[solved] Lots of questions

Post questions on how to use or achieve an effect in Inkscape.
mani
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Joined: Tue Aug 07, 2007 4:50 am

[solved] Lots of questions

Postby mani » Tue Aug 07, 2007 4:59 am

Hi guys,

I am a new inkscape user, migrating from xfig (got tired of entering text in xfig), and have quite a few questions of how to accomplish things in inkscape. I have searched the manuals and the forums and the mailing lists, and came up zilch. Your answers will be much appreciated.

Here are a first set of questions:

1) How can I permanently set my grid preferences? i.e. every time inkscape loads, I want to see a grid with my preferences. Was not able to do this in ~/.inkscape/preferences.xml
2) I see that the grid size varies with zoom. That kind of defeats my purpose because I want snapping to a fixed grid similar to xfig. How can I get this done?
3) How do I permanently set my document preferences, i.e., I want to have max opacity, a white background , fit page to selection etc. always set. I assume this can be done through the preferences file, but again was not able to find it.
4) Even when I have snap to grid in place, when I move an object using the arrow keys, it moves it by amounts smaller than the grid- this behavior is a bit frustrating, esp. since I am primarily a keyboard user (remember I use xfig :D)
5) I find text entry to be a hit or a miss. i.e., when I click on a text box, depending on where I click it either creates a new text box, or goes into editing mode. This is ofcourse much better than xfig, so I should not be really complaining. Is there someway of emulating what some of the MS software does with textboxes, i.e. the bounding box is selected?

Thanks for your answers....

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Darth_Gimp
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Re: Lots of questions

Postby Darth_Gimp » Tue Aug 07, 2007 8:12 am

Answers 1-4: Set your preferences and then save them to the default.svg. This is the one inkscape opens at each startup. Also, the grid doesn't vary, if you set it to a 10 pixel grid with one major line every 10 lines... its the same at all levels of magnification.

5. Text will edit existing text boxes. I don't find that to be hit and miss.
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microUgly
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Re: Lots of questions

Postby microUgly » Tue Aug 07, 2007 8:19 am

Damn, Darth beat me to the answers :)

Anyway for 4, you'll find most, if not all, programs will ignore snap/grid settings when using the keyboard to move objects.

mani
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Joined: Tue Aug 07, 2007 4:50 am

Re: Lots of questions

Postby mani » Tue Aug 07, 2007 11:03 am

Thanks guys for the default.svg thingy. I guess I have to save it within ~/.inkscape/

mani
Posts: 5
Joined: Tue Aug 07, 2007 4:50 am

Re: Lots of questions

Postby mani » Tue Aug 07, 2007 11:07 am

Yes - the grid is now fixed! It does not change when I zoom in or out.

But, where do I save the default.svg file. I tried saving one at my home directory, and one within ~/.inkscape, but neither seemed to pick it up....

Thanks again guys for such prompt responses.


Okay found the answer: some one might find this useful.

For *nix folks,
save the default.svg file in /usr/share/inkscape/templates/
That is where it picks up the file from.


This stuff about default.svg should be included in the manual somewhere, if it is not. If it is already there, I guess it should be made easier to find for noobs to inkscape like me.

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Darth_Gimp
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Re: Lots of questions

Postby Darth_Gimp » Tue Aug 07, 2007 9:04 pm

mani wrote:This stuff about default.svg should be included in the manual somewhere, if it is not. If it is already there, I guess it should be made easier to find for noobs to inkscape like me.


Good idea.. perhaps you could suggest it to the developers?
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mani
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Joined: Tue Aug 07, 2007 4:50 am

Re: Lots of questions

Postby mani » Wed Aug 08, 2007 12:00 am

Will do.

Meanwhile, I put it up in the tips and tricks forum:
viewtopic.php?f=6&t=162

Just thought that enough people do care about this - for a start my friends who are also new to inkscape will benefit from this information.


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