice work with the documentation so far. But is there any need for HTML instead of plain ol' text in the comments? just thinking of the spam.
Date: 07/04/2006
Nickname: User
Subject: pdf
Message: please give a pdf, even if it is incomplete. It helps a lot.
Date: 07/05/2006
Nickname: Kevin
Subject: ANSWERS
Message: 1. ) Could you put the documentation in a 1 page word or pdf document? -- ANSWER: Yes. When I'm done with a complete draft. Not before. I don't wanna. -- 2. ) Yes why not move this manual to the wiki ? -- ANSWER: Because there is a community based documentation project, but this isn't it. This is, as labeled, Kevin's unofficial documentation project. If you want, you are more than welcome to copy everything from this project over to the WiKi yourself, but I'm not doing it. -- 3. ) But is there any need for HTML instead of plain ol' text in the comments? just thinking of the spam. -- ANSWER: Yeah, I don't know what to do about this. I didn't expect any spam, since this is a 100% custom coded comment system, which I didn't think spammers bothered with since they'd have to work hard at spamming. That seems to be a naive view. But, seeing as it is a custom system, I'd have to work quite a lot to change it. Maybe we can just all tolerate the odd spam comment until I get around to deleting it? MISC ANSWERS: Yes, this is still being thought about, if not actively and regularly updated. I've been busy with work lately. Plus, when the book was made for Inkscape, I started thinking that getting the documentation written was a less pressing issue. There isn't a link to this manual and it is not included in the software because a.) it's not complete and b.) this version has not been vetted by the community of developers.

Requests for New Pages...

Date: 10/20/2005
Nickname: Phil
Subject: fonts
Message: Which font library does Inkscape use? A simple guide to adding fonts, or softlinks from existing font collections to wherever Inkscape's fonts reside would be useful.

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Disclaimer

This manual is my scratch pad and development site for the Inkscape documentation project. Documentation that appears here may eventually work its way into the official Inkscape documentation, and changes to the Inkscape documentation may work it's way into this draft. It is a work in progress, so please don't mind the mess. Anything that appears here is GPL'ed under the usual licenses for GPL documentation, yada, yada, yada, or has been dedicated to the public domain. For a list of those elements that have been placed in the public domain, please click here.

Links To Official Inkscape Resources