I'm currently editing some graphs by using Inkscape and am finding it a slow process to resize the graph. What I would like to do is resize the plot area (which is a few paths) to become bigger and not necessarily proportional, while the axis elements (such as the labels - a mix of paths and texts) are merely moved and do not change in size at all.

I can do this by first resizing the plot area normally using the selection tool. Then I can make sure at least one of the axis elements is moved to the limits of the new size (e.g. the top and bottom of the plot area) and then use the distribute tool to evenly arrange them without a change in size. This can be quite fiddly and takes quite a fair chunk of time.

Is there some method that I can use in Inkscape currently to speed this up? Alternatively would an addition to object properties - maybe a 'maintain size' property - be a worthwhile idea? If this is enabled on an object and a group resize is being performed, then the object should merely be moved and not resized. I can see some problems occuring with this however (e.g. what would occur if two horizontally laid out objects were to be resized in the vertical direction).

What is everyone's thoughts on this?

Cheers, Danny