note - title has been edited

Hi Friends,
This is something that's been bugging me since I first started using Inkscape. And all this time, I've been thinking that there must be a way to do this, and I'll read about it someday in the forum. But now I realize it must not be possible. But I'm posting here in the Help forum (rather than Ideas forum), just in case there is a way to do it.

I know you can hold the Alt, to be able to freeze the handles' lengths, while adjusting the handls's angles. Honestly, I've never found a use for it. What I want is just the opposite -- freeze the angle while being able to adjust the length.

Assuming it's not currently possible, has anyone else ever wished for this? Think it might be helpful feature? Think it's worth asking developers to interrupt work on other issues? Or is there a way to do it that I just haven't learned yet?

Thanks for comments

You can freeze the angle with Ctrl + Shift, although if you move the mouse away from the handle line the angle will be snapped to every 15° (default) because of Ctrl. So the trick is to keep the mouse close to the handle, and keep looking at the statusbar, it will tell you what angle is currently used so you'll be able to tell if the current one is kept, or you snapped to one of the 15° multiples.

prkos wrote:You can freeze the angle with Ctrl + Shift, although if you move the mouse away from the handle line the angle will be snapped to every 15° (default) because of Ctrl. So the trick is to keep the mouse close to the handle, and keep looking at the statusbar, it will tell you what angle is currently used so you'll be able to tell if the current one is kept, or you snapped to one of the 15° multiples.

Brilliant! I never know that one!

-Rob A>

Awesome!
I also thought that was limited to 15 degree increments.

But that's not exactly what I meant...I think I did not describe it properly, so I apologize. I'll edit the title.

I meant that I want to freeze the handles completely, so that nothing moves except the ability to adjust the handles' length.

Well as far as I can tell that is what happens with Shift + Ctrl, you can adjust the handle length while keeping the angle the same. Or am I missing something?

There is no wayt to preserve the angle and stop it from changing.
So if the original handle was (say) at 21.4 deg, using shift+ctrl it will snap to the default 15 increments PLUS the original and its mirror, so 0, 15, 21.4, 30, 45, ... 180, 201.4, 195, 210...345.

If your original angle was near a normal snap angle you need to be careful you dont unsnap it, and move to the next one.

Interestingly, the snapping of node handles seems to respect the rotation steps (in the preferences), so if you set that to 90, node handle will also only snap on 90, EXCEPT if you set it to none (so there is no rotation snapping - verified) the node handle angles revert back to 15degree increments.

-Rob A>

ffaat wrote:There is no wayt to preserve the angle and stop it from changing.

Hmm, sure? ;) You can scale individual handles without affecting their angle - using keyboard shortcuts: Scale handle (1 node selected)

~suv, yes, that's what I'm asking for! Except is there no way to do it with a mouse?

With Shift + Ctrl + drag, the handles' angle IS preserved, but the handles still rotate. They rotate together, with the angle not changing. I want not just the angle frozen, but the handles frozen as well, so that they don't rotate.

I'm SO happy to know this, even if it's only possible from the keyboard. But I have to say, with MUCH humility, that it seems kind of tricky to have keyboard shortcuts which don't have a mouse equivalent. Because it seems that there are "mouse people" and "keyboard people", relating to their preference of use....I guess I'm trying to say that I think most people assume that everything that can be done with a mouse has a keyboard equivalent, and vice versa. But apparently not so?

It would be interesting to see/have a list of things that can only be done with a keyboard, and a similar list of things that can only be done with a mouse.
I'm not sure I'm equipped to do that, but I will put it on my "to do list", and maybe "someday"

I'm confused about what you're asking here, if you want the handles frozen so they don't rotate (which incidentally means you want to change the handle length), hold Shift and Ctrl and use your mouse to change the handle length, the angle won't change unless you move away from the handle.

So this is a combination of keyboard and mouse, is this what you're talking about, you want only to use the mouse?

I'm confused about what you're asking here, if you want the handles frozen so they don't rotate (which incidentally means you want to change the handle length), hold Shift and Ctrl and use your mouse to change the handle length, the angle won't change unless you move away from the handle.

I'm not sure I can be any more clear, but I'll try.

When I use Ctrl + Shift + drag handle, both handles are free to rotate. Yes, I can adjust the length, but I find it hard to adjust the length without the handles also rotating. If the handles could be frozen, not rotate, then I could adjust the length without worrying that they might rotate. Even if I try to keep the mouse close to the handle, somehow it still gets away from me, and the handles rotate.

So this is a combination of keyboard and mouse, is this what you're talking about, you want only to use the mouse?

No, I don't mind using both keyboard and mouse together.
~suv indicates

You can scale individual handles without affecting their angle - using keyboard shortcuts: Scale handle (1 node selected)

that Ctrl + > or < can be used to adjust the length of the handle, without rotation. And that is exactly what I want. I was just asking if it could be done with mouse; ie - freeze the handle while adjusting its length -- with the mouse (or keyboard plus mouse). I'm sorry my original title was not more precise.

And I was also complaining (with humility) that it can be confusing, if someone prefers to use a mouse, when certain things can only be done by keyboard. Because I think a lot of people assume that everything that can be done with a mouse, can also be done with a keyboard, and vice versa. At least I had that impression. But it appears not to be entirely true. (And subsequently I was thinking aloud that it would be interesting to see a list of things that can only be done by keyboard and not by mouse, and vice versa).

Is that any better?

on the second point, the mouse vs keyboard issue, things aren't that clear cut. you can only achieve a high degree of equivalence when the software and interface are fairly trivial. with UI operations of a higher order, as in sophisticated graphics, video, audio editing software, there are typically some keyboard shortcuts with no mouse equivalents. i know what you're saying, and it's something worth striving for, but not always achievable in both keyboard and mouse. some other things you probably can't do with a mouse that you can with keyboard in inkscape is the shift + arrow cursor and alt + arrow cursor movements.
i've been using a tablet, and that has it's own differences as an input device.

on the node problem. a viable workaround could be to create a temporary (long) line on the desired angle and set snap to path option. as you move the desired node along the temporary path with the mouse, inkscape tells you that it's snapped the cusp node to path.