Running Alpha version side-by-side

[ronburk]

Looking wistfully at alpha features while still needing to do production work.
Anyone know if it's safe/easy to install/run the alpha version alongside the latest stable release? (Windows 7, 64-bit).
Anyone have a feel for file format compatibility? If I create with the alpha version and get stuck, am I likely to be able to just load that file up with the stable release and mostly go on my way?
Clipboard cut/paste likely to work between the two versions?

To be clear, I can tolerate crashes/bugs. It's the possibility of losing hours of work even while diligently saving that I probably can't afford.

The use of a common graphics term ("alpha") for a version name makes it hard to search for any previous answers to these questions...

[brynn]

Yes, you can  have multiple versions of Inkscape installed at the same time.  While it's typically not thought of as a safe practice (with computers in general), it it possible with Inkscape, without worry.

You just have to be sure not to install them into the same directory.  Make a new folder for each version.

As long as you either use Inkscape's AutoSave feature, or otherwise have some form of backups, you shouldn't have to worry about losing work. 

As far as I know, all Inkscape files are backwards compatible.  You can open any file made with Inkscape, with any version of Inkscape.  (Although if you went back far enough, you might find features that can't be supported.)  But you can open a file which you created with one version (older or newer) in another version (older or newer), without any problems.

Clipboard or cut/copy/paste.....  I guess I can't answer that.  I use Duplicate almost exclusively.  The only time I might use Cut or Copy is if I want to take an object from one file, and paste it into another file.  I guess Inkscape would not care which version you were using when you cut or copied something.  But again, I don't have any notable experience about that.

I guess I must have....5 or 6 versions myself.  Although I do avoid having more than one version that's technically installed.  The reason I avoid having more than one EXE or MSI, is because Inkscape could get confused when I'm ready to uninstall them.  All the other versions I have downloaded the 7z package, and they all have their own folder in Program Files (or Program Files (x86) as the case may be).

[Moini]

I wouldn't be so carefree as Brynn is... But it's likely that it's going to work.

For safety, I would start the other Inkscape from the command line, and specify a different folder for user configuration, so preferences changes cannot influence the other installations. There have been incompatible preferences before.

Run <inkscape_program_file_name> --help to get info about the (changed) command line options, or read them up here:
http://wiki.inkscape.org/wiki/index.php/Using_the_Command_Line

[brynn]

All my different Inkscape versions use the same prefs file, as far as I know.  I've never found an occassion where I want to use a different preference in a different version.  At least not where it bothers me to switch it back when I'm finished.

Also, the only time I use a different version, is if someone needs support for some feature which I've forgotten how it works in that version.  So I might have 2 different versions running at the same time for maybe a half hour.  I don't keep more than one version running at the same time, for long periods of time.  Most of the time they're not being used at all.

If Inkscape were the kind of program which runs in the background, when you're not using it, I wouldn't do this.

[Moini]

The line-height issue you experienced when updating to 0.92.? was due to such an incompatibility, for example.

[brynn]

But I tested that with the prefs file which you provided, and I still have that problem.

I could look up that thread, but I think the last post there was me saying, yes, I installed your prefs file and I still have the problem.

[ronburk]

Thanks for the tips!  I started running it separately via the command line. I will next point it to a separate preferences location; if nothing else, I think I have some hack in place there to work around a bug, so might as well see if that's fixed. So far so good, but I'm only a few hours in. I'm sure there will be glitches, but hopefully the benefits will outweigh them.