[Inkscape-devel] "Flatten" vectors

Hi, When drawing stuff I usually have a lot of overlapping areas. Sometimes I use a vinyl cutter to cut adhesive foil. Then I need to select the topmost object and subtract it from every object which is (partially) covered by the topmost object. Next, I need to repeat the process with the second-to-topmost object etc. I also need to convert all strokes etc. to paths to actually get paths plotted with non-zero width, otherwise it's just one cut along the path which is useless. I also need to intersect all objects with their respective clip or mask, if they are clipped or masked. For complex drawings this process takes a lot of time. I wondered if there's a plugin or something for "flattening" an image like that, essentially converting it to a set of non-overlapping closed paths without stroke. If there isn't such a functionality I'd like to program it. In which way should this be done? On which branch should I base this? Are there any major changes to parts of Inkscape planned which would interfere with this functionality / should I wait for some changes to be finished before I start? @Krzysztof Did you finish your API changes etc. you started in your GSoC project? Regards Alexander