Linux for Designers

Some days ago i found via the Inkscape Extension Repository an Flash SWF exporter. But it didn't work because it was outdated. So i dive into the code and with some help i get it working again. Here is an example of the Speed Dreams logo icon i made in Inkscape and the exported SWF:

This is a simple Flash SWF export via the PDF format. It requires SWFTools. It may failes with complex graphics or export them as images. For improved results try always the newest version of Inkscape and SWFTools:
* Download the archive inkscape_export_flash_swf_2011.zip.zip
* Install SWFTools (a PPA with up-to-date packages are here)
* As root copy the files of the archive to /usr/share/inkscape/extensions
* Launch Inkscape and create or open a drawing
* Launch Inkscape and create or open a drawing
* At "Save as" dialogue you will find "Flash SWF" at the file types dropdown menu
* If you like to have thumbnails of Flash *.swf files and like to view them without a browser
  then install the packages "swfdec" and "gnome-swfdec" too.

After a longer developing step and 4 prereleases, Inkscape 0.47 is now available as final. This version ships with huge improvements, to much to describe them here so check out the screens and release notes.
Hopefully this final will be available for ubuntu Karmic soon

The 2nd prerelease of Inkscape is available, please test and report any issues you run into.
Check out the roadmap and my older posts about the devlopment of Inkscape 0.47 (here, here and here) to explore the new features.
If you are using Ubuntu Linux you will find the older prerelease 0 at the Inkscape PPA.

Since May 15 the Inkscape 0.47 development is in feature freeze and in some days the Hard freeze follows. In mid of June the vector graphics software Inkscape 0.47 will be available. For more details about the 0.47 release check out the roadmap and my older posts about Inkscape:
http://my.opera.com/area42/blog/2008/05/25/inkscape-0-47-space-optimization
http://my.opera.com/area42/blog/2008/07/16/inkscape-0-47-path-effects
http://my.opera.com/area42/blog/show.dml/1993194

Of course this upcoming release needs a new About screen. So the typical Inkscape About Screen Contest is announced.

The SVGSlice addon for Inkscape could be a start of something really cool! That would be really great for webdesign. Nearly the same idea is in my mind for GIMP since a year.

Hey Inkscape fanboys using Ubuntu (like me ) check out the nightly Inkscape builds for Ubuntu at Launchpad.

The FLOSS (Free/Libre/Open Source Software) published a new manual about Inkscape. Basically it describes the tools and functionality of Inkscape.

There is an interesting summery and comparison about instant messenger icons by Chris Szeto. If you are interested in icons, GUI design and usability you should definitly check out GUIdebook and "10 Mistakes in Icon Design" by Denis Kortunov.

After creating a new splash for TORCS (using Blender and Gimp) i finished now a new Tango styled icon for TORCS. I enjoyed it again working with Inkscape:
How i did it:
* Set up the document (Shift+Ctrl+D) to 48x48px size
* Setup in the same dialogue the grid with 1px space
* Diplay the grid (View > Grid)
* Optional let the paths snap to the grid
* Now create/ design your icon but make sure everything used full pixel sizes/ positions
* Export the images as PNG (File > Bitmap export)

TORCS is available for Windows too and so i have to create a multiformat icon in the Windows ICO format too. Gimp make it possible to save images as the required format. The bad thing is that Gimp can't create multiformat icons (like Sibcodes plugin for Photoshop). Gimp didn't add resources it always replaces the full icon I created a bug report for Gimp 2.6.0.
Stupid me, GIMP can do!
Creating a multi-format Windows ICO with Gimp:
* Open the biggest icon PNG (in my case 48x48)
* drag all smaller resolutions into it
* If you like to create various color depths duplicate the layers often as needed (i duplicated them one time because i'd like to export 24bpp and 32bpp icons)
* Now save the layered image as an *.ico
* At save dialogue assign the color depth to any layer
* Save it, you will get an Ico file with various sizes and color depth

If the Inkscape project published a status of the Google Summer of Code interim results. All work of the GSoC projects are now in the main development branch of Inkscape or lib2geom. So most of the new features are likely to be seen in the upcoming 0.47 version .