Is there a way to "fix" the length of a line when "curving" it?

[lovelyjubbly]

For example, if a straight line is 10" long and I want to curve it into a shape that maintains that 10", is there a way to do that?  The end nodes will need to move of course, but the key factor is to maintain the overall line length.  I know we can draw a curve and then measure it, but I'm wanting to start with the length I want, and then shape the curve.  Is this possible?  Thanks!

[R C-R]

I do not think that is possible in Affinity.

[GarryP]

13 hours ago, lovelyjubbly said:

The end nodes will need to move of course, but the key factor is to maintain the overall line length.

If the end nodes of the curve were to "move", how would the software know how/where to "move" them?

[firstdefence]

2 hours ago, GarryP said:

If the end nodes of the curve were to "move", how would the software know how/where to "move" them?

Sounds like a complex job and relates more to 3D simulation.

[Nowave]

If I understood your question correctly, yes it is possible. You can constrain the movement of the node. Watch my video below:

 

 

 

[v_kyr]

See also for a calculated way …

https://stackoverflow.com/questions/30596861/change-a-straight-line-into-a-curved-line-when-length-is-overtaken

[h_d]

Hi @Marc L. I believe that in French, "L" stands for both "Largeur" and "Longueur" (Width and Length)? If I follow your example in the UK English version, I see this in the Transformation Panel:

 

W is the width of the bounding box.

I'm not great at geometry, but I'm pretty certain that the resulting line is more than 100mm long. Seems like a misleading interface issue in the French version - maybe should be "La" and "Lo" for clarity? 

[PixelPest]

Inkscape can via "Pattern along Path"=single interactively.

[Nowave]

8 minutes ago, h_d said:

Salut@Marc L. Je crois qu'en français, « L » signifie à la fois « L argeur » et « L ongueur » ( largeur et  longueur) ? Si je suis votre exemple dans la version anglaise du Royaume-Uni, je vois ceci dans le panneau de transformation :

 

W  est la largeur de la boîte englobante.

Je ne suis pas doué en géométrie, mais je suis à peu près certain que la ligne résultante mesure plus de 100 mm de long. Cela ressemble à un problème d'interface trompeur dans la version française - peut-être devrait-il être " La " et " Lo " pour plus de clarté ? 

Hello, so I didn't quite understand the initial question 😉 It is of course the bounding box in my example ! 

[lacerto]

9 hours ago, PixelPest said:

Inkscape can via "Pattern along Path"=single interactively.

Can you demo. Path effects are an interesting feature in Inkscape, and this specific effect seems to have quite versatile uses (checked a couple shown on YouTube). I could not however produce this kind of an interactive task so it would be great if you could show!

[PixelPest]

I've shown that several times. Not on my Mac right now - but I can link to a Gif I once made, which shows the result:

Maintain Path length

left is the original Path and on the right it's placed as single pattern along a path which you can alter and the pattern will follow accordingly.

If there's anything else regarding Inkscape let me know.