I downloaded Inkscape on my MacBook Pro to give it a try. Started it up and get no menus, only Inkscape menu with only standard "Hide Inkscape," "Hide Others," and "Quit Inkscape" items available. I googled the problem and found that it has existed for some people since 2012 with no obvious solution that I can find.
I have used Inkscape for several years. Feel free to ask me how to do things or call and I will talk you through it. My number is on most recent "Lynwood Wagner" course maps.
Mark did you also download the Quartz app that is needed to run Inkscape?
Thanks Oscar, but I got it mostly working. On the Mac, Inkscape runs on top of another application XQuartz X11, and it appears to be an issue with how the two interact. If anyone else on a Mac is having trouble getting it to work I can walk you through what I did to make it work.
But anyway, any suggestions for online tutorials geared more to how we would use Inkscape to make maps? More on the practical side of drawing lines and manipulating objects, and less on the artistic stuff.
But anyway, any suggestions for online tutorials geared more to how we would use Inkscape to make maps? More on the practical side of drawing lines and manipulating objects, and less on the artistic stuff.
Yep, a couple little hoops you need to jump through before it will run. I was disappointed it won't open my old FreeHand maps (fortunately Illustrator will). Need to play with it some to see if it's worth adopting as my go-to map app.
I'm still having issues with making files appear on my screen. It seems to be an problem with XQuartz X11 working incorrectly on the Mac. You're not having this problem Jim? I can create a new flie, but whenever I try to open an existing SVG file, it does not appear on the screen. The Finder says it's open, but it is nowhere to be seen.
But anyway, I'm pretty happy with using OpenOffice Draw for my maps. The one pet peeve I have with Draw is the way it handles layers. To toggle a layer's visibility or locked status you have to double-click the layer's tab, and then change the status of a checkbox. I would very much prefer a separate dialogue that lists all the layers with checkboxes for each for visibility, locking, etc.
Does Inkscape have something like the above for manipulating layers? If it does I might continue to pursue getting it to work correctly.
But anyway, I'm pretty happy with using OpenOffice Draw for my maps. The one pet peeve I have with Draw is the way it handles layers. To toggle a layer's visibility or locked status you have to double-click the layer's tab, and then change the status of a checkbox. I would very much prefer a separate dialogue that lists all the layers with checkboxes for each for visibility, locking, etc.
Does Inkscape have something like the above for manipulating layers? If it does I might continue to pursue getting it to work correctly.
Each Inkscape layer has an open "eye" you can shut with a click right next to the lock unlock toggle in the Layers window.
Thanks Oscar. Yes that looks like a better way to manage layers than what is available in OpenOffice. I may have to switch.
I've spent some time over the last week playing with Inkscape and was impressed. I'm frustrated, however, with my inability to save "styles" (not sure what the term is in Inkscape, which may be part of the problem). I.E., I want to create a "style" called "Road/Black" that is a black line, 10 pts. wide, another called "Road/White" that is white and 8 pts., etc. Is there an easy way to do that, so I can quickly apply style attributes to various lines and objects in a drawing?
I have not found a way to do that, Jim. You can copy an item with a desired style and then select an item you want and click "Paste Style". For words switching between layers, I frequently just copy a word in the style I want and paste it and type over that. Ugly but gets job done.
I start with a blank 3300 x 2550 template with layers set up as follows from bottom to top:
White Background - Easier getting rid of unwanted black - big white rectangle under everything
Layer 1 - Screenshot of GE mapped course.
Street Lines - Tracing of Streets maybe 20 in Black
Street Fill - Copy of Street Lines Change to White Stroke width say 18
Objects - Detail drawings, mile marks, etc.
Course Arrows - Detailed drawing of arrows all in same style
Alpha - all words all in same style.
Swatch of Oscar_11 which I gave to measuring partner/ certifer Dave Rogers who says he now easily gets our maps under 400K in Gimp. AND last couple have been VERY true to my "artistry".
Oscar_11:
GIMP Palette
Name: Oscar 11
Columns: 16#
0 220 0 Green
255 0 255 Magenta
255 255 0 Yellow
65 105 255 Blue
255 127 0 Orange
255 255 255 (white)
0 0 0 (black)
181 37 46 (usatf red)
1 38 57 (usatf blue)
96 96 91 (usatf gray)
142 146 149 (usatf silver)
I start with a blank 3300 x 2550 template with layers set up as follows from bottom to top:
White Background - Easier getting rid of unwanted black - big white rectangle under everything
Layer 1 - Screenshot of GE mapped course.
Street Lines - Tracing of Streets maybe 20 in Black
Street Fill - Copy of Street Lines Change to White Stroke width say 18
Objects - Detail drawings, mile marks, etc.
Course Arrows - Detailed drawing of arrows all in same style
Alpha - all words all in same style.
Swatch of Oscar_11 which I gave to measuring partner/ certifer Dave Rogers who says he now easily gets our maps under 400K in Gimp. AND last couple have been VERY true to my "artistry".
Oscar_11:
GIMP Palette
Name: Oscar 11
Columns: 16#
0 220 0 Green
255 0 255 Magenta
255 255 0 Yellow
65 105 255 Blue
255 127 0 Orange
255 255 255 (white)
0 0 0 (black)
181 37 46 (usatf red)
1 38 57 (usatf blue)
96 96 91 (usatf gray)
142 146 149 (usatf silver)
Mark,
If you're referring to drawing "curbs",
my method is to draw a white line for the curbs at the appropriate width (let's say 20)
then copy/paste that line. The pasted line should cover the first exactly.
Then I reduce the width of the pasted line by 1 point and change its color to a darker color (grey 7 is a favorite).
As far as the route line, I don't copy and past this because its route is particular (SPR) compared to the road and starting fresh with the polygon tool is a best practice for me.
other helpful tips here:
1.Draw the curb and the road on separate layers. It's imperative if you want to properly draw intersections and it'll prove useful later if you need to edit some part.
2.Use the polygon tool to try and draw the route in as few segments as possible
3.Save often, crashes don't come often but they do come unexpectedly
All told, I love the OpenOffice Draw program. Just when I think I've exploited the software, I discover a new tool or better method to achieve my goals.
If you're referring to drawing "curbs",
my method is to draw a white line for the curbs at the appropriate width (let's say 20)
then copy/paste that line. The pasted line should cover the first exactly.
Then I reduce the width of the pasted line by 1 point and change its color to a darker color (grey 7 is a favorite).
As far as the route line, I don't copy and past this because its route is particular (SPR) compared to the road and starting fresh with the polygon tool is a best practice for me.
other helpful tips here:
1.Draw the curb and the road on separate layers. It's imperative if you want to properly draw intersections and it'll prove useful later if you need to edit some part.
2.Use the polygon tool to try and draw the route in as few segments as possible
3.Save often, crashes don't come often but they do come unexpectedly
All told, I love the OpenOffice Draw program. Just when I think I've exploited the software, I discover a new tool or better method to achieve my goals.
quote:Originally posted by Mark Neal:
Dave,
Does openoffice draw have a tool to draw the parallel lines of road edges, or did you do that by copying, pasting, and shifting?
Nathan that question of mine that you're referring to is from 6.5 years ago!! Shortly after I asked that Jim Gerweck posted the double-think-line method of creating a network of roads that you mention, on a different thread. I used it for a couple years, but now I mostly create what Pete Riegel refers to as single line maps.