I got this letter 'l' from the font Savoye LET. The paths that make up the letterform are separate and won't Combine. When I try to join two of the individual nodes, most of the nodes vanish.
I feel like my mental model of how vector formats work isn't holding up well here. Eager for any help!
Select the path. Use the node tool [n] and press the [tab] key and repeat and repeat. You'll notice that the node selection jumps forward and back along the shape. This is a strange shape.
Go back to the select tool [s] then [Path > Break Apart]. You'll see in the status bar that there are now 15 selected path objects.
Mystery solved. Despite appearances, your initial shape is not a closed shape but is in fact composed of 15 unconnected subpaths arranged nose to tail. In addition, the subpath order is opposite to the node order so when you tabbed from node to node you saw this sequence:
@Paddy_CAD, thanks for your response! I hadn't tried tabbing through nodes before. I hope I remember to do that in the future, it was informative.
I tried breaking things apart, reversing them and re-joining them; I've attached the result. Though it does simplify the shape's behavior in tabbing, it still acts strangely when I try to fill it.
@Paddy_CAD, I tried following your instructions repeatedly, ([n] for nodes, [C-a] for all nodes, control bar button for [Join selected nodes] but the subpaths still weren't joined. Also, Inkscape didn't indicate that the file has changed contents, suggesting that the operation had no results.
With some messing around, I did find that I can join the paths by hitting [n], [C-a]. then lassoing the nodes in the bottom half of the letter form only, and only then using the [Join selected nodes] tool bar button. (Result attached.)
This solves my superficial problem with the unfillable 'l' (thank you!), but leaves me still confused about what's happening. Any advice?
I tested my instructions again (reverse the path then join the nodes) and I got the expected result; a single closed path with 24 nodes that can be filled and styled normally. I'm not sure where we diverged, but I'm happy you got what you wanted.
@Paddy_CAD, I think I figured out what I need to do to get your result. If I hit [control-a] twice I get a different selection set than if I just hit it once (images attached). If I use the second selection set the figure joins as you described.
Are you familiar with this difference in selections?
Stroke and Fill colour are different. To connect the segments draw a rectangle with the node tool around the whole thing to select every node and hit where it says „Join end notes“ to make it one solid shape to which you can apply a fill color.
More experimentation. @Polygon is right that it's possible to join up the nodes without first reversing the paths. But @Paddy_CAD pointing out that the sub-paths were all reversed also helped me be less confused about the entire situation.
Either way, my cut worked and the paint is dry. Thanks for the help, everyone!
Beyond the Basics Path orientation issue?
Inkscape.org
I got this letter 'l' from the font Savoye LET. The paths that make up the letterform are separate and won't Combine. When I try to join two of the individual nodes, most of the nodes vanish.
I feel like my mental model of how vector formats work isn't holding up well here. Eager for any help!
Select the path. Use the node tool [n] and press the [tab] key and repeat and repeat. You'll notice that the node selection jumps forward and back along the shape. This is a strange shape.
Go back to the select tool [s] then [Path > Break Apart]. You'll see in the status bar that there are now 15 selected path objects.
Mystery solved. Despite appearances, your initial shape is not a closed shape but is in fact composed of 15 unconnected subpaths arranged nose to tail. In addition, the subpath order is opposite to the node order so when you tabbed from node to node you saw this sequence:
end-----start end-----start end-----start end-----start
2 1 4 3 6 5 8 7
Inkscape got confused trying to join these together. Use [Path > Reverse] to change the node order.
start-----end start-----end start-----end start-----end
1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8
[n] and [ctrl+a] to select all the nodes then in the tool control bar [Join selected nodes].
@Paddy_CAD, thanks for your response! I hadn't tried tabbing through nodes before. I hope I remember to do that in the future, it was informative.
I tried breaking things apart, reversing them and re-joining them; I've attached the result. Though it does simplify the shape's behavior in tabbing, it still acts strangely when I try to fill it.
Further thoughts?
You missed the last step, joining the subpaths together.
@Paddy_CAD, I tried following your instructions repeatedly, ([n] for nodes, [C-a] for all nodes, control bar button for [Join selected nodes] but the subpaths still weren't joined. Also, Inkscape didn't indicate that the file has changed contents, suggesting that the operation had no results.
With some messing around, I did find that I can join the paths by hitting [n], [C-a]. then lassoing the nodes in the bottom half of the letter form only, and only then using the [Join selected nodes] tool bar button. (Result attached.)
This solves my superficial problem with the unfillable 'l' (thank you!), but leaves me still confused about what's happening. Any advice?
I tested my instructions again (reverse the path then join the nodes) and I got the expected result; a single closed path with 24 nodes that can be filled and styled normally. I'm not sure where we diverged, but I'm happy you got what you wanted.
@Paddy_CAD, I think I figured out what I need to do to get your result. If I hit [control-a] twice I get a different selection set than if I just hit it once (images attached). If I use the second selection set the figure joins as you described.
Are you familiar with this difference in selections?
Stroke and Fill colour are different. To connect the segments draw a rectangle with the node tool around the whole thing to select every node and hit where it says „Join end notes“ to make it one solid shape to which you can apply a fill color.
@Polygon, thanks, @Paddy_CAD helped me with my shape.
More experimentation. @Polygon is right that it's possible to join up the nodes without first reversing the paths. But @Paddy_CAD pointing out that the sub-paths were all reversed also helped me be less confused about the entire situation.
Either way, my cut worked and the paint is dry. Thanks for the help, everyone!