Maybe sounds like more of a philosophical question that related to development but there are some things Inkscape does that I either don't understand or that work in ways that are counter to what I want.
I seem to have recurring problems with object dimensions changing. This is a problem as I am doing what might charitably be described as mechanical drawings, parts that need to fit together with some precision once they're made into physical objects. I can create an object of some specified dimension (100mm by 100mm) and come back later to find that it's 100.107mm or something. I'm going to see if I can find out what it takes to repro this and file a bug against it if I can make it happen.
I also don't get why the stroke and dimensions are summed in the toolbar that specifies the size of an object. I generally work in outline view with stroke turned off because I don't like that adding a stroke value to an object also changes it's dimension. I'm slowing coming to rethink this as the stroke being the cutter width or kerf, which is useful but if I then have to contend with shifting dimensions, it gets frustrating.
Is there a way to break apart the dimensions of the an object from it's stroke values? Or maybe a toggle that displays the true dimensions and display the stroke and fill for visual reference/clarity? It would useful to work in Normal view and have the colors there but the dimensions then become a problem. If I specify a 3mm opening and 3mm component to go in it, I want those numbers to display while I work.
Maybe Inkscape is the wrong choice for me. I like the ease of use/low barrier to entry and getting things done, and the price is definitely right. But maybe I'm making work for myself.
-- Paul Beard
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