Document property profiles

[Esther]

This is less a bug and more a usability suggestion. I noticed with Inkscape 0.92, display and measurement units default to mm instead of pixels. Previous versions defaulted to pixels, if I remember right. I rarely use mm in my work, so I have to change this every time. There is no way that I know to change the default document properties.

Each time a new Inkscape document is opened, I have to select the properties required for the project. If I create multiple documents that require the same properties, I still have to go through the same selection process each time. It would save time if I could create a document property profile to save for future use. If this were implemented, I could then open the document properties box, select the profile and click apply. This would improve workflow by saving extra clicks to setup a document.

Ubuntu 16.04.3 LTS
Inkscape 0.92.2+68~ubuntu16.04.1

I expected the default units to be pixels. Instead they were mm. This caused unexpected dimensions in my drawing until I realized the default units were different in Inkscape 0.92 from previous versions. There is currently no way that I know to change the default document properties.

[Esther (melanes)]

I know the properties can be changed in the document properties box, but there is no way to change which properties are the default at program launch.

[TylerDurden (8thrule)]

Hi,
The default.svg file opens each time Inkscape opens a new document. Users can save a custom version with settings for size, units and more.

Tutorial:
http://libregraphicsworld.org/blog/entry/using-templates-in-inkscape

I usually also set the "scale" to 1 (and units to px) to ensure scale is consistent with extensions and across programs.

TD

[Esther (melanes)]

Thank you for the response. I think that blog entry is out of date.

I created a default.svg and saved it to home/.config/inkscape/templates. There was no existing default.svg file existing to overwrite. Upon relaunching Inkscape, the modified default template was not launched. I noticed in the home/.config/inkscape folder a preferences.xml file. I suspect that is where some default settings are stored, though I do not think that as a regular user that is something I should edit nor would I have known to edit it. If a document profile system is not created, then options need to be available through the global Inkscape settings menu. (As an aside, I tried to save a default.svg to the above folder from within Inkscape, but Thunar would not show me hidden files/folders from within the Save As window in Inkscape. Not sure if that is an Inkscape or Thunar problem. My work around was to save to the desktop and manually move it over).

Creating a document New from Template pulls the templates from /usr/share/inkscape/templates. The pre-installed templates do not give any details other than a title, so they may or may not be suitable for my task.

I see that I can create a document and save it to /usr/share/inkscape/templates/ and even overwrite the default.svg. But as a regular user this option is not obvious. When I go to save a file there is no option to save as a template and have the save option default to the appropriate folder.

Now that I know I am looking for a custom template, I found the correct reference in the Inkscape manual. As a user I searched the manual for document properties, default settings, etc., and could not find how to change this. From a usability perspective, this could use some rethinking as it has driven me crazy for a long time. As I am a Linux user, I'm not sure how all this works on other platforms.

[Esther (melanes)]

I attempted to create a new document to save as a template with my preferred settings. I cannot overwrite the default.svg file without changing permissions on the /usr/share/inkscape/templates/ folder. This means that I cannot create and save any template and have it stored in the templates folder without changing permissions of that folder.

Current work around is to create a file and store it in my documents folder and open that instead.

So from a usability perspective these things needs to be considered:

1. Create a document profiles system that a user can click on preferred settings in the document properties box.

2. Allow the user to create and save templates in an accessible area. Of course a user can do that now, but it is not all that clear on how that should be done especially with the New from Template option. It is a bit confusing. At a minimum an average user should not need root access or have to change folder permissions to create, edit, or save templates. Perhaps create a template SVG file format?

3. Include default document property option settings for program launch in the Global Inkscape Preferences menu.

[Esther (melanes)]

In reference to number 2 above. I went back and reread the help manual. I now see that when selecting Save As from the File menu, Templates shows up as one of my places (I use Thunar file manager and it shows on the left). When selected, it appears to save the file in /usr/share/inkscape/templates/ folder. Again, this was not super obvious because my eyes don't always look at the places option when saving a file. I compared some other software packages to see how they handle this:

LibreOffice - Save as dialog has the option to save the file as a template (.ODT) the file format drop down.

Scribus - Save as Template in the File drop down menu.

Krita - Create template from image in the File drop down menu.

Gimp - Create template in the file drop down menu

It may be helpful to create an option in the File drop down menu that is more explicit.