Is it possible to install two versions of Inkscape (0.48 and 0.91) in ubuntu 14.04? I always use two versions to do my work in windows and I'd love to have both versions in ubuntu. Every time I tried to install the package, 0.91 always replace the 0.48 installations. Also is it possible to make a custom command like inkscape for version 0.48 and inkscape91 for version 0.91?
There are basically three solutions:
1) Compile one the Inkscapes yourself. This may cause problems with dependencies if the two versions of Inkscapes have different dependencies. Also, the compiled version will not appear in the graphical launcher.
2) Install a Virtual Machine with a second Ubuntu 14.04 inside it, and there you can install and run another version of Inkscape. This works fine, but involves running the VM (Virtual Machine), which can be somewhat resource-intensive, just for Inkscape.
3) More lightweight than VM and a good solution, but maybe less obvious to install and run: install a chroot environment, and run another version of Inkscape in there (follow the steps at the end of this page, under the TLDR heading, for a simple and fast guide). Once you're in your chroot environment, the following would install inkscape-trunk (as an example):
HOME=/root
add-apt-repository ppa:inkscape.dev/trunk
apt-get update
apt-get install inkscape-trunk
and (again from inside the chroot environment) this would run your chrooted inkscape
HOME=/root
inkscape &
So once everything is setup, running the second Inkscape version would be done by:
a) entering the chroot environment using the following command
sudo uck-remaster-chroot-rootfs /path/to/chroot/directory/
b) then running Inkscape doing
HOME=/root
inkscape &
Programs you run from the chroot appear next to your "normal" programs (on your desktop etc.), as if you would have started them like any other program. The main difference is that they cannot write outside of the chroot directory you set up.
See also this thread on the Inkscapeforum.
