I'm trying to make some buttons. I started using several objects, and then realized I could use linked offsets. Unfortunately, I'm having some trouble understanding how they work. I'm sure it's because I'm missing something conceptually about them.



My first problem was that my gradients weren't moving along with the rest of the object. That fixed itself later, and I don't know why.

My second problem was that the offsets seemed to disconnect from the parent object randomly. For example, sometimes when I go to drag my button, I only grab the gradients out of the middle. At one point all of my offsets came apart, and I just put them in a group.

Finally, I would like to be able to edit my offsets later, but I can't find a way to select them.

Unrelated to these problems with linked offsets, I also tried to use a dynamic offset. However, when I dragged the handle, it just scaled the whole object.

Hhm, it's hard to say what's going wrong, without knowing the exact steps you took. Some of the problems sound like they could be related to selecting the wrong object. When you have 2 or more objects which are identical in shape, or nearly so, stacked up on top of each other, you'll want to be sure to use all your clues for knowing which object(s) is(are) selected. For example with a button where you want to simulate some depth, you might have a base object, and couple of partially transparent objects, for shading and/or highlighting on top, and maybe even a cast shadow below. Clues can be found in the status bar, for one. It gives different info depending on which tool is engaged. The selection tool always gives the type of object, and the other tools vary as to what the status bar says. You can also use the indicators in the bottom left corner of the window. There is shown fill and stroke, as well as layer and opacity. For example, if you're trying to select a gradient, you can see that in the fill info, when it's selected. And I know this is going to sound simplistic, but sometimes I even count my clicks if I'm using Alt + click to select objects in a stack.

You can make sure that the gradient moves with the object by clicking "Move gradients along with the object" button on Selection tool control bar.

Yes, any offset path can be moved independantly, so grouping is not a bad idea.

When you say you need to edit the offset, do you mean node edit? If you previously used Dynamic Offset, you'll need to use Object to Path on it, to make it editable as a path. But if you mean you need to edit as an offset, you won't need to do anything else. If you're just using regular Inset/Outset, it's not an issue.

As far as selecting the offset, there's no reason you shouldn't be able to select it....unless you made it transparent. You can select using either the Selection tool or Node tool.

With Linked Offset, it automatically creates a duplicate path for you. But with Dynamic Offset (and regular Inset or Outset), you have to remember to duplicate the path/object yourself, and then apply the Dynamic Offset to that duplicate.

I hope this has been at least somewhat helpful. As I said, it's hard to know exactly what's happening, without know the exact steps you were taking. If you still have trouble, be sure and notice exactly what steps are needed to recreate the problem.

Brynn, first, thanks for your quick reply.

I didn't realize that the offsets actually created totally independent objects. That explains my problem with selection. But, I still don't understand why sometimes it appeared that there was one object selected, and I would grab it, and everything would move, while at other times, I would grab what appeared to be one object and just one piece moved. Are linked offsets automatically put into a group that I perhaps removed them from?

I actually had been keeping the "Move Gradients..." button clicked. Here's an example of what I was experiencing:
Before

After


However, this issue seemed to go away when I would duplicate my object and move the duplicate.

By edit the offset, I meant I would like to be able to get the handle that is shown when you first click "Linked Offset". That would allow me to do things like change the stroke on the base of my button, and then move my shadow and glow offsets back to their appropriate positions on the edge of the base's stroke.

I will try to summarize how I made this button. I created a rounded rect with a 6 pixel stroke. Then I converted it to a path and used the linked offset to create all the shadows and glows. Basically create an offset, set stroke to 1px, set gradient to white or black, use the handle to get the size right, and then set the gradient to stop at the end of the corner. Repeat. Same for the gradients on the inside of the button, but with a gradient fill and no stroke.

closely aligned objects and objects with only a thin - 1px in this case - stroke are better selected and moved using the tab key and alt-arrow combinations, maybe that would help in this situation?

Druban, I'm not sure why that would help here, since I was moving everything at once in my screenshots. But maybe I am misunderstanding you? Were you referring to something else in my post?

Still, I did not know that was possible, and it seems it will be helpful in general. So, thank you!

arsenius wrote: I still don't understand why sometimes it appeared that there was one object selected, and I would grab it, and everything would move

arsenius wrote:That would allow me to do things like change the stroke on the base of my button, and then move my shadow and glow offsets back to their appropriate positions on the edge of the base's stroke.

arsenius wrote:I would like to be able to edit my offsets later, but I can't find a way to select them.

From some of the things you said I assumed that you needed to select items that were hard to select with the mouse, and I thought some of your problems might be alleviated by using the tab key to step through your objects, and using the alt arrow combinations once an object is selected allows you to move it without accidentally selecting and dragging another object, as often happens when using a pointing device.

arsenius wrote:I didn't realize that the offsets actually created totally independent objects.

Only the Linked Offset creates it's own path. For all the other offsets (Inset, Outset, Dynamic Offset) you have to duplicate the original path to which you then apply the offset. Those are totally independant, but, the linked offset is not totally independant.

arsenius wrote:Are linked offsets automatically put into a group that I perhaps removed them from?

It seems a little bit strange to me, how the linked offset behaves. But I guess it does make sense. If I select only the offset path, I can move it independantly. But if I select the original path and move it, the offset path moves right along with it (no matter where I have placed the offset path). (I knew that changing the shape of the original would change the shape of the linked offset. But I didn't realize that it applies to moving as well.) So in a way, they are grouped....but really they're linked.

So that could have something to do with what you're experiencing, with the gradient. I'm not sure. I can't tell exactly what's happening with your before and after screenshots. And I don't quite understand your verbal description. I would probably need to see the SVG file (unless you can make a video where we can see the whole Inkscape window, showing the movement and the apparently moving gradient). That's because you have several different objects all stacked up there, and I don't know which one is selected, by looking at the bounding box. I do see the difference between the before and after, but it's hard to say what's happening. It doesn't look like the bounding box has moved at all, from before to after.

Or maybe someone else can pick up on what's happening....?