Inkscape

symbol font does not appear in inkscape

Asked by Hossain

I am a new user of Inkscape 0.47. It is an excellent software for my needs. I installed it in Windows 2000 platform.

Unfortunately I could not find 'Symbol' font in the font list /drop down box although I can see it in MS Words. I desperately need to us symbol characters (e.g. delta) to produce graphs for geochemistry. I saw the other discussions but not clear to me. Could you please help me to solve this problem.

I have a suggestion for Inkscape. We currently can export the art work in *.png format? Why can't we export the files in other formats such as jpg, pdf, word etc. Please consider about it.

Hossain

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jazzynico
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jazzynico (jazzynico) said : 		#1

> Why can't we export the files in other formats such as jpg, pdf, word etc.

Inkscape can export (well, ok, it's in File>Save As and not in File>Export...) in some other formats, such as pdf or ps.
See http://en.flossmanuals.net/bin/view/Inkscape/WorkingwithFiles
and http://tavmjong.free.fr/INKSCAPE/MANUAL/html/File-Export.html#File-Export-Other

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jazzynico (jazzynico) said : 		#2

> Unfortunately I could not find 'Symbol' font in the font list.

Inkscape doesn't support bitmap fonts. Thus Symbol, Courier (Courier News is ok), Fixedsys and some others don't show in the list.

Do you really need the Symbol font for your graphs? Some fonts (such as DejaVu) have a very large unicode support and provide lots of symbols you could use instead.
See http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Unicode_Symbols#Symbol_block_list

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Hossain (hossain-siddiqui) said : 		#3

Hi Jazzy, thank you very much for solving the problem regarding file exporting/saving in different formats. I am glad that Inkscape is such a strong software.

Regarding symbol font, yes I really need the Greek letter small delta (unicode 03B4) for my graphs. You mentioned that I can use the some front like DejaVu. I found delta under "DejaVu Sans Mono
Greek and Coptic" list (code number is same as unicode). How can I install/found them in my Inkscape software (there is nothing in text drop-down list).

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Best jazzynico (jazzynico) said : 		#4

Hi Hossain,

This Unicode character also exists in DejaVu sans and DejaVu serif. The font should show in the list (or in the Text and Font dialog, Shift+Ctrl+T) if it is installed on your system (in C:\Windows\Fonts\ if I remember correctly). If not, just drop the font file in this folder to install it and restart Inkscape.

Then, create a text with the Text tool, use Ctrl+U to switch to Unicode mode, enter 03B4, and press Enter. (See http://www.inkscape.org/doc/tips/tutorial-tips.html for more details.)

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Hossain (hossain-siddiqui) said : 		#5

Thanks JazzyNico, that solved my question.

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Hossain (hossain-siddiqui) said : 		#6

Hi Jazzy,

Thank you again for solving my problem. You are brilliant!! I would like to add a comment here. I can get Greek fonts in Inkscape without installing Dejavu packages. Even in Arial font mood, just Ctrl+U (as you suggested) and put Unicode+ Enter.

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andrew myles (andrewmyles) said : 		#7

>Do you really need the Symbol font for your graphs? Some fonts (such as DejaVu) have a very large unicode support and provide lots of symbols you could use instead.

That's a nice answer, but not a good solution. In fact, answering "Do you really need" is ALWAYS "yes, yes I need". To which your answer should be "Alright, we screwed up, we will add the support of these fonts in next version".