I finally got a chance to download the nightly build and try out the new node conversion functionality. Thanks so much for making that change, Bulia. I really do appreciate it.
I have a question about it though. When trying it out I discovered a peculiar behavior with the adjacent nodes to the one converted with the "make node smooth" command. In order to move it twice, you have to click off the object in between moves or you pull out a control handle. Does it have to be like that, or can those adjacent nodes behave exactly like real cusp nodes instead? Having to click off the object in between moves is a hit to productivity and doesn't really make sense (imho). If the artist wants control handles on that adjacent node, eventually, then they can convert it. Then if they want one of those control handles to be in the node, they can use the Ctrl+click on the control handle feature (which is brilliant, by the way) to make that happen. Which brings up another interesting question as well, perhaps: How do I make a smooth node a cusp? That led me to another idea, which is better explained with pictures.
By the way, I'm struggling with terminology. I take "cusp" to mean a node that doesn't have control handles and does not influence the direction of the line, as opposed to a "corner" node, which has control handles that can move in independent directions, and "smooth" which has control handles in the same plane but are different lengths, and "symmetric" which has control handles in the same plane and with the same length. Is this correct?
Here's another Node tool improvement:
- If a node does not show one or both handles (i.e. they are retracted), you can drag a handle out by dragging away from the node with Shift. This is often more convenient than using the "Convert node to smooth" or "Convert segment to curve" buttons. Unlike before, dragging a node without modifiers, or with any modifiers but Shift, will always move the node itself, not its retracted handle.
Retracted handles are now not displayed at all, so for the user there's no difference between a node on a line segment (without handles) or a curve node with retracted handles. They behave the same, and you can Shift+drag out a handle easily from both.
*** Yet another incredible response from the amazing Bulia!
1. Start off putting down some cusp points, as before.
2. Then I select the node I want converted, and press the "make node smooth" command. So far, so good.
3. I click and drag an adjacent node and I can position it with the mouse, as expected.
4. But when I click and drag it again, because maybe I wasn't happy with where I moved it to or I changed my mind and I want to put it back, I get an unexpected result. I get a control handle pulled out instead of the node moving where I want it to go.
5. I can Ctrl+click the control handle, and it goes back to the node, which is nice, but I still can't move the node.
6. In order to move the node and not the handle, I have to click off the object, then select that node again, which then moves normally. If I want to move it again, I have to click off the object, then click and drag the node. Each time I want to move the node I have to click off the object to deselect the node, then click back on the node. So, there's a way to get the work done now that wasn't possible before, yes, but wouldn't it make more sense for the adjacent nodes to work exactly like the cusp nodes, such as those at both ends of my example?
7. And then there's the question about how to turn a node from a corner/smooth/symmetric node back into a cusp node. I didn't see any way except to choose the 2 and 3 nodes and click the "make selected segments lines" command.
8. Which then has the very peculiar result of constraining the remaining control handle on node 3 to the plane of the line.
9. Nothing can be done to make that control handle move freely, unless you select it and press the "make selected nodes corner" command icon.
10. So my remaining question is this: Why have the "Make selected line segments curves" and "Make selected line segments lines" commands at all? Instead, why not make node conversion node-based? Add a command icon to "make selected nodes cusp", which will provide the same functionality as the "Make selected line segments lines" command when two or more nodes are selected. Selecting two or more nodes and pressing the "make selected nodes smooth" will have a similar result as the "Make selected line segments curves," but with node-based conversion, the artist has a lot more flexibility and control, since just one node can be converted in order to achieve the desired effect.
Inkscape home page.
Node conversion workflow.
Node conversion refinements.
The way Adobe Illustrator does path plotting and node editing.
