Assume I want to backup my current customized preferences/settings (for later restore on the same InScape installation or another (e.g. on my Notebook))

Where are these settings stored? In an *.ini file or in registry?

Peter

They're stored in the Preferences file, but I'm not sure where it is. I think it's in the username's directory under Inkscape. Ok, here it is for Windows, and if your system is not Windows, perhaps you can infer the comparable location in your system. Username\AppData\Roaming\inkscape\preferences.xml. (Although backing up your whole system is not a bad idea )

In linux, the Inkscape preferences.xml (there are other applications with their own preferences.xml) is in the (hidden) home folder ~/.config/inkscape

Don't some properties come from the default template when Inkscape starts?

From the 'readme' "A template may store any document-specific settings (such as initial zoom and view, paper size, background and borders, metadata, window geometry, grid and guide settings, export hints) as well as any objects."

For example, I have my own default.svg in ~/.config/inkscale/templates that starts up with my desired canvas size but also has snap turned off.

Ok, thank you. I am working under Win7.

Can I somehow move the whole preferences folder to another location?
I prefer a new subfolder of the InkScape installation folder.
in other words from

C:\USers\Peter\AppData\Roaming\inkscape

to

D:\graphic\InkScape\myPreferences\

Can I tell InkScape somehow to search at first in this folder before going to the default location?

One reason for re-locating is that I want to run InkScape from USB Stick and keep preferences bundled with my (portable) InkScape installation.

Peter

Do you know about the windows portable Build of Inkscape from this download page?
http://sourceforge.net/projects/inkscape/files/inkscape/0.48.2/InkscapePortable_0.48.2-1.paf.exe/download

Yes, I use it.
Nevertheless settings are currently stored in

C:\USers\Peter\AppData\Roaming\inkscape

Thats exactly the problem

Not sure if this works on Windows: Inkscape uses $XDG_CONFIG_HOME as path to its preferences folder (in accordance to the XDG spec, which defaults to "$HOME/.config" on linux/osx). You could try whether the Windows port of Inkscape (or the win32 backend of GTK+) supports this global variable, too (AFAIU - not a Windows user myself - on Windows, this would be %XDG_CONFIG_HOME%).

Be careful when using a USB drive with Inkscape version 0.48.2. Make sure images are saved in a folder on that drive, and not on the root directory. There is a bug, where Save As dialog will not appear, if an image has been saved to any root directory (C:\, F:\, etc.). It's already fixed for the next stable release, which is due this year