On Wed, 26 Apr 2017 09:05:24 +0100 Abrolag <abrolag@...16...> wrote:

I've just got around to updating my main machine from debian jessie to stretch (I only ever do this when a release freeze is well established) and it's fine for everything except Inkscape.

Have you talked to the Debian people yet?

Existing files are all over the place - especially where text is concerned, and trying to change a font in any way causes Inkscape to freeze.

I'm not quite sure what you mean by "Existing files are all over the place": Whether it's misplacing files, or whether some work and some don't, or whether they all have different symptoms.

I tried to compile an older version but configure doesn't seem to recongnise libraries that are installed (yes I included .dev) or calls for ones that I can't find anywhere.

I'd recommend you download and compile both:

* The version Stretch gives you, and * The latest stable release of Inkscape.

The latest might be incompatible with Stretch's existing libraries.

debian has no fall-back system so it would seem the only solution would be to scrap the entire install and go back to jessie. This is something I *really* don't want to do.

I'm really not a fan of Debian. Why don't you try installing qemu and then a different distro (I recommend Void Linux) on a Qemu virtual machine. That way you can limp by until the Debianistas can repair their compilation of Inkscape, or until you figure out what other root cause has reared its ugly head. I use Inkscape on Void Linux every day: It works great. Your Virtual Machine can access a hardware host's directory using a bind mount. I did that in Void Linux for six months (using a Ubuntu VM) before discovering how to get LyX to compile my books on Void.