Geometry Add, vector lines join up

[Stace]

I'm still trying to figure out how to draw vector in Designer (beta) in the simplest way.

If you want to get rid of hundreds of layers by merging paths of an illustration element into a single layer, I've found various ways of doing that (Geometry>Add, Create Compound) and I suppose this works for some kind of illustration.

But not for the fairly detailed, freehand kind. Is there a way to stop the software from doing this to the lines? 

(Side question: What exactly is it doing?)

 

[v_kyr]

Well there is usually no real vector layer merging as with bitmap layers available. Instead you group, montage, parent-layer (group-to-layer) all the single layers into categories (groups) together. The geometry add operation creates a new object from the sum of the selected objects, but then some of the objects will loose their individual seperate color or style here. The other one is like a logical (boolean) XOR, creating a composite shape, with transparent areas where object overlaps with objects below.

Take a look over the help topics in the "Object control" and "Layers" categories etc.

• Object control
• Layers

[R C-R]

12 hours ago, Stace said:

(Side question: What exactly is it doing?)

Among other things, it is closing open curves when you use any of the the boolean geometry operations. For some of those operations, It also deletes open curves contained completely by closed ones.

[gdenby]

Hi, Stace,

I'll try and explain what is most likely going on. A software tradition is that applications that make graphics by using geometric figures are called "draw" programs. Those that make images by storing blocks of numbers representing colors and shades in different locations were called "paint." Designers "draw" persona uses pre-made parametric shapes and lines called bezier curves to make forms. If you switch the View/View Mode to Outline, you will see the math defined lines that in Vector view can have stokes and fills applied. Many people coming from traditional media, or "paint" programs, consider the strokes and fill to be objects in themselves. But they are only attributes assigned to curves in space. For instance, use the rectangle tool while in vector view. Select the rectangle, and set both the fill and the stroke to none. It will disappear from the screen, tho' it will still show in the layer list with just a listing of (rectangle). If one switched to outline, one can see the rectangle as a wireframe, so called.

All of the curves enclose an area in 2D space. The "boolean" operations such as add, subtract, etc, will manipulate those areas. When those operations are used on open curves, such as may be made w. a pressure sensitive tablet and stylus, Designer, like other similar applications, will "close" the curves, by extending a stroke to the endpoints of various open curves. The stroke and fill attributes of the curve at the bottom of the layer hierarchy are assigned to the curve(s) made by the boolean operation. 

My guess from what you illustrate is that various pencil strokes that overlap are being made into a single area, surrounded by the variable stroke that showed in the lower area, stretched to surround the combined areas.

What Designer allows, is for the strokes to be "expanded" into 2D forms, which then can be added to others. 

 

[Arte]

As others already mentioned, vector software is trying to create closed areas when merging shapes and as such will close e.g. open curves that intersect closed areas.

If you want to avoid this you may want to  select open curves first and expand them so that they basically become closed areas with a fill that still look like it is an open curve. That should avoid your problem as shown in your illustration in most cases.

[Stace]

Thanks for all the replies. Things are starting to make sense. 

v_kyr, I'm interested in what 'montage' means in this context. I do make use of groups and nested groups. I'm a groupie even when working in raster. But what does montage mean?

[v_kyr]

It‘s German for „Compounds“, similar to groups and also described in the help system.

[Stace]

I did a search for montage in the links you provided before asking you.

[v_kyr]

Seems they gave it that translation naming in German "Montage" here when they talk about compounds.