~inkscape.dev/inkscape/trunk

=head1 NAME

Inkscape - an SVG (Scalable Vector Graphics) editing program.

=head1 SYNOPSIS

C<inkscape [options] [filename ...]>

options:

    -?, --help        

        --usage       

    -V, --version

    -f, --file=FILENAME               

    -e, --export-png=FILENAME         

    -a, --export-area=x0:y0:x1:y1     

    -C, --export-area-page

    -D, --export-area-drawing

        --export-area-snap

    -i, --export-id=ID     

    -j, --export-id-only     

    -t, --export-use-hints

    -b, --export-background=COLOR     

    -y, --export-background-opacity=VALUE     

    -d, --export-dpi=DPI              

    -w, --export-width=WIDTH          

    -h, --export-height=HEIGHT        

    -P, --export-ps=FILENAME

    -E, --export-eps=FILENAME

    -A, --export-pdf=FILENAME

        --export-pdf-version=VERSION-STRING

        --export-latex

    --export-ps-level {2,3}

    -T, --export-text-to-path

        --export-ignore-filters

    -l, --export-plain-svg=FILENAME             

    -p, --print=PRINTER

    -I, --query-id=ID     

    -X, --query-x

    -Y, --query-y

    -W, --query-width

    -H, --query-height

    -S, --query-all

    -x, --extension-directory

        --verb-list

        --verb=VERB-ID

        --select=OBJECT-ID

        --shell

    -g, --with-gui                    

    -z, --without-gui                 

        --vacuum-defs

        --g-fatal-warnings

=head1 DESCRIPTION

B<Inkscape> is a GUI editor for B<Scalable Vector Graphics (SVG)> format

drawing files, with capabilities similar to B<Adobe Illustrator>,

B<CorelDraw>, B<Xara Xtreme>, etc. Inkscape features include versatile

shapes, bezier paths, freehand drawing, multi-line text, text on path,

alpha blending, arbitrary affine transforms, gradient and pattern fills, node

editing, many export and import formats including PNG and PDF, grouping, 

layers, live clones, and a lot more.  The interface is

designed to be comfortable and efficient for skilled users, while

remaining conformant to B<GNOME> standards so that users familiar with

other GNOME applications can learn its interface rapidly.

B<SVG> is a W3C standard XML format for 2D vector drawing. It allows

defining objects in the drawing using points, paths, and primitive

shapes.  Colors, fonts, stroke width, and so forth are specified as

`style' attributes to these objects.  The intent is that since SVG is a

standard, and since its files are text/xml, it will be

possible to use SVG files in a sizeable number of programs and for a

wide range of uses.

B<Inkscape> uses SVG as its native document format, and has the goal of

becoming the most fully compliant drawing program for SVG files

available in the Open Source community.

=head1 OPTIONS

=over 8

=item B<-?>, B<--help>

Show help message

=item B<-V>, B<--version>

Show Inkscape version and build date.

=item B<-a> I<x0:y0:x1:y1>, B<--export-area>=I<x0:y0:x1:y1>

In PNG export, set the exported area in SVG user units (anonymous length units normally used

in Inkscape SVG).  The default is to export the entire document page.  The point (0,0)

is the lower-left corner.

=item B<-C>, B<--export-area-page>

In PNG, PDF, PS, and EPS export, exported area is the page. This is the default

for PNG, PDF, and PS, so you don't need to specify this unless you are using --export-id 

to export a specific object. In EPS, however, this is not the default; moreover, for EPS, 

the specification of the format does not allow its bounding box to extend beyond its content. 

This means that when --export-area-page is used with EPS export, the page bounding box 

will be trimmed inwards to the bounding box of the content if it is smaller.

=item B<-D>, B<--export-area-drawing>

In PNG, PDF, PS, and EPS export, exported area is the drawing (not page), i.e. the bounding box

of all objects of the document (or of the exported object if --export-id is used). 

With this option, the exported image will

display all the visible objects of the document without margins or cropping. This is the default

export area for EPS. For PNG, it can be used in combination with --export-use-hints.

=item B<--export-area-snap>

For PNG export, snap the export area outwards to the nearest integer SVG user unit (px) values. If you are using the 

default export resolution of 96 dpi and your graphics are pixel-snapped to minimize antialiasing, this switch 

allows you to preserve this alignment even if you are exporting some object's bounding 

box (with --export-id or --export-area-drawing) which is itself not pixel-aligned.

=item B<-b> I<COLOR>, B<--export-background>=I<COLOR>

Background color of exported PNG.

This may be any SVG supported color string, for example "#ff007f" or "rgb(255, 0, 128)".

If not set,

then the page color set in Inkscape in the Document Options dialog will be used (stored in the pagecolor= attribute of sodipodi:namedview).

=item B<-d> I<DPI>, B<--export-dpi>=I<DPI>

The resolution used for PNG export.

It is also used for fallback rasterization of filtered objects

when exporting to PS, EPS, or PDF (unless you specify --export-ignore-filters to suppress

rasterization). The default is 96 dpi, which corresponds to 1 SVG user unit 

(px, also called "user unit") exporting to 1 bitmap pixel.

This value overrides the DPI hint if used with --export-use-hints.

=item B<-e> I<FILENAME>, B<--export-png>=I<FILENAME>

Specify the filename for PNG export.

If it already exists, the file will be overwritten without asking.

=item B<-f> I<FILENAME>, B<--file>=I<FILENAME>

Open specified document(s).

Option string may be omitted, i.e. you can list the filenames without -f.

=item B<-g>, B<--with-gui>

Try to use the GUI (on Unix, use the X server even if $DISPLAY is not set).

=item B<-h> I<HEIGHT>, B<--export-height>=I<HEIGHT>

The height of generated bitmap in pixels.

This value overrides the --export-dpi setting (or the DPI hint if used with --export-use-hints). 

=item B<-i> I<ID>, B<--export-id>=I<ID>

For PNG, PS, EPS, PDF and plain SVG export, the id attribute value of the object that you want 

to export from the document; all other objects are not exported.  By

default the exported area is the bounding box of the object; you can override this using

--export-area (PNG only) or --export-area-page.

=item B<-j>, B<--export-id-only>

For PNG and plain SVG, only export the object whose id is given in --export-id. All other objects are hidden and won't 

show in export even if they overlay the exported object. 

Without --export-id, this option is ignored. For PDF export, this is the default, so this option has no effect.

=item B<-l>, B<--export-plain-svg>=I<FILENAME>

Export document(s) to plain SVG format, without sodipodi: or inkscape: namespaces and without RDF metadata.

=item B<-x>, B<--extension-directory>

Lists the current extension directory that Inkscape is configured to use and

then exits.  This is used for external extension to use the same configuration

as the original Inkscape installation.

=item B<--verb-list>

Lists all the verbs that are available in Inkscape by ID.  This ID can be

used in defining keymaps or menus.  It can also be used with the --verb

command line option.

=item B<--verb>=I<VERB-ID>, B<--select>=I<OBJECT-ID>

These two options work together to provide some basic scripting for

Inkscape from the command line.  They both can occur as many times as

needed on the command line and are executed in order on every document that

is specified.

The --verb command will execute a specific verb as if it

was called from a menu or button.  Dialogs will appear if that is part

of the verb.  To get a list of the verb IDs available, use the --verb-list

command line option.

The --select command will cause objects that have the ID

specified to be selected.  This allows various verbs to act upon them.  To

remove all the selections use --verb=EditDeselect.  The object IDs

available are dependent on the document specified to load.

=item B<-p> I<PRINTER>, B<--print>=I<PRINTER>

Print document(s) to the specified printer using `lpr -P PRINTER'.

Alternatively, use `| COMMAND' to specify a different command to pipe to,

or use `> FILENAME' to write the PostScript output to a file instead of printing.

Remember to do appropriate quoting for your shell, e.g.

inkscape --print='| ps2pdf - mydoc.pdf' mydoc.svg

=item B<-t>, B<--export-use-hints>

Use export filename and DPI hints stored in the exported object (only with --export-id).

These hints are set automatically when you export selection from within Inkscape.

So, for example, if you export a shape with id="path231" as /home/me/shape.png at 300 dpi from document.svg using Inkscape GUI, and save the document,

then later you will be able to reexport that shape to the same file with the same resolution simply with 

inkscape -i path231 -t document.svg

If you use --export-dpi, --export-width, or --export-height with this option,

then the DPI hint will be ignored and the value from the command line will be used.

If you use --export-png with this option,

then the filename hint will be ignored and the filename from the command line will be used. 

=item B<-w> I<WIDTH>, B<--export-width>=I<WIDTH>

The width of generated bitmap in pixels.

This value overrides the --export-dpi setting (or the DPI hint if used with --export-use-hints). 

=item B<-y> I<VALUE>, B<--export-background-opacity>=I<VALUE>

Opacity of the background of exported PNG.

This may be a value either between 0.0 and 1.0 (0.0 meaning full transparency, 1.0 full opacity)

or greater than 1 up to 255 (255 meaning full opacity).

If not set and the -b option is not used,

then the page opacity set in Inkscape in the Document Options dialog will be used (stored in the inkscape:pageopacity= attribute of sodipodi:namedview).

If not set but the -b option is used,

then the value of 255 (full opacity) will be used. 

=item B<-P> I<FILENAME>, B<--export-ps>=I<FILENAME>

Export document(s) to PostScript format. Note that PostScript does not support transparency, so any transparent objects in the original SVG will be automatically rasterized. Used fonts are subset and embedded. The default export area is page; you can set it to drawing by --export-area-drawing. You can 

specify --export-id to export a single object (all other are hidden); in that case 

export area is that object's bounding box, but can be set to page by --export-area-page.

=item B<-E> I<FILENAME>, B<--export-eps>=I<FILENAME>

Export document(s) to Encapsulated PostScript format. Note that PostScript does not support transparency, so any transparent objects in the original SVG will be automatically rasterized. Used fonts are subset and embedded. The default export area is drawing; you can set it to page, however see --export-area-page for applicable limitation. You can specify --export-id to export a single object (all other are hidden).

=item B<-A> I<FILENAME>, B<--export-pdf>=I<FILENAME>

Export document(s) to PDF format. This format preserves the 

transparency in the original SVG. Used fonts are subset and embedded. 

The default export area is page; you can set it to drawing by --export-area-drawing. You can 

specify --export-id to export a single object (all other are hidden); in that case 

export area is that object's bounding box, but can be set to page by --export-area-page.

=item B<--export-pdf-version>=I<PDF-VERSION>

Select the PDF version of the exported PDF file. This option basically

exposes the PDF version selector found in the PDF-export dialog of the

GUI. You must provide one of the versions from that combo-box,

e.g. "1.4". The default pdf export version is "1.4".

=item B<--export-latex>

(for PS, EPS, and PDF export)

Used for creating images for LaTeX documents, where the image's text is typeset by LaTeX.

When exporting to PDF/PS/EPS format, this option splits the output into a PDF/PS/EPS file 

(e.g. as specified by --export-pdf) and a LaTeX file. Text will not be output in 

the PDF/PS/EPS file, but instead will appear in the LaTeX file. This LaTeX file 

includes the PDF/PS/EPS. Inputting (\input{image.tex}) the LaTeX file in your LaTeX

document will show the image and all text will be typeset by LaTeX. See the

resulting LaTeX file for more information.

Also see GNUPlot's `epslatex' output terminal.

=item B<-T>, B<--export-text-to-path>

Convert text objects to paths on export, where applicable (for PS, EPS, PDF and SVG export).

=item B<--export-ignore-filters>

Export filtered objects (e.g. those with blur) as vectors, ignoring the filters (for PS, EPS, and PDF export). 

By default, all filtered objects are rasterized at --export-dpi (default 96 dpi), preserving the appearance.

=item B<-I>, B<--query-id>

Set the ID of the object whose dimensions are queried. If not set, query options will 

return the dimensions of the drawing (i.e. all document objects), not the page or viewbox

=item B<-X>, B<--query-x>

Query the X coordinate of the drawing or, if specified, of the object with --query-id. The returned value is in px (SVG user units). 

=item B<-Y>, B<--query-y>

Query the Y coordinate of the drawing or, if specified, of the object with --query-id. The returned value is in px (SVG user units). 

=item B<-W>, B<--query-width>

Query the width of the drawing or, if specified, of the object with --query-id. The returned value is in px (SVG user units). 

=item B<-H>, B<--query-height>

Query the height of the drawing or, if specified, of the object with --query-id. The returned value is in px (SVG user units). 

=item B<-S>, B<--query-all>

Prints a comma delimited listing of all objects in the SVG document with

IDs defined, along with their x, y, width, and height values.

=item B<--shell>

With this parameter, Inkscape will enter an interactive command line shell mode. In this

mode, you type in commands at the prompt and Inkscape executes them, without you having

to run a new copy of Inkscape for each command. This feature is mostly useful for

scripting and server uses: it adds no new capabilities but allows you to improve the

speed and memory requirements of any script that repeatedly calls Inkscape to perform

command line tasks (such as export or conversions). Each command in shell mode must be a

complete valid Inkscape command line but without the Inkscape program name, for example

"file.svg --export-pdf=file.pdf".

=item B<--vacuum-defs>

Remove all unused items from the <lt>defs<gt> section of the SVG file.  If this

option is invoked in conjunction with --export-plain-svg, only the exported file

will be affected.  If it is used alone, the specified file will be modified in place.

=item B<-z>, B<--without-gui>

Do not open the GUI (on Unix, do not use X server); only process the files from console.

This is assumed for -p, -e, -l, and --vacuum-defs options. 

=item B<--g-fatal-warnings>

This standard GTK option forces any warnings, usually harmless, to cause Inkscape to

abort (useful for debugging).

=item B<--usage>

Display a brief usage message.

=back

=head1 CONFIGURATION

The main configuration file is located in ~/.config/inkscape/preferences.xml; it stores

a variety of customization settings that you can change in Inkscape (mostly in the

Inkscape Preferences dialog).  Also in the subdirectories there, you can place your own:

B<$HOME>/.config/inkscape/extensions/ - extension effects.

B<$HOME>/.config/inkscape/icons/ - icons.

B<$HOME>/.config/inkscape/keys/ - keyboard maps.

B<$HOME>/.config/inkscape/templates/ - new file templates.

=head1 DIAGNOSTICS

The program returns zero on success or non-zero on failure.

A variety of error messages and warnings may be printed to STDERR or

STDOUT.  If the program behaves erratically with a particular SVG file

or crashes, it is useful to look at this output for clues.

=head1 EXAMPLES

While obviously B<Inkscape> is primarily intended as a GUI application,

it can be used for doing SVG processing on the command line as well.

Open an SVG file in the GUI:

    inkscape filename.svg

Print an SVG file from the command line:

    inkscape filename.svg -p '| lpr'

Export an SVG file into PNG with the default resolution of 96 dpi (one SVG user unit translates to one bitmap pixel):

    inkscape filename.svg --export-png=filename.png

Same, but force the PNG file to be 600x400 pixels:

    inkscape filename.svg --export-png=filename.png -w600 -h400

Same, but export the drawing (bounding box of all objects), not the page:

    inkscape filename.svg --export-png=filename.png --export-area-drawing

Export to PNG the object with id="text1555", using the output filename and 

the resolution that were used for that object last time when it was exported from the GUI:

    inkscape filename.svg --export-id=text1555 --export-use-hints

Same, but use the default 96 dpi resolution, specify the filename, 

and snap the exported area outwards to the nearest whole SVG user unit values 

(to preserve pixel-alignment of objects and thus minimize aliasing):

    inkscape filename.svg --export-id=text1555 --export-png=text.png --export-area-snap

Convert an Inkscape SVG document to plain SVG:

    inkscape filename1.svg --export-plain-svg=filename2.svg

Convert an SVG document to EPS, converting all texts to paths:

    inkscape filename.svg --export-eps=filename.eps --export-text-to-path

Query the width of the object with id="text1555":

    inkscape filename.svg --query-width --query-id text1555

Duplicate the object with id="path1555", rotate the duplicate 90 degrees, save SVG, and quit:

    inkscape filename.svg --select=path1555 --verb=EditDuplicate --verb=ObjectRotate90 --verb=FileSave --verb=FileClose

=head1 ENVIRONMENT

B<DISPLAY> to get the default host and display number.

B<TMPDIR> to set the default path of the directory to use for temporary

files.  The directory must exist.

B<INKSCAPE_PROFILE_DIR> to set the path of the directory to use for the

user profile.