Inkscape Hex Map Extension

Copyright 2008-2023 Pelle Nilsson and contributors

This program is free software; you can redistribute it and/or modify it under the terms of the GNU General Public License as published by the Free Software Foundation; either version 2 of the License, or (at your option) any later version.

This program is distributed in the hope that it will be useful, but WITHOUT ANY WARRANTY; without even the implied warranty of MERCHANTABILITY or FITNESS FOR A PARTICULAR PURPOSE. See the GNU General Public License for more details.

You should have received a copy of the GNU General Public License along with this program; if not, write to the Free Software Foundation, Inc., 51 Franklin St, Fifth Floor, Boston, MA 02110-1301 USA

Introduction

This is an extension for creating hex grids in Inkscape. It can also be used to make brick patterns of staggered rectangles.

You need Inkscape 1.0 or later installed. Older versions of Inkscape are NOT supported (you can use older versions of this extensions if you must create some hexgrids using older Inkscape versions, or just upgrade Inkscape).

Installing

To install the extension you need to copy hexmap.inx and hexmap.py into the extensions folder (directory) of your Inkscape installation. In Linux this will typically be /usr/share/inkscape/extensions or ~/.config/inkscape/extensions. If Inkscape was installed on Linux from Flatpak the path is more likely ~/.var/app/org.inkscape.Inkscape/config/inkscape/extensions/. In Windows it will be something like C:\Program Files\Inkscape\share\extensions. After (re)starting Inkscape you should now have Boardgames submenu in the Extensions menu, and in that an entry for running Generate Hex Map.

Running The Extension

Creates a grid of hexagons over the document. Up to six layers are created:

• Hex Grid The hexgrid itself. Each hex border is a separate line object.
• Hex Centerdot A small circle in the center of each hex, as is needed for many games.
• Hex Fill One polygon object for each hex. Can be used to quickly add a color or pattern to hexes.
• Hex Coordinates The coordinate label of each hex. The format of each label is controlled by parameters in the effect’s dialog window.
• Hex Corners Corners/Vertices of each hex only. Use as alternative to the normal hexgrid if you prefer a map with less visible grid. Some people call these caltrops.
• Hex Circles Circles the size of each hex.

User Guide

There is a separate User Guide document with much more information and help that is recommended reading for anyone about to use this extension or that is considering to use it.