THE COMPREHENSIVE GUIDE to the Inkscape program.

The web-based version is linked directly to under the program’s Help menu. This book is both an introduction and reference for the Inkscape drawing program. With Inkscape, one can produce a wide variety of art, from photo-realistic drawings to organizational charts. Inkscape uses SVG, a powerful vector-based drawing language and W3C web standard, as its native format. SVG  drawings can be directly viewed by web browsers such as Firefox  and Opera. A subset of SVG has been adopted by the mobile phone market.

Topics covered in this book are

1. # Introduction

   * How to Use This Book
   * Vector Graphics
   * SVG
   * The Inkscape Program
   * Help

   # 1. Quick Start

   * The Anatomy of the Inkscape Window
   o Dockable Dialogs
   * The Swedish Flag – A Short Example
   * The European Flag – A More Elaborate Example
   * A Hiking Club Logo – An Exercise in Paths
   * The Northern Pacific Railway Logo – A Tracing Example
   * A Box for Cards – An Isometric Projection
   * A Can of Soup – A Three-Dimension Drawing with Gradients
   * A Vine Design – A Tiling Example
   * A Neon Sign – Animation
   * A Bank Note – Security Features
   * A Bottle – Photorealism

   # 2. Files

   * Opening and Saving Files
   * Importing Files
   o Open Clip Art Library
   * Exporting Files
   o Exporting PNG (Portable Network Graphic) Files
   o Exporting Other File Types
   * Printing Files
   * Vacuuming Files

   # 3. Changing the View

   * Panning the Canvas
   * Zooming the Canvas
   * Miscellaneous View Commands
   o Hide/Show
   o Hide/Show Dialogs
   o Outline
   o Full Screen Mode
   o Switch Windows
   o Duplicate Window
   o Icon Preview

   # 4. Editing Basics

   * Undo and Redo
   * Selecting Objects
   o Selecting with the Mouse
   o Selecting with the Keyboard
   o Selecting with the Find Dialog
   * Copying, Pasting, and Deleting Objects
   * Clones
   * Ordering Objects (Z-order)
   * Groups
   * Layers
   o Layers Dialog
   o Layers Menu
   o Status Bar

   # 5. Positioning and Transforming

   * Inkscape Coordinates
   * Transformations
   o Transforms with the Mouse
   o Transforms with the Keyboard
   o Transforms with the Tool Controls Bar
   o Transforms with the Transform Dialog
   o Transforms with Paste Size Commands
   o Transforms with the XML Editor
   * Snapping
   o Targets
   o Snap Parameters
   * Alignment and Distribution of Objects
   o Align
   o Distribute: Uniform
   o Distribute: Non-Uniform
   o Distribute: Remove Overlaps
   o Rows and Columns

   # 6. Geometric Shapes

   * Rectangles and Squares
   * 3D Boxes
   o Perspectives
   o Attributes
   * Ellipses, Circles, and Arcs
   * Regular Polygons and Stars
   * Spirals

   # 7. Paths

   * Bezier Curves
   * Creating Paths
   o The Freehand Tool
   o The Bezier Tool
   o The Calligraphy Tool
   o Paths from Other Objects
   * Editing Paths
   o Using the Node Tool
   o Path Offset Commands
   o Miscellaneous Path Commands
   * Path Operations
   * Live Path Effects (LPE)
   o Bend Path
   o Pattern Along Path
   o Gears
   o Stitch Sub-Paths

   # 8. Text

   * Creating Text
   o Entering Regular Text
   o Entering Flowed Text
   * Selecting Text
   * Editing Text
   * Formatting Text
   o Formatting with the Tool Controls
   o Formatting with the Keyboard
   o Formatting with the Text and Font Dialog
   * Kerning, Shifting, and Rotating Characters
   o Kerning and Shifting
   o Rotating
   * Text on a Path
   * Text in a Shape

   # 9. Attributes

   * Fill and Stroke Paint
   o Flat (Solid) Colors
   o Gradients
   o Patterns
   o Fill Rule
   * Stroke Style
   o Stroke Width
   o Join Style
   o Cap Style
   o Dashes
   o Markers
   o Complex Strokes

   # 10. Tweak Tool

   * Tweaking Paths
   * Tweaking Colors

   # 11. Paint Bucket Tool

   * Simple Use
   * Filling Fidelity
   * Filling Multiple Regions
   * Closing Gaps
   * Adding to a Fill

   # 12. Clipping and Masking

   * Clipping
   * Masking

   # 13. Filter Effects

   * Basic Use
   * Filter Effects Dialog
   o Adding a Filter
   o Defining a Filter
   o Applying a Filter
   * Mini Tutorial – A Drop Shadow
   * Color Filter Primitives
   o Color Matrix
   o Component Transfer
   * Compositing Filter Primitives
   o Blend
   o Composite
   o Merge
   * Fill Filter Primitives
   o Flood
   o Image
   o Tile
   o Turbulence
   * Lighting Filters Primitives
   o Distant Light Source
   o Point Light Source
   o Spot Light Source
   * Pixel Manipulation Filter Primitives
   o Convolve Matrix
   o Displacement Map
   o Gaussian Blur
   o Morphology
   o Offset
   * Complex Examples
   o Emboss
   o Neon
   o Stereoscopic Pictures
   o Solar Flare

   # 14. XML Editor

   * Basic Usage
   * Editing XML Nodes
   * Examples
   o Adding Color to a Marker Arrow
   o Underlined Text

   # 15. Tiling

   * Symmetry Tab
   * Shift Tab
   * Scale Tab
   * Rotation Tab
   * Blur and Opacity Tab
   o Blur
   o Opacity
   * Color Tab
   * Trace
   * Tricks

   # 16. Tracing Bitmaps

   * Single Scans
   o Brightness Cutoff
   o Edge Detection
   o Color Quantization
   * Multiple Scans
   o Brightness Steps
   o Colors
   o Grays
   o Options
   * Common Options
   * SIOX

   # 17. Connectors

   * Creating Connectors
   * Modifying Connectors
   * Routing Connectors

   # 18. Effects

   * Color
   o Desaturate
   o Brighter
   o Custom
   o Darker
   o Grayscale
   o Less Hue
   o Less Light
   o Less Saturation
   o More Hue
   o More Light
   o More Saturation
   o Negative
   o Randomize
   o Remove Blue
   o Remove Red
   o Remove Green
   o Replace
   * Export
   o Export Group
   * Fretboard Designer
   * Generate from Path
   o Blur Edge
   o Dimensions
   o Extrude
   o Inside/Outside Halo
   o Interpolate
   o Pattern Along Path
   * Template
   o Perfect-Bound Cover
   * Images
   o Extract One Image
   o Embed All Images
   * Modify Path
   o Add Nodes
   o Color Markers to Match Stroke
   o Edge 3D
   o Envelope
   o Flatten Bezier
   o Fractalize
   o Jitter Nodes
   o Fractal (Koch)
   o Perspective
   o Radius Randomizer
   o Rubber Stretch
   o Straighten Segments
   o Whirl
   * Raster
   * Render
   o Barcode
   o Function Plotter
   o Gear
   o Grid
   o LaTeX Formula
   o L-System (Fractal-Lindenmayer)
   o Random Tree
   o Spirograph
   * Text
   o Lorem Ipsum
   o Replace Text
   o Change Case
   * Visualize Path
   o Measure Path
   o Draw Handles
   o Number Nodes

   # 19. SVG and the Web

   * Simple SVG Display
   o Using Object Tags
   o Using Name Spaces
   * Adding Links
   * Using Style Sheets
   * Simple Animation

   # 20. Customization

   * Inkscape Preferences Dialog
   * Inkscape Configuration Files
   o Preferences
   o Custom Templates
   o Custom Swatches or Palettes
   o Custom Markers
   o Custom Keyboard Shortcuts

   # 21. Using the Command Line

   * General Options
   * Export Options
   o Format Options
   o Export Region Options
   o Export Property Options
   * Query Options

   # 22. Challenges

   * Red Spiral
   * Knot
   * Squares
   * Pine Cone
   * Spiral Gyral

   # A. Inkview
   # B. File Format

   * Default Template File
   * SVG Groups with Objects
   * Groups of Objects
   * Paths
   * Defs

   # C. Spheres

   * Sphere with Gradient Shading and Shadow
   * Sphere with Hatched Shading and Shadow
   * Sphere with Dot Shading and Shadow
   * Sphere with Text Shading and Shadow

   # D. List of Dialogs
   # E. Tips for Illustrator Converts

The complete guide can be found when you click on  “Help->Inkscape Manual” on your Inkscape application Menu item or by directly visiting http://tavmjong.free.fr/INKSCAPE/MANUAL/html/index.php

This entry was posted on Thursday, February 26th, 2009 at 8:13 am and is filed under Inkscape. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. Both comments and pings are currently closed.