On 4/5/07, Bill Baxter <wbaxter@...155...> wrote:
Thanks, that's very interesting. If we could implement something like that for path editing in Inkscape it would be very useful.
http://inkscape.org/screenshots/gallery/inkscape-0.45-patternalongpath.png
All those examples are of a vector objects being applied along a path. I'm trying to apply a _pattern_ along a path. The fact that we're having this misunderstanding says to me that the "Pattern along Path" is a poor choice of name, because what it means by "Pattern" is not what the rest of Inkscape means by "Pattern". "Stroke Path with Object" might be a better choice of name.
OK, at some point we'll convert it from a Python effect to a built-in path effect, at which point we can revisit the issue of the name.
But anyway,...
Is it possible to do something like the following:
- File->Import... (choose image)
- Object->Pattern->Objects to Pattern
- Select new pattern filled rect
- Select curve
- Effects->Generate From Path->Pattern Along Path
Doesn't seem to work to me. The pattern (that is, texture -- a "Pattern" in the inkscape sense) doesn't re-orient to follow the direction of the stroke.
Objects to Pattern (unlike the effect) creates patterns that are defined in SVG and have no provisions for any kind of bending, only affine transforms. So I guess the answer is no. Still, I don't quite understand what you are trying to achieve by the above steps and why a simple Pattern Along Path (without Objects to Pattern) cannot do that. Can you make an illustration of the desired effect?
Yet they are useful in design. I used them (at least) several times in real projects. And they are VERY hard to do manually unless you have a tool for them.
Yeh, ok. I can believe you. But I also think there are plenty of other shapes that are as common or moreso.
Common and at the same time non-trivial to do with other existing tools? Can you give an example?
Hmm what I noticed with middle button panning and sounds like with the eye-dropper idea is the lack of visual feedback. You don't see any change in the cursor to indicate you've changed modes.
Certainly, cursor changing for panning is a good idea, and should be easy to add. One problem is that we use a standard move cursor in Selector tool when it's over an object, to indicate that the object can be dragged, so using the same cursor for panning would be confusing. We need to disambiguate these two cursors somehow (but ideally, by still using some stock cursors - not custom - because both these actions are really basic).