Please help? I am very new to this and attempting to use the Inkscape and most of the things I try are not working.
I have followed most of the tutorials posted on Youtube by Derek Banas and here are my issues that I would appreciate help with. -

When I draw a rectangle that is, for instance, 4 px, and then select it with the node tool, covert rectangle to path, crate a sphere, create that to path and copy, select rectangle and select pattern along path, add, then hit the copy it doesn't work fully. One corner of my rectangle is pinched together.

It doesn't matter how I draw my rectangle it is always the upper left corner. I have tried Joining selected modes, break path at selected modes, join selected end nodes with a segment and delete segment between two end point nodes on new rectangles and it is always the same. The upper left hand corner is pinched together.

There are other issues as well. If I create a grid and use envelope deformation it doesn't move uniformly. It shoots grid lines all over the place and isn't controlled or uniform at all. I can't manipulate font either to select all letters in a word and move them as one unit no matter what I do.

I really would like this program to work but I can't figure out what is going on. If anyone has any insight please let me know.
On HP/Win7

Tank you!

Some hints to help you get better advice: post a picture by attaching to your post or better still uploading to some site like imgh and linking to it in your post.
I can tell that you are having trouble with the pattern on path effect, but 'pinch' is not easy to figure out w/out a picture.

For yr second issue, one word can't be selected and moved independently of the text object it belongs to, but you can select it with the text tool and use the controls in the text tool's control bar (at the top of your window) to kern, rotate, raise and lower groups of one or more letters. There are also keyboard shortcuts for these actions.

I have taken a screen shot of the issue I have having but since it is on my laptop and doesn't have a url location I am not sure how to show it to you??? Sorry I am so new... and old! LOL

Thank you for trying to explain the second issue, and I may be wrong, but I think we are talking about two different applications?
In the YouTube video tutorial a word is typed out using the Text Object selection. Edit paths by nodes is selected, the entire word selected with the pointer and somehow he links all of the letters together by selecting the first node and the last node (?). When he pulls on one single upper node in the string of letters entire word morphs as though the top line is connected making the word like a hill in the center. He can manipulate it in other ways with all letters responding also. The link is below and the demo begins at around 8:13.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_qqTAjBaeJ0

Thank you!!!!!!
Lane

Lane Rae wrote:a word is typed out using the Text Object selection. Edit paths by nodes is selected, the entire word selected with the pointer and somehow he links all of the letters together by selecting the first node and the last node (?). When he pulls on one single upper node in the string of letters entire word morphs as though the top line is connected making the word like a hill in the center. He can manipulate it in other ways with all letters responding also.

somehow he links all of the letters together by selecting the first node and the last node
He switches to the and likely presses Ctrl-A to select all the nodes.

When he pulls on one single upper node in the string of letters entire word morphs
He is holding down the ALT key while manipulating with the This is called Node sculpting and the Inkscape Manual has quite a good section on it

Does he also first convert text to path? It sounds like that would be needed before using the node tool (Path -> Object to Path, when the text is selected).