Selector
A new selection mode is available: selecting by touch. In this mode, you draw a freehand path across the objects; when you release mouse button, all objects that are touched by this path get selected. This mode is very convenient in situations where you need to select objects so intermingled that selecting them by the rectangular rubberband is too difficult and so numerous that click-selecting them one by one is too tedious.

To activate selecting by touch, whenever you are drawing a rubberband rectangle, just press Alt to switch it to the touch mode. The rectangle will disappear and a red touch path will be shown instead. When dragging from an empty space, you can press Alt first and then start to drag to get the touch mode (note that your selection must be empty, otherwise Alt+dragging will move the selected objects instead). To start a touch selection from a point over an object, or to add to existing selection by touching, press Shift+Alt and then start to drag.

bovinity wrote:Blend modes is something I've been waiting for, and they're looking neat in the current SVN. The new calligraphy/"engraving" features look awesome too, from what I saw at LGM.

microUgly wrote:I haven't seen an official statement about "Blend". All I could find was a empty section on the release notes. Is the ability to set a blend mode a part of the SVG standard or will Inkscape have to work around the limitations of SVG?