[Feature request; Windows] Hint about Ghostscript, auto-detect Ghostscript installation

Bug #1720825 reported by johannes
6
This bug affects 1 person
Affects Status Importance Assigned to Milestone
Inkscape
Triaged
Wishlist
Unassigned

Bug Description

If Ghostscript is not installed and configured properly on Windows, Inkscape shows an error message when trying to open an EPS file. This error message does not say anything about Ghostscript.

To be able to open EPS files on Windows, one must install Ghostscript AND add its installation directories to the system path environment variable. This is a tedious process for an average computer user.

An average computer user is further confused by the fact that Inkscape can export images as EPS when Ghostscript is not installed, but cannot open the resulting files.

EPS files are widely used for various types of graphics. The following features would be useful:

1) Include a hint about Ghostscript in the aforementioned error message

2) When Ghostscript is installed, automatically detect it and use it

XnView (a freeware image viewer for Windows) implements both features.

An even easier solution would be including Ghostscript in the installation package if it's allowed in Ghostscript license. Or, asking the user to install Ghostscript if it's not detected in the system during installation.

Tested with Inkscape 0.92.1.

Changed in inkscape:
importance: Undecided → Wishlist
Changed in inkscape:
status: New → Triaged
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