Inkscape is an open source drawing tool that uses the World Wide Web Consortium’s (W3C) scalable vector graphics format (SVG). Some supported SVG features include basic shapes, paths, text, markers, clones, alpha blending, transforms, gradients, and grouping. In addition, Inkscape supports Creative Commons’ metadata, node-editing, layers, complex path operations, text-on-path, text-in-shape, and SVG XML editing. It also imports several formats like EPS, PostScript, JPEG, PNG, BMP, and TIFF and exports PNG as well as multiple vector-based formats.
Inkscape is an Open Source vector graphics editor, with capabilities similar to Illustrator, CorelDraw, or Xara X, using the W3C standard Scalable Vector Graphics (SVG) file format.
Inkscape supports many advanced SVG features (markers, clones, alpha blending, etc.) and great care is taken in designing a streamlined interface. It is very easy to edit nodes, perform complex path operations, trace bitmaps and much more. We also aim to maintain a thriving user and developer community by using open, community-oriented development.
Inkscape Features
- Object creation
- Drawing: pencil tool (freehand drawing with simple paths), pen tool (creating Bezier curves and straight lines), calligraphy tool (freehand drawing using filled paths representing calligraphic strokes)
- Shape tools: rectangles (may have rounded corners), ellipses (includes circles, arcs, segments), stars/polygons (can be rounded and/or randomized), spirals
- Text tool (multiline text, full on-canvas editing)
- Embedded bitmaps (with a command to create and embed bitmaps of selected objects)
- Clones ("live" linked copies of objects), including a tool to create patterns and arrangements of clones
- Object manipulation
- Affine transformations (moving, scaling, rotating, skewing), both interactively and by specifying exact numeric values
- Z-order operations
- Grouping objects, with a way to "select in group" without ungrouping, or "enter the group" making it a temporary layer
- Layers, with a way to lock and/or hide individual layers, rearrange them, etc; layers can form a hierarchical tree
- Copying and pasting objects
- Alignment and distribution commands
- Fill and stroke
- Color selector (RGB, HSV, color wheel)
- Color picker tool
- Copy/paste style
- A gradient editor capable of multi-stop gradients
- Pattern fills (bitmap/vectors)
- Dashed strokes, with many predefined dash patterns
- Path markers (e.g. arrowheads)
- Operations on paths
- Node editing: moving nodes and Bezier handles, node alignment and distribution, etc.
- Converting to path (for text objects or shapes), including converting stroke to path
- Boolean operations
- Path simplification, with variable threshold
- Path insetting and outsetting, including dynamic and linked offset objects
- Bitmap tracing (both color and b/w)
- Text support
- Multi-line text
- Uses any installed outline fonts, including right-to-left scripts
- Kerning, letterspacing, linespacing adjustments
- Text on path (both text and path remain editable)
- Text in shape (fill shape following stroke)
- Rendering
- Fully anti-aliased display
- Alpha transparency support for display and PNG export
- Complete "as you drag" rendering of objects during interactive transformations
- Misc
- Live watching and editing the document tree in the XML editor
- PNG and PostScript export
- Command line options for export and conversions
- Perfectly compliant SVG format file generation and editing
Inkscape 0.45 Overview
This release brings the exciting new features developed by the Google Summer of Code 2006 participants, as well as tons of other improvements across the board. Here are the highlights:
- Gaussian blur is the first SVG filter supported by Inkscape. You can blur any object to any extent – yet it remains vector and fully editable. This gives a huge boost to Inkscape as a creative art tool.
- Display speed and interactivity: not only does Inkscape render faster, but it can now respond to user input before it finished redrawing the screen, which greatly improves the responsiveness (perceived speed or interactivity) of the program.
- History dialog makes it easy to to review your editing session and jump to any step of it, undoing and redoing multiple actions with one click.
- Several important tool features are added, notably the new selection mode in Node tool and the adjustable rounded caps in Calligraphic pen.
- Bitmap tracing works better for multi-color traces, sports a redesigned dialog and several new options.
- Many new extension effects are added, including Color effects and Pattern along path.
- The Outline mode has got many fixes and improvements, including a keyboard shortcut.
- Several new commands in Help menu open various Inkscape-related pages in your default browser, making Inkscape reference information more accessible as you work.
- Dozens of smaller features are added throughout the program, and hundreds of bugs are fixed.