Hello, very new to this... Inkscape just doesn't seem to be working right, or perhaps I just don't understand. I'm on a Mac, Snow Leopard.... When I try and double click to select an item, nothing happens. I have to hold down the shift key to select something. Then, when I do get it selected, I can't move it by dragging, sometimes a little hand shows up, and I can move it, sometimes the hand shows up and I can't move, but most of the time I just get the box with all the arrows around it, and have found no way to simply move an object. Is this normal behavior? Am I doing something wrong? From what I read, I should be able to select items with a double click. I am using a Wacom Intuos tablet, but the behavior is the same whether I use the tablet (pen or mouse), the keyboard/touchpad, or the regular mouse (not the wacom mouse.)

Welcome to InkscapeForum!

I don't use a Mac or a tablet, but I don't remember any previous topics about this issue with that combination. You shouldn't have to double-click to select. A single-click will select an object. And click + drag will move it. The little hand shows up to tell you that your mouse (pen of the tablet) is properly positioned to select something. If you click without the little hand, you won't select anything. This is with the Selection tool .

Where did you read that a double-click is needed to select something?

If it's a path, or a shape with stroke but no fill, you have to click on the stroke or path. But again, the little hand will let you know when you're positioned properly to select. If you have a bunch of tiny and/or close together objects/paths, it's better to zoom in. Because just seeing the little hand, you don't know which object or path you're about to select. After zooming in, it's easier to properly position the mouse (or the pen of the tablet, I assume).

Also, if the regular mouse is sitting on the tablet, it can interfere with the tablet's pen's functions. If that's the case, move the mouse off the tablet, and try again

Let us know if any of that helps. A double-click on a shape will normally invoke that shape's tool. A double-click on a path will invoke the Node tool. So when you say the double-click does nothing, well, it's confusing. So I'm not sure what the problem is (unless it's the regular mouse on the tablet thing). But let us know if any of that info helps, and if not, why, and we can go from there

Thanks for the suggestions... I ended up deleting the program and re-installing it.. and then I couldn't get it to work, finally I deleted the X11, then installed XQuartz... then things started to work as they should. Clicking, moving etc. But now, when I click on an object with the little tool that shows the vector nodes to edit individually, it will select the object, and I can move the object, but the nodes don't show up. If I draw a new line or square or whatever, then click on it with the node tool, the nodes do show up, but on some of the existing objects it doesn't work. Any thoughts?

Don't see my last reply, perhaps not posted yet, but I figured out the problem... after reinstall,program is now working... but apparently when I was trying to get things working yesterday, it was making multiple copies of all the different parts of the drawing, so each object had a dozen stacked one on top of another... I have to remove all the copies and get down to the original to be able to edit the nodes! Very bizarre... not a drawing I care about, just doodling to learn the program... but interesting discovery in case anyone else ever runs across the problem.