What I've learned so far... There are instructions for configuring it here that involve installing something called MacUIM and doing some command line configuration. For XQuartz http://mattintosh.hatenablog.com/entry/2013/04/11/042811 Here's where things started getting confusing. /Library/Framework...

Why is it that despite switching to Japanese input, and choosing a Japanese font, that I still can't type in Japanese? I also can't assign Japanese layer names or save Japanese file names. This is becoming a problem using Inkscape in a professional setting where Japanese is frequently required. Usin...

I see!
Got busy after posting but just checked back and want to say thanks for the reply.

I had some mystery alpha - an object was semi-transparent when all of the alpha properties (stroke, fill, color, and layer) were set at 100% in Inkscape. I traced the culprit to style="opacity:0.45" in the XML below. What could I have done wrong, or Inkscape done wrong, to cause this value...

Thanks. Although I'm not completely understanding what you mean.
By "unconnect segments" do you mean "Delete segment between two non-endpoint nodes"?
I tried that but it didn't help. Is this the tool you meant?

Why is it that some nodes or vertices on a path are a different color? Like a light gray. It's as if they are flipped or inverted.
Is their rotation wrong? Should I fix them and if so how?
See screen shot.
Thanks.