Inkscape - Notes

This is a notes-to-myself work in progress and will be edited.

Masks/Feathered Edges
Place a blurred white filled object on top of the area you want masked/feathered.
Select both
Object, Mask, Set

Turn off the mask/feather:
Object, Mask, Release
(Source: Release notes.)

Stamping
With the Select Tool start to drag the object (arrows will disappear),
then while still holding down mouse button,
mouse drag/spacebar to create stamp.
Holding down spacebar will create a steady line/stream of stamps --overlapping if you drag slow.
I practiced on a very small star to see how it worked.

Bookmark file directories for quick access.
File, Open dialogue, select directory you want, click on the Add button.
Bookmarks are listed way at the bottom left hand side of screen.

Automatically import images as patterns rather than bitmaps.
File, Inkscape Preference, Misc, Uncheck import bitmap as image.
(See Help, Tutorials, Tips and Tricks.)

Save, Save, Save, and did I mention Save?
Inkscape crashes quite often when I'm experimenting with different effects.
It can be a memory hog too. (How much is stored in the Undo History? Can't clear it.)

Edit, Undo History
(Like the History Palette in PSP9)

Default template opens in small window, at 35% zoom, with page borders. Yuk!
Template location:
Inkscape/Share/Templates/Default.svg
Open template in Inkscape, make changes, resave. (I saved a copy of the original.)
(At first, when I was completely clueless, I was working at that zoom and then realized how this was affecting memory and file size if I was working on gigantic images, duh.)

File Sharing

I can preserve layer transparency and open in PSP9
IF
File, Export with a png extension

Preserving vector info is another story.
svg imports in PSP9 (Paint Shop Pro 9) doesn't preserve transparency or vector data, although I can pick a size.
Inkscape's SaveAs offers an emf file type which would preserve both transparency and vector data.
I can import emf's in PSP9, but this particular emf type makes PSP9 crash when I try to edit the vectors.

PgUp and PgDown on an object will change it's stacking order (Z-order) with the other objects in the document. (See Help, Tutorials, Basics)

Reminder: Read popup tips at bottom of the screen
Change Fill/Stroke from there

F: and S: at bottom left screen
Left click = Fill/Stroke Menu
Right click = more options popup

Left Click on a color in the color palette at the bottom will change a selected object's Fill color.
Shift/Click changes Stroke color.

+/- keys = Zoom in/out

Clipboard
Copy/Paste from another application works for Text Tool.
No copy/paste screenshots, no copy/paste images from outside applications.
Have to save it in another application, then File, Import within Inkscape.


Some Keyboard Commands with Selection Tool:

On a selected shape (Select Tool)
Ctrl/Drag an arrow preserves aspect ratio when resizing.

Keyboard move, rotate with Selection Tool
[ - rotate left 15%
] - rotate right 15%

Ctrl/[ - rotate left 90%
Ctrl/] - rotate right 90%

Alt/[ - rotate left slow px
Alt/] - rotate right slow px

arrow keys - move 2px
Shift/arrow keys move 20px

< - scale down
> - scale up

Also try:
Shift/>
Shift/<
(Shift seems to do the same thing as plain < or > in Windows version of Inkscape?)

Ctrl/>
Ctrl/<
(Scaling at 50% maybe?)

With Selection Tool
Drag a corner of an object - rotation around opposite corner
Shift/drag corner - rotate around center
(Just the opposite in "Tip and Tricks" - another example of keyboard combination inconsistencies.)