ragstian wrote:To join the nodes try;

select all the paths you wish to join,
combine paths ( CTRL K )
enter "node mode" ( F2 )
select all nodes ( Ctrl A )
click the "Join Selected Nodes" Icon.

Perfect. That worked great!

I must have hovered over every button 10 times and looked all through the menus, but I can't find anything called "merge double nodes". I googled "inkscape 'merge double nodes'" as well.

ragstian wrote:Hi

Can you post (part of) the troublesome file. Someone might be able to figure out how to "join" the nodes (without making it worse)

Certainly. See if this works:
https://drive.google.com/file/d/0B5Oaz051-g-1RTFMWFZTcWZRRUk/view?usp=sharing

Hi. Normally there are no "need" for a bucket fill tool. I see it as a "leftover" from pixel based programs. To "fill" your shape make sure the shape is "closed" by joining end nodes if necessary, then use the stroke & fill menu (Shift Ctrl F) to set the ...

Noticing some odd fill behavior. The shapes below are identical. The left one was filled when zoomed in, the right one when zoomed out. I also noticed that fill only extends to the edge of the screen, so if you have a large skinny object to fill you need to be zoomed out but then you get very strang...