Inkscape 0.91

The next release of Inkscape will have many new features and a lot of bug fixes (over 700!) from the previous release 0.48. See that version number? It's correct, the next release will be version 0.91, not 0.49! Inkscape is more mature than 0.49, it's approximately 0.91. Only a few long-standing bugs remain between us and the 1.0 milestone.

• Stage: Frost - Inkscape is focusing on merging branches, and publishing source tarballs; features will be integrated into the experimental branch where they can be tested.
• Managers: Bryce Harrington and Josh Andler

Release Progress

1. Unblock - Done 2013-12-20
   • Development focused on removing release blockers from the code.
2. Chill - Started 2013-12-28
   • Development focuses on wrapping up
   • Disable features that aren't finished
   • Identify 'distcheck' issues
   • Identify any critical OSX/Win32 packaging issues
   • Identify remaining writing needed for Release Notes.
   • Regressions Bug Hunt: 500 points
   • Update tutorials and other docs
3. Frost
   • Experimental Branch is forked
   • Post source tarball: inkscape-0.91-pre0.tar.gz
   • Additional source tarball: inkscape-0.91-pre1.tar.gz
   • Finalize any major changes to platform packaging
   • About Screen contest
   • General Bug Hunt:  1500 points  (list of milestoned bugs, regression bugs)
   • Additional inkscape-0.91-pre*.tar.gz releases
   • Packagers test creating pkgs of the -pre* releases  
4. Freeze
   • Stable Branch forked from Mainline.
   • Finalize tutorials to be shipped with release
   • Finalize other docs included in the release
   • Finalize about screen
   • Finalize Release Notes except Known Issues
   • Recruit Release Wardens for Hard Freeze
   • Translators start work on translations.
5. Hard Freeze
   • Complete any late work under advisement of Wardens
   • Focus on release-critical bug fixing.
   • Finalize all extensions
   • Finalize codebase translations
   • Finalize Known Issues section of Release Notes
   • Finalize packaging scripts
   • Post additional inkscape-0.91-pre*.tar.gz releases
6. Release
   • Source package available from launchpad project page
   • Windows build, MSI or EXE installer available from website
   • MacOSX build, dmg installer available from website
   • Debian build available in stable ppa or distribution archive
   • Fedora build available in stable yum repository or distribution archive 
   • Other Free Desktop targets?

New Features

This is intended to be a short summary. For a complete and up-to-date list of changes, see our Release Notes for 0.91.

• Cairo rendering for display and PNG export
• OpenMP multithreading for all filters
• Plot on serial pen/cutting plotters
• C++ code conversion
• Major improvements in the Text tool, typography extensions
• Measure tool
• Type design features
• Symbol library and support for Visio stencils
• Cross platform WMF and EMF import and export
• Improved support for Corel DRAW documents, Visio importer
• Support for real world document and page size units, e.g. millimeters
• Numerous usability improvements
• Official Windows 64-bit build (thanks to Partha)

Notable Bug Fixes

This is intended to be a short summary. For a complete list of bug fixes, including known issues, see the Release Notes for 0.91 on the wiki.

• Images are no longer recompressed when embedding or exporting them.
• Relative image paths are no longer stored as absolute.
• Many rendering glitches were fixed.
• The rendering of the stroke on transformed objects now matches the SVG specification.
• Values entered in the numeric input boxes for the selector tool (X/Y/width/height) are much more accurately applied.
• Adobe Illustrator svg files can be opened, even if they use entities.