When I open craft patterns that I've made the nodes seem to drift off of the path intersections I've snapped them to. The pattern consists of a graph-paper-like grid that I've made (not created by Inkscape's grid feature), and simple, point to point lines that are the actual pattern design. I tried snapping to and from cusp nodes, as well as snapping to and from path intersections but still got drifting. The next thing I tried was turning my graph-paper into guides by selection the correct option under the Options menu, then enabling snapping to and from the guides. No matter what I do, I still get the drift and if I don't correct it, given enough time, it can eventually distort the pattern. Any way to stop drifting or am I just being too nit-picky?

KJW

What is your setting in 'Inkscape Preferences > SVG output > Numeric precision'? (default is 8)
Could you attach (or link to a) sample SVG file?

Hi KJW,
~suv is much more knowledgeable than I am, and is probably already on the right track.

But if you don't mind, I'm curious and want to learn more about the issue. Do you mean that you create a pattern and save it, and then the next time you open it, the nodes have moved? Or do you mean that you're cutting the pattern on a machine, and the nodes are drifting during the cutting? Either way, I don't think you're being nit-picky at all!

How far do they drift? A few pixels, or fractions of a pixel?

the numberic precision is at 8, as far as the distance they move, I'm not sure. I just know they don't stay put.

Do you mean that you create a pattern and save it, and then the next time you open it, the nodes have moved? Or do you mean that you're cutting the pattern on a machine, and the nodes are drifting during the cutting?

Just opening it. This is for needlework so I don't cut anything, but I do have a cutter - haven't used it yet, but I have it!

Oh ok, no cutter. I had you confused with someone else. Sorry about that.

If the nodes are placed at the intersections of your grid/graph, could you open one of those files and give an estimate of how much the nodes have moved? If you click on one of the moved nodes, you can see its X and Y positions on the Node tool control bar (bar above the ruler that has many buttons on it). Then snap the node back to the intersection, and note those coordinates (X and Y positions) too. You don't need to do the math, you could just post the X and Y values for the node at each place, intended and actual.

The nodes themselves should not have moved. But there's a bit of a visual glitch when using Inkscape, that has to do with Inkscape pixels not being exactly the same as real pixels. This is the most noticable for me when using Guides. You might have a vertical guide set for example at 500 px, but looking at the ruler, it looks like it's a little off. If you highlight the guide to double-check, it really is sitting right at 500 px, but by the ruler, it's a little off. I first noticed this when I was using both Guides and a Grid, while zooming. At one zoom level, the guide would appear to be right on the grid line, but then zoomed in or out, it looks like it moved. The same thing can happen with nodes, but I don't notice it as much with nodes.

However, if you find that the nodes truly have moved, that's a mystery that I've never heard of, and would be interested to learn more about