Hi all,

I am a total beginner at using Inkscape and would like to ask a few questions.

Firstly could anyone guide me to a good set of tutorials on what each of the icons/settings do? or a set of tutorials for total beginners. Preferably videos but just text and diagrams would work as well. I found some through searches and even watched a few on youtube but they are mostly tutorials for when you are already familiar with inkscape.

For example I tried to experiment myself by first drawing an envelope, but I already ran into problems. Firstly it never snapped, so I enabled snap and experimented with the options I got d3 as a result, as you can see it visually looks wrong because it looks like there is a doubleline between the rectangle and the triangle. Next I tried using arrow keys to line it up and i got d1 and d2, finally I disabled snap and moved both shapes manually which gives d4, but as you can see there are problems with where the red boxes are, the corners are pointing out and I don't know how to get rid of them, resizing does not work, as then the rectangle would be the one pointing out. I'm sure it's probably really simple. I would like to know how to do these basic tasks such as snapping correctly, etc.



Thanks for your time and apologies if this is really simple stuff.

Welcome to InkscapeForum!

And also, welcome to Inkscape You'll find a great deal of info in the manual, found from Help menu > Inkscape manual (requires internet connection) (unless you decide to buy it). Here's what the icons mean: http://tavmjong.free.fr/INKSCAPE/MANUAL ... atomy.html. You could do some of those tutorials in the Quick Start section, to learn the basics. And if you like to use key shortcuts, look at Help menu > Keys and Mouse Ref (also need internet). (Also see my forum signature, for other instructional materials.)

Snapping is a rather complex feature. It took me quite a while to understand it, but it's still actively under development, and is much improved in recent versions. Here's the manual info: http://tavmjong.free.fr/INKSCAPE/MANUAL ... pping.html. Without having the SVG file to look at, I can't be sure what's happening with "d3". For that task, I would probably use snapping to cusp/corner nodes. Or....well, for that, personally, I would probably be using a grid, and snapping to grid. But this positioning is something that can be done in several different ways. And as you learn more and more, you'll develop your own personal preferences. See this chapter: http://tavmjong.free.fr/INKSCAPE/MANUAL ... ition.html.

For "d4", you'll need to go to Object menu > Fill and Stroke > Stroke Style tab > Miter Limit. It will make less pointiness. There are probably some other ways to handle that as well. You might change the Cap and/or Join style (also on Stroke Style tab). Or you might zoom in a place nodes so that it's a rounded corner. Or if you eliminate the stroke, you eliminate the points. Or on and on....

"d1" and "d2" using arrow keys -- you can use Alt + arrow key, to move in much smaller increments. Shift + arrow key moves in much larger increments, fyi.

I hope that info is helpful. And have fun learning Inkscape

Glad to be here and many thanks Brynn, all the information was very helpful. Will definitely be completing the tutorials.