Hi there i'm a newby to the inkscape software, having trouble filling to the edges with the paint tool, for example i have a circle shape and just want to fill the center with colour but i'm getting a small gap between the colour and the outline of the shape. Any help appreciated. Thanks Dan

Welcome Dan!

It sounds like you're talking about the paint bucket tool. On the tool control bar (above the horizontal ruler) is a Grow/Shrink setting. You can adjust it so that it fills a slightly larger area, but not so large that it fills outside the area. If the strokes of the paths that form the area are very narrow, it might be tricky to find the right setting. For a 1.0 px stroke, I usually use 0.5 grow value.

If the strokes are narrower than that, you might have to manipulate the nodes. Select the new color shape then switch to the Node tool . You can grab a node with it and drag it over to the edge. There's a feature called Snapping that will help make it easier and faster. The Snap control bar, depending on which Inkscape version you have, might either be above the tool control bar or along the right side of the window. Click the 1st button (enable snapping), Snap nodes or handles, and Snap to paths. That's 3 buttons engaged and all the others not. (Hover mouse over button for a moment, and some text will appear, identifying the button. I find the icons confusing, and rely on the tool tips text.) Now when you drag a node close to the path, it will sort of jump away from your control and land on the path.

Let us know how it goes