This is very helpful, thanks.

So I've figured out how to create a layer, and I guess when I have that layer selected, my drawn components go into that layer. I now have to create a saved image file consisting of just the components from that layer. I also have to ensure that the image has a transparent background. What do I have...

Sorry, but I need more information. Showing me a screenshot after you got into a particular mode doesn't tell me how you got into this mode. I'd prefer to draw ready-made arrows, but custom arrows would be fine too. I'm just trying to figure out how to draw arrows. I still can't tell from this infor...

So it's looking like my attempts to get the latest version of Inkscape installed or built on my CentOS7.2 box are not going to fly. I only attempted this because I didn't see any way for the "default" inkscape on CentOS (version 0.48) to draw arrows, so I figured that perhaps that feature ...

So from this exchange, is there a concrete strategy that someone is suggesting here?

And how do I get the .deb file? The installer page says "Debian: Coming soon via apt".

My platform is CentOS7.2. I found inkscape in default yum repo, but it appears to be version 0.48, and the latest is 0.91. How can I install the latest version on this platform? The install page says "Coming soon via yum".