Is there any way to set a default of some kind on the "Path Effects" ruler? Every time I use it, I have to reset all of the dialog boxes, even if I'm converting segments into rulers one right after another. I've looked in both "Doc Preferences" and "Inkscape Preferences" but don't see an obvious fix.

Thanks!

KJW

Hi KJW,
When you say "all the dialog boxes" are you talking about the individual settings under "Current effect" -- such as Mark distance, Major length, Minor length, etc.?

Oh yeah, I see what you mean. Yeah, I think all the effects are like that. And you can't apply effects to more than one path at a time, preventing you from selecting several paths and applying the same setting to them all at once.

However, it might be possible to combine all your paths (Path menu > Combine). Then they would be one compound path, and you could apply the same ruler setting to them all at once. From my testing just now, it looks like you can later break them apart (Path menu > Break apart) and have unique paths with the same ruler settings.

Would that work for you? Well, it would only work if all the paths had the same original style (width, color, opacity, etc.). Unless I have misunderstood the question?

Thanks, Brynn! You're a genius!!! It worked like a charm and is such a time saver and makes a frustrating, repetitive process so much easier. Definitely something to remember!

KJW

brynn wrote:And you can't apply effects to more than one path at a time, (…)

But you can "share" path effects:

1. Apply the path effect to a path, adjust settings as needed.
2. Copy the path ('Edit > Copy' or 'Ctrl+C') to the clipboard.
3. Select a different path you want to apply the same path effect.
4. Apply 'Path > Paste Path Effect'.

This will link both paths to the same path effect definition i.e. if you modify the settings in the path effect editor for one path, the other one will update accordingly.

You're welcome, I'm glad it works

Whoops, hi ~suv! You posted while I was typing.
So that would allow even paths with different styles to have the same path effect settings? Awesome

Thanks for the other option, SUV! I do a lot of intricate needlework and if I have to modify something on one side, I usually have to duplicate it on the other so being able to edit more than one path in a variety of methods gives me so much flexibility.

KJW