Cutting a line

[Andrew Smithers]

I'm new to Affinity and am working through it for the first time having come from Freehand.

I can't find any way or tool to cut a line, as in a scalpel type tool. I want to cut a circle so I have a quarter circle.

[Alfred]

Affinity Designer doesn’t currently have a knife, scalpel or scissor tool, although a knife tool is on the 1.x roadmap. You can use the Pie Tool to create a 90° pie slice, but if you only want a circular arc without the straight lines of a pie slice you’ll need to convert it to curves and use the Node Tool to break it apart and remove the central node.

[Guest]

To draw an arc you can also use the "Ring" tool. Draw a ring, bring the red point of the inner circle onto the outer circle, which gives a circle. Then adjust the length of the arc using the context bar.

[Guest]

You can also draw a circle, cut it where you want with a very thin line. Select the set, "Expand Stroke", and do a Boolean operation "Divide". Then remove the unwanted parts.

[Andrew Smithers]

Reglicos donut solution works for me.

Alfred - after using the convert to curves tool I can't work out how to break it apart with the node tool?

I bought the book too and nothing in that.

I'm gobsmacked there isn't a scalpel tool but I guess its just a different way of working I'll have to get used to.

Thanks all for the help.

[Alfred]

16 minutes ago, Andrew Smithers said:

Reglicos donut solution works for me.

@reglico’s donut solution is simple and straightforward if you don’t mind having two arcs (from the inner and outer rings) on top of each other.

Quote

Alfred - after using the convert to curves tool I can't work out how to break it apart with the node tool?

Marquee-select the two (coincident) central nodes and press the ‘Break curve’ button on the toolbar:

Marquee-select the newly separated nodes and delete them:

[firstdefence]

23 minutes ago, Andrew Smithers said:

Reglicos donut solution works for me.

Alfred - after using the convert to curves tool I can't work out how to break it apart with the node tool?

I bought the book too and nothing in that.

I'm gobsmacked there isn't a scalpel tool but I guess its just a different way of working I'll have to get used to.

Thanks all for the help.

A knife tool is on the 1.x roadmap, as to when it will appear within the 1.x development phase is open to debate: 

 

[Alfred]

5 minutes ago, firstdefence said:

when it will appear within the 1.x development phase is open to debate

Given that we’re now at 1.7 beta and there’s still no sign of it, I think ‘late’ is a reasonable guess!