On my production machine, I haven't modified any preferences for Inkscape. On my laptop, I've changed plenty.

Well, on my production machine I can do this:

1. Create some text.
2. F1 (Select It)
3. CTRL+D (Duplicate It)
4. V (Flip Vertically)
5. Position the text base-to-base.
6. CTRL+F1 or G (Create and Edit Gradients)
7. Drag from anywhere above the duplicate, to somewhere in the middle of it to create a "reflection" effect.

Done.

However, on my laptop, I cannot seem to get this to work period. The text appears without fill sometimes. I try to put the fill back, but the gradient will only affect either the fill or the stroke. I swear, it seems to do something different each time.

Can anyone tell me what the hell I changed on my laptop Inkscape that causes this oddity?

Boy sometimes things just kind of go *thud* in my head. The problem was almost evident in my post. I had to put the fill back, because somehow I had stroke only. Guess what?

Fonts aren't supposed to have strokes.

Now wouldn't it be great if you could clone, apply a filter, and then update the text so you didn't have to redo filters if your text changes?

FooManChu wrote:Fonts aren't supposed to have strokes.

How do you mean? Fonts can have a stroke if you want it to.

FooManChu wrote:Now wouldn't it be great if you could clone, apply a filter, and then update the text so you didn't have to redo filters if your text changes?

I wonder if this might be an oversight. You can certainly clone a text object, flip and have the text update automatically when you change the original. But things go a little strange if you attempt to apply a gradient fill to the clone, or change it's stroke colour. You can change it's fill colour though.

The Inkscape Guide says:

The style (color, fill pattern, etc.) of a the clones can be changed independently but only if the style of the cloned object is Unset.

but that's not what I'm seeing.

microUgly wrote:

FooManChu wrote:Fonts aren't supposed to have strokes.

How do you mean? Fonts can have a stroke if you want it to.

I thought about that afterwards, but since edit doesn't work, just said, "Screw it."

Fonts can have strokes, sure. However, their default nature (at least in Inkscape) is to not have a stroke. If a stroke is applied, it is hard to stuff like what I mentioned. In fact, what I described is not possible with a stroke.

Unless someone can prove me wrong. I am new to Inkscape after all.

microUgly wrote:

FooManChu wrote:Now wouldn't it be great if you could clone, apply a filter, and then update the text so you didn't have to redo filters if your text changes?

I wonder if this might be an oversight. You can certainly clone a text object, flip and have the text update automatically when you change the original. But things go a little strange if you attempt to apply a gradient fill to the clone, or change it's stroke colour. You can change it's fill colour though.

I have thought about that too. I thought, "I can clone everything else with style and all. Change the parent and all the children update. Why not text?"

microUgly wrote:The Inkscape Guide says:

The style (color, fill pattern, etc.) of a the clones can be changed independently but only if the style of the cloned object is Unset.

but that's not what I'm seeing.

I am not sure I follow that line of text. Here is what I experience.

1. Create an object.
2. ALT+D (Clone Object)
3. Modify the Parent Object

You will see the Child Object (First Clone) change accordingly. But *not* if that Child Object is text.

FooManChu wrote:3. Modify the Parent Object

What sort of modifications are you doing to the original that they don't appear in the clone? Note that the terms used in inkscape is "original" and "clone" rather than "Parent Object" and "Child Object".

Which Inkscape version are you using?

microUgly wrote:What sort of modifications are you doing to the original that they don't appear in the clone? Note that the terms used in inkscape is "original" and "clone" rather than "Parent Object" and "Child Object".

Oops, it appears I have miscommunicated something. I can change any original and the clones change accordingly.

I meant that the only time the clones *don't* change, is when they are text objects.

microUgly wrote:Which Inkscape version are you using?

0.45.1 on Windows.

FooManChu wrote:I meant that the only time the clones *don't* change, is when they are text objects.

Can you post an SVG file that contains an cloned text object that doesn't update when you modify the original? I can't reproduce it on my PC - i.e. I can change the text, stroke, fill of a text object and the clone aslo updates. Are you sure you are creating a 'clone' and not a 'duplicate'?

microUgly wrote:

FooManChu wrote:I meant that the only time the clones *don't* change, is when they are text objects.

Can you post an SVG file that contains an cloned text object that doesn't update when you modify the original? I can't reproduce it on my PC - i.e. I can change the text, stroke, fill of a text object and the clone aslo updates. Are you sure you are creating a 'clone' and not a 'duplicate'?

Ctrl + D that he lists in his step by step is a duplicate rather than clone.

microUgly wrote:Can you post an SVG file that contains an cloned text object that doesn't update when you modify the original? I can't reproduce it on my PC - i.e. I can change the text, stroke, fill of a text object and the clone aslo updates. Are you sure you are creating a 'clone' and not a 'duplicate'?

It appears that I again miscommunicated something. Sorry. What I try to do that does not work for me is changing the clone.

I am thinking that is the default behavior though. A clone is linked to its original in that it can only be changed through the original. Is that right?

Simarilius wrote:Ctrl + D that he lists in his step by step is a duplicate rather than clone.

But when talking about the clones I specifically said ALT+D. In the step-by-step I wasn't talking about cloning.

FooManChu wrote:A clone is linked to its original in that it can only be changed through the original. Is that right?

That's right. It's by design. You'll find you can't directly modify the shape of any clone. You can transform and rotate it, but not actually edit the nodes or, as you found, change the text. Doing so kinda defeats the purpose of cloning.

FooManChu wrote:

microUgly wrote:

Simarilius wrote:Ctrl + D that he lists in his step by step is a duplicate rather than clone.

But when talking about the clones I specifically said ALT+D. In the step-by-step I wasn't talking about cloning.

My bad, thats what happens when you try to skim read a big thread like this quickly