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Joining nodes when using the pen tool


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Hey guys,

I am drawing a shape using the pen tool. I draw a few lines, then adjust them, then I wanna continue drawing the same shape, without creating a new shape, as in I wanna continue the initial shape, where I left off. So I enable the "ADD NEW CURVE TO SELECTED CURVES OBJECT" to continue the existing shape, and I am trying to make the last created node with the node I am about to create.

While everything seems good at first glance, I realize that these nodes, which I want to be joined and become a single node, are actually two semi-independent nodes. How can I make the nodes become one, so I can smooth it and control it like one node instead of two? Doesn't seem very intuitive.

 

Thanks,

Chris

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Why are you trying to turn two nodes into one? Don’t you simply want your first new node to be joined to the existing curve?

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I’m confused! You wrote

41 minutes ago, chris.bannu said:

these nodes, which I want to be joined and become a single node

but now you’re saying you want two nodes joined to each other. You can’t have it both ways.

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3 hours ago, chris.bannu said:

As in draw starting from the last node of the shape, and continue from that node, so that the new lines I draw are part of the same shape.

And what is the problem?

Draw shape/curve with Pen Tool, change to Node Tool (A or press Ctrl key, see Status bar), correct node position, change to Pen Tool (P or release Ctrl key), and continue - next node in same curve.

If you need to continue on the previous drawing, use the Node Tool to highlight the last or first node, switch to Pen Tool, and continue drawing.

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11 hours ago, Pšenda said:

And what is the problem?

Draw shape/curve with Pen Tool, change to Node Tool (A or press Ctrl key, see Status bar), correct node position, change to Pen Tool (P or release Ctrl key), and continue - next node in same curve.

If you need to continue on the previous drawing, use the Node Tool to highlight the last or first node, switch to Pen Tool, and continue drawing.

But it doesn't work, even if I enable ""ADD NEW CURVE TO SELECTED CURVES OBJECT".

The nodes don't become one, they are simply two nodes one of top of the other, and when I try to smooth it, I can't, because only one of the nodes gets smooth, the other doesn't. I'll upload a file later today, man this is so frustrating :)

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2 minutes ago, chris.bannu said:

The nodes don't become one, they are simply two nodes one of top of the other

You need to create a new node where you want the next node to be, not on top of an existing node.

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5 minutes ago, chris.bannu said:

But it doesn't work, even if I enable ""ADD NEW CURVE TO SELECTED CURVES OBJECT".

The nodes don't become one, they are simply two nodes one of top of the other, and when I try to smooth it, I can't, because only one of the nodes gets smooth, the other doesn't. I'll upload a file later today, man this is so frustrating :)

It sounds like you are creating a new object rather than continuing from the original one. Make sure your existing curve is selected using the move tool, then switch to the pen tool. If the end node has a white centre then you may need to click it first to make it blue and then continue drawing.

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1 hour ago, Dazzler said:

using the move tool

This doesn't work for me.
I have to use the Node Tool to select a particular node (last or first) and then continue to draw the curve after changing the tool to Pen Tool.

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OK, I've done some further testing with the pen tool and the node tool and I've discovered a few things that are interesting. So, first of all the purpose of the 'Add New Curve To Selected Curves Object' is not to join the new curve to the existing curve, but more to make it part of the same shape object (think of that as a single layer that can contain several curves - ie if you click on it with the move tool they all get selected, although they may not be connected together). So, following on from what I said about continuing with the pen tool, it is a little bit sensitive to the situation at hand. For a gauranteed continue on from the end of a line with it being the same line you need to make sure that the end node is in the correct state (should have a blue inner). If it doesn't then switch to the Node Tool, select it, then switch back to the pen tool - your next action is to plot the next point on the curve.

 

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17 hours ago, chris.bannu said:

I draw a few lines, then adjust them, then I wanna continue drawing the same shape

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9 minutes ago, Dazzler said:

is not to join the new curve to the existing curve

image.png.38cf0502f0ba7aceb8fadcc54fc9df4f.png

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5 minutes ago, Pšenda said:

Great video. Interesting that if you stay on the pen tool the end node doesn't need to be in the blue state to continue, but if you go to a different tool and come back to the pen tool it seems to only work if the end node is blue - if it's just the red surround you seem to get a new curve happen (but it does feel very conditional, as in sometimes it does one thing and others it doesn't). Also, once you get a 'curves' layer (note the plural there) where there are several curves in that layer it gets really difficult to join them back into one curve again - although it is possible - somehow! - I just did it when testing but trying again now I'm having problems! Would be nice to be able to separate those curves onto their own layers easily so you can join them back into a single curve using the join curves tool.

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6 minutes ago, Dazzler said:

 Would be nice to be able to separate those curves onto their own layers easily so you can join them back into a single curve using the join curves tool.

Oh wait a minute - there is a function ... 'separate curves' does exactly that!
 

Layer > Geometry > Separate Curves

That would've been nice to have on a right click context menu on the curves layer. Not that it's something you need that often I guess.

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15 minutes ago, Dazzler said:

Oh wait a minute - there is a function ... 'separate curves' does exactly that!
 

Layer > Geometry > Separate Curves

I can’t find such a command in AD on iPad. :(

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4 hours ago, PixelPest said:

"Divide" should do the same - is this available?

All of the Geometry commands only work on closed curves: if any of the selected curves are unclosed, the app will close them for you. So although ‘Divide’ does indeed separate curves, it would leave you having to break each shape at the end nodes of the original curve so that you can delete the joining line.

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4 minutes ago, chris.bannu said:

The UX of it is a bit of a pain in the ass imo

@Pšenda: Thank you so much for this, is this solution somewhere in the manual? It's so counter intuitive :) It works, but man it's silly :D

I actually think once you've got your head around it, that this is quite brilliant! So, as your original request stated if you just want to use the pen tool then adjust a few points then return to drawing you can do so without even leaving the pen tool, just hold CTRL (CMD?) down in the pen tool allows you modify the existing points, then release to continue from where you left off still within the pen tool (no need to select the end point again). That's pretty neat.

If, you have come back to an existing curve later, after doing a million other things, you simply select the last (or first) point on that curve using the node tool, switch to the pen tool and just draw away, no need for having the 'Add new curves to Selected Curves' option.

However, if you want lots of separate curves in one item then use the 'Add new curves to Selected Curves' option to draw curves and they will become part of that layer (note that 'curves' appears in the layer panel description rather than 'curve'). If you then want to split those curves into their own layers so you can join them etc. then  you can do that with the menu option layer > geometry > separate curves. The opposite is to merge curves into a single layer whic is just above it in the menu.

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1 hour ago, PixelPest said:

You´re still talking about the iOS version I guess.

You guess wrong, unless I’ve missed something! Can you demonstrate the application of a Geometry command that leaves unclosed curves unclosed?

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You're quite right, of course. Since we were discussing the ‘Divide’ command, I was focusing on that and the other commands which are available via the toolbar (i.e. the main ones on the menu, not the additional commands below the separator). I presume you now agree that the ‘Divide’ command doesn’t do the job that you suggested it should.

If the iPad version has ‘Merge Curves’ and ‘Separate Curves’ hiding somewhere, I haven’t found them yet!

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