Re: [Inkscape-user] why doesn't this work?
On Tue, Feb 24, 2009 at 9:08 AM, Elwin Estle <chrysalis_reborn@...12...> wrote:
I am trying to make a simple wedge shape that is 1/6 of a hexagon.
So I used the polygon tool to make a hexagon. I convert it to a path. I duplicated it,
shrunk it down some and used a boolean operation to cut a smaller hex shaped hole in the
exact center of the larger hexagon.
Then I used the node tool to select the extraneous nodes and delete them. Now I have two
lines, both part of the same path, but not connected. When I select two end points on the
lines and try to join them with a new segment, I get an error saying I haven't
selected two nodes!!!
What's happening is a bit unintuitive, because the nodes look like end
nodes, but aren't. If you have stroke turned on, it looks like two
separate subpaths that are just straight lines, each with one node at
each end. Why aren't they end-nodes, right?
When you create the donut shape by cutting a hole in the hexagon, you
get two sets of nodes: the six around the outer perimeter, and the six
around the inner perimeter. Those two sets are disjoint; there are no
connections between the outer nodes and the inner nodes. When you
delete nodes, the two sets are kept separate. If you delete one node
at a time, you can see that at no time is there a connection made
between the outer and inner, yet each set is still connected in a
loop. For example, delete one of the outer nodes, and the outer
perimeter is still a loop, but with 5 nodes instead of 6.
If you kept deleting one node at a time from the outer perimeter until
only two were left, you would see just a line between them, and they
appear like end-nodes. But there is still a loop! There is a
connection from one to the other, and another connection back again.
So they aren't end-nodes. You can verify this by click-and-dragging
the line between them. It will pull out one of the connections. Then
you can remove that connection by clicking on it and choosing the
"split path between two non-endpoint nodes" icon on the toolbar. The
icon looks like two connected nodes on top pointing to two
disconnected nodes below.
Once you do the same to the line formed from the inner perimeter
nodes, then you really will have two subpaths with two end-nodes each,
and you can join them the way you intended.
Kurt