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Check your computer’s system requirements to make sure Inkscape is compatible
The software of Inkscape is not compatible with OS X 10.7 and earlier, which means if you attempt to download the application to your Mac, you may run into a problem when attempting to install it. This problem might occur when you attempt to download the installer and then be prompted with a message stating that the application is not compatible with your operating system.
The Inkscape team has a page on their website with instructions on how to download the software and, after downloading, installing the application. Once you complete this process, the Inkscape application will work as it should.
To find out whether or not your system is compatible with Inkscape, follow the instructions below:
1. Click here to open the Inkscape System Requirements page. At the top of the page, located next to the search bar, you will see a section (“Operating Systems Compatible”) that lists operating systems that are compatible with Inkscape.
Make sure you have the latest version of Inkscape installed
In the event that you have already installed Inkscape and still have an incompatible message in the installer, it is very important to check which version of Inkscape you are running. There are two versions of Inkscape available for OS X: version 1.0.4 (released in 2009) and version 1.4 (released in 2010). The release date for OS X is irrelevant because the software is updated periodically throughout its lifetime and there will always be a newer or older version available at any given time. It is important, however, to make note of which version you have currently installed as there are certain requirements that only the newer version of Inkscape has.
Restart your computer and try again
Now that you have determined which version of Inkscape is currently installed on your computer, it’s time to make sure you’re running the most updated version. To do this, close out of the application by going to your Apple menu, clicking on “Force Quit”, and then choosing the Inkscape program from the list. Then, restart your computer and reopen Inkscape to see if the error message still appears. If this does not work, back up your Inkscape file, then select the “Preferences” menu and choose the “Manage Windows version” button. Selecting this option will allow you to type in a new version number for Inkscape to see if that fixes the problem. If it doesn’t, it’s time to download and install a different version of Inkscape.
To find the latest version of Inkscape, please visit: http://www.inkscape.org/download
Then, after you have installed your new version, you can restart your computer and check to see if it has fixed the issue.
If this is a machine you share with others, please follow the steps at the bottom of this article.
If none of this works, please scroll down to find other solutions.
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If all else fails, uninstall Inkscape and reinstall it
If the error message still appears and you have determined that you have the correct version of Inkscape installed, you should try to uninstall it. To do this, open up your application preferences on your Mac and then head over to “Apps” in the left hand menu. Select “Installed” under the “All Applications” list and then find Inkscape in the list of applications that appear on your screen. Once you’ve found it, select it and click on the “X” next to it to remove it from your computer. Now, attempt to download the application again and re-install it.
If this fails, try the following:
1. Reinstall (not update) your operating system. Please be sure to install the latest OSX updates before doing this though. This will ensure that your system is up-to-date.
2.) If this doesn’t work, you can go here to find out how to fix the display problem: https://support.apple.com/en-us/HT201435
3.) If the above doesn’t work, you can remove the Inkscape preference file by executing the following commands in a Terminal.app window:
rm /Users/${USER}/Library/Preferences/org.inkscape.Inkscape.plist
