How to add canvas margins to canvas in Inkscape 1.2

Question

In inkscape <1.2, I could so easily add (canvas) margins to my drawing by going to Document Properties > Page. There were margin values that could be set up in some numerical fields (see picture).

(Image source)

But now in Inkscape 1.2 the same window looks like that

There is no trace of the margins fields. Of course, I can change the page size and and recentre my drawing so that I create margins, but where can I create margins with a precise length without workaround?

Answer 1

This feature is currently not available, which is a known issue (also, bug report). It will be re-added in a future version, likely inside the new page-tool.

In the meantime, you'll have to click the 'Resize to content' button, increase the width and height manually, ctrl-click all layers in the 'Layers and Objects' panel and setting the offset with the 'X' and 'Y' inputs in the toolbar.

Update: Inkscape version 1.3 now allows you to specify margins with the page-tool, which are taken into account when using the 'Resize to content' button.

Answer 2

EDIT This answer is now outdated as of the release of Inkscape 1.3 in which it is now possible to add margins while using the Pages tool. The margins are accessible via the Margins dropdown on the controls bar along the top.

I will leave the answer below unedited in case someone is still using version 1.2 for some reason.

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I think this may have changed because of the new multipage capabilities and the new Create and Edit Document tool. It's a new interface, and still a work in progress I think. Hopefully it will be improved in time. I agree it would be nice to have the margins back. The old margins worked when resizing a page to fit the content. I don't think this is a deal breaker for me at least. The other improvements in Inkscape 1.2 still make it a worthwhile upgrade.

In the meantime here are a couple of simple workarounds I have been using.

The first looks like a lot of steps, but not really - basically it just involves drawing a temporary rectangle to resize the page.

1. Group the page content (if there is any)

2. Draw a rectangle the required size on top (you can delete this afterwards). Note if you need an exact size, you can type in the Width and Height fields in the rectangle tool options.

3. Use the Align panel to centre the content in the rectangle if required

4. Click on the Create and Edit Document tool (the Page Tool at the very bottom of the toolbox)

5. In the tool options along the top, hit button shown here highlighted in red. This will resize the page to fit.

An example

Alternatively, you can use the Page tool to manually adjust it after resizing to fit the content. Note you can also type in a custom size in the tool options here, and you can use the Align panel to centre to the page if required.

Answer 3

This works too:

1. First resize to content.
2. Then draw a rectangle that is the same size as the resized document + twice the desired margin (because there is a margins on each of the 4 sides).
3. Then align to page: vertically centered, horizontally centered.
4. Resize again and... tadaaaa.

If you want different margins on each side, it will be a bit harder to position the rectangle, but you'll manage. I'm quite sure of it.

5. If you are certain that you don't need it any more, you can delete the background rectangle.

Answer 4

I have the same issue with the new version; unfortunately, you should manually extend the dimensions, rather than pressing a single click.