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New here! and can't bend vector lines.
warning: I am a total noob at this so I don't yet understand any of the lingo. I am running Inkscape 0.48.2 with XQuartz on a 2011 17" macbook pro running 10.8.0 mountain lion. I am trying to vector my first ever image and have drawn a line with the Bezier curves tool but I cannot bend the line in the middle anywhere after I have created it. In all the tutorial videos I have watched they just click in the middle of the line and the line will bend. Not with me though. I can only bend it at the ends which does not get the line to bend in the right direction. So frustrating!
Re: New here! and can't bend vector lines.
Welcome to InkscapeForum!
After you draw the line, with the Pen/Bezier or Pencil/Freehand tool, or convert a shape to path, you have to switch to the Node tool
. With it, you will be able to grab the line and drag it. Note that you have to click and drag, not just click.If that's what you're doing already, we'll need to look closer at all the circumstances. (Actually there are certain situations where you really can't grab the path, but that's probably a long story for you, and also, probably not happening to you.)
Anyway, let us know if you've got it working
Basics - Help menu > Tutorials
Manual - Inkscape: Guide to a Vector Drawing Program
Inkscape Community - Inkscape FAQ - Gallery
Inkscape for Cutting Design
Manual - Inkscape: Guide to a Vector Drawing Program
Inkscape Community - Inkscape FAQ - Gallery
Inkscape for Cutting Design
Re: New here! and can't bend vector lines.
a bezier line with just two points, the start and end points, starts out with the control handles (for the bezier part) where the nodes are.
so to solve your problem you could:
- put more muscle into it OR
- use the trick in matrix movie...realize that you are the bezier and it is you that bends and not the line OR
- select the node tool so you will be in node editing mode. then command-A or with mouse and shift key select both nodes, then click the node + button on the toolbar to add a node in the middle. then select this new middle node and click one of the buttons on the toolbar to make it a smooth node. drag the node around to where you want and its' (much easier to select) bezier control handles OR
- hold down CTRL (or is it command key) whilst in node editing mode and click onto the line somewhere. without releasing the key or the mouse button move the mouse and the line will bend...as this action has actually just snapped the nearest bezier control point to be where your mouse (cursor) is.
sorry about the jest....welcome to the forum.
so to solve your problem you could:
- put more muscle into it OR
- use the trick in matrix movie...realize that you are the bezier and it is you that bends and not the line OR
- select the node tool so you will be in node editing mode. then command-A or with mouse and shift key select both nodes, then click the node + button on the toolbar to add a node in the middle. then select this new middle node and click one of the buttons on the toolbar to make it a smooth node. drag the node around to where you want and its' (much easier to select) bezier control handles OR
- hold down CTRL (or is it command key) whilst in node editing mode and click onto the line somewhere. without releasing the key or the mouse button move the mouse and the line will bend...as this action has actually just snapped the nearest bezier control point to be where your mouse (cursor) is.
sorry about the jest....welcome to the forum.