[scribus] File format changes between 1.3.5 and 1.3.6?

[Gregory Pittman]

On 05/12/2010 10:20 AM, Andrew A. Gill wrote:
> Well, Gentoo has finally made it nearly impossible to keep using Scribus
> 1.3.3.13, and that means a forced upgrade for me.
>
> Unfortunately, I need to make sure this works for two other people when
> I upgrade, and they don't use Gentoo.
>
> I've got one colleague who uses Windows, which means he will be getting
> the 1.3.6 version unless I can get him to find an old version of the
> Windows installer, and the other uses Ubuntu (he should have Karmic),
> which means he can upgrade to scribus-ng, which is 1.3.5 unless I can
> show him how to compile scribus from source.
>
> Gentoo offers 1.3.5 and 1.3.6. Are there any file format changes between
> the two versions or can I ask everyone to use whichever version is
> latest for their system without worries about file compatibility?
>
> In order to keep using 1.3.3.x on my system, I will have to compile from
> scratch a legacy version of Scribus, qt3, libpng, and a few other
> packages, and install them alongside the current versions of those
> packages, since Gentoo is no longer packaging them, and the versions of
> those packages on my system no longer link.
>
> I really don't want to do that.
>
As a Gentoo user, surely you are a man of adventure, itching for new 
challenges, taking the path less traveled.
If there is any consolation, you can probably compile 1.3.3.14 and not 
worry about any further updates to that version, since it is stable and 
new features are not being added.

Let me take a moment to answer this question: Why would anyone want to 
compile Scribus?

For those of us who look forward to new capabilities, having advanced 
versions can allow us to see into the future of Scribus, to have a 
chance to try some new things out, and maybe have the greatest 
opportunity to affect the direction that some new feature follows.

You have to respect the risks of using advanced versions, and there are 
times when coming up against the roadblock of a bug is unacceptable, and 
a particular project can be created with the most dependable version 
with the most efficient use of time available. There is almost always 
the chance to work primarily in a stable version, save a stable version 
file, and then take a small amount of time to attempt some new thing 
with the old file as a backup in case of disaster.

In a generic sense, having more than one version on your computer is 
liberating. Using Linux, using MacOS are liberating experiences. Even 
for Windows users, we offer the liberating experience of allowing 
multiple Scribus versions to peacefully coexist (by default).

In the end, I think you have to decide whether the constraints you see 
are constraints imposed by the Scribus project, or whether they might be 
self-imposed.

Greg