| Inkscape project updates open-source vector graphics drawing tool |
Feb. 11, 2005
The Inkscape community has released version 0.41 of Inkscape, an cross-platform, open-source vector graphics drawing tool. The release, which primarily focuses on bug fixes, eliminates over 100 bugs and "significantly strengthens" Inkscape on Windows and support for international users. Version 0.41 also adds two "extremely powerful" enhancements.
One key new feature is that the black and white tracing functionality introduced in 0.40 has been improved to also allow conversion of color and grayscale images into vector graphics. Now Inkscape can convert photos, scanned artwork, and other drawn images into editable illustrations in the SVG format.
A second important enhancement is the addition of a new clone tiler facility, which creates patterns, tessellations, and other sorts of geometric tiling arrangements. This aids in the creation of a plethora of patterns and textures through an easy-to-use dialog.
User requests and comments also stimulated a number of improvements to units handling, extensions, the Invert Selection command, layers selector, icon theming, and the addition of several new translations.
A number of large scale changes are planned for the 0.42 release, including converting the user interface to use Gtkmm behind the scenes and the incorporation of a new Document Object Model (DOM) which will provide the core for implementing scripting. The Inkscape community will be busy implementing these changes for the next couple of months, according to the project. Users are urged to submit bug reports, and feature requests, and to contribute code.
About Inkscape
Inkscape is an open-source drawing tool that uses the W3C standard 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 meta-data, node-editing, layers, complex path operations, text-on-path, 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.
The Inkscape project says that its main motivation is to provide the Open Source community with a fully W3C compliant XML, SVG, and CSS2 drawing tool. Additional planned work includes conversion of the codebase from C/Gtk to C++/Gtkmm, emphasizing a lightweight core with powerful features added through an extension mechanism, and the establishment of a friendly, open, community-oriented development processes.
Further information about Inkscape -- including the download of Inkscape 0.41 is available at www.inkscape.org.
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