When I use the search bar for the inkscape forums, and type in 'erase' or any other simple term, it always comes up with the answer that no such topic was found. However, I know from google searches that numerous threads on the erase tool exist in the forums. I cannot access them though, when I click on the thread on google it also comes up zero. Then when I ask about this simple topic, someone is bound to point out that the question has already been answered in such and such a place. This is so frustrating.
But, when I type "erase" into the seach box andclick on the icon to the right (the white magnifying glass on the orange background), it does nothing what so ever. But that's with macOS using Safari ...
It also does not seem to return matches where the term "erase" appears in the body of the posts or their replies/comments ... but only if the term appears in the subject of the post.
It's an unusual format for a search tool, for sure. It tricked me too, the first time I used it! When you enter something, and it comes up with your results, whether it's no results or there are some results, you are only seeing part of the results. If you look over to the left, you'll see 3 choices for different searches.
So the default search is where it was searching only the topic titles. Apparently you are the first person to put the word "eraser" in a topic title. So that's why you didn't get any results when you searched.
If you click on Comment Text, you will see where it searched the message contents for your search terms.
And then if you click on Topic Threads, you get more results. To be honest, I couldn't tell you exactly what the search of "topic threads" searches for.
But in any case, by the time you look at all 3 areas, you have made a thorough search of the forum.
(Note this forum only opened last August, so it's still possible someone might search for something that hasn't been posted yet.)
Thank you so much, this is super useful info. I use inkscape a lot. It has the best trace tool that I can afford. I've been able to do a lot of things to rework my old hand drawn silk screening positives this way, into digital art work. Pardon a bit of narrative here, someone may find it useful. My drawings are of animals and plants and they look like ink pen drawings and were printed in two to seven different coloured inks, using lines only, no washes, as silkscreen can't grade colour. Finding an MO has been trial and error, and taken two months. No one I spoke to had ever done it or understood what I wanted and what I was talking about. Visiting local experts, and googling without end was less productive than simply figuring it out for myself. I thought there would be thousands of artists doing this, converting old silk screen designs done for old photo technology, but have not crossed paths yet with anyone.
I've added interest to the flatness of silk screen colour by using transparency functions, producing a third colour where lines overlap, like the original ink prints did. I also do multiple traces of one drawing with different cutoff brightness, and give each a slightly different hue, and a very much different tone, with the cutoffs in the region of 0.3 being placed ontop and being darkest. It only works with bad, low res scans, because at different cutoffs the image can be very sparse or very black.
It has been really tricky getting good quality traces. I found that the scanning was the problem. With a high res scan, Inkscape produced a traced replica of the original that was breathtakingly accurate. The files are large. Designing for POD its best to start with a huge file and scale down for different products that are smaller. After one week of being online, the platform featured one of our designs so I'm extremely happy and excited about the future.
You would be totally welcome to post a message, showing what you do and how you do it, with screenshots and photos and whatever. There's a board How Do You Use Inkscape, where you could put it.
I hope to create a new part of the main website, where people can post an article about how they use Inkscape. But it's at least a few months away, and maybe more. But you can use forum for now, if you like.
I'm not entirely clear what you're describing, but I think I understand parts of it.
I know I've helped people make their files ready to send to silk screen printers before (putting each color on a separate layer). But you must be doing something a little different. It sounds like you're tracing raster images to create the designs.
Do you perform the silk screening? Or do you send it to a shop?
I never noticed that after getting it to do a search, there appears over on the far left the options for the additional types of search ... that's helpful to know! I wonder if it is possible to include the search term and/or duplicate the search box over there so the user might notice they can "dive deeper" into the results by choosing the other options? If you hadn't pointed that out, I would't have thought to play with those ...
I think one search, which searches both titles and message text would do the trick.
As for a short term bandaid....hhmmm....
I can think of something, but it's probably a styling or design thing, which Martin doesn't like to do. Maybe if the column on the left extended downwards to be equal in length to the list of results, I think it might make that column more visible, and people might notice it better.
Although it probably would be pretty easy to repeat the search box at the top of that column.
Forum Issues, News, and Announcements search bar in forums
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When I use the search bar for the inkscape forums, and type in 'erase' or any other simple term, it always comes up with the answer that no such topic was found. However, I know from google searches that numerous threads on the erase tool exist in the forums. I cannot access them though, when I click on the thread on google it also comes up zero. Then when I ask about this simple topic, someone is bound to point out that the question has already been answered in such and such a place. This is so frustrating.
Works for me.
For what it is worth, when I type "erase" into the search box and press the "enter" key on my keyboard, it returns ... of all things, this thread:
But, when I type "erase" into the seach box and click on the icon to the right (the white magnifying glass on the orange background), it does nothing what so ever. But that's with macOS using Safari ...
It also does not seem to return matches where the term "erase" appears in the body of the posts or their replies/comments ... but only if the term appears in the subject of the post.
Thank you Nathan, that link is to my question yesterday ! I will use enter key. but clearly there is something wrong here my end. I am using Firefox.
It's an unusual format for a search tool, for sure. It tricked me too, the first time I used it! When you enter something, and it comes up with your results, whether it's no results or there are some results, you are only seeing part of the results. If you look over to the left, you'll see 3 choices for different searches.
So the default search is where it was searching only the topic titles. Apparently you are the first person to put the word "eraser" in a topic title. So that's why you didn't get any results when you searched.
If you click on Comment Text, you will see where it searched the message contents for your search terms.
And then if you click on Topic Threads, you get more results. To be honest, I couldn't tell you exactly what the search of "topic threads" searches for.
But in any case, by the time you look at all 3 areas, you have made a thorough search of the forum.
(Note this forum only opened last August, so it's still possible someone might search for something that hasn't been posted yet.)
Hey Brynn
Thank you so much, this is super useful info. I use inkscape a lot. It has the best trace tool that I can afford. I've been able to do a lot of things to rework my old hand drawn silk screening positives this way, into digital art work. Pardon a bit of narrative here, someone may find it useful. My drawings are of animals and plants and they look like ink pen drawings and were printed in two to seven different coloured inks, using lines only, no washes, as silkscreen can't grade colour. Finding an MO has been trial and error, and taken two months. No one I spoke to had ever done it or understood what I wanted and what I was talking about. Visiting local experts, and googling without end was less productive than simply figuring it out for myself. I thought there would be thousands of artists doing this, converting old silk screen designs done for old photo technology, but have not crossed paths yet with anyone.
I've added interest to the flatness of silk screen colour by using transparency functions, producing a third colour where lines overlap, like the original ink prints did. I also do multiple traces of one drawing with different cutoff brightness, and give each a slightly different hue, and a very much different tone, with the cutoffs in the region of 0.3 being placed ontop and being darkest. It only works with bad, low res scans, because at different cutoffs the image can be very sparse or very black.
It has been really tricky getting good quality traces. I found that the scanning was the problem. With a high res scan, Inkscape produced a traced replica of the original that was breathtakingly accurate. The files are large. Designing for POD its best to start with a huge file and scale down for different products that are smaller. After one week of being online, the platform featured one of our designs so I'm extremely happy and excited about the future.
Caroline
You would be totally welcome to post a message, showing what you do and how you do it, with screenshots and photos and whatever. There's a board How Do You Use Inkscape, where you could put it.
I hope to create a new part of the main website, where people can post an article about how they use Inkscape. But it's at least a few months away, and maybe more. But you can use forum for now, if you like.
I'm not entirely clear what you're describing, but I think I understand parts of it.
I know I've helped people make their files ready to send to silk screen printers before (putting each color on a separate layer). But you must be doing something a little different. It sounds like you're tracing raster images to create the designs.
Do you perform the silk screening? Or do you send it to a shop?
I never noticed that after getting it to do a search, there appears over on the far left the options for the additional types of search ... that's helpful to know! I wonder if it is possible to include the search term and/or duplicate the search box over there so the user might notice they can "dive deeper" into the results by choosing the other options? If you hadn't pointed that out, I would't have thought to play with those ...
I totally missed it too!
I think one search, which searches both titles and message text would do the trick.
As for a short term bandaid....hhmmm....
I can think of something, but it's probably a styling or design thing, which Martin doesn't like to do. Maybe if the column on the left extended downwards to be equal in length to the list of results, I think it might make that column more visible, and people might notice it better.
Although it probably would be pretty easy to repeat the search box at the top of that column.