Affinity Designer V2 Tools and Features Suggestions

[June Yap]

Hi, I'd like to suggest some tools and features for next upgrade on AD V2:

1. Nodes tool:
   • Assign shortcut keys for nodes tool convert node to smart, smooth, smart, and so on.
   • Add "convert to curve" option in the nodes tool. By clicking this option, sharp nodes will show handles and allow users to edit it more precisely without dragging the line first to make the handles show.
   • Add "convert to symmetry" option in the nodes tool. That means when you drag and adjust one handle, the other handle will follow with the same length.
   • Add "convert to cusp" option for the nodes.
   • Add option to simplify nodes from an object (decrease excessive nodes from an object to achieve cleaner path).
   • Add option that allow us to delete nodes without changing the path shape. Maybe by Shift+Delete (like adobe Illustrator have)
2. Warp Group:
   • Add option to create warp shape from selected object. This will helps a lot when fitting text or design to a desire shape to speed up workflow and for more precision result.
3. Add "symmetry" option in vector persona.
4. Add "Freehand selection" tool that acts like "lasso tool" for selecting objects on challenging positions.
5. Add "Image Trace" ability.
6. Add convert vector brush to vector shape.
7. Add "Mesh Fill" or "Mesh Gradient" tool.

Thank you!

 

[Corgi]

To elaborate more on Node improvements (with some overlap of OP's suggestions), there are some missing features I routinely encounter -- perhaps there are already solutions to these which I don't know about:

• Ability (or at least the option) to change a node from Smooth to Sharp without affecting the curve's shape. 
   
• Ability (or option) to change a node from Sharp to Smooth without affecting the curve's shape, in situations where the node is Sharp but the handles are already in perfect 180-degree alignment. When editing a Sharp node in Affinity, the node automatically turns into a Smooth mode if the handles become perfectly aligned like that, so it might seem like you can't have a Sharp node that mimics a Smooth node. But this isn't the case (for example) when opening an SVG file. In my case, today I had an SVG that I was editing, and many Sharp nodes were effectively Smooth (control points/handles formed a straight line), but when I converted them to Smooth nodes Affinity unnecessarily changed the handles and shape of the curve.
   
• Ability to show or produce handles on Sharp nodes without "pulling" the curve. The problem with dragging the curve is that it modifies the control point for the other end of the segment. Often I wish to leave the control point on one end alone while changing the behavior only of the Sharp node in question.