Creating an even 90 degree curve with dotted line

[StanleyHarrison]

Hi!

I'm struggling to create an even "L" shaped figure with a pen tool. Is there any way to obtain 90 degree curve with one dot at the exact end? I tried manually but it doesn't snap to the middle anchor point of the dot so result only looks like it's even but it's not. Is there any mathematical setting solution to this problem? Similar issue occurs with square, and I assume that any other shape and stroke style (e.g. dashed line). 

In the competitive software it is really intuitive to create a perfect shape as it always scales to the symmetrical curve (examples in the attachments).

Regards!

Edited October 24, 2020 by StanleyHarrison

[dominik]

47 minutes ago, StanleyHarrison said:

I'm struggling to create an even "L" shaped figure with a pen tool. Is there any way to obtain 90 degree curve with one dot at the exact end? I tried manually but it doesn't snap to the middle anchor point of the dot so result only looks like it's even but it's not. Is there any mathematical setting solution to this problem? Similar issue occurs with square, and I assume that any other shape and stroke style (e.g. dashed line). 

Hello @StanleyHarrison and welcome to the forum.

currently there is no exact control to force the dots to sit exactly on the corners. This is something I miss, too, because in certain situations it results in not nice looking shapes.

I recently found a workaround that can be usefull if you have to create not many and simple shapes. In my case it was a couple of dotted frames around text.

You simply 'build' the shape from single lines and make sure that beginning and ending dots overlap exactly. Once finished you can group the whole thing.

This is really just a poor workaround but perhaps it helps you with your project.

Cheers,
d.

[StanleyHarrison]

Hi @dominik! Thanks for a quick reply! 

It's good to know that such function isn't implemented as I thought that maybe I was missing something.

Your workaround could work as for now I need only "L" shapes, so once I align the corner I could freely adjust width of both arms. 

But could you let me know how do you overlap the dots? Can I use any alignment tool to do so or is it just about changing opacity and trying to fit perfectly in the middle? 😅

[dominik]

37 minutes ago, StanleyHarrison said:

But could you let me know how do you overlap the dots? Can I use any alignment tool to do so or is it just about changing opacity and trying to fit perfectly in the middle? 😅

The dot at the beginning of the line automatically sits exactly on the start of the line. It only takes a little fiddling to fit the last dot more or less exactly at the end of the line. Note: if you carefully start to drag the end point of the line with the Node Tool the last dot shows up when it is exactly over the node.

To align the the two lines you turn on snapping. This makes it very easy to snap the two ends of the lines to each other.

Theoretically this should align the dots exactly on top of each other. To check this you can set the line colour of the top line to a lighter tone. Then you will discover that the dots do not cover each other by 100%. But zoomed out you won't notice this.

Another tip if you want to rotate the lines: turn on 'Transform Origin' in the toolbar of the Move Tool and snap it to the line end where both lines touch. Then you can rotate one of the lines and the dots stay (almost) exactly on top of each other.

d.

[StanleyHarrison]

Great tips! I was fiddling a little bit and nothing happened but then I noticed that I need to align them from the beginning of the line – not from the end. In that way I can also adjust the length without causing any disruption to my corner.

It is a simple workaround but good enough for the time being. Maybe in the future updates we'll receive a better solution to this problem. Thanks!

[dominik]

1 hour ago, StanleyHarrison said:

It is a simple workaround but good enough for the time being. Maybe in the future updates we'll receive a better solution to this problem. Thanks!

Glad to see that this is of help for you. My pleasure.

Actually it are these little things that make a software mature, once they are implemented carefully. Let's hope 🙂

d.

[ESPR]

You can also distribute a desired number of circles evenly, between start and endpoint, with the alignment panel (Space horizontally).

This can be tricky though, when your object has an uneven length of sides.

Sometimes you can cheat and just stretch or shorten the row of dots to make it fit. When its only a small amount it wont be visible.

 

[Slammer]

Had the same issue but got around it by changing the dot size a smidgin.

[dominik]

1 hour ago, Slammer said:

by changing the dot size a smidgin.

Now I'm really curious: what is a 'smidgin'? (maybe this is a lack in my english vocabloray)

d.

[Slammer]

Just now, dominik said:

Now I'm really curious: what is a 'smidgin'? (maybe this is a lack in my english vocabloray)

d.

A tick, a Mu, a split nose hair, a teeny tiny smidgen of movement.

[Old Bruce]

36 minutes ago, dominik said:

Now I'm really curious: what is a 'smidgin'? (maybe this is a lack in my english vocabloray)

d.

Less than a small pinch. 'Tis the antithesis of a muckle.

[Pariah73]

27 minutes ago, dominik said:

Now I'm really curious: what is a 'smidgin'? (maybe this is a lack in my english vocabloray)

d.

For some of us more..rural Americans, a smidgin is about how much of something you can add using two fingers pinched together.  Say if you had sage to add to a dish, you would pinch out a bit with your thumb and forefinger no bigger than the two pads of your fingers. That's a smidgin   It's not at all your English; it's more regional vernacular

[dominik]

12 hours ago, Slammer said:

A tick, a Mu, a split nose hair, a teeny tiny smidgen of movement.

 

11 hours ago, Old Bruce said:

Less than a small pinch. 'Tis the antithesis of a muckle.

 

11 hours ago, Pariah73 said:

For some of us more..rural Americans, a smidgin is about how much of something you can add using two fingers pinched together.  Say if you had sage to add to a dish, you would pinch out a bit with your thumb and forefinger no bigger than the two pads of your fingers. That's a smidgin   It's not at all your English; it's more regional vernacular

Thanks to all three of you. Something new learned 🙂

Good sunday!
d.

[Slammer]

14 hours ago, Pariah73 said:

For some of us more..rural Americans, a smidgin is about how much of something you can add using two fingers pinched together.  Say if you had sage to add to a dish, you would pinch out a bit with your thumb and forefinger no bigger than the two pads of your fingers. That's a smidgin   It's not at all your English; it's more regional vernacular

For us Lancastrians too.

[Alfred]

42 minutes ago, Slammer said:

For us Lancastrians too.

And us Yorkshiremen. I think it’s quite widely used by native English speakers.

 

[Slammer]

Love it.... ;.)

[PaulEC]

I thought I'd look up smidgen on line, I found: "You can use the adjective smidgen to talk about a tad of anything," I'm not sure that really helps very much!  😁

[Slammer]

14 minutes ago, PaulEC said:

I thought I'd look up smidgen on line, I found: "You can use the adjective smidgen to talk about a tad of anything," I'm not sure that really helps very much!  😁

You can have a tad as a smidgen of an oodle.

[Alfred]

29 minutes ago, PaulEC said:

I thought I'd look up smidgen on line, I found: "You can use the adjective smidgen to talk about a tad of anything," I'm not sure that really helps very much!  😁

Not only unhelpful but also a tad inaccurate! Smidgen is a noun, not an adjective.

[Pariah73]

we also refer to it as a smidge