Now that the Eraser tool is in SVN for quite some time, what do people think of it? Is it useful? In what mode do you use it, if at all?
Disclaimer: as you may remember I was against this tool from the beginning, considering it redundant. Its Delete mode is equivalent to Alt+drag followed by Del in Selector, and its Cut mode is now equivalent to Alt+drag in Calligraphic pen which I just added:
* When drawing with <b>Alt</b>, Inkscape <b>subtracts</b> the path you have created from the selected path (with <b>Shift</b>, it adds to the selected path). This allows you to quickly patch or fix problems in a stroke you have drawn without leaving the tool.
So, do we really have to spend the prime toolbar space on a tool which does what other tools already do?
bulia byak wrote the following on 01/26/2009 05:42 PM:
Now that the Eraser tool is in SVN for quite some time, what do people think of it? Is it useful? In what mode do you use it, if at all?
Disclaimer: as you may remember I was against this tool from the beginning, considering it redundant. Its Delete mode is equivalent to Alt+drag followed by Del in Selector, and its Cut mode is now equivalent to Alt+drag in Calligraphic pen which I just added:
- When drawing with <b>Alt</b>, Inkscape <b>subtracts</b> the path you
have created from the selected path (with <b>Shift</b>, it adds to the selected path). This allows you to quickly patch or fix problems in a stroke you have drawn without leaving the tool.
So, do we really have to spend the prime toolbar space on a tool which does what other tools already do?
I rarely use the eraser tool but I'd hate for it to go away. I suppose someday it would be nice to have the toolbox toolbar customizable so that users could add or remove icons. Perhaps that doesn't make sense now but if you ever added more tool options in the future...
heathenx
bulia byak wrote:
Now that the Eraser tool is in SVN for quite some time, what do people think of it? Is it useful? In what mode do you use it, if at all?
Disclaimer: as you may remember I was against this tool from the beginning, considering it redundant. Its Delete mode is equivalent to Alt+drag followed by Del in Selector, and its Cut mode is now equivalent to Alt+drag in Calligraphic pen which I just added:
- When drawing with <b>Alt</b>, Inkscape <b>subtracts</b> the path you
have created from the selected path (with <b>Shift</b>, it adds to the selected path). This allows you to quickly patch or fix problems in a stroke you have drawn without leaving the tool.
So, do we really have to spend the prime toolbar space on a tool which does what other tools already do?
What happens when in Calligraphy tool preferences you have it set not to Select new path?
I think this does make Eraser tool redundant, the only advantage of the eraser tool is because newbies feel more confident with it being there.
On Mon, Jan 26, 2009 at 9:16 PM, Mihaela <myhaella5@...660...> wrote:
What happens when in Calligraphy tool preferences you have it set not to Select new path?
If you had a path selected before you start Alt+drag, this setting does not affect its operation.
On 01/26/2009 03:42 PM, bulia byak wrote:
Now that the Eraser tool is in SVN for quite some time, what do people think of it? Is it useful? In what mode do you use it, if at all?
I don't use it too often, but only when it offers something to be done a little easier. Specifically the cutting through a selection of multiple objects. If our boolops did that, I would probably just use that instead. I think as a tool, if it was more robust, I probably would use it much more often then.
Disclaimer: as you may remember I was against this tool from the beginning, considering it redundant. Its Delete mode is equivalent to Alt+drag followed by Del in Selector, and its Cut mode is now equivalent to Alt+drag in Calligraphic pen which I just added:
- When drawing with<b>Alt</b>, Inkscape<b>subtracts</b> the path you
have created from the selected path (with<b>Shift</b>, it adds to the selected path). This allows you to quickly patch or fix problems in a stroke you have drawn without leaving the tool.
Very cool! The only request that I'd have is as above, if you could make it operate on multiple objects in the way that the Eraser tool does, that would rock.
So, do we really have to spend the prime toolbar space on a tool which does what other tools already do?
This is a difficult question. I agree with Mihaela about the possible benefit to making the program feel more approachable to newbies. Also when I use my tablet, it is handy to flip the pen over as Alexandre mentioned. I also think that if the tool were fleshed out a bit more it could be quite useful.
For example, if it had a scalpal/knife/scissors (whatever) mode that would make 0-loss cuts (only cutting, not removing pieces), that would be fantastic. Alexandre also mentioned an idea for a non-destructive mode that used the boolops lpe, which would also be great and different (and I would exclusively use it over destructive cuts).
Just my .02, in it's current state it doesn't offer much, but it could have potential.
Cheers, Josh
bulia byak wrote:
Now that the Eraser tool is in SVN for quite some time, what do people think of it? Is it useful? In what mode do you use it, if at all?
Disclaimer: as you may remember I was against this tool from the beginning, considering it redundant. Its Delete mode is equivalent to Alt+drag followed by Del in Selector, and its Cut mode is now equivalent to Alt+drag in Calligraphic pen which I just added:
- When drawing with <b>Alt</b>, Inkscape <b>subtracts</b> the path you
have created from the selected path (with <b>Shift</b>, it adds to the selected path). This allows you to quickly patch or fix problems in a stroke you have drawn without leaving the tool.
So, do we really have to spend the prime toolbar space on a tool which does what other tools already do?
I haven't been using it, because I only use the packages provided in Ubuntu, and they don't have it. I'm not sure you can draw any conclusions with the small amount of people that use SVN compared to Inkscape userbase.
Lack of Eraser tool has always been the most lacking feature in Inkscape - but that's because I'm not doing technical diagrams and such all the time. When using a drawing tablet in calligraphy mode, you're always looking for an Eraser, because other methods don't feel natural. Actually, that's one of the missing features where you feel Inkscape isn't adapted for drawing tablets (note I didn't say "isn't suited" - Inkscape in Calligraphy mode is one of - if not the - most natural feeling drawing programs in Linux).
Alt+anything doesn't work, because the Alt key is the key used to move a window on my DE. Also, I'm not sure how using a mouse would make it suddenly more natural, but when using a drawing tablet I'd hardly say having to press a button (or an ExpressKey©) when drawing with the other hand is the way to go.
Toolbar space is prime, but having a natural eraser is priceless. Also, if one day Inkscape support assigning different tools for each input device, we'll definitely get a use for pencil erasers. Pen tip = Calligraphic Pen Eraser = Eraser Mouse = Paint Bucket
If I was only in technical drawings / drawings with a mouse I'd say an Eraser is useless. For natural drawing, where you're constantly drawing/erasing, it's a huge improvement.
Loïc
On 01/29/2009 04:06 PM, Loïc Martin wrote:
I haven't been using it, because I only use the packages provided in Ubuntu, and they don't have it. I'm not sure you can draw any conclusions with the small amount of people that use SVN compared to Inkscape userbase.
Would you like to try it? If you go to https://launchpad.net/~inkscape-nightly/+archive/ppa it has repository info for testing inkscape-svn. It can be installed along-side of the officially supported version too, so there is nothing to lose.
Alt+anything doesn't work, because the Alt key is the key used to move a window on my DE. Also, I'm not sure how using a mouse would make it suddenly more natural, but when using a drawing tablet I'd hardly say having to press a button (or an ExpressKey©) when drawing with the other hand is the way to go.
Ouch... you're missing out a lot in Inkscape (alt is incredibly useful). I switched my "move window" key to the Win key just for that reason... my commitment to getting the most out of Inkscape. ;)
Toolbar space is prime, but having a natural eraser is priceless. Also, if one day Inkscape support assigning different tools for each input device, we'll definitely get a use for pencil erasers. Pen tip = Calligraphic Pen Eraser = Eraser Mouse = Paint Bucket
If I was only in technical drawings / drawings with a mouse I'd say an Eraser is useless. For natural drawing, where you're constantly drawing/erasing, it's a huge improvement.
At least with Pen tip and Eraser, it does remember the assigned tools for each (not sure about mouse). It would really be great though if you would be willing to test inkscape-svn via the repo above and give some feedback based on what you experience.
Cheers, Josh
I actually quite like the concept of having it as a tool (I'm not a big fan of modifiers when using my tablet), but currently the option in the callig tool is much more useful to me as it has all the fixation etc options that I need to actually make it useable. The eraser is stuck on a slanted fixed angle that makes it a lot less useful than it could be. would be nice if using the eraser on the wacom in the callig tool did the alt mode, if that was the case i think i'd be fine without the seperate tool...
2009/1/26 bulia byak <buliabyak@...155...>:
Now that the Eraser tool is in SVN for quite some time, what do people think of it? Is it useful? In what mode do you use it, if at all?
Disclaimer: as you may remember I was against this tool from the beginning, considering it redundant. Its Delete mode is equivalent to Alt+drag followed by Del in Selector, and its Cut mode is now equivalent to Alt+drag in Calligraphic pen which I just added:
- When drawing with <b>Alt</b>, Inkscape <b>subtracts</b> the path you
have created from the selected path (with <b>Shift</b>, it adds to the selected path). This allows you to quickly patch or fix problems in a stroke you have drawn without leaving the tool.
So, do we really have to spend the prime toolbar space on a tool which does what other tools already do?
-- bulia byak Inkscape. Draw Freely. http://www.inkscape.org
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People,
Is there a way of extracting the formula for the curve from the attached svg ie in something resembling a conventional y = f(x) format?
Thanks,
Phil.
well.. maybe.
it is a bezier curve. It is a parametric curve whose coordinates are defined by quadractic equations:
x(t) = a*t² + b*t + c y(t) = d*t² + e*t + f
finding the values of a,b,c,d,e and f involves looking at the coordinates of the control points of that curve and doing a bit of math
Not all bezier curves can be described as 1 parameter functions, though... I think that it is indeed possible to do that with the one you provided since it appears to have a single y value for each x coordinate, thus it satisfy the requirements to be called a function.
what are you trying to do with this math stuff?
On Thu, Jan 29, 2009 at 10:14 PM, Philip Rhoades <phil@...2067...> wrote:
People,
Is there a way of extracting the formula for the curve from the attached svg ie in something resembling a conventional y = f(x) format?
Thanks,
Phil.
Philip Rhoades
GPO Box 3411 Sydney NSW 2001 Australia E-mail: phil@...2067...
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-----Original Message----- From: Philip Rhoades [mailto:phil@...2067...] Sent: 2009 jan 30 1:15 To: Inkscape User Community Subject: [Inkscape-user] Extracting formulas from curves?
People,
Is there a way of extracting the formula for the curve from the attached
svg
ie in something resembling a conventional y = f(x) format?
No, at least not from Inkscape as far as I know. If any, you'd get x(t) and y(t) with t in the range of [0,1]. If you need more details then lookup Bezier curves on Wikipedia or leave a message on the 2geom mailing list.
Regards,
Diederik
On Thu, Jan 29, 2009 at 6:45 PM, john cliff <john.cliff@...155...> wrote:
I actually quite like the concept of having it as a tool (I'm not a big fan of modifiers when using my tablet), but currently the option in the callig tool is much more useful to me as it has all the fixation etc options that I need to actually make it useable. The eraser is stuck on a slanted fixed angle that makes it a lot less useful than it could be.
Exactly. To make it truly useful as a subtractor, we would need to duplicate most of the Calligraphic tool. Which would be bad from both the UI perspective and the coding perspective.
would be nice if using the eraser on the wacom in the callig tool did the alt mode, if that was the case i think i'd be fine without the seperate tool...
Absolutely. Would it work for everyone if turning the pen over would switch you to Calligraphic tool with Alt reversed, i.e. erasing without Alt and drawing with Alt?
Is it possible for the eraser tool to just link to the calligraphy tool in Alt reverse mode? I think it makes sense to have an icon (it's more user friendly, really), but not to duplicate code (or do a less useful job with different code).
If it is possible, could it then use and store different parameters so, in essence, it acts like its own tool but operates exactly the same as the calligraphy tool (with alt reversed)?
JF
bulia byak wrote:
On Thu, Jan 29, 2009 at 6:45 PM, john cliff <john.cliff@...155...> wrote:
I actually quite like the concept of having it as a tool (I'm not a big fan of modifiers when using my tablet), but currently the option in the callig tool is much more useful to me as it has all the fixation etc options that I need to actually make it useable. The eraser is stuck on a slanted fixed angle that makes it a lot less useful than it could be.
Exactly. To make it truly useful as a subtractor, we would need to duplicate most of the Calligraphic tool. Which would be bad from both the UI perspective and the coding perspective.
would be nice if using the eraser on the wacom in the callig tool did the alt mode, if that was the case i think i'd be fine without the seperate tool...
Absolutely. Would it work for everyone if turning the pen over would switch you to Calligraphic tool with Alt reversed, i.e. erasing without Alt and drawing with Alt?
john cliff wrote the following on 1/29/2009 6:45 PM:
I actually quite like the concept of having it as a tool (I'm not a big fan of modifiers when using my tablet), but currently the option in the callig tool is much more useful to me as it has all the fixation etc options that I need to actually make it useable. The eraser is stuck on a slanted fixed angle that makes it a lot less useful than it could be. would be nice if using the eraser on the wacom in the callig tool did the alt mode, if that was the case i think i'd be fine without the seperate tool...
I sometimes wish the eraser tool was a round shape (circle) instead of a calligraphy shape, similar to Gimp's round brush. That always made sense to me but then again I haven't ever read why the eraser tool is the way that it is. Perhaps it's done that way for a reason.
heathenx
On Mon, 26 Jan 2009 18:42:50 -0400, bulia byak wrote:
Now that the Eraser tool is in SVN for quite some time, what do people think of it? Is it useful? In what mode do you use it, if at all?
Disclaimer: as you may remember I was against this tool from the beginning, considering it redundant. Its Delete mode is equivalent to Alt+drag followed by Del in Selector, and its Cut mode is now equivalent to Alt+drag in Calligraphic pen which I just added:
- When drawing with <b>Alt</b>, Inkscape <b>subtracts</b> the path you
have created from the selected path (with <b>Shift</b>, it adds to the selected path). This allows you to quickly patch or fix problems in a stroke you have drawn without leaving the tool.
So, do we really have to spend the prime toolbar space on a tool which does what other tools already do?
In a post I made to this mailing list recently enough not to have any reply yet, naive new user (me) asked for precisely a way to erase part of a path ajd redraw it freehand.
I never dreamed I'd have to look at a calligraphy tool for this. From this thread, it looks like that may be the right tool. I was on the verge of going back to paper and pencil and scanner. In any case, I think I'll have to find some documentation how to use this.
Or am I wrong? Is this not the way?
By the way, I didn't find the eraser tool on the inkscape I'm using (in Debian lenny, and therefore probably out of date)
-- hendrik
participants (11)
-
bulia byak -
Diederik van Lierop -
Felipe Sanches -
heathenx -
Hendrik Boom -
john cliff -
Josh Andler -
Joshua Facemyer -
Loïc Martin -
Mihaela -
Philip Rhoades