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Author Topic: Different type of invisibilty problem  (Read 2628 times)

May 31, 2017, 09:21:59 AM
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rmac321

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The basic problem is that lines disappear based on the amount of zoom and the size of the document.  I have searched through the various invisibility questions and read the invisibility tutorial.  I can see what is causing the problem and wonder if it is correct behavior and I need to accommodate it, or if it requires a tweak by the developers.  IOW, I don't know if it is a bug or if it just a quirk due to the way I am using the program.  I apologize for the length of the post but want to include enough detail.

Setup:
version: Inkscape 0.92.1 r15371
os: debian jessie

I'm currently making drawings for a laser cutter.  That requires a vector drawing with line widths of .001"
Because it is easier to lay things out in a base 10 system, I have my display set to display in mm.
I have likewise defined my document properties in mm.
Example layout: doc properties, A4 210.0mm x 297.0mm
Create a circle anywhere on the page with a diameter of say 50mm.
The fill and stroke are set to:
Blur: 0.0
Opacity: 100.0
Fill: No Paint
Stroke Paint: R- 0, G- 0, B- 0, A- 255
Stroke Style: Width 0.0254mm (.001 in)

This circle will be visible at any zoom above 53%, but will be invisible at 52% and below.
Similarly if I use a smaller page size, the circle will be  visible at smaller zoom levels.
Modest changes in line width affect the zoom level at which the lines disappear.

I guess the basic question is whether it is normal to not be able to see .001" vector lines, in Normal View mode on larger documents?
FWIW, this does not happen if I use Inkscape 0.48 (0.48.5 r10040), the version currently in the Debian Repository until you zoom the document down to a postage stamp.  With the old version I can zoom out to 16% before the object disappears at 15%.

May 31, 2017, 12:35:16 PM
Reply #1

brynn

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Welcome to the forum!

Yes, this is normal behavior.

If the problem is that you can't see what you're doing, when you zoom out to see the whole thing, I can think of a couple of possible solutions.

1 -- Draw everything with a stroke width that you can see.  Then at the last minute, before you send it to the cutter, change all the path width at once, to whatever your cutter requires.

Or 2 -- Draw everything with a stroke that you can see.  Then at the last minute, duplicate everything (all at once).  Change one of the copies to the narrow width that is required, and save the wider strokes on a hidden layer, in case you want to edit sometime later.

However, your last comment is curious, that you don't see this behavior with and older version 0.48.  Have you tried every version between 0.48 and the current stable version?  Or is 0.48 the last version that you used before now?

One possible issue that comes to mind, is I wonder if you might be drawing with the Pen/Bezier tool with a Shape other than None.  Look on the control bar for the Shape dropdown menu and make sure it says None.  If it's set for Triangle In or Out, then one end of each path goes down to a point.  Those can be hard to see, even at 100% zoom.  And they were not available in 0.48.

Another possiblity would be to double check that your stroke width unit is inches.  Since everything else is set to mm, maybe you didn't realize that the width is in mm rather than inches?

Or we could examine one of your files, if you like.  Personally, at the moment, I don't think of any other possibilities.  But with more thought I might.  And other people might have some ideas too.
  • Inkscape version 0.92.3
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June 01, 2017, 07:18:11 AM
Reply #2

Moini

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Okay, it seems you already know about switching to 'Outline' view mode. View -> Display mode -> Outline, and were inquiring to find out if you need to report a bug.

Seriously, I don't know whether this qualifies as one - if it's different in previous versions, it might be. You might want to ask the devs in a bug report, to get a more definite answer.

June 02, 2017, 04:16:31 AM
Reply #3

brynn

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I just realized I downloaded 0.48.1 the other day.  So I'll test.....

Well I do see some slight difference between 0.48.1 and 0.92.1.

In 0.48.1, a 1 px width line is visible down to approx 1% zoom.  But in 0.92.1, a 1px wide line is only visible down to approx 5%.

But for such narrow stroke width, we would expect this to be exaggerated.  I'll try what you're using 0.001 inch wide.....

Ok in 0.48.1, a 0.001 inch wide path disappears at 10%.  Oh yes, there does seem to be a problem.  In 0.92.1, the 0.001 inch width disappears at 51% !

Aahh, seems to be a known issue:  https://bugs.launchpad.net/inkscape/+bug/1652039
  • Inkscape version 0.92.3
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"Be ashamed to die until you have won some victory for humanity" - Horace Mann