Download Inkscape 0.47

Last Tuesday version 0.47 of Inkscape was released. Inkscape is an open source and cross-platform program for editing vector graphics. It thus shows similarities with programs such as Adobe Illustrator, Corel Draw, Freehand and Xara X, but the big difference is that Inkscape works with Scalable Vector Graphics, an open standard developed by the W3C. The implementation of SVG is, however, incomplete. SVG fonts can now be designed in Inkscape, but cannot yet be used to render text on the canvas. Below is an overview of the most important changes introduced in version 0.47:

Changes in Inkscape version 0.47:

• Timed auto save: no more lost work
• Spiro splines: an exciting new way to work with paths, fully supported in Pen, Pencil, and Node tools
• Auto smooth nodes: a new type of node that keeps the path as smooth as possible as you move it or its neighbors
• New modes in Tweak tool: pushing and jittering whole objects, scaling/rotating objects, deleting and duplicating using the “soft brush”
• Reworked, much more usable snapping system and a Snapping toolbar
• New path effects, including sketch, hatching, envelope deformation; effects can be stacked and assigned to groups
• A huge collection of preset filters in the new Filters menu
• New cairo-based PS and EPS export: improved quality, more features supported, fallback rasterization for filters and transparency
• Spell checker for text objects in a document
• Many new extensions: restacking, calendar, printing marks, cartesian and polar grids, interpolating attributes
• Optimized SVG code options, now with their own Preferences page
• Many other improvements, usability tweaks, memleak stops, and misc bug fixes

Inkscape screenshot, click on the image for a larger version.