Here is the situation

I draw line A with end points A1 and A2.
Then I draw line B (endpoints B1 and B2)
If i want to draw another line connected to B1, I have to get the selection tool, select line B, and then get the line tool again, hover over B1 and then click the square that appears and draw my next line. (is this how I am supposed to be doing this?)

However, If I want to connect A1 and B1, how do I do this? I tried selecting both lines (A and B) but then there are no "magic squares" that appear that allow me to connect another line to them.

How would I do this?

Thanks,
Dave

Select both lines and combine them together (Path > Combine) so they become one object.

Then you can use Node tool to connect the 2 end-nodes.

great - thanks,

an unrelated question...

It seems to be SUPER sensitive to mouse movement, ie it sees the MOUSE DOWN event, and it often things the mouse has moved before the MOUSE UP event happens, so it draws a line about 1 pixel long. Is there a way to set the threshold for what it thinks was a "still" click?

Thanks,
Dave

Try Inkscape preferences > Mouse

What tool does it happen with?

I messed with the Incscape Preferences -> Mouse, it actually didn't seem to have any effect... I put it on 0, then it put it on 20, but still maybe about 1/3 of the time I try to draw a line with the "Draw freehand lines" tool, I get about a point (a super short line) instead of it waiting for me to click on a second point.

Dave

The freehand tool -> ?
Most users just hold down the mouse button and draw instead of point-clicking.

If you wish to point-click, then try the Bezier tool ( )
I believe it will be better for what you are trying to do.

Yea actually I saw that and it works great. I just seemed like inkscape wanted to allow you to do the same thing with the freehand tool, but it was just too sensitive.

I feel like it should either not let you do that at all or not be hyper-sensitive if you could choose to draw a line with it.

Just my $.02 though!

Yes you can't control nodes when drawing with Freehand (Pencil) tool, you can adjust how many nodes you end up with by adjusting the smoothing (simplifying) of the path (I think that feature is only in the development version) but you still can't control where exactly the nodes are positioned.

You have to use the Pen tool if you want to control the nodes while drawing. Learn about it here http://tavmjong.free.fr/INKSCAPE/MANUAL ... ating.html

frequently I want to draw axes/coordinate systems. When I use the pen tool, I draw the first line, then the second line. This is no problem because there is still an "end point" (the box at the end of the line) that I can attach a line to. However, when I go to draw the third line (the "out of the page" axis), I can't connect it to the intersection of the first two lines because there is not an end point there. How would I connect this third line to the first two?

Thanks,
Dave

Have you tried drawing with Axonometric grid on? You can adjust the angle you need for the z-axis there.

what does Axonometric mean? If I draw with the "regular" grid on, then of course I can start the third axis line from the same grid mark, but that doesn't seem to me the same as actually connecting the third line to the first two?

daviddoria wrote:what does Axonometric mean?

A 3D projection without perspective.

If I draw with the "regular" grid on, then of course I can start the third axis line from the same grid mark, but that doesn't seem to me the same as actually connecting the third line to the first two?

You can then "combine" or "group" your axes to keep them together.

i'm very interested in this as well. simply put, can inkscape represent the following graph :

x-------o-------x
|
x

total of 4 nodes, where the node labeled as 'o' has two connected edges ?

i'm aware this might not qualify as a 'path' exactly but I think it could be very useful. I hit upon this problem when trying to create three overlapping circles while being able to control the color of each enclosed area. attempting it through boolean operations was quite cumbersome.

drawing got screwed up. here it is again :

A path can only have 2 ends (just like a piece of string). IF you want to create a T you'll need to use two paths.

well I wouldn't view this as a limitation if there were a way to insert a vertex at the intersection point of two separate paths (in either of them). As the ability to calculate the location of this is obviously present & used when doing bolean operations it is unavailable while doing more complex 'mesh style' edge manipulation.

I know Inkscape wasn't designed with mesh edge manipulation as a primary goal but I think it could be useful.