Adding Nodes to existing paths

[OldytroN 9]

Hey guys I just recently made the switch from Adobe ecosystem to Affinity Designer & Photo because i'm not trying to shell out $600 a year for the rest of my life. I'm getting myself adjusted with Designer right now, but i hit a snag. I can't seem to Add/Remove nodes to existing paths like you could in Illustrator. I've tried searching in Help, but nothing comes up. Is this feature not currently available in Designer? If that's the case, then when can we expect this option in a future update? I only ask because it's something I use often. Thanks in advance for your help and time.

[MEB 7,647]

Hi OldytroN,

Welcome to Affinity Forums

To add a node to an existing path change to the Node Tool (the white arrow icon in Draw Persona in Affinity Designer)) and click over the path where you want to add the node. To remove it, select it clicking on it with the Node tool then press the Delete key on your keyboard. To access the Node Tool in Affinity Photo click the small arrow in the corner of the Pen Tool button to open a pop-up from where you can select the Node Tool.

[OldytroN 9]

Thanks for the quick reply. I'm running Windows 10 and I'm using the Artisul D13 tablet with the latest drivers. I've tried doing what you've said with the Node Tool, but instead of adding a node it selects the entire path. For some reason it's acting similar to the move tool. Am I doing something wrong?

[MEB 7,647]

If the path is not seleted the first click with the Node Tool will select it. Click again over the path to add a node. If the path is selected you only need to click over the path once to add a node. Can you please check it with you tablet?

[OldytroN 9]

That was my first instinct, but it doesn't work for me. Nothing happens at all. All I can do with node tool is select and move the ellipse. I tried using the mouse, but it doesn't work either. I just got Designer last night, Do i need to update it or does it update automatically when I installed it? Maybe that's the problem?

[tkpault 0]

 

[OldytroN 9]

Further investigation shows that it works when the path is created with the pen tool, but not when I use the ellipse tool, rectangle tool or any other shape tool. Is that by design or is it some type of bug?

[MEB 7,647]

Hi OldytroN,

You must convert the shapes to curves before you can edit their nodes. Click the Convert to Curves button in the context toolbar.

 

All shapes are parametric which means you can adjust certain specific attributes - like the number of points of a start for example (look at the different options in the context toolbar) - while they remain as shapes, however you are not able to edit their nodes. For that they must be converted to curves first: their current attributes get baked to the path geometry and you can then adjust the nodes as you see fit however their parametric attributes are no longer editable. Check this video to lear more about them: Shapes.

[OldytroN 9]

I see, thanks for all the help! 

[Bri-Toon 647]

Something else I would like to add here is as well as adding nodes, deleting them is a little different from Illustrator as well. When deleting a node in Illustrator with the Node Tool, I remember that it would always break the path. In Designer, it will still keep the path but deform it. If you use the first button under the "Action" set on the Context Toolbar while Designer's Node Tool is selected, then it will work the same way as Illustrator's Pen Tool (subtract mode) works, and break the curve that way.

[tymcat 1]

I have the same problem in Affinity Photo and the AD tools don't work. If I click on an existing path it creates a new path instead adding a node to the existing one - but it looks "selected".
MBP 15", Mojave. Creating a new path is like in AD or AI but then the similarity ends. There is no "a" tool.

[gdenby 640]

The pen and node tools are in the same tool fly-out in Photo. But the tool shortcut is "p" in photo, not "a" as in designer.

[R C-R 3,543]

4 minutes ago, gdenby said:

The pen and node tools are in the same tool fly-out in Photo. But the tool shortcut is "p" in photo, not "a" as in designer.

By default, in Affinity Photo the "p" key cycles between the Node & Pen tools, but you can customize the Tools panel so each of those tools has its own individual position in the panel, & you can change the keyboard shortcut for one or both to remove the toggle action.

Because I use both Photo & Designer a lot, I changed the Node Tool shortcut in Photo to "a" so it would be the same for both apps.

[firstdefence 1,760]

3 hours ago, R C-R said:

Because I use both Photo & Designer a lot, I changed the Node Tool shortcut in Photo to "a" so it would be the same for both apps.

Ive done the same.