WHY is Inkscape changing the colours as I type them?
WHY is Inkscape changing the colours as I type them?
Hi all,
I am trying to create some simple leaflet designs for a friend.
There are NO gradients, transparencies, or anything remotely ‘fancy’ in the design.
I am having use a few specific colours from a specific pre-defined palette.
I have been working with that palette for a few days, and all has worked fine.
Today, Inkscape has randomly re-assigned the colours of EVERY object in my files.
What is worse, it now suddenly NOT allowing me to use the ‘Fill and Stroke’ dialog box to specify the colours that I wish to use.
Every time I type in a colour value, Inkscape changes the value I have typed when I hit ‘enter’ or when I hit the ‘Tab’ key to move to the next dialog.
If I try to use the sliders, Inkscape changes the values as soon as I set them.
In case my file had become corrupted, I have tried opening a completely blank new document, creating a single rectangle, and trying to specify its fill colour.
Inkscape STILL randomly re-assigned the colour values as I try to input them.
I have uninstalled the program, and re-installed the newer version. And created an entirely new document.
Inkscape is STILL randomly re-assigning the colour values as I try to enter them.
WHY is Inkscape suddenly doing this? Is there some simple setting (perhaps called ‘Frustration Mode’) that I have somehow inadvertently activated?
If there IS, HOW do I turn it OFF again?
HOW do I get the program to STOP doing this? HOW can I get Inkscape to LET ME specify the colours that I wish to use?
Today is Friday 24th April.
I have to have my design file at the print shop on Monday 27th April.
Your help will be greatly appreciated.
I am trying to create some simple leaflet designs for a friend.
There are NO gradients, transparencies, or anything remotely ‘fancy’ in the design.
I am having use a few specific colours from a specific pre-defined palette.
I have been working with that palette for a few days, and all has worked fine.
Today, Inkscape has randomly re-assigned the colours of EVERY object in my files.
What is worse, it now suddenly NOT allowing me to use the ‘Fill and Stroke’ dialog box to specify the colours that I wish to use.
Every time I type in a colour value, Inkscape changes the value I have typed when I hit ‘enter’ or when I hit the ‘Tab’ key to move to the next dialog.
If I try to use the sliders, Inkscape changes the values as soon as I set them.
In case my file had become corrupted, I have tried opening a completely blank new document, creating a single rectangle, and trying to specify its fill colour.
Inkscape STILL randomly re-assigned the colour values as I try to input them.
I have uninstalled the program, and re-installed the newer version. And created an entirely new document.
Inkscape is STILL randomly re-assigning the colour values as I try to enter them.
WHY is Inkscape suddenly doing this? Is there some simple setting (perhaps called ‘Frustration Mode’) that I have somehow inadvertently activated?
If there IS, HOW do I turn it OFF again?
HOW do I get the program to STOP doing this? HOW can I get Inkscape to LET ME specify the colours that I wish to use?
Today is Friday 24th April.
I have to have my design file at the print shop on Monday 27th April.
Your help will be greatly appreciated.
Re: WHY is Inkscape changing the colours as I type them?
Well, that sounds like a mystery for sure. I haven't seen that behavior before. But if you're using Inkscape 0.91, it's still new, and we don't know of all the problems it might have yet.
Can you provide either that file, or another file that's displaying the problem?
It sounds like the problem might be with your preferences, since it's happening in a brand new file. But it still might help if we can look into the SVG file.
Can you provide either that file, or another file that's displaying the problem?
It sounds like the problem might be with your preferences, since it's happening in a brand new file. But it still might help if we can look into the SVG file.
Basics - Help menu > Tutorials
Manual - Inkscape: Guide to a Vector Drawing Program
Inkscape Community - Inkscape FAQ - Gallery
Inkscape for Cutting Design
Manual - Inkscape: Guide to a Vector Drawing Program
Inkscape Community - Inkscape FAQ - Gallery
Inkscape for Cutting Design
Re: WHY is Inkscape changing the colours as I type them?
Hi.
Try to go to your user preferences directory and delete the file called preferences.xml
If Inkscape can't find the file on startup it will create a new one with default settings.
To find where Inkscape is "hiding" the preferences.xml file go to preferences (Shift Ctrl P)
and click the system line once.
My preferences.xml file is residing in C:\Users\ragnar\AppData\Roaming\inkscape\ as can be seen here:

Try to go to your user preferences directory and delete the file called preferences.xml
If Inkscape can't find the file on startup it will create a new one with default settings.
To find where Inkscape is "hiding" the preferences.xml file go to preferences (Shift Ctrl P)
and click the system line once.
My preferences.xml file is residing in C:\Users\ragnar\AppData\Roaming\inkscape\ as can be seen here:

Good Luck!
( ͡° ͜ʖ ͡°)
RGDS
Ragnar
( ͡° ͜ʖ ͡°)
RGDS
Ragnar
Re: WHY is Inkscape changing the colours as I type them?
Could you make a video screen-capture of Inkscape behaving badly?
If followed with .svg I`m pretty sure we`ll be able to decipher these odd colourizations.
If followed with .svg I`m pretty sure we`ll be able to decipher these odd colourizations.
Re: WHY is Inkscape changing the colours as I type them?
People !
I having exactly the same problem, tried everything suggested - including reinstallation and deleting the preferences.xml archive.
It's frustrating at its maximum !!!
HELP !!!
PS: using Ubuntu 15.04, Inkscape 0.91
I having exactly the same problem, tried everything suggested - including reinstallation and deleting the preferences.xml archive.
It's frustrating at its maximum !!!
HELP !!!
PS: using Ubuntu 15.04, Inkscape 0.91
Re: WHY is Inkscape changing the colours as I type them?
Here one SVG file that I created from scratch, it's just a square.
I couldn't set a desired colour because Inkscape always change the colours' values:
http://www.mentalmarketing.com.br/props/weirdo.svg
I couldn't set a desired colour because Inkscape always change the colours' values:
http://www.mentalmarketing.com.br/props/weirdo.svg
Re: WHY is Inkscape changing the colours as I type them?
My reply to this message that was posted at Inkscape Community forum: http://forum.inkscapecommunity.com/index.php?topic=246.msg1670#msg1670
It was not attached to someone else's message over there, so seeing where it's posted here, gives some extra info.
Did you try deleting the preferences file, as suggested by the op here? To be honest, I think it's some kind of behavior for the CMYK tab (and deleting prefs won't help). I do see the behavior your described, but I can't explain it, since I don't usually use the CMYK tab. I like using the HSL tab, and while sometimes the numbers change slightly, it's not nearly as bad as on CMYK tab (I guess it's probably the reason I've never used CMYK tab).
Maybe ~suv or someone else can explain it?
It was not attached to someone else's message over there, so seeing where it's posted here, gives some extra info.
Did you try deleting the preferences file, as suggested by the op here? To be honest, I think it's some kind of behavior for the CMYK tab (and deleting prefs won't help). I do see the behavior your described, but I can't explain it, since I don't usually use the CMYK tab. I like using the HSL tab, and while sometimes the numbers change slightly, it's not nearly as bad as on CMYK tab (I guess it's probably the reason I've never used CMYK tab).
Maybe ~suv or someone else can explain it?
Basics - Help menu > Tutorials
Manual - Inkscape: Guide to a Vector Drawing Program
Inkscape Community - Inkscape FAQ - Gallery
Inkscape for Cutting Design
Manual - Inkscape: Guide to a Vector Drawing Program
Inkscape Community - Inkscape FAQ - Gallery
Inkscape for Cutting Design
Re: WHY is Inkscape changing the colours as I type them?
I post this message in the Inkscape Community forum as well 
-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Hi Brynn !
Thank you very much for your words ...
We gave up to understand what happening and quiting Inkscape for the final parts of the workflow in our studio because have total control over colour management for printing is a very important issue for us. We gonna continue to study Inkscape at the beginning of the design process but unfortunately we have to quit it's use as a primary desing tool for printing till we could solve this problem.
Yes, it's a problem, huge problem for us because we're printing oriented studio.
Please, if you find more info about this, share it with us
One more time, thank you !

-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Hi Brynn !
Thank you very much for your words ...
We gave up to understand what happening and quiting Inkscape for the final parts of the workflow in our studio because have total control over colour management for printing is a very important issue for us. We gonna continue to study Inkscape at the beginning of the design process but unfortunately we have to quit it's use as a primary desing tool for printing till we could solve this problem.
Yes, it's a problem, huge problem for us because we're printing oriented studio.
Please, if you find more info about this, share it with us

One more time, thank you !
Re: WHY is Inkscape changing the colours as I type them?
- Color in SVG 1.1 is based on the RGB color model (more specifically: specified in the sRGB color space).
Colors entered in Inkscape based on a different color model (e.g. CMYK) internally need to be converted to and stored as RGB values. Due to the inherent differences of the color models (in this case RGB versus CMYK),
or (expressed differently)Bulia Byak wrote:(…) mapping CMYK->RGB->CMYK does not preserve colors because of the different gamut.Jon A. Cruz wrote:CMYK->RGB is a lossy conversion[/url] - Generic CMYK is meaningless.Jon A. Cruz wrote:Note that CMYK itself is not a specific color space, and that CYMK values are meaningless without a specific profile chosen.Jon A. Cruz wrote:To use actual CMYK values, a specific CMYK profile needs to be chosen and used. Otherwise the CMYK color picker is just doing temporary conversions from and to sRGB.
- Limitations for color-managed workflows
Inkscape does not yet support a fully color-managed workflow for commonly used export formats like PDF/PS/EPS. Even if the user defines actual CMYK colors based on a linked CMYK ICC color profile in the Inkscape SVG document, the generated PDF or PostScript files will be in sRGB color space. If you aim for print-ready color-managed PDF output, see e.g. this article:- Getting CMYK colors from Inkscape to Scribus for printing | Libre Graphics World
All quotes are taken from developer comments related to
- Bug #166622 “HSL and CMYK pickers shift colors”