Select objects (mouse)
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click
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click a non-selected object to select
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Alt
+click
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select under
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Alt
+mouse wheel
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cycle z-order
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Shift
+click
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toggle selection
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These work the same as in Selector. The nodes or handles of the single selected object become editable.
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Select nodes (mouse)
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click
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select a node
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Clicking on a node selects it.
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click
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select two adjacent nodes
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Clicking on a selected path between the nodes selects the two nodes closest to the click point.
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Shift
+click
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toggle selection
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This adds/removes a node (if clicked on node) or two nodes (if clicked on path) to/from the node selection.
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click
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deselect
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Clicking in an empty space deselects all selected nodes. Next click will deselect the object.
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Rubberband selection
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mouse drag
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select multiple nodes
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Dragging around nodes does "rubberband" selection; previous node selection is deselected.
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Shift
+mouse drag
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add nodes to selection
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Normally, you need to start from a point not over a path or a node to initiate a rubberband.
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However, if you press Shift before dragging, Inkscape will do rubberband selection even if you start over the path.
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Select nodes (keyboard)
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Tab
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select next node
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Shift
+Tab
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select previous node
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These keys select nodes within the selected path.
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Ctrl
+A
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select all nodes in subpath(s)
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If the path has multiple subpaths and some nodes selected, this selects all only in subpaths with already selected nodes.
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Ctrl
+
Alt
+A
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select all nodes in path
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This selects all nodes in the entire path.
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!
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invert selection in subpath(s)
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If the path has multiple subpaths and some nodes selected, this inverts selection only in subpaths with already selected nodes.
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Alt
+!
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invert selection in path
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This inverts selection (deselects what was selected and vice versa) in the entire path.
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Esc
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deselect all nodes
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Grow/shrink node selection
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PgUp,
PgDn
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grow/shrink selection (spatial)
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mouse wheel
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grow/shrink selection (spatial)
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Ctrl
+PgUp,
Ctrl
+PgDn
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grow/shrink selection (along path)
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Ctrl
+mouse wheel
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grow/shrink selection (along path)
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Your mouse pointer must be over a node for growing/shrinking.
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Each key press or wheel click selects the nearest unselected node or deselects the farthest selected node.
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Distance to nodes can be calculated directly (spatial mode) or along path.
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Move nodes (mouse)
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mouse drag
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move selected nodes
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Ctrl
+mouse drag
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restrict movement to horizontal or vertical
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Ctrl
+
Alt
+mouse drag
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move along handles
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This restricts movement to the directions of the node's handles, their continuations and perpendiculars (total 8 snaps).
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If the node has straight lines on one or both sides, this will snap it to these lines' directions and perpendiculars instead.
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Shift
+mouse drag
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temporarily disable snapping
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Shift
+mouse drag
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drag out handle
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If a node has a retracted handle, dragging with Shift lets you drag it out of the node.
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mouse drag+Space
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drop a copy
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When dragging nodes with mouse, each Space leaves a copy of the selected object.
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You can press and hold Space while dragging for a nice "trail."
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Alt
+mouse drag
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sculpt selected nodes
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Sculpting moves the selected nodes so that the dragged node moves all the way, the farthest selected nodes stay put; all intermediate selected nodes move intermediate distances, governed by a bell-like curve.
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Sculpting is pressure-sensitive with a tablet; press harder for a blunter drag profile, press lightly for a sharper profile.
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To stop sculpting without losing the pressure-sensitive profile, release Alt first and then lift the pen.
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Move nodes (keyboard)
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arrows
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move selected node(s) by the nudge distance
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Shift
+arrows
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move selected node(s) by 10x nudge distance
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The default nudge distance is 2 px (SVG pixel units, not screen pixels).
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Alt
+arrows
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move selected node(s) by 1 pixel
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Shift
+
Alt
+arrows
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move selected node(s) by 10 pixels
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The actual distance for pixel movements depends on zoom level. Zoom in for finer movement.
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Move node handle (mouse)
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mouse drag
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move a node handle
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Ctrl
+mouse drag
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snap the handle to angle steps
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The default angle step is 15 degrees. This also snaps to the handle's original angle, its continuation and perpendiculars.
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Shift
+mouse drag
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rotate both handles
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Alt
+mouse drag
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lock the handle length
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Ctrl, Shift, Alt can be combined when dragging handles.
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Ctrl
+click
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retract the handle
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Retracted handle is zero length; use Shift+drag to drag it back out.
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Scale handle (1 node selected)
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<,
>
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contract/expand both handles by scale step
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The default scale step is 2 px (SVG pixel units, not screen pixels). May apply to more than one node.
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Left Ctrl
+<,
Left Ctrl
+>
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scale left handle by the scale step
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Right Ctrl
+<,
Right Ctrl
+>
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scale right handle by the scale step
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Left Alt
+<,
Left Alt
+>
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scale left handle by 1 pixel
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Right Alt
+<,
Right Alt
+>
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scale right handle by 1 pixel
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The actual size increment for pixel scaling depends on zoom level. Zoom in for finer scaling.
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Instead of the < and > keys, you can use the , (comma) and . (period) keys respectively.
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Rotate handle (1 node selected)
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[,
]
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rotate both handles by the angle step
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The default angle step is 15 degrees. ] rotates clockwise, [ rotates counterclockwise. May apply to more than one node.
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Left Ctrl
+[,
Left Ctrl
+]
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rotate left handle by the angle step
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Right Ctrl
+[,
Right Ctrl
+]
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rotate right handle by the angle step
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Left Alt
+[,
Left Alt
+]
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rotate left handle by 1 pixel
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Right Alt
+[,
Right Alt
+]
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rotate right handle by 1 pixel
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Handles visibility
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Ctrl
+H
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toggle handles
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Scale nodes (>1 nodes selected)
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These commands scale the selected nodes as if they were an "object".
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If mouse is over a node, that node becomes the axis of scaling; otherwise it scales around geometric center of selected nodes.
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.,
>
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scale nodes up by the scale step
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,,
<
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scale nodes down by the scale step
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The default scale step is 2 px (SVG pixel units, not screen pixels).
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Alt
+.,
Alt
+>
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scale nodes up by 1 pixel
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Alt
+,,
Alt
+<
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scale nodes down by 1 pixel
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The actual size increment for pixel scaling depends on zoom level. Zoom in for finer scaling.
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Scaling is uniform around the center, so that the size increment applies to the larger of the two dimensions.
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Rotate nodes (>1 nodes selected)
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These commands rotate the selected nodes as if they were an "object".
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If mouse is over a node, that node becomes the axis of rotation; otherwise it rotates around geometric center of selected nodes.
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[,
]
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rotate nodes by the angle step
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The default angle step is 15 degrees. ] rotates clockwise, [ rotates counterclockwise.
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Alt
+[,
Alt
+]
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rotate nodes by 1 pixel
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The actual angle for pixel rotation depends on zoom level. Zoom in for finer movement.
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Flip nodes (>1 nodes selected)
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These commands flip the selected nodes as if they were an "object", around the center of that object.
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h
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flip nodes horizontally
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v
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flip nodes vertically
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If mouse is over a node, that node becomes the axis of flipping; otherwise it flips around geometric center of selected nodes
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Change segment(s)
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Shift
+L
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make line
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Shift
+U
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make curve
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These commands require that more than two adjacent nodes be selected.
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Change node type
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Shift
+C
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make cusp
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First Shift+C changes type of node; if you do another Shift+C on an already cusp node, it retracts its handles.
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Shift
+S
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make smooth
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If a cusp node is adjacent to a line segment, first Shift+S makes it half-smooth with one handle collinear
with the segment; another Shift+S will expand a second handle.
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Shift
+Y
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make symmetric
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When making smooth or symmetric, you can lock the position of one of the handles by hovering mouse over it.
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Shift
+A
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make auto
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Ctrl
+click
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toggle smooth/cusp/symmetric/auto
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Join/break
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Shift
+J
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join selected nodes
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This requires that exactly two end nodes within the path be selected.
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You can lock the position of one of the two joined nodes by hovering mouse over it.
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Alt
+J
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join selected end nodes with new segment
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Shift
+B
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break selected node(s)
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After break, only one of each two new nodes is selected. May apply to more than one node.
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Delete, create, duplicate
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Backspace,
Del
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delete selected node(s)
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Ctrl
+Backspace,
Ctrl
+Del
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delete without preserving shape
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Deleting without Ctrl adjusts handles on the remaining nodes to preserve the shape of the curve as much as possible.
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Deleting with Ctrl does not touch the remaining nodes.
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Alt
+Del
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delete segment between two non-endpoint nodes
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Ctrl
+
Alt
+click
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create/delete node
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Ctrl+Alt+click on a node deletes it; Ctrl+Alt+click on the path between nodes creates a new node in the click point.
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Deleting nodes this way always tries to preserve the shape of the curve (same as Del/Backspace).
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click+click
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create node
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Double clicking on the path between nodes creates a node in the click point.
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Ins,
Shift
+I
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insert new node(s)
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This adds new node(s) in the middle(s) of selected segment(s), so it requires that more than two adjacent nodes be selected.
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Shift
+D
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duplicate selected node(s)
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New nodes are created on the same path; they are placed exactly over the old ones and are selected.
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Reverse
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Shift
+R
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reverse path direction
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Edit shapes
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Node tool can also drag the handles of shapes (rectangles, ellipses, stars, spirals). Click on a shape to select it.
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See the corresponding shape tools for their editing shortcuts, all of which also work in node tool.
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Edit fills and path effects
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Node tool can also edit the handles of a pattern fill, gradient fill, and the editable handles of path effects.
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Cancel
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Esc
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cancel rubberband or move
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Press Esc while mouse button is still down to cancel rubberband selection, node move, or handle move.
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