I have recently been inserting quite a few files (pdf mainly) into Inkscape and was wondering if anyone knew the Default Import Insertion Location or if there is a preference that can be set?

My observations have been:

1. Maybe the Location where the mouse pointer is once the file is completely loaded into memory assuming the mouse is located in the drawing area at that time?
2. Maybe \ Sometimes middle center of the page if the Inkscape window is minimized before the file is completely loaded into memory?
3. Other times completely unpredictable.

I very well may be influencing its Insertion Location and just not know it and just FYI the files are multipage (pdfs) and fairly large (and my computer is a little slow) so it can take about a minutes to load therefore sometimes I am browsing other program windows while awaiting the file to completely load.

Regards
Ronnie Moore

So far, doing some test importing I have only observed your positions 1. and 2., not yet 3.
Just for curiosity... what exactly do you want to achieve?
Should the imported PDF-page(s) be centered on the Inkscape page/canvas?
Are there already some other objects in the document while importing your page(s)?

theozh

Thanks for the testing. Position 3 may be caused by me leaving the window at different (memory) load times or using alt tab or picking another open program from the task bar. I do not always transition from one program to the other the same way.

If I can predict, know, or set the insertion point basically I would be saving time as I would not have to perform the alignment task for every insertion. In my particular current situation I have been inserting near a hundred pages (1 at a time), each onto its own individual layer, I have my paper \ page setup with a default page border (on its own layer for use with all pages except the cover and back page) with company logo etc.. on it.

So yes, in this situation the goal is x,y centering on the page.

There are other objects in the document shown (described above) but on another locked layer. The are also other objects in the document on other hidden layers as well.

Anyway, I'm fairly new to Inkscape but my background is Engineering, CAD, and Computers. Sometimes I do struggle when expecting Inkscape to run like CAD. Not complaining, I am very impressed with the power and functionality of Inkscape, I just have to keep learning to expand my capabilities with it.

Thanks Again.
Ronnie Moore

I am pretty sure that there is a simple "rule" where the imported content is placed.
My guess is that the last position of the mouse or mouse click seems to determine where the imported content is placed.

a) if the mouse was positioned within the visible window (indicated by the red dotted rectangle) the center of the imported object will be at the mouse position. Even if you are clicking "OK" in the import dialog as long as the click is within the dotted rectangle.
b) if the mouse is outside the red dotted area the imported object is centered within the window, i.e. within the red dotted area.

So, if you want to have your imported object always centered on the page, make sure that
1. your page is centered within the visible window by pressing "Zoom fit page into window (5)" (blue ellipse)
2. your mouse position or mouse click is located outside the red dotted area (e.g. green ellipse).
With this, I always got the imported content centered on the page. Hope it also works for you.

theozh

Thank you very much. I will see if it works for me on my end and setup, and report back later.

Regards
Ronnie Moore

I have no idea if there is any way to control where an image is placed on the page, when imported. I would have guessed that either there is no way, or it's placed in the center of the visible canvas. For example, I've never had an imported image show up outside of the visible canvas, or partly outside. In my experience, it always lands in the middle of the visible canvas.

But what I'm more curious about is why it matters?

(as a workaround: The 'Align and Distribute' dialog with its buttons to center things on the page (select in dropdown) usually works faster than a drag-and-drop-and-snap of the contents, as it doesn't need to display any intermediate steps.)

tylerdurden wrote:

brynn wrote:But what I'm more curious about is why it matters?

If I can predict, know, or set the insertion point basically I would be saving time as I would not have to perform the alignment task for every insertion. In my particular current situation I have been inserting near a hundred pages (1 at a time), each onto its own individual layer, I have my paper \ page setup with a default page border

Sorry, my bad.

I would import all the files. Then when they're all in, select all, Object menu > Align and Distribute. Then set Relative to Page, then click Align to horizontal axis, and Align to vertical axis.

Hundreds of imports? Don't you run into performance issues? I hit the performance wall around 6 or 7 imports! Are they very small images?