`span_at` read the end of a closed subpath's closing segment as past
every stretch, so a click that landed there could leave the path
unchanged. It now reads that place as the first anchor.
The new Trim at Crossings Tool removes stretches of paths between the
places where they are crossed by another path or by themselves. A click
removes the stretch under the pointer, a drag removes every stretch its
rectangle touches, and an Alt-drag removes every stretch its freehand
line crosses. It works on every path that can be edited, selected or
not, and each gesture is one undo step.
- `addon.pathtools.trim {at, tolerance?}`, `{rect}` or `{points}` is the
command behind the tool. A closed path that loses a stretch becomes
open, an open path that loses a middle stretch becomes two paths with
its appearance in its place in the stacking order, and a path that
nothing crosses is removed whole. The stretches that stay get no new
anchors.
- Hidden and locked paths, guides and clipping paths are not trimmed and
do not count as crossing. Only the paths the gesture reaches are
searched for crossings, and one work limit covers every path the
command trims.
- `crossings_on` and `crossings_on_within` in `vectorcraft-pathops` find
the crossings on one path and compare it only with the segments in
its box.
- The new tool shares the crossing search with Add Points at Crossings
and Split at Crossings, so those change too: two segments of a path
that meet at an anchor, directly or across segments with no length,
now count as crossing where they cross again away from that anchor,
and do not count as crossing at the anchor itself. With Self
Crossings, a curved segment that loops over itself counts as crossing
itself. Before, both crossings were missed.
- The tool is an add-on tool: Object › Plug-ins › Path Precision Tools
and the All Tools drawer list it, it has no shortcut, and neither
shipped toolbar shows it.
Docs: docs/mcp.md, docs/ui-parity.md, docs/target-app-parity.md.
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
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 › 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.
dotCooCoo