I'm using Xorg installed through Fink on OS X (10.3.9), and for a while I was unable to get the Inkscape 0.42.2 package for OS X to run appropriately. I was finally able to get it to work flawlessly, and I wanted to pass along that information in case others run into similar problems. I would be happy to put this into the Wiki if someone wants to tell me where it should go. (Does it belong at http://wiki.inkscape.org/cgi-bin/wiki.pl?SupportedOperatingSystems?)

I started out with a shiny new install of the Xorg package from Fink after wiping out a previous attempt at installing X11 (part Apple X11, part XFree86 Frankenstein monster that was broken). I then downloaded and "installed" the Inkscape 0.42.2 package, and when I launched it it tried to run X11, which failed.

At this point, I started digging around in the .app directory, and discovered the `script` script. After commenting out line 16 of the `script` file, I finally able to get Inkscape to spit out an error at me, which was that it requires Apple's X11 distribution. This seemed a little odd to me, as I would think that it would be able to run with whatever X server is available.

It was clear that Fink wanted the open-x11 script, though, so after a bit more research, I discovered the `applex11tools` package provided by Fink, which essentially fills the gap between Xorg (or XFree86) and Apple's X11. In order to install *that* package, you need to download and mount the X11User.dmg file from http://www.apple.com/downloads/macosx/apple/x11formacosx.html if you don't already have it sitting around.

Now, when you launch Inkscape, it is able to correctly launch X11 along with it. You might also want to add "exec /sw/bin/quartz-wm" to the end of your .xinitrc, to get the nice quartz window manager. I say "might" because it depends on your .xinitrc setup. In my case, I had copied the system .xinitrc from /private/etc/X11/xinit/xinitrc, and it simply launched twm, a few xterms, and a clock, which was not really what I wanted.

In summary, it would appear that you can use either Xorg or XFree86 as your X Server for Inkscape 0.42.2, as long as you also install the `applex11tools` package in Fink.

Thanks to the Inkscape team for such a great tool and toy, and thanks to ACSpike for keeping me company and tossing around ideas with me.

Take care,

John L. Clark