Inkscape has released version 1.4.2, marking the first maintenance update to the 1.4 series of this open-source SVG (Scalable Vector Graphics) editor compatible with Linux, macOS, and Windows. This update introduces a variety of new features and improvements, including:
- Initial Support for Vectornator / Linearity Curve Files: Users can now import files created in Vectornator or Linearity.
- New Extension for Path Cleanup: The update includes a feature that cleans up paths by removing duplicate nodes and consolidating nodes within a specified proximity.
- Affinity Designer File Improvement: Enhancements have been made for better importing of Affinity Designer (.afdesign) files.
On the Linux front, this release addresses several specific issues, such as crashes that occur when dragging and dropping files in the Snap version of Inkscape and problems with the Export dialog in the Snap package. Additionally, it fixes drag-and-drop functionality in the Layers dialog on KDE Plasma using Wayland.
Further improvements include:
- Enhancements to DXF12 export to ensure color retention when saving.
- Support for preserving colors in POLYLINE objects during DXF file imports.
- The latter demands positive bleed values in the Printing Marks extension.
- Enhanced PDF importing that properly handles consecutive clippings.
- Updates to the modular grid feature for rendering with an inverted y-axis.
Inkscape 1.4.2 also brings minor fixes, such as correcting commands in the documentation, adjusting Python arguments for compatibility, fixing keyboard shortcuts, and improving the command for exporting pages.
Users can download the latest version of Inkscape right now from the official website as an AppImage, which allows running on nearly any GNU/Linux distribution without needing additional installations.
For a comprehensive list of changes, visit the release notes.