Let's say I have three squares like so:



I then use "Exclusion" on the three to get this:



Now I want to break the small square and the outer frame into two separate objects/paths. How would I do that?

If you want to go that way then duplicate the original (Ctrl+D) and use the node editor tool to delete unnecessary nodes.

But it would be easier and more accurate if you didn't use exclusion.
Simply change the direction of the green square and combine (Ctrl+K) it with the red one and it will be all good.

Thanks Lazur, the first approach already occurred to me.

Can you explain what you mean by "change the direction" of the green square?

It is related to the fill rule.


If you combine two paths, the fill will be based on each subpath's direction. If they all have the same direction, it would appear as the original red square.
There is an option of reversing the direction of the paths at the path menu.
Also in this case simply mirroring one of the squares would do the trick.

Thanks for the help, I'll study this.