NEW: small improvement in drawing tools
Inspired by http://www.angelfire.com/mi/kevincharles/inkscape/aiwf.htm, I added a small improvement to the drawing tools:
- When you switch to the Pen or Pencil tool, they now start in the "add" mode: the selected path displays endnodes to attach to, and any path you draw becomes a single object with the selected path. To start a new path object, deselect the selected path by pressing Esc.
Previously you had to press "a" to go to the add mode, and I'm sure many people were not aware of this. You can still turn the add mode off by pressing "a", but I'm thinking of removing that because I don't see what advantage that may have. If you don't want to continue the path, just deselect it. Removing the "non-add" mode altogether will make the interface simpler. Any comments?
Hey Bulia,
I'm impressed with you working on the code that much! Anyways, I think that your approach is the right way to go.
David
Inspired by http://www.angelfire.com/mi/kevincharles/inkscape/aiwf.htm, I added a small improvement to the drawing tools:
- When you switch to the Pen or Pencil tool, they now start in the
"add" mode: the selected path displays endnodes to attach to, and any path you draw becomes a single object with the selected path. To start a new path object, deselect the selected path by pressing Esc.
Previously you had to press "a" to go to the add mode, and I'm sure many people were not aware of this. You can still turn the add mode off by pressing "a", but I'm thinking of removing that because I don't see what advantage that may have. If you don't want to continue the path, just deselect it. Removing the "non-add" mode altogether will make the interface simpler. Any comments?
Quoting bulia byak <buliabyak@...400...>:
- When you switch to the Pen or Pencil tool, they now start in
the "add" mode: the selected path displays endnodes to attach to, and any path you draw becomes a single object with the selected path. To start a new path object, deselect the selected path by pressing Esc.
Ah, I like this. It should be simpler to use and it can make the code less ugly also.
-mental
I don't think that's small at all. Huzaa!
-Kevin
bulia byak wrote:
Inspired by http://www.angelfire.com/mi/kevincharles/inkscape/aiwf.htm, I added a small improvement to the drawing tools:
- When you switch to the Pen or Pencil tool, they now start in the
"add" mode: the selected path displays endnodes to attach to, and any path you draw becomes a single object with the selected path. To start a new path object, deselect the selected path by pressing Esc.
Previously you had to press "a" to go to the add mode, and I'm sure many people were not aware of this. You can still turn the add mode off by pressing "a", but I'm thinking of removing that because I don't see what advantage that may have. If you don't want to continue the path, just deselect it. Removing the "non-add" mode altogether will make the interface simpler. Any comments?
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Curious about something...
Why don't you enter the mode to start the new path by default when you select the Pen or Pencil tool (whether or not you have a path selected,) which switches to "add mode" when you click on the endpoint of any open path with the Pen or Pencil tool?
-Kevin
PS.. I wasn't previously aware of the "a" for add mode, by the way.
bulia byak wrote:
Inspired by http://www.angelfire.com/mi/kevincharles/inkscape/aiwf.htm, I added a small improvement to the drawing tools:
- When you switch to the Pen or Pencil tool, they now start in the
"add" mode: the selected path displays endnodes to attach to, and any path you draw becomes a single object with the selected path. To start a new path object, deselect the selected path by pressing Esc.
Previously you had to press "a" to go to the add mode, and I'm sure many people were not aware of this. You can still turn the add mode off by pressing "a", but I'm thinking of removing that because I don't see what advantage that may have. If you don't want to continue the path, just deselect it. Removing the "non-add" mode altogether will make the interface simpler. Any comments?
SF email is sponsored by - The IT Product Guide Read honest & candid reviews on hundreds of IT Products from real users. Discover which products truly live up to the hype. Start reading now. http://ads.osdn.com/?ad_id=6595&alloc_id=14396&op=click _______________________________________________ Inkscape-devel mailing list Inkscape-devel@lists.sourceforge.net https://lists.sourceforge.net/lists/listinfo/inkscape-devel
On Tue, 15 Mar 2005 14:22:40 -0500, Kevin Wixson <kevin@...738...> wrote:
Curious about something...
Why don't you enter the mode to start the new path by default when you select the Pen or Pencil tool (whether or not you have a path selected,) which switches to "add mode" when you click on the endpoint of any open path with the Pen or Pencil tool?
???
I have just switched it from "always start new path mode" to "continue the selected path mode" by default. So I don't understand your question.
If you're asking why drawing tools can't select by clicking, then it's because they are drawing tools. If you want to click to make a point but end up unexpectedly selecting something, this is bad. Use Tab/Shift+Tab or switch to Selector temporaily.
bulia byak wrote:
If you're asking why drawing tools can't select by clicking, then it's because they are drawing tools. If you want to click to make a point but end up unexpectedly selecting something, this is bad. Use Tab/Shift+Tab or switch to Selector temporaily.
Okay, I'm cool with this, but are you ever going to want to put a node directly on top of another node that happens to be the end point of an open path? If that's unlikely, then the process of switching modes is simplified by just clicking on the end node of an open path with the Pen tool, isn't it? The idea is to do as much as possible without switching to other tools, and to use as few key presses as possible, so switching to the Selector temporarily would sort of defeat the purpose. How about a key you'd press when you have the Pen tool selected that makes the Pen tool work like the Selector while you have the key pressed? Hold down the Alt or Ctrl or Shift or Spacebar, and the Pen tool works like the Selector, then goes back to being the Pen tool when you let off the key?
-Kevin
On Tue, 15 Mar 2005 14:48:11 -0500, Kevin Wixson <kevin@...738...> wrote:
Okay, I'm cool with this, but are you ever going to want to put a node directly on top of another node that happens to be the end point of an open path?
If the new node would start a new path, easy - just Esc to unselect the node and click wherever you want. If you want to continue the same path, why would you want to have two unconnected nodes in the same point? Well, even if you need it, you can just break at that node later and you'll get it.
If that's unlikely, then the process of switching modes is simplified by just clicking on the end node of an open path with the Pen tool, isn't it?
Switching which modes?
The idea is to do as much as possible without switching to other tools, and to use as few key presses as possible, so switching to the Selector temporarily would sort of defeat the purpose.
Pressing Space to swith to selector and back is not a big price for the freedom to draw anywhere you want with a drawing tool.
How about a key you'd press when you have the Pen tool selected that makes the Pen tool work like the Selector while you have the key pressed?
This key is Space :) Admittedly you'll have to press it twice to go to selector and back, but I may be able to fix it so you'll need to just press and hold it.
This key is Space :) Admittedly you'll have to press it twice to go to selector and back, but I may be able to fix it so you'll need to just press and hold it.
Ah, wow, even I don't know all the keys. That's handy...
-mental
Well i think that only Bulia knows all the key :-) he is Inkscape-wikipedia-alive
hervé
bulia byak wrote:
If the new node would start a new path, easy - just Esc to unselect the node and click wherever you want. If you want to continue the same path, why would you want to have two unconnected nodes in the same point? Well, even if you need it, you can just break at that node later and you'll get it.
We're miscommunicating somehow. I don't think there will often be a situation where someone would want to put one node directly on top of another that is an end node on an open path. I'm suggesting that since that's unlikely to happen, then there isn't much risk making that action (clicking on the end node of an open path with the pen tool) switch to add mode and select that node to add to, all in one click. So, in one move you've selected the node of the open path to add to and switched to add mode. Otherwise, clicking anywhere on the canvas with the Pen tool, whether or not an open path happens to be selected, will start a new path. Is that explained better?
I think this is important because I think users will sometimes have an object selected when they click on the Pen tool and their intent will be to start a new path, they just forgot to deselect everything before they selected the Pen tool. Pressing Esc key at that point would be an extra step they wouldn't need to take if the Pen tool could select the node and switch to add mode when you click on the end node of an open path, but otherwise start a new path.
If that's unlikely, then the process of switching modes is simplified by just clicking on the end node of an open path with the Pen tool, isn't it?
Switching which modes?
In and out of add mode with the Pen tool.
How about a key you'd press when you have the Pen tool selected that makes the Pen tool work like the Selector while you have the key pressed?
This key is Space :) Admittedly you'll have to press it twice to go to selector and back, but I may be able to fix it so you'll need to just press and hold it.
That'd be good. Just making the space bar convert whatever tool you're working with to the Selector while the Space key is pressed and held, then revert back when released. That would be generally very useful I think.
Quoting Kevin Wixson <kevin@...738...>:
How about a key you'd press when you have the Pen tool selected that makes the Pen tool work like the Selector while you have the key pressed? Hold down the Alt or Ctrl or Shift or Spacebar, and the Pen tool works like the Selector, then goes back to being the Pen tool when you let off the key?
That might not be a bad idea, though if we do it I'd like to see it applied to the drawing tools consistently. The one problem is that we already use the modifier keys rather heavily; are there any that are consistently free?
-mental
Currently the message box doesn't mention Esc to deselect (though it does mention `a' -- if your window is wide enough; I wonder whether we should allow the status bar to have more than one line). I
I think what Kwixon is saying is that if one starts drawing anywhere other than at a path end then he'd prefer not to be in add mode. I think I agree.
Conversely, I wonder if he's also saying that he'd like add points to be at the ends of all paths in the layer, not just the currently-selected one. I'm not sure whether he is requesting this, and I'm not sure whether it would be desirable: at least, it might be undirable in complex drawings with lots of paths.
pjrm.
On Wed, 16 Mar 2005 11:15:55 +1100, Peter Moulder <Peter.Moulder@...38...> wrote:
Currently the message box doesn't mention Esc to deselect
You mean statusbar - yes, I'll need update it.
(though it does mention `a' -- if your window is wide enough; I wonder whether we should allow the status bar to have more than one line).
If it's user-settable to any fixed number of lines (as opposed to auto-resizing to fit), then I agree.
I think what Kwixon is saying is that if one starts drawing anywhere other than at a path end then he'd prefer not to be in add mode. I think I agree.
I disagree because being unable to node-edit more than one path at a time is one of the important limitations of the node tool, and therefore automatically combining new paths as subpaths to the selected one when drawing eases this problem because subpaths can be edited all at once.
Conversely, I wonder if he's also saying that he'd like add points to be at the ends of all paths in the layer, not just the currently-selected one. I'm not sure whether he is requesting this, and I'm not sure whether it would be desirable: at least, it might be undirable in complex drawings with lots of paths.
Yes, and you will often run into other path's endnodes when drawing. So if you want to continue a particular path, just select it first.
Peter, do you have any comments on Scislac's message on freehand drawing? Are you planning to continue working on it?
On Tue, Mar 15, 2005 at 08:27:46PM -0400, bulia byak wrote:
I think what Kwixon is saying is that if one starts drawing anywhere other than at a path end then he'd prefer not to be in add mode. I think I agree.
I disagree because being unable to node-edit more than one path at a time is one of the important limitations of the node tool, and therefore automatically combining new paths as subpaths to the selected one when drawing eases this problem because subpaths can be edited all at once.
An advantage of having them as separate objects is that it makes them easier to manipulate independently: delete, move, and especially change fill/stroke.
(Though conversely, having them as part of the same object makes it easier to make the same manipulation to all the subpaths at once.)
What do you mean by node-editing more than one path at a time? Can this limitation be addressed in the node tool instead?
Currently the functionality is sort of like grouping but without allowing nested groups, and without an easy way of changing group membership or of changing properties of some parts independent of the group.
pjrm.
On Wed, 16 Mar 2005 11:41:39 +1100, Peter Moulder <Peter.Moulder@...38...> wrote:
What do you mean by node-editing more than one path at a time? Can this limitation be addressed in the node tool instead?
Yes, that's where it needs to be addressed eventually, but it's very difficult. Having a single object and single nodepath is assummed in a lot of places.
bulia byak wrote:
I think what Kwixon is saying is that if one starts drawing anywhere other than at a path end then he'd prefer not to be in add mode. I think I agree.
I guess I need to get my hands on the new build and test these things before I can comment further.
-Kevin Wixson
participants (5)
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unknown＠example.com -
bulia byak -
herve couvelard -
Kevin Wixson -
Peter Moulder