Hey,

Inkscape newbie here...I am having problems getting certain objects to cooperate with the path operation functions. Has anyone ran into this problem? I have drawn some shapes with my bezier tool but cannot seem to use them for path operations. Am I missing something? Any help would be appreciated.

In Christ,
Brady

Welcome Brady!

The path operations can be tricky, especially at first. Could you show us a screenshot of the 2 objects, and say which path operation you're trying to use? And also please tell us what happens when you try it? If you can't post a screenshot, would you please describe the objects? Rats, this reminds me that I've been meaning to write a tutorial for people who don't know how to make a screenshot! I keep forgetting Let us know if you need instructions

Most of the path operations require 2 closed paths or shapes. So if you're trying to use an open path (for example, drawn with Bezier tool, as you reported) that's probably why it's not working. Depending on what you're trying to do, using Stroke to Path might make it work. But we really need to know a lot more about the situation, to say for sure. Also, for some operations it matters which object is on top and which is on bottom.

Hey Brynn,

Thanks for your response. Basically I am trying to draw a picture of earth. One of the objects is just a simple circle, but the other object is an outline of the countries (drawn with the Bezier tool and filled in with bucket). The countries don't exactly line up with the edges of the circle so I was trying to create a larger circle and use the difference operation to cut away any of the excess. Does that make sense?

I am not sure how to post pics...is there an easy way?

In Christ,
Brady

You might not need to post pics afterall. So the county objects partly fall outside the circle, and you just want to make them flush?

Are the countries (landmass?) all one single object, or several?

That's right. The countries are several objects though I have grouped them. Any ideas on what to do?

In Christ,
Brady

You can't perform boolean path operations with groups. There are three solutions I'd recommend - which you use depends on your preference and the styling of the countries:

1) Ungroup them and then use Path > Combine to convert them all to one path. All the countries will have to have the same fill and stroke, as they're now just a single path. Draw your circle over the top of them, then use Path > Intersection

2) If you need to keep them as separate paths (due to different fills, for example), enter the group and draw as many circles as there are countries (more practically, draw one and duplicate it). The circles must be above the countries in the stacking order. Select one country and one circle then use Path >Intersection. Repeat for each country.

3) Draw your circle on top of the group, select both, then right-click and select "Set Clip". This clips the display of the countries to the circle which may not be desirable if the countries have a stroke which you want to keep, but may be a good solution if they've just got a fill.

Thanks Xav! I went with option 1 and it worked.

In Christ,
Brady

Side note: you probably don't need to fill with the paint-bucket tool. Simply fill your paths in the fill and stroke dialogue or by selecting the object and then picking a color from the color strip along the bottom.