Re: [Inkscape-user] Inkscape and Uniconvertor
It's trivial to flatten a transparent PNG to produce a JPEG or
other
format using another application, if necessary. As such I see no particular
reason why Inkscape needs a JPEG export option. These days if an
application that is supposed to handle raster images can't load a PNG
directly I would consider it to be broken. That goes doubly for a DTP
program - what happens when you want a vector logo, exported as a bitmap,
to be placed over another image? Good luck sorting that one out with a
format that doesn't support transparency.
No, Inkscape doesn't have to. But, if the user is like me, and wants to
maximize their time to be efficient, a program that does the same thing
(vector drawing) but does export JPG, that program saves me time. That
time savings seems to be something that is eluding some people.
You want JPEG export. I know others that would like Photoshop PSD files.
Yet others will want TIFF, or BMP or other esoteric formats. Should
Inkscape support them all, or would it be better to export one or two
formats and allow the user to use another application to convert to
whatever they want?
But don't forget to consider, the users at the other end may be using older
systems and older software. Not everyone can afford, or sees any
need, to
have the latest and greatest of everything. When talking about any
computer related topic, you should always consider the possibility someone
in the group simply may not have the newer versions of X. And you have to
work to that level.
Where do you draw the line, though? How old should we cater for. What if
someone's still using software that pre-dates JPEG? Hmmm... perhaps
Inkscape should just export in one or two open formats that can easily be
converted to others - even pre-JPEG ones - using other software.
But, if the program isn't supposed to support PNG, the program
isn't
broken, it simply doesn't have the feature you want. Just like I want
Inkscape to export to JPG. That doesn't make Inkscape broken, it just
doesn't do what I want/look for. Like a car that only has AM radio, but
you want FM also.
If a DTP program doesn't support a bitmap format with alpha channels then I
*do* consider it broken as it prevents you from doing a lot of basic
things, like putting a logo over an image. It doesn't have to be PNG, but
in practice that's pretty much the only widespread open format that does
the job.
Inkscape not exporting JPEG doesn't prevent you doing anything, it just
adds an extra external step if you absolutely must have a JPEG.
Therefore I consider one case to be broken, and the other not. One stops
you performing the basic tasks the program is there for, the other doesn't.
Inkscape exports in the only widely used open raster format that supports
alpha transparency and saves losslessly; from that high-fidelity original
it's down to the user to accept the trade-offs of converting to something
else, and to pick their preferred tool for doing so.
Mark
Attachments:
- attachment.htm (text/html — 4.1 KB)