Hope this is the right place to make this request. I am a garden designer and often use Inkscape (awesome) to make 2d designs. I would make an extension for this myself if I had the skills and time, but unfortunately I have not.
I noticed while drawing a bezier the current line length is displayed in the bottom part of the screen, together with the angle of the segment. It would be absolutely awesome if it would be possible to type in the length and hit enter or so to, while drawing the path. A bit like the workflow in Sketchup (being able to type in the size of what you are drawing after hitting tab). It would turn Inkscape in a contender for simple and fast 2d CAD designing. Which it already is I admit, but the workflow for more precise drawing is a bit cumbersome (having to set the lengths of lines after drawing them, using measure tool or something similar). I know it is possible to type in width and height, but would be nice to do so for the length in the direction/angle of the path.
I would be forever grateful if this would become a feature of extension in Inkscape and would consider making an donation.
Hi. As you stated, you can manually type in text with any wording or distance you wish and move this text to any position or angle.
Also, look at Extensions > Visualize Path > Measure Path. In the options provided, you can adjust the font size, offset amount, precision level, scale factor and unit type. Play with these options and use Live Preview to see possibilities. Even after pressing Apply, you can move the text independently of the path to which it applies.
Hi Hum, I tried to reply but unfortunately I was automatically instant banned for some reason. Weird. I made a second account to write this reply.
So 2 things:
-Can someone help me with the ban? No idea why that happened. Maybe because I typed "@" in the reply?
-On topic: I think you misunderstood me. I didn't mean to add text or dimensions to the path. I meant being able to set a line segment length, or path length (preferably while drawing it) in another direction than just vertical or horizontal. I noticed when you use the bezier tool it shows the distance and angle relative to the last drawn node. I guess this feature could be used for that, but for now you just have to eyeball this.
I think I did understand you. I know of no means to have the length appear permanently as text on the canvas as you draw the path. That is why I mentioned text made after the path is created. Which can be be rotated and placed at any angle or position. Also why I mentioned the Extension above which is a simple and fast way to see and inform others of your path's length.
Perhaps someone else has some alternative way to get the length to appear as text while you draw it. Other than a screenshot.
What the OP is suggesting/requesting is a cad-like feature the allows generating a line of specific length and angle on-the-fly.
For example: clicking the canvas for the first point of a line, then typing a command (e.g. @12<45) and hitting the enter key to make a line precisely 12 units long on a 45 degree angle.
This is not about getting the value displayed in text on the canvas (which can also be done with the measure tool).
Tyler is right about my question. I think this option would increase the usefulness of Inkscape a lot. I use it for many designs and technical drawings already. I used to switch between Freecad and Inkscape for this, but nowadays Inkscape has almost all the options for 2D CADlike drawing and Freecad is more meant for 3D engineering. Plus Inkscape offers a lot more features for dynamic sketching.
My line of thinking would be to create an extension that basically draws a circle and line from the first node by entering the radius and then use the circle to cut the line to length.
Have you noticed what's happening in the status bar? When the bezier tool is active, the angle and length of the current line segment is displayed as you draw. Not a solution, I know, but it might be helpful.
Hi Paddy_CAD Yes I have noticed, so it can be eyeballed for now. But it would be way easier (and precise) if one could set this length by typing. Since Inkscape features almost all common 2d CAD functions, this would make it complete in my opinion.
When I need exact lengths and angles, I draw a rectangle [r], set the width in the tool control bar [alt+x] [W: length], open the Transform dialog [Object > Transform...] or [shift+ctrl+m], and rotate the shape [Rotate] [Angle: angle] [Enter]. Finally, I snap the shape into position and use it as a drawing aid for the bezier tool. It's long-winded when I write it down, but I know the keystrokes so each step takes only a few seconds.
Hi Paddy, I use similar methods indeed. But if you compare this to CAD programs workflow it is very cumbersome. In those programs you just draw the first node, snap to the direction you want the line to go and type in the length and hit enter or something. Also it would be awesome if you could just select a line and change it's length by typing the number. So yes, there are workarounds but in my opinion this is the thing most lacking in Inkscape and the only reason I sometimes still open another CAD program.
Still I've designed a lot of gardens on scale using just Inkscape and workarounds like you say.
Beyond the Basics Request: type line length while drawing
Inkscape.org
Hope this is the right place to make this request. I am a garden designer and often use Inkscape (awesome) to make 2d designs. I would make an extension for this myself if I had the skills and time, but unfortunately I have not.
I noticed while drawing a bezier the current line length is displayed in the bottom part of the screen, together with the angle of the segment. It would be absolutely awesome if it would be possible to type in the length and hit enter or so to, while drawing the path. A bit like the workflow in Sketchup (being able to type in the size of what you are drawing after hitting tab). It would turn Inkscape in a contender for simple and fast 2d CAD designing. Which it already is I admit, but the workflow for more precise drawing is a bit cumbersome (having to set the lengths of lines after drawing them, using measure tool or something similar). I know it is possible to type in width and height, but would be nice to do so for the length in the direction/angle of the path.
I would be forever grateful if this would become a feature of extension in Inkscape and would consider making an donation.
Thanks, Daan
Hi. As you stated, you can manually type in text with any wording or distance you wish and move this text to any position or angle.
Also, look at Extensions > Visualize Path > Measure Path. In the options provided, you can adjust the font size, offset amount, precision level, scale factor and unit type. Play with these options and use Live Preview to see possibilities. Even after pressing Apply, you can move the text independently of the path to which it applies.
Hi Hum, I tried to reply but unfortunately I was automatically instant banned for some reason. Weird. I made a second account to write this reply.
So 2 things:
-Can someone help me with the ban? No idea why that happened. Maybe because I typed "@" in the reply?
-On topic: I think you misunderstood me. I didn't mean to add text or dimensions to the path. I meant being able to set a line segment length, or path length (preferably while drawing it) in another direction than just vertical or horizontal. I noticed when you use the bezier tool it shows the distance and angle relative to the last drawn node. I guess this feature could be used for that, but for now you just have to eyeball this.
Sorry you got banned. I'll remove the word that rhymes with doodoo from the word-ban list. Seems to be commonly used outside of spamming.
Tyler, haha okay that explains it. Thanks.
There are rumors about cad-style constraints being explored, including line length & angle, but I wouldn't hold my breath.
I think I did understand you. I know of no means to have the length appear permanently as text on the canvas as you draw the path. That is why I mentioned text made after the path is created. Which can be be rotated and placed at any angle or position. Also why I mentioned the Extension above which is a simple and fast way to see and inform others of your path's length.
Perhaps someone else has some alternative way to get the length to appear as text while you draw it. Other than a screenshot.
What the OP is suggesting/requesting is a cad-like feature the allows generating a line of specific length and angle on-the-fly.
For example: clicking the canvas for the first point of a line, then typing a command (e.g. @12<45) and hitting the enter key to make a line precisely 12 units long on a 45 degree angle.
This is not about getting the value displayed in text on the canvas (which can also be done with the measure tool).
Okay, wonderful. I have tried to help based upon what I know and what I perceived him communicating.
Tyler is right about my question. I think this option would increase the usefulness of Inkscape a lot. I use it for many designs and technical drawings already. I used to switch between Freecad and Inkscape for this, but nowadays Inkscape has almost all the options for 2D CADlike drawing and Freecad is more meant for 3D engineering. Plus Inkscape offers a lot more features for dynamic sketching.
My line of thinking would be to create an extension that basically draws a circle and line from the first node by entering the radius and then use the circle to cut the line to length.
Have you noticed what's happening in the status bar? When the bezier tool is active, the angle and length of the current line segment is displayed as you draw. Not a solution, I know, but it might be helpful.
Hi Paddy_CAD Yes I have noticed, so it can be eyeballed for now. But it would be way easier (and precise) if one could set this length by typing. Since Inkscape features almost all common 2d CAD functions, this would make it complete in my opinion.
When I need exact lengths and angles, I draw a rectangle [r], set the width in the tool control bar [alt+x] [W: length], open the Transform dialog [Object > Transform...] or [shift+ctrl+m], and rotate the shape [Rotate] [Angle: angle] [Enter]. Finally, I snap the shape into position and use it as a drawing aid for the bezier tool. It's long-winded when I write it down, but I know the keystrokes so each step takes only a few seconds.
Hi Paddy, I use similar methods indeed. But if you compare this to CAD programs workflow it is very cumbersome. In those programs you just draw the first node, snap to the direction you want the line to go and type in the length and hit enter or something. Also it would be awesome if you could just select a line and change it's length by typing the number. So yes, there are workarounds but in my opinion this is the thing most lacking in Inkscape and the only reason I sometimes still open another CAD program.
Still I've designed a lot of gardens on scale using just Inkscape and workarounds like you say.