Hi everyone!

I am experienced CorelDraw user, and I had recently downloaded Inkscape and explore it's possibilities compared to my needs.

I have only two major complaints:

-not enough adjustment options for a path offset
-resized object should stay on it's center position, not on X/Y zero point

When I have these features configured as I need them, I will sutck with Inkscape as my default vector workshop, because I really like and simpathise Open Source efforts and Inkscape is now getting really close to commercial programs.

Unfortunatelly, I am not programmer, so I can't help. :-/

t-mark wrote:-resized object should stay on it's center position, not on X/Y zero point

If you resize by dragging a corner, hold ctrl to resize around the centre of the object. Or do you mean something else?

Slow Dog wrote:

t-mark wrote:-resized object should stay on it's center position, not on X/Y zero point

If you resize by dragging a corner, hold ctrl to resize around the centre of the object. Or do you mean something else?

Press 'Shift', not 'Ctrl' while dragging a resize handle, to scale from center (Ctrl locks ratio when scaling).
(see also: Scaling, Rotating, and Skewing with the mouse)

Additionally, when resizing an object using 'Object > Transform… > Scale', it will scale around the center.

t-mark wrote:-not enough adjustment options for a path offset

Inkscape hasn't a GUI for the (dynamic or linked) path offset options yet, but meanwhile you can set a precise px value for the offset radius using 'Edit > XML Editor' (select the offset path on-canvas, open the XML Editor and adjust the value of 'inkscape:radius').

The offset values for 'Path > Inset/Outset' can be set in 'Inkscape Preferences > Steps' (the next version will allow to use units for those steps, but for now you are limited to px values).

~suv wrote:

Slow Dog wrote:

t-mark wrote:-resized object should stay on it's center position, not on X/Y zero point

If you resize by dragging a corner, hold ctrl to resize around the centre of the object. Or do you mean something else?

Press 'Shift', not 'Ctrl' while dragging a resize handle, to scale from center (Ctrl locks ratio when scaling).
(see also: Scaling, Rotating, and Skewing with the mouse)

Additionally, when resizing an object using 'Object > Transform… > Scale', it will scale around the center.

Aaaa! Right. I don't know what it was (can't find it now), but I had some other thing opened (something similar to object>transform>scale) and I've scaled a rectangle in the way that it's left edge was stucked to the same place if I was changing object's width, or to the bottom edge if I was changing the height.

Sorry. My fault about this one.

~suv wrote:

t-mark wrote:-not enough adjustment options for a path offset

Inkscape hasn't a GUI for the (dynamic or linked) path offset options yet, but meanwhile you can set a precise px value for the offset radius using 'Edit > XML Editor' (select the offset path on-canvas, open the XML Editor and adjust the value of 'inkscape:radius').

The offset values for 'Path > Inset/Outset' can be set in 'Inkscape Preferences > Steps' (the next version will allow to use units for those steps, but for now you are limited to px values).

Thanks. It is too complicated, I guess I have to wait for the next version. :-/
My final product isn't some bitmap for the net or something, it is the vector itself, I do the a lot of signmaking stuff and design (schemes)of the stained glass and other forms of glass decorations. I often work with several values of offset (and I need milimeters) and it can't be done approximately by dragging a node, and I also can't go every few minutes to some XML editor to fix it.

I am waiting for the next version. I hope it will be available soon.

Thanks.

One more thing (just to explain how important one program can be):

Last 2 or 3 years I am using Linux&Windows dual-boot on my PC's.

The ONLY thing that still connects me to Windows is CorelDraw. Everything else I have found in Linux and OpenSource. I am looking forward to the day called "Goodbye, Windows".

My regards to all of you. I'll be carefully watching the further development of Inkscape (and possibly participate in testing of next release, that's the only way I can help).

Speed is the biggest draw back with it too. I use it professionally and I'm starting to look at other alternatives due to that speed issue.

Also getting customers who are requesting AI files. Not exporting to AI is a big killer too. SVG's in Illustrator are also brutal.

Does anyone know if this issue is close to being resolved and if there can be an option to set the units of the offset as well as the actual offset distance, in s similar way to Scribus or CorelDraw? Such that I can set the distance without having to go into preferences? Thank you.

Welcome to the forum, Paul76!

You can set it in the XML Editor, which is not a global change, but a change for that object only. Unfortunately, I can't remember how. But I'm sure someone else can tell you. (I don't know how those other programs that you mentioned handle it.)

EDIT
Oh ok, I see that instructions were provided earlier in this topic for that. I don't know if the ability to set offsets from the gui is available yet. You could always download a development version and try it

Thanks brynn,

Ive not tried using the XML editor yet, I dont know much about these things but Ill give it a go using the instructions above. Hopefully I can set the units to mm. This would be so useful for creating vinal masks, and bridging masks to be used for airbrushing (using real paint ! ) graphics and logos.