Duplicating layers with clones

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Satrek
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Duplicating layers with clones

Postby Satrek » Wed Mar 21, 2012 6:56 pm

I have the following problem: I have a layer with a number of tiled clones filling different areas, each one groupes and using a cut path. The origin tile has been moved to outside the page (next to a lable) in order to manipulate the looks of each area at will. This set-up works fine as far as I can tell. But now I want to duplicate the layer in order to create different "color schemes" if you will. The clones now link to the original originals, not the ones on the actual layer - I hope this makes sense...

I assume my basic question is: how can I relink a set of tiled clones to a new original on the same page if the old original is on another? I tried using the relink-command but all it did when I touched it was blowing up the clones...

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brynn
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Re: Duplicating layers with clones

Postby brynn » Thu Mar 22, 2012 3:11 am

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If you duplicated the layer, wasn't the original duplicated as well? Are you saying that the clones on the duplicated layer actually link to the original on the original layer, and not to the duplicated original?

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druban
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Re: Duplicating layers with clones

Postby druban » Thu Mar 22, 2012 7:08 pm

Well, my understanding, and I often use this as a way of making more clones, is that when you duplicate a clone, it creates another clone that is linked to the original. So when you duplicate the layer, you should get a number of clones all linked to the original, and one duplicate of the original that is not a clone, but is not the parent of any clones either. The other commands i.e. relink to copied object are kind of, well, someone with more skills than me can probably explain how to make them work....
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Satrek
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Re: Duplicating layers with clones

Postby Satrek » Thu Mar 22, 2012 9:10 pm

Yes, that's my conclusion, too, and I would very much like to understand and use the relink-command - and use it to make this work the way I hoped it would... Anyone?

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brynn
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Re: Duplicating layers with clones

Postby brynn » Fri Mar 23, 2012 6:11 am

Are the clones nested? In other words, did you clone an object, then repeatedly click on Clone button? This will cause you to have a clone of a clone of a clone, etc. I don't know if that could be part of the problem, or not. But it's all I can think of at the moment.

I don't understand why duplicating the layer doesn't duplicate the parent object....so that it's the parent of the clones on that layer.

Hang in there, Satrek. Hopefully someone knowledgeable about this will reply soon.

~suv
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Re: Duplicating layers with clones

Postby ~suv » Fri Mar 23, 2012 1:18 pm

Satrek wrote:I have the following problem: I have a layer with a number of tiled clones filling different areas, each one groupes and using a cut path. The origin tile has been moved to outside the page (next to a lable) in order to manipulate the looks of each area at will. This set-up works fine as far as I can tell. But now I want to duplicate the layer in order to create different "color schemes" if you will. The clones now link to the original originals, not the ones on the actual layer - I hope this makes sense...
For new drawings, please read and consider this detail (quoting from the manual): «Inkscape also has the ability to “relink” clones when the original and clones are copied. Normally, the duplicated clones are linked to the original object, and the duplicate of the original object is not linked to anything. The behavior can be changed by enabling the Relink duplicated clones option in the Clones section of the Inkscape Preferences dialog so that new copies are linked to the copy of the original object. »

Satrek wrote:I assume my basic question is: how can I relink a set of tiled clones to a new original on the same page if the old original is on another? I tried using the relink-command but all it did when I touched it was blowing up the clones...
For new drawings, remember to duplicate a clone (Ctrl+D) if you want a second clone of the same original (do not clone 'Alt+D' the clone itself).
For existing drawings: Other reasons for displaced clones when relinking them could be (nested) preserved transforms e.g. on parent layer groups, or on the original itself, or both combined: I might be able to "fix" such a drawing, but probably fail at the attempt writing a "simple" set/list of instructions to do so (even more so without access to the SVG file itself).

If such an issue occurred within one of my own projects, I probably would be faster recreating some of the clones on the original layer (as well as the duplicate layer with changed clone prefs) than attempting to resolve/relink lots of daisy-chained 'Clone of clone of clone of clone of …' clones, or deeply nested ones (several clones A' of group A which contains clone B' and C' of group B and C which each contain several objects (D, E, F) and a clone of each (D', E', F'), etc).


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