With Size 0, Roughen moved no point but still replaced each segment
with its Detail's points joined by straight lines (Corner) or by a
smoothed curve through them (Smooth), so a curved path lost its shape.
At Size 0 each segment is now split at the Detail spacing into pieces
of equal length on the segment itself, with `pathtools::insert_at`: a
straight segment gets corner points without handles, and a curve gets
smooth points whose handles follow it. The path keeps its outline with
Smooth or Corner points alike. The params text of `distort.roughen`
describes size 0.
`insert_at` now counts the anchors added before each returned mark in
one pass. It counted them again for every split segment, which took
quadratic time on a path with many split segments. Its results are
unchanged.
Existing documents with a Roughen of Size 0 on a curved path, or with
Smooth points, draw differently.
This is VectorCraft's own rule. What Roughen does is described in
https://helpx.adobe.com/illustrator/desktop/manage-objects/reshape-transform-objects/distort-and-transform-effects-in-illustrator.html
- Weed Box and Lines counts the outline points a nested clip group hides when
it tests pieces for being inside a region, and counts the work of every clip
group in the selection together, so a selection cannot run far past the
limit.
- Stencil Bridges refuses art when its measuring budget runs out only while an
island is still unjoined, and a refusal for size or detail says so.
Object › Plug-ins › Cutting Tools › Stencil Bridges… (`addon.cutting.bridges`)
cuts strips of a set width out of the selected art so that a stencil cut
from it holds together: every island (the inside of an O, A or 8, a hole in
a shape) stays joined to the sheet, directly or through another island.
Bridges take the shortest crossings that fit first, then spread around each
island up to the count asked for, at least two widths apart. They run
vertically, horizontally or along the shortest crossing among 12
directions 15° apart.
- The art is measured by the area its outlines enclose, whatever their
paint, with hidden objects left out; type by its glyph outlines, without
converting the type. The result is one compound path with the strips cut
out, painted as the topmost selected shape with outlines, in the place of
the topmost selected object with outlines. Selected objects with no
outlines in the art stay where they are.
- Keep Original (on by default) moves the selected objects that make up the
art to a new hidden layer, Stencil Original; off replaces them.
- Art with no islands, or none a bridge of the width fits, is left as it is
with a message and no undo step. Islands the cut result still encloses
are counted in `unbridged`, with a message. Otherwise the run is one undo
step.
- Curves are followed within a twentieth of the width (0.002 to 0.25 pt).
Art that reaches more than 10000000 pt from the origin or has more than
200000 anchors is refused before it is combined. Art is also refused when
its combined area has more than 4000 outlines, when its outlines need
more than 200000 straight segments, or when placing the outlines or
joining every island takes more work than a fixed budget allows; when
the budget runs out while extra bridges are added, the bridges found so
far are kept.
Tests in vectorcraft-pathops, vectorcraft-engine and vectorcraft-ui-egui,
command_sweep cases, catalog rows in all 27 languages, docs/mcp.md, the
evidence list in docs/target-app-parity.md and the ROADMAP progress log.
addon.pathtools.divideDashes cuts the selected paths (or only their
direct-selected segments) into separate open paths of a dash length
measured along the curve, with an optional gap (gap pieces dropped
unless removeGaps is false) and Fit to Corners and Ends; pieces keep
the path's appearance, one undo step, at most 100000 pieces. Geometry
in vectorcraft-pathops; dialog with unit fields and Preview; tests,
sweep cases, catalog rows and docs.
Path Precision Tools gains the Shared Edge Merge Tool, kept out of the
toolbars (All Tools drawer and Object › Plug-ins › Path Precision Tools,
no shortcut), and Keep Shared Points Together:
- Shared Edge Merge Tool (sharedEdge): over two paths touching at two
coincident anchors (tolerance 0 to 3 pt) hovering shows the two
stretches and the merged edge; a click replaces both with it, half way
between them, or following the upper (Shift) or lower (Alt) path. Both
paths stay closed or open, anchors either stretch has inside are
matched on the other, one undo step.
- Making ends: near anchors meet on a click and an anchor one path lacks
is added to match; Shift+Alt asks for this inside a stretch.
- Keep Shared Points Together: an option that makes Slide Anchor Along
Path, Extend Path and Set Anchor take coincident anchors along. Nothing
else in the app changes.
- Shared Edges section in the Anchor Inspector: brush diameter,
coincidence and the option.
- Commands addon.pathtools.mergeEdge and movePointsTogether, params
validated and covered by the command sweep.
- Cursor stand-in, catalog rows in every language, docs and tests.
Path Precision Tools gains two tools, kept out of the toolbars (All Tools
drawer and Object › Plug-ins › Path Precision Tools, no shortcuts):
- Corner Tool (cornerTool): editable corners on any path through the
existing Live Corners. Hover shows an eligible anchor, a click cuts a
corner with the tool's radius and kind, a drag sizes it (Shift: whole
values), a corner's marker selects it and loads its values, resizes it
and removes it at 0 or on a double-click; a corner never grows past
what fits; an Alt-marquee cuts every eligible anchor inside.
- Corners section in the Anchor Inspector: radius, kind, selected count,
Apply to Selected Anchors.
- Slide Anchor Along Path (slideAnchor): a drag runs an anchor along its
curve, the neighbouring segments refitted by the keep-shape kernel;
Shift snaps where the tangent is a multiple of 45° from the constrain
angle.
- Commands addon.pathtools.cornerSet, cornerRemove and slideAnchor, one
undo step each, params validated and covered by the command sweep.
- Cursor stand-ins, catalog rows in every language, docs and tests.
Path Precision Tools gains the Parametric Shape Tool: ten kinds of shape
(rectangle, ellipse, polygon, star, ring, arrow, cross, heart, gear,
speech bubble) that stay editable as numbers.
- Geometry in vectorcraft_pathops::addons::pathtools::shapes: each kind's
outline, corner rounding limited to the middle of a side, a fingerprint
of the outline, recovery of centre, size and rotation after a move,
turn or scale, and recognition of plain rectangles, ellipses and
regular polygons.
- The tool (parametricShape, All Tools drawer and Object › Plug-ins ›
Path Precision Tools only, no shortcut): drag from the centre (Shift:
45° steps), arrow keys change the count and values while dragging,
handles edit a selected shape, double-click places one.
- Commands addon.pathtools.shape.create / .set / .convert, one undo step
each; params checked (counts 3..1000, sizes up to 16384 pt).
- A shape keeps its numbers in one object-data entry (vc-pathtools-shape)
that SVG export already leaves out; anchor edits make it a plain path.
- Parametric Shape panel, cursor stand-in, catalog rows in all 25
languages, docs and tests.
A built-in add-on under Object › Plug-ins › Smart Pen:
- The Smart Pen Tool draws and edits Bézier paths without switching
tools: a click adds the next segment straight or curved (a panel
toggle; Tab flips the segment being placed or the last one), a drag
makes a smooth point (Alt breaks the handle, Shift snaps to 45°, Space
moves the point), a curve after a straight segment joins it tangent.
- On existing paths it selects and moves points, removes a point keeping
the shape (Alt-click), toggles smooth/corner (double-click), drags
handles, reshapes a segment by dragging it and inserts a point on it
(Alt-click); it closes, continues and joins open paths.
- The Smart Pen panel: next segment straight or curved, remove points
keeping shape, make smooth, make corner, retract handles, close or
join.
The tool stays out of both toolbars as shipped; the All Tools drawer
lists it under the add-on's heading. Commands are addon.pen.*; the
existing Pen tool, commands and menus are unchanged.
A built-in add-on under Object › Plug-ins › Path Precision Tools:
- Anchor Eraser Brush: painting over selected paths removes the anchors
under the brush that the outline can do without within a tolerance,
refitting the handles beside them (Alt ignores the tolerance, Cmd/Ctrl
deletes without refitting, pen pressure can scale the brush); one undo
step per stroke.
- Extend Path tool: dragging an end of an open path carries it on
straight, by stretching its last curve or along the circle it curves
on, or shortens it back along itself.
- Measure & Inspect tool: drag to measure distance and angle; hover a
path to read segment and path length, area, curvature, tangent and
anchor angles and handles, in the document's units.
- Anchor Inspector panel: the selected anchor's position and handles as
numbers, with Make Smooth (auto-smooth rule), Make Corner, Equalize
Handles, Remove Points Keep Shape, Add Points and three ways to close.
- Add Points at Crossings and Split at Crossings.
The tools stay out of both toolbars as shipped; the All Tools drawer
lists them under the add-on's heading. Commands are addon.pathtools.*;
the existing commands, tools and menus are unchanged.
A built-in add-on under Object › Plug-ins › Artwork Cleanup:
- Simplify Anchors (Keep Shape) removes anchors while the outline stays
within a tolerance, optionally keeping sharp corners.
- Document Health Check finds and fixes 16 kinds of problems in the
selection or the document (stray points, duplicate and collinear
anchors, tiny handles, nearly closed paths, needless groups, compound
paths and clipping groups, unpainted and invisible objects, duplicate
objects, art off every artboard, empty artboards…), with Show, Fix
Selected and Fix All, each fix one undo step.
- Deep Ungroup and Rejoin Path Pieces.
The add-on lives in its own modules (pathops, engine and ui-egui
addons folders) and leaves the existing commands, tools and menus as
they were.
BFlat