I am new to inkscape. I'm migrating my habits from Corel Draw and Xara Xtreme to Inkscape. I'm relearning and, most of the time, enjoying the new environment.

On of the frustrating points for me, though, is with the Bezier Tool. In particular, I would like to be able to draw smoothed paths (paths made with smooth nodes) just by single-clicking. But I have not found a way, so far.

One method I'm using is drawing with straight lines (sharp nodes) single clicking and then with the Edit Nodes Tools, select All nodes and transform them to smooth symmetric. This method is ok when I have to draw large paths, with hundred points, because the action to smooth them is only needed one time for all of the nodes at once. But this is annoying and time consuming when I have to draw dozens or hundreds of small paths (because you can't select all the nodes in several different paths with asingle click or can I?)

I know that I can do with just a little drag of the node after the click, but it does not give the same smooth uniform results.

So, is there a way to configure the Bezier Tool so that it creates smooth symmetrical nodes instead of sharp nodes with a single click?

Secondary question. Is there a way to select and act upon all the nodes in some selected paths, without having to select the nodes one by one?

Thanks.

I don't think so, you have to click and drag to make it smooth, by why is it so hard for you? It does some getting used to but it does get into routine after a while. There are some keyboard shortcuts you can use while drawing, maybe they can help you be more precise http://tavmjong.free.fr/INKSCAPE/MANUAL ... ths-Bezier

You should also look into Spiro spline, it might be more intuitive to you. Try it out, it's one of the modes of Bezier and Pencil tools http://tavmjong.free.fr/INKSCAPE/MANUAL ... pline.html

You can use rubber-ban selection with the Node tool, or Ctrl + A to select all nodes.

Selecting nodes in more than one path will be available in 0.48 version that is coming soon. If the paths share the same style you can combine them so they become subpaths, you can select nodes in both of them at once even in 0.47 version.

Thanks for your insight. You're right it is not so hard, it's just annoying. Click and drag does not produce the same symmetric smooth. So I tend to avoid it. In a large path it's not such a big deal: when done with the pen, select all nodes, and push a little button. But in many small little paths (I mostly draw maps, large paths are common in routes and contour lines, small paths are common in urban details) it's just tedious and obstrusive as it interrups the flow of thought and work. There's always some trade off in every little decision.

Although it would require a bit of a financial investment (in hardware), using a pen/tablet might be another option? (Maybe ebay for inexpensive, used tablet?) Just a thought

The Bezier Tool in Spiro path mode seems to be more of what you are trying to achieve.

You can change node types without having to DRAG them. Simply CTRL+Click a path node while in the Edit Path by Nodes Tool. This will cycle through ALL of the node types Inkscape supports.