Cannot move or rotate a graphic without it getting cut off

[jevs]

If I try to move or rotate an object, it gets cut off or disappears if it is move out of a certain area. I have not figured out how to make this stop yet, which has basically wasted the night. I have tried making the page bigger, but this does not seem to do anything to help it still cuts off even before you move it to the shown boundaries.

I am sure this is simple, but getting stuck on something so basic is frustrating.

I have CorelDRAW 12. I just loaded that for the first time to try it and I can move and rotate wherever I want, even out of the shown boundaries, and nothing cuts off or disappears.

It is like there is an invisible boundary and if anything is moved out of that area, that portion disappears. There are no other objects on the page.

I have used inkscape to make a couple quick things to cut on my vinyl cutter, but I just loaded CorelDRAW 12 for the first time? Which software is better? I know this an older version of CorelDRAW, but If I have version 12 of that, should I even bother with Inkscape? Which is better/easier? I would rather just stick to one or the other and get better at it.

[jevs]

Well, it seems I finally fixed this on my own.
I don't know why, but even if you open a new inkscape window and import the file, it would have a "box of visibility" area. If you moved your object out of this area, anything out of it would disappear.

I tried changing all page setting and every other setting I could find and nothing would stop this. Pulling in more graphics or deleting everything and bringing back in one would not stop it. It seems to be a bug?

However, I finally dropped down the layer menu at the bottom. There was a bunch of stuff in the list, even though nothing was on the screen but one item. I simply picked Layer 1 and then all the other stuff magically disappeared from the list and everything started working without things getting cut off no matter where they moved. Now it seems to be working and I cannot recreate the issue.

[brynn]

Welcome to the forum!

If you're working in Inkscape for the first time, you must have opened a file created by someone else.  Because if you had created several layers....with one of them having something to cause the problems you described, you would have remembered, I guess.  So apparently you have opened a fairly complex file.

I can't say exactly what was causing the problems you were having.  My first guess would be a clip or mask.  If you'd like us to investigate, please provide the file for us.

Both Inkscape and Corel are sophisticated graphics programs.  I've never used Corel, so I have no idea which one might be easier.  Considering that Inkscape is free, and always will be, and Corel would cost money if you wanted to get a current version, I'd probably stick with Inkscape. 

But realistically, I'd say Inkscape is probably better suited for creating cutting files.