Oh ok, now I understand better!
There's an Add Nodes extension which offers to add nodes either by number of segments or length of segment. So for 60 nodes, I guess you'd need 59 segments?
As Moini suggested, I think Scatter will work much better than Pattern Along Path, because it won't distort.....I'm not sure if it doesn't distort at all, or if it's very little. But if it's very little, it's hardly noticable. But it would be trial and error (using Live Preview) to get 60 of the copies or clones, by adjusting the spacing and/or offsets, etc. Just like PAP extension, "moving" the path would be undoing the previous trial, edit the path, and reapply the scatter. The PAP LPE allows live editing of the path, but the PAP extension and the scatter extension don't.
Moini also mentioned Markers which literally does attach the marker to each node. However, I'm not sure how complex a marker can be. I just did a little testing, and a group can be a marker, but it doesn't seem to hold the fill/stroke styles(colors). So for example, I made 3 different shapes with 3 different fill/stroke colors, and grouped them. They were converted to a marker as a group, but the resulting marker is all black. I wonder if it might be a bug, but that will take a little more research. The reason I wonder about that, is because if I make a single shape, like a circle, and fill it with a gradient, then convert to marker, it keeps its color including the gradient.
A last option in the list of priorities would be to manually snap the 60 circle things to the nodes that were placed by Add Nodes extension. For your #3, if you used Markers, the markers would indeed move right along with the path. But if you manually snapped them to the nodes, they would not move when you edit the path.
Oh, good news on the marker. I went back and ungrouped the marker I had made. So instead of converting the group to a marker, I just selected all 3 objects and converted. It worked perfectly!
So I really think markers will accomplish most of what you want. As far as I know, markers don't distort when you edit the path.
Sorry for misunderstanding before. Maybe I take things too literally, but we really have had people ask how to bend the 2d canvas drawing into 3d.
All best, brynn
-----Original Message----- From: Hans Carlson Sent: Friday, February 10, 2017 5:59 PM To: Inkscape User Community Subject: Re: [Inkscape-user] Movable Chain
Thanks for the reply, but I guess I wasn't very clear with my original question.
I wasn't trying to suggest the links in the chain couldn't move, just that the individual links aren't distorted. Obviously, just like with a real physical chain, something has to give. So when you move a REAL chain, the links slide against each other, but the links don't stretch or twist.
Maybe a rope or a cable would have been a better analogy than a chain.
In my drawing, my "CHAIN" isn't so much a chain as a series of 2D circles. There's a gap between the circles and the circles don't overlap each other.
And the "circle" isn't just a simple path based circle... it's a group of objects that contains a couple different circles with different stroke width, colors and an X in the middle. I suppose you could imagine a target or dart board. It isn't either of those, but that's a reasonable analogy.
My hope is there's some way to use "Pattern along Path" (or maybe something else), to duplicate the circles along the path, but without distorting the shape of the circles. The gap between the circles can shrink or grow to accommodate the curve, but the circles themselves shouldn't be distorted. Also, once the pattern (circles) is laid out on the path, I was hoping there would be some way to change the curve of the path with the circles on it, again without distorting the circles.
I'm not looking for animation... the reason I want to move my "pattern along path" after it's been created is because I need it to fit in and around other stuff without overlapping them. The big problem is, I need to have exactly 60 circles and I can't tell how many circles "Pattern along Path" will generate until I try it. So, I try it (using Preview mode), count the number of circles and then have to go back and change the route slightly to make it longer or shorter. Then back to "Pattern along Path (Preview)", count circles, readjust... over and over and over and over.
Also, when Pattern along Path places the circles on a curve, the circle is slightly distorted... it's no longer a true circle.
One thing I thought *might* work (and I have no idea if this is even possible), would be something like this:
1. Create a path with a specific number of nodes (60). I can do this manually, but it sure would be nice if there was some way to create a simple 2 node path and then bring up a dialog to "Add X nodes to path".
2. Somehow attach an object (my circle) to each one of the nodes. The center of the circle would be at the same point as the path node.
3. Now, move the underlying path into whatever curve I want, but the circles don't distort. If I move a node, then the circle moves with it, otherwise the circles just sit there or I suppose they could rotate about the center... that would be fine.
Again, I'm just throwing that out there to see if there's a way to do something like that.
Another idea might be to create a path that doesn't stretch. ie, just like a real rope or cable, if you pull on part of the rope/cable it doesn't stretch, instead one or both ends will move. I'd like to do the same kind of thing with a path... if something like that is possible.