I just got introduced to Inkscape and it seems like a pretty cool piece of software. have a very simple task: I have several images that are maps of a certain location. I added the names of the countries to one but I would like to do the exact same thing to 40 similar images - they are exactly the same but were shot at different times. Is there some way I can copy this one layer to my other images? Thanks a lot for your help!!!!
Welcome to Inkscape! Maps are a fun project to be working with. If you are trying to place new information over the top of existing images in a detreministic fashion, and in an automated way, then you may be inrerested in testing out the use use of inkscape from the command line to apply your given layer to each iteration of the given image. With that in place, you can perhaps try writing a batch script to feed those details one by one to create the desired result. If you'd like to tell us what opearting system and version of Inkscape that you have installed, then someone might be able to give you better guidance on how to achieve what you've suggested. As a last resort, you can consult the online documentation or try doing each of the forty images by hand and complete your project with a sense of personal acompishment. ;)
Thank you so much for your response. I guess writing a script is the only way to go but as I am so new to Inkscape its best I learn it well before I jump to something so much more challenging for me. Last night I used Inkscape to annotate all 40 images by hand and sadly I only felt sleepy - there really wasnt that sense of accomplishment :) but I am enjoying exploring the software!
Thanka a lot for your suggestion but I am a real novice to Inkscape (downloaded it yesterday) so i couldnt really understand your recommendation. Could you simplify it to me please as it appears to be something I could do easlliy.
I can give you an even simpler way. Although it means doing it one at a time for the 40 files. If all your text is on one layer, and nothing else is in that layer, here's an easy way.
Open Layer menu > Layers. Click the tiny eye icon to hide all the layers except the layer with the text. Now you will be able to select the text, all at once. You might need to zoom out, depending on the size of the map. Using the Selection tool, you can drag a selection box around all the text at once. If this is too hard to do, I can tell you another way.
Once it's all selected, you can either click the Copy button on the command bar, or do Ctrl + c.
Now open the next file, and paste the text in. I'm not as certain about using Paste in Place as TD is, but it certainly would not hurt to try it. Edit menu > Paste in Place (or the key shortcut). (I don't know how Inkscape knows what the same place is, in a new file. But it might.) Or, if you want the text to be on a separate layer in the other files, you'll need to create the new layer first.
I don't recommend having 40 instances of Inkscape open at the same time (Inkscape would probably crash before you get to 20). So it's probably better to save and close each file before moving on to the next. You could probably have maybe 10 files open at once, if the file isn't too large. Although maps do tend to be large....
It depends on the settings in Preferences > Behavior > Selecting, whether Select All (Ctrl A) selects only in one layer, or selects in all layers. I had that all typed out at first. And then I decided it would be less confusing to just hide the other layers and use a selection box, rather than select all.
Either way works, you just have to pay attention to the preferences, if you use select all.
The default seems to be that Ctrl+A is restricted to the active layer, just as ignore hidden and ignore locked are the default. New users probably have not changes those settings.
Beginners' Questions copying all text from one image to another
Inkscape.org
I just got introduced to Inkscape and it seems like a pretty cool piece of software. have a very simple task: I have several images that are maps of a certain location. I added the names of the countries to one but I would like to do the exact same thing to 40 similar images - they are exactly the same but were shot at different times. Is there some way I can copy this one layer to my other images? Thanks a lot for your help!!!!
Welcome to Inkscape! Maps are a fun project to be working with. If you are trying to place new information over the top of existing images in a detreministic fashion, and in an automated way, then you may be inrerested in testing out the use use of inkscape from the command line to apply your given layer to each iteration of the given image. With that in place, you can perhaps try writing a batch script to feed those details one by one to create the desired result. If you'd like to tell us what opearting system and version of Inkscape that you have installed, then someone might be able to give you better guidance on how to achieve what you've suggested. As a last resort, you can consult the online documentation or try doing each of the forty images by hand and complete your project with a sense of personal acompishment. ;)
Dear Nathan,
Thank you so much for your response. I guess writing a script is the only way to go but as I am so new to Inkscape its best I learn it well before I jump to something so much more challenging for me. Last night I used Inkscape to annotate all 40 images by hand and sadly I only felt sleepy - there really wasnt that sense of accomplishment :) but I am enjoying exploring the software!
Copying layers is very simple with a text editor like TextPad or notepad++ . You can even use find/replace to do all documents at once.
It's also not much work to copy-all from a layer and paste-in-place (Ctrl+Alt+V) in other documents open in Inkscape.
Have a nice day.
TD
Hi Tyler,
Thanka a lot for your suggestion but I am a real novice to Inkscape (downloaded it yesterday) so i couldnt really understand your recommendation. Could you simplify it to me please as it appears to be something I could do easlliy.
Thanks a lot!
Welcome to the forum!
I can give you an even simpler way. Although it means doing it one at a time for the 40 files. If all your text is on one layer, and nothing else is in that layer, here's an easy way.
Open Layer menu > Layers. Click the tiny eye icon to hide all the layers except the layer with the text. Now you will be able to select the text, all at once. You might need to zoom out, depending on the size of the map. Using the Selection tool, you can drag a selection box around all the text at once. If this is too hard to do, I can tell you another way.
Once it's all selected, you can either click the Copy button on the command bar, or do Ctrl + c.
Now open the next file, and paste the text in. I'm not as certain about using Paste in Place as TD is, but it certainly would not hurt to try it. Edit menu > Paste in Place (or the key shortcut). (I don't know how Inkscape knows what the same place is, in a new file. But it might.) Or, if you want the text to be on a separate layer in the other files, you'll need to create the new layer first.
I don't recommend having 40 instances of Inkscape open at the same time (Inkscape would probably crash before you get to 20). So it's probably better to save and close each file before moving on to the next. You could probably have maybe 10 files open at once, if the file isn't too large. Although maps do tend to be large....
Let us know how it goes 🙂
No need to hide anything for select-all & copy... just select the text layer. Paste-in-place works within documents and across documents.
Ctrl+A, Ctrl-C then Ctrl+Alt+V in the next map, and the next and the next...
Have a nice day.
TD
It depends on the settings in Preferences > Behavior > Selecting, whether Select All (Ctrl A) selects only in one layer, or selects in all layers. I had that all typed out at first. And then I decided it would be less confusing to just hide the other layers and use a selection box, rather than select all.
Either way works, you just have to pay attention to the preferences, if you use select all.
True, true...
The default seems to be that Ctrl+A is restricted to the active layer, just as ignore hidden and ignore locked are the default. New users probably have not changes those settings.