Hello all, I am very new to inkscape, so please bear with me and my questions. I am trying to draw a rectangle, but it is only showing me the 'outline' lines (the dotted lines) not a proper straight line when I draw it. Does anybody know how I can fix it or am I missing something? Have I perhaps changed an option somewhere where I shouldn't?
Many thanks!

Hi.

What do you mean with "outline lines"?
It can be either of:

• Bounding box (rectangle)
• The actual path of the figure you're drawing (no fill)

In either case, you should manage to fix this by the Fill'n Stroke dialog box [Shift+Ctrl+F].
Fill'n stroke dialog box can also be opened by selecting the object and double click on the two colors (or no colors, depending on your object colors) on the lower left corner.

You will sort this out by either or both:

• Increase stroke width <= 1
• Set fill alpha (slider at right to the letter A) close to 255.
• Stroke alpha closer to 255

Welcome to InkscapeForum!

Yes, as Grobe says, it sounds like you are seeing only the bounding box, and not what you're drawing. There may be a few different explanations or solutions to this. And indeed, Grobe covers a few.

Transparency can also be set in a couple of other ways. When you have the Fill and Stroke dialog open, and if you check the A slider and the A value is over ~100, then also check this -- just above the Close button at the bottom of the dialog, is another slider for Opacity. It needs to be either all the way to the right (100%) or at least more than 10%, if transparency is the problem.

If you're using Layers, you could also open the Layers dialog, and make sure that the layer you're drawing on is at least 10% opaque (preferably 100%). Or if you're using Layers, make sure you're drawing on the active layer (or that the layer you want to draw on is active ).

If you're using a graphics tablet, sometimes having the mouse sitting on the tablet will prevent you from drawing on it.

Well I guess we've started this a bit backwards, but we're getting there, lol. After you draw a shape, open the Fill and Stroke dialog, and on either the Fill tab or Stroke Paint tab and look to see which button is engaged. If the X button or ? button is engaged, that is the problem. Click the 2nd button from the left (a light blue square). That will give the shape either a fill color or stroke color, and you'll be able to see it (assuming you're drawing on an active and opaque layer).

I know it's a lot to cover, but if you have any trouble checking on all of this, just let us know