I think it would be nice to have curved guides as an option, but before I request it as a feature, I wanted to discuss it. Currently I can create an ellipse and turn on snap to path to simulate what a curved guide would do, but it would be nice if this was a built in option.

Another thing is it would be nice to have some way of deleting all the guides automatically. When I'm working with them, I usually end up with a dozen or so guides that I have to clean up manually.

Hi

Your last suggestion exists already - Edit - Delete all Guides.

Wow, very helpful. Was that in previous versions? I just upgraded this week, but didn't think to look in the menus (I assumed it would be in the Guides tab of the document panel if it were anywhere)

Hi.

It's been there for a while, don't know when it was added, it was in 0.48.x
I "discover" new things and new ways to things almost daily thanks to this board!

Didn't know about such remove all guides was existing, cannot see it in 0.48.

But, there is another effective way doing so:
by holding the Del key, hover over the guide lines either by the node or the select tool.

Hi.

Another way is to use the xml editor,
or use the "Clean Document",
or save as "plain SVG".

Yet another way I'd never tried. I'd never simply held the DEL key and instead constantly tapped it while jiggling the mouse in the vicinity of the guide until hitting the DEL key happened at the same time that the mouse was in position, or, once frustrated with that, I'd go into the XML view and just delete all the guides. The XML view is slow too, though, unless there is a shortcut I'm unaware of to delete a node (anyone...please?).

ragstian wrote:Another way is to use the xml editor,
or use the "Clean Document",
or save as "plain SVG".

Clean document doesn't get rid of the guides. Plain SVG probably does (I assume), but then I lose all the other cool features that inkscape does that I don't want to get rid of. Not that any of this matters, the fact that there is an easy menu option means that I can just click that

Hi.

To keep the inkscape specific try go to save as "optimized SVG", you will then get a dialog on saving where you can set what to keep and what to "throw".

So, now that we have the delete guides thoroughly sussed out, any opinions on curved guides? I know I would find them useful, but what about others?

Hi.

Curved guides would be "nice to have" but in my opinion it's better to duplicate a path, break at selected nodes, break apart into separate objects and then use the curved path as part of your new object.
By using this you got an "exact copy" where the curves will fit like a "hand in a glove"!

I am sure something similar can be done by using the Clip and Mask as well, I have just started "exploring" the latter!

I actually use curves to make sure that two distances at different angles are the same, not to make sure I get an exact copy of a curve. There are other ways of doing it, but having a curved guide (especially one that defaults to a perfect circle) is the easiest that I know.

A perfect circle doesn't exist represented by paths. Haven't tested the "new" circle object, but I have doubts it would represent points in equal distance from an origo.

Really? So the ellipsis tool does not create a perfect circle? That's disappointing.

Hi

It's not disappointing but impossible.

Impossible

Well, don't get too excited about the "non-perfect" circle comments. The difference can only be seen at maximum zoom (25,600%), and for most Inkscape users, is irrelevant. Only if you have some need for extremely precise geometry, would this issue be relevant. (I only wish they would fix it, so these explanations don't need to be made, over and over. Because the imperfection is miniscule.)