SVG editing under linux with Inkscape (Or on Mac, Windows or other Unix)

DesktopLinux has the news of a new release of Inkscape, an open source SVG editor for Linux, Max, Windows and Unix.

The program boasts capabilities similar to Illustrator, Freehand, CorelDraw, and Xara X, which also use W3C standard SVG file formats.

I've used Inkscape before and I'm not big into drawing graphics, but it's VERY full featured. The new version is 0.43 From the projects home page, inkscape...

Inkscape is an Open Source vector graphics editor, with capabilities similar to Illustrator, Freehand, CorelDraw, or Xara X using the W3C standard Scalable Vector Graphics (SVG) file format. Supported SVG features include shapes, paths, text, markers, clones, alpha blending, transforms, gradients, patterns, and grouping. Inkscape also supports Creative Commons meta-data, node editing, layers, complex path operations, bitmap tracing, text-on-path, flowed text, direct XML editing, and more. It imports formats such as JPEG, PNG, TIFF, and others and exports PNG as well as multiple vector-based formats.

It should be no surprise that they're a recommended tool for the Open Clipart Library. Really this is a very well done application from all I've seen of it, if you're curious about making SVG graphics, I'd make a point to try this one out. There is an online book entitled "A Guide to Inkscape" which is available with updates for the new features that come with this release. (The Guide is not included in the Inkscape download, so you'll need to visit the online version.)