Opening SVG files via drag&drop onto canvas does not preserve layer structure

not reproduced with Inkscape 0.46+devel r22575 on OS X 10.5.8

cannot reproduce this on Windows XP, Inkscape 0.47pre4. Would you be willing to try a more recent build, available at :
http://sourceforge.net/projects/inkscape/files/

Hi Alvin, I just verified it was still happening with that build. Let me
give you a little background on what we're doing. I'm investigating this
for doing "paper maps" of levels for an upcoming Wii/PSP title, and using
the layers to block out encounters, trigger volumes, level load points,
etc. We have everything checked into Perforce, which when sync'd comes in
as Read Only by default until you check it out. If I drag the file over
from Perforce and drop it onto Inkscape, it will open without layers, but if
I do an explicit File -> Open, it appears to work fine. Knowing that now, I
would reduce the priority on this bug, but it appears to only happen if you
drag and drop a file into Inkscape.

Thanks again!

James Clarendon
Creative Lead
Red Fly Studio

On Sun, Nov 22, 2009 at 6:57 AM, Alvin Penner <email address hidden> wrote:

> cannot reproduce this on Windows XP, Inkscape 0.47pre4. Would you be
> willing to try a more recent build, available at :
> http://sourceforge.net/projects/inkscape/files/
>
> --
> Opening a read-only .SVG does not allow you to see layers
> https://bugs.launchpad.net/bugs/486451
> You received this bug notification because you are a direct subscriber
> of the bug.
>
> Status in Inkscape: A Vector Drawing Tool: New
>
> Bug description:
> With Inkscape version 0.46 on Windows build, if you open a read-only .SVG,
> it will display only a single layer (which appears to be a composite of all
> layers, like a flatten). This occurs quite often when using version control
> software that renders files as Read Only by default, such as Perforce.
>
> Repro steps:
> * Create an SVG with multiple layers
> * Verify that layers can be toggled on and off
> * Save the SVG, then mark it Read Only
> * Open it again
> * Note that all of the layers will be flattened
> * Turn off the Read Only flag and re-open the file
> * The layers will now be toggleable
>
> Desired Behavior: Display layers in Read Only SVGs.
>

The read-only status doesn't change the layers behavior.

But I confirm that importing a file with layers in a document is different than opening the file.
When you import (or drag and drop) a drawing, it is added to the current layer and the first level layers lose their inkscape:groupmode="layer" attribute. That's the reason why you don't see your layers in the dialog. They are handled as normal groups, but no longer seen as layers.

This issue is highly related (and maybe duplicate) to Bug #502075 "Import Inkscape SVG loses layer and sub-layer information" (https://bugs.launchpad.net/inkscape/+bug/502075).

The bug summary is somewhat misleading, now that the reason for the obeserved differences has been clarified ;-)

Linking as duplicate to bug #502075 - please add a comment here and revert the duplicate status if you don't agree and think these are different issues.