Brynn,

I think there are a few reasons for your problem:

1) The arrange dialog moves the objects based on their selection order (first selected to point one, second selected to point two...). To ensure that you get a predictable order you need to shift-select each item in turn, not use CTRL-A or rubber band selection. It can be useful to group each object with a number entered with the text tool, to make it clearer how they're being placed.

2) It's not usually obvious from looking at a circle which direction is "positive". Try adding an arrow-shaped start marker to the circle to show you the positive direction. With a freshly drawn circle you get better results (in this case) if you either select the objects in an anti-clockwise order, or flip the circle horizontally first before selecting them in a clockwise order.

3) Once you do that, you'll find that the objects are close to the correct positions, but not quite there. With six objects selected, the first will be placed at 60 degrees from the start point of the circle, the second at 120 degrees, and so on. To get them into the right position, therefore, you need to adjust the rotation of the circle to compensate.

So, with that in mind, these steps will get you to the solution you want:

1) Discard the existing circle and draw a new one, so that we've got a known starting point.

2) Flip the circle horizontally.

3) Rotate the circle by -30 degress (hold CTRL as you do so).

4) Select the objects starting from the 12 o'clock position and going clockwise.

5) Arrange!

Things can be made a little clearer by adding an arrow shaped start marker to the circle, and grouping each object with a number. That makes it easier to see what order they're being placed in, and in which direction.

Devs: it would be useful to have an option in the dialog for the first object to be placed at the start point of the circle, rather than part way around it (60 degrees in this case). I think that would lead to fewer surprises for most users and eliminates the need for step (3) above. Another checkbox to reverse the direction of placement would alleviate the need to flip the circle or select items in the "opposite" order. Brynn, perhaps you should file a feature request for these?

Mark

On Tue, Jan 5, 2016 at 4:15 AM, Brynn <brynn@...3089...> wrote:

Hi Maren,
Thanks. As I said, I get the same results whether Rotate Objects is checked or not.
I don't understand what you mean about them being rotated before they are placed on the circle.
The "before" image, showing where the 6 objects start from, is move-rad6.png. They are IN A circle, but they are not ON THE circle. The "after" image, showing them rotated and on the circle, after I use the Arrange dialog, is move-rad7.png.
Attached is an SVG file with the objects all ready to be tested.
It could be that I have some kind of misunderstanding about how this feature works. What I want to do is move those 6 objects shown in move-rad6.png to where they are touching the circle or on the circle (or move them out, further away from the circle, but still in a circle and without scaling them). (And I want to do it without using tiled clones, which is a pain.)

Thanks again,
brynn

--------------------------------------------------
From: "Maren Hachmann" <maren@...3112...>
Sent: Monday, January 04, 2016 6:53 AM
To: <inkscape-user@lists.sourceforge.net>
Subject: Re: [Inkscape-user] problem with Arrange?

Hi Brynn,

does it work if you uncheck the option "Rotate objects"?
Looks like your objects are already rotated before you place them on the
circle.

Rotating them a second time is probably not what you want.

Kind regards,
Maren

Am 04.01.2016 um 04:15 schrieb Brynn:

Hi Friends,
I've been trying to use the Polor Coordinates tab of the Arrange
dialog, to move some objects which are arranged in a circle, inward (or
outward) without scaling them.
Yes, I know it can be done with radially tiled clones, but I
didn't want to do it that way this time.
Attached is move-rad6.png, which is the "before", and I want to
move those 6 objects toward the circle. No matter if I use the object's
bounding box for the anchor point, or the rotational center, the result
is the other attached image move-rad7.png. This is the same result, no
matter if Rotate Objects is checked or not.
This is on Windows 7, 64-bit with Inkscape 0.91, 32-bit, exe
installer. I haven't tried in Inkscape 0.91, 64-bit, but I can if
necessary. And these screenshots were made on layer 3, to avoid the
transform attribute issues (which are mostly fixed, but not in 0.91).
Another user on Windows 10 does not see this issue, but Idk which
Inkscape version he uses.
(http://forum.inkscapecommunity.com/index.php?topic=307.0)
I work with circles and objects arranged in a circle quite often,
and have always wished for a way to move objects radially, in the same
way that nodes can be moved radially by using the transform handles.
Again, I know how to use tiled clones, but it seems like there should be
an easier way to just move the objects on canvas by dragging them.
I'm not technically aware enough to be able to suggest how it
could be done. But I think would be a very useful feature....especially
if it could work on ellipses as well.
Meanwhile, I report this problem in case it might be a bug. Let
me know if I can provide any additional info :-)

Thank you very much,
brynn

------------------------------------------------------------------------------

_______________________________________________
Inkscape-user mailing list
Inkscape-user@lists.sourceforge.net
https://lists.sourceforge.net/lists/listinfo/inkscape-user

------------------------------------------------------------------------------
_______________________________________________
Inkscape-user mailing list
Inkscape-user@lists.sourceforge.net
https://lists.sourceforge.net/lists/listinfo/inkscape-user

------------------------------------------------------------------------------

_______________________________________________
Inkscape-user mailing list
Inkscape-user@...2249...sourceforge.net
https://lists.sourceforge.net/lists/listinfo/inkscape-user