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How can I remove a shape's fill from spanning across a gap?


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What is up. 

 

I'm here because I can't for the life of me figure out how to break this shape so that the following gap isn't filled with the black color: 

 

fLl6PJs.png

 

I've tried breaking just about every curve I can by selecting the nodes at each "end" individually and selecting: 

 

> Break Curve

 

From the action bar. However, it never seems to do what I want? 

 

Can anyone explain how I can achieve what I'm trying to do? 

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Hi Patriot,

Welcome to Affinity Forums :)

Draw a small (auxiliary) rectangle over the area you are not interested just to break it (open a gap) and subtract it from the main shape, then delete the nodes until you have just the part you want.

 

Thanks for welcoming me! 

 

I have done what you recommended, but it leaves a strand behind it. These nodes basically (when dragged) open up the fill again. See: 

 

1) Adding the shape to subtract.

 

kaIPic4.png

 

2) Subtract the shape

 

H5s5UuK.png

 

3) After subtracting, piece is still "there"

 

ziuSPDv.png

 

 

EDIT: I made the shape a bit larger and repositioned it, it works now. Thank you!

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  • Staff

The rectangle doesn't need to cover the part you don't want. It's just to open a gap in the middle so you can delete the nodes until you get just the part you want. Still, something is wrong if you subtracted your rectangle and end up with the original shape still "closed".

 

[EDIT] This process doesn't work due to a bug in the program (already logged). I should have known better, sorry. I have added this sample to our log to be tested against new code.

Thanks @gdendy.

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I do have a work around, and have made a set of screen shots showing how its done. Essentially, the  shape needs to be duplicated. Then each can be edited w. the node too to get only the needed curve sections, and rejoined.  However, I've been up for 17 hours, and I can't quite focus my eyes. I'll check in 8 hours. No other reply, I'll make a post. For now, my head is hitting the pillow.

iMac 27" Retina, c. 2015: OS X 10.11.5: 3.3 GHz I c-5: 32 Gb,  AMD Radeon R9 M290 2048 Mb

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Huion WH1409 tablet

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Hope this helps.

 

1. A facsimile of the object that needs a portion removed. This is duplicated in place. One copy will have all the inner points removed. The other all the outer points.

post-34886-0-03559800-1474106724_thumb.jpg

 

2. The outer curve viewed as vector, after the inner points, the white, were removed.

post-34886-0-58104300-1474106774_thumb.jpg

 

3. The copy as the active layer, most of the outer line deleted. When complete, when both shapes are viewed in vector, there appears to only be a solid black shape.

post-34886-0-31952400-1474106838_thumb.jpg

 

I missed a screen grab showing the next proceedure. Select a shape, and switch to node tool. Break 2 points, on after another. Or create new points where needed, and break those. Another curve, the straight section, will appear un the layer panel. Delete that.
 
Repeat on the next shape.
 
4. The 2 broked curves view in outline, both selected.
post-34886-0-83372100-1474106896_thumb.jpg
 
5. Switch to node tool, and use join lines. Then use close curve. A node or two may need to be tweaked after the close.
post-34886-0-68775600-1474106952_thumb.jpg
 
6. Finished
post-34886-0-30296100-1474106990_thumb.jpg
 

 

iMac 27" Retina, c. 2015: OS X 10.11.5: 3.3 GHz I c-5: 32 Gb,  AMD Radeon R9 M290 2048 Mb

iPad 12.9" Retina, iOS 10, 512 Gb, Apple pencil

Huion WH1409 tablet

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I think this problem/bug occurs when the shape you want to break is a "curves" object (note the plural) -- one that consists of two paths on the same layer, one inside the other. You can break nodes on either path, but when you break two on the same path, you get a new curve on its own layer, leaving the original as an open path in the "curves" object. Do that for both paths, delete the two new layers, & you end up with a "curves" object with two open paths, but since they are on the same layer, the "Close Curve" action works on both paths at the same time, leaving you with two closed paths again, & no way to close an end of one path with an end of the other.

 

Your workaround works because deleting every node on alternate paths of each duplicate, converts them back to a regular "curve" layers because the other path has been eliminated.

 

A quicker way to do this (but it may not always work as expected) is to select the "Curves" object & use the "Divide" action to convert it to two "curve" objects in one step. Then you can break nodes on each of them, delete the extra curves, & join & close the remaining pair into one curve, like your last steps.

 

(I'm not explaining this very well, but I hope you get the general idea -- "curves" objects are different from the others & have to be converted into individual curve layers to remove parts of them.)

All 3 1.10.8, & all 3 V2.4.1 Mac apps; 2020 iMac 27"; 3.8GHz i7, Radeon Pro 5700, 32GB RAM; macOS 10.15.7
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1.10.8; Affinity Designer 1.108; & all 3 V2 apps for iPad; 6th Generation iPad 32 GB; Apple Pencil; iPadOS 15.7

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...

 

A quicker way to do this (but it may not always work as expected) is to select the "Curves" object & use the "Divide" action to convert it to two "curve" objects in one step. Then you can break nodes on each of them, delete the extra curves, & join & close the remaining pair into one curve, like your last steps.

 

...

 

I'm still unclear about divide(and intersect) myself.  I knew simply erasing the points would work, even it tedious.

iMac 27" Retina, c. 2015: OS X 10.11.5: 3.3 GHz I c-5: 32 Gb,  AMD Radeon R9 M290 2048 Mb

iPad 12.9" Retina, iOS 10, 512 Gb, Apple pencil

Huion WH1409 tablet

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  • Staff

gdenby,

You can simply select the initial (compound) shape path and press Divide in the main toolbar (or go to menu Layer ▸ Geometry ▸ Divide) to break the compound path in two separated curves. There's no need to duplicate and delete the nodes. That's what R C-R was referring to.

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Note that when MEB says "(compound) shape," confusingly it is not quite the same thing as a shape identified in the Layers panel as a "(Compound)" -- those are made with the same boolean operations that can make "(Curves)" layers, but with the Alt/Option key held down you get an editable "(Compound)" layer instead.

 

Explaining the difference clearly is beyond my writing skills, but the AD Help topic "Creating compounds" should make it clear. (It's in the "Object Control" section of the Help window, just after "Joining objects," which is the help topic for Boolean/Geometry operations.)

All 3 1.10.8, & all 3 V2.4.1 Mac apps; 2020 iMac 27"; 3.8GHz i7, Radeon Pro 5700, 32GB RAM; macOS 10.15.7
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1.10.8; Affinity Designer 1.108; & all 3 V2 apps for iPad; 6th Generation iPad 32 GB; Apple Pencil; iPadOS 15.7

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Thanks guys. I'm unfamiliar with the term "compound." Will have to read thru that carefully. Have tried using the compound command, but have had problems understanding what I'm making, tho' its clear it is different than "add" boolean.

iMac 27" Retina, c. 2015: OS X 10.11.5: 3.3 GHz I c-5: 32 Gb,  AMD Radeon R9 M290 2048 Mb

iPad 12.9" Retina, iOS 10, 512 Gb, Apple pencil

Huion WH1409 tablet

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Hi gdenby,

I should have used compound path and not shape in the explanation above. When replying to posts sometimes it may happen to use the wrong term accidentally, sorry. To clear this up: 

 

"Compound paths" (labelled Curves in Affinity - note the S):

Objects that are composed by two (or more) paths in a single layer (labelled as Curves after the layer's name in the Layers panel) are generically called compound paths as opposed to a path composed by a single path element (identified simply as  Curve in Affinity). This is not a specific Affinity term and it's not used in the program or in the help but you may find it mentioned in other software/generically. It's basically when you use an object to cut a "hole" in another. Here's an example:

  • draw a circle
  • draw a smaller second circle above the first one and give it another colour (just to make it more visible)
  • select both and press subtract in the main toolbar (or go to menu Layer ▸ Geometry ▸ Subtract)
  • check the Layers panel

The result is what i was referring to as a compound path - a single object/layer containing two (or more) path elements. It's the result of a destructive boolean operation in Affinity. To separate the path elements of a compound path in Affinity go to menu Layer ▸ Geometry ▸ Divide.  You will end up with two independent paths, each one with its own layer.

 

-----------------------

 

Compound shape (labelled Compound in Affinity):

Compound shape is another generic term you may find in other software/generically. In Affinity a Compound is the result on a non-destructive boolean operation which means you can still access the original shapes used to create the compound and edit them. It's identified in the Layers panel as Compound after the layer's name between parenthesis. Here's an example:

  • draw a circle
  • draw a smaller second circle above the first one and give it another colour (just to make it more visible)
  • select both, press and hold ⌥ (option/alt) while clicking subtract in the main toolbar (or go to menu Layer ▸ Geometry ▸ Subtract - while pressing/holding ⌥ (option/alt).
  • check the Layers panel

The result is a compound shape (generically speaking). If you click on the small arrow on a compound layer in the Layers panel to expand it you can access the original two circles/shapes used to create the compound. You can still edit them as if they were single objects and change the boolean operation for each one directly in the Layers panel. The resulting compound will update to reflect those changes.

 

 

So:

a path is labelled Curve in Affinity apps

a compound path is labelled Curves in Affinity apps

a compound shape is labelled Compound in Affinity apps.

identifiable/parametric shapes are labelled by their names in Affinity apps (rectangle, ellipse etc) unless they are converted to a "path" (curve in Affinity).

 

-----------------------

 

Boolean operations or geometric operations in Affinity refers to the same process. It's basically adding/subtracting, intersecting etc shapes.

Hope this clears things up.

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The result is a compound shape (generically speaking). If you click on the small arrow on compound layer in the Layers panel to expand it you can access the original two circles/shapes used to create the compound. And you can still edit them as if they were single objects. The resulting compound will update to reflect those changes.

Except that you can't change the stroke independently for each object. You can change the stroke for the "(Compound)" object, which changes the stroke for all the 'compounded' objects, but in this respect the compound is still one object.

 

I think the main reason all this can be so confusing (& hard to explain) is the terminology has never evolved to be precise enough & remains vague. For example, in a sense, everything is an object, be it one of the layer types, a shape, the elements of a compound, an embedded image, or whatever. Objects have properties that vary depending on their type, but the difference between an object & its properties isn't always obvious -- for example, a path can be stroked, unfilled & open, making it a "line."

 

"Shapes" can refer specifically to objects created by the shape tools (donut, pie, polygon, etc.) that have adjustable parameters, or more generically to anything defined by one or more open or closed paths. Some of the shape tools create what are effectively compound shapes (like the two paths of a donut) but by adjusting their parameters can also create ordinary single-path curve objects by eliminating one of the paths.

 

So when we talk about shapes, objects, curves (plural or singular), compounds, lines, or whatever, it can take a paragraph or more, plus maybe some illustrations, to explain exactly what we mean.

 

At least for me, the only way I have found to deal with all this is to experiment like crazy, referring to the help if I can't figure it out (& I can discover the right search phrase to find what I need to know), & finally, if all else fails, to come here asking for enlightenment from the staff & other users.

All 3 1.10.8, & all 3 V2.4.1 Mac apps; 2020 iMac 27"; 3.8GHz i7, Radeon Pro 5700, 32GB RAM; macOS 10.15.7
Affinity Photo 
1.10.8; Affinity Designer 1.108; & all 3 V2 apps for iPad; 6th Generation iPad 32 GB; Apple Pencil; iPadOS 15.7

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I said as if they were single objects - there's restrictions implied - they aren't obviously independent objects. That's just nitpicking things and over complicating this without need. There's nothing confusing about it. These terms/features are not new and like other technical subjects may be used more loosely when discussing on a forum... I believe users with hands-on experience will easily understand them and we can always clarify things further for new users if needed.

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I don't think I am alone in finding some of these distinctions confusing. It isn't because of any shortcoming in how you explain them -- you do that very well, far better than I ever could. It is just because there are no precise, unambiguous terms for things like the different kinds of compound objects.

 

For example, "compound path" & "compound shape" may mean the same thing in some contexts but not in others. Labeling one as "curves" & the other as "compounds" in the app is as good a choice as any, although it is easy to miss the plural in the Layers panel, in no small part because those labels are grey & do not stand out in the UI.

All 3 1.10.8, & all 3 V2.4.1 Mac apps; 2020 iMac 27"; 3.8GHz i7, Radeon Pro 5700, 32GB RAM; macOS 10.15.7
Affinity Photo 
1.10.8; Affinity Designer 1.108; & all 3 V2 apps for iPad; 6th Generation iPad 32 GB; Apple Pencil; iPadOS 15.7

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  • 2 weeks later...

I'm trying something pretty simple but can't get the results.

 

I have 2 paths that I want to join to create a single path (or compound), but each time I try they connect the ends of the path.

 

Here's a screen shot. The top image is the 2 paths, and the bottom is what happens if I join the curves, or if I create a compound.

 

Thanks.

 

 

post-37252-0-20090000-1474930444_thumb.png

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Hi dibo,

Welcome to Affinity Forums :)

You can only join the end nodes of each path. It's not possible to join one end node of a path to the middle of other path, unless you don't mind to convert them to shapes (selecting them and going to menu Layer ▸ Expand Stroke). Alternatively you can simply group them (select both and press ⌘ (cmd) +G ).

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