Curves Improvements

Documentation / How to
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I’d like to see improvements made to the bezier curve tools.

  1. I would like to add a curve with an arbitrary number of points rather than the current toolset that seems to allow either a four-point curve or a 10+ point curve.
  2. I’d like to be able to attach bezier handles (red dots that change the curve path) onto points so that curve angles can easily respond to pattern dimension changes.
  3. I’d like curves to be includable into a workpiece without requiring the curve be drawn in a specific direction. Or if this can’t be done for some reason, it would be nice if there is a curve option to “reverse direction”.
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Die Möglichkeit eine Kurve umzukehren gibt es:

  1. Im Detailmodus
  2. wenn man im Zeichenmodus die Punkte tauscht läuft diese dann auch anders herum. Man muss jedoch auch die Längen und Winkel anpassen.
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I’ll quote you using a Google Translate. “There is the possibility to reverse a curve: In detail mode if you swap the dots in drawing mode, they run the other way around. But you also have to adjust the lengths and angles.”

That sounds too complicated. It should be a button press to reverse the curve arrows. And really the curve should not be treated as having a direction, whether it is drawn clockwise or counterclockwise should be irrelevant to the pattern.

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  1. Try the “Curved Path” instead of “Tools for creating curves”, that’s what I figured out.
  2. That’s what “Curve tool which uses point as control handle” does
  3. Press shift when selecting curve, or reverse it in Details as @Scholli suggested.

Not saying that there isn’t room for improvement, but a bit of playing around with the various tools as currently setup can take you much further.

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  1. Curved Path does not automatically generate the smooth path, so it won’t work as a replacement for the “Tools for creating curves”…
  2. That option is limited to four points, I need more than that. Also I’d like the option to not have an anchored handle for certain parts of the curve.
  3. A curved path has no option to reverse in the details, and shift+clicking on the curve does not reverse the direction. When I look at the options I see only a list of points, no mention of reversing the path.
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Hi @Lowkus! Good to see you!

  1. This 5 point curve was created with the ‘Curve Path’ image tool --it’s not restricted to 4 points.

    image
    image1123×668 36.6 KB

  2. This double curve has 7-points and was created with the ‘Tool for Creating Curves’ --it’s not restricted to 10 points image - The first curve has 4 points (endpoint, controlpoint, controlpoint, endpoint), all successive curves will have 3 points (controlpoint, controlpoint, endpoint). Note that this tool creates multiple curves that are contiguous with the previous curve. I selected A4 as the 1st controlpoint of the 2nd curve but A4 was ignored – the control handle is inline with the last controlpoint of the 1st curve. I believe this 2nd curve is the smallest fair curve that can be constructed given the 2nd controlpoint of the 1st curve (A2) and the 2nd controlpoint of the 2nd curve (A5)
    image

  3. You may Reverse a counterclockwise curve when you create a Detail by pressing ‘Shift’ when selecting the curve. Also you can Reverse it in Detail Mode by right-clicking on the Detail piece, right-clicking in the pathlist on the curve’s name, then selecting ‘Reverse’. Note that only clockwise curves are displayed as curves in Detail mode. Counterclockwise curves are displayed as Lines unless it is Reversed.

HTH!

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  1. The “Curve Path” tool is missing the ability to anchor the curve handles.
  2. I typo’d the number of points used in the “Tool for Creating Curves”, I thought it was nine but you’re right it only requires seven. Still, seven points is more than what I want. Anywhere from three points and above it should accept “Enter” to finish the curve.
  3. The problem with reversing the curve seems to be that I am trying to change the curve in the Draw mode. I cannot get to the Details mode to change the curve, since the curve direction prevents me from creating the workpiece.
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1, 2. Makes sense. I have thought that would be nice as well.

  1. Press shift while selecting the curve. Also, just because you can’t see that the curve is selected does not mean that it isn’t; the video in @slspencer’s post illustrates this. But pressing shift while selecting a clockwise curve during Detail tracing will make it select in the opposite direction, so you are less likely to have to take it on faith that it was selected; sometimes it still doesn’t properly show until one has selected several steps farther along, (especially around upper bodices in my meager experience.) It also often helps to set nodes on either end of the curve.

If you want to draw the curve in the opposite direction then by all means do so, it is easier in some ways.

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Hey @Lowkus! I think we got you covered, except for the 3 points & ENTER request. But 4 points and no ENTER for a Bezier Curve isn’t terribly bad UX, it works pretty well. And if you need a 3-point Quadradric Curve you can select the same pattern point for the two control points. Again, I hope this meets your needs.

Curves by Length and Angle - Right click in Draw mode and select Options to adjust length and angle in Draw mode, and reverse the curve by swapping the points via the picklists and also swapping your length & angle information.

  • ‘Simple Curve’ image is for selecting two points to create a curve, ENTER not required.
  • ‘Curve Path’ image lets you click on as many points as you wish and press ENTER after the last point. I created a curve with 24 points as a test.

Curves by controlpoint - Use pattern points to create controlpoints. RIghtclick in Draw mode and select Options to change controlpoints and reverse the curve via the picklists.

  • ‘Curve Tool which uses point as control handle’ image accepts 4 points (ENTER not required) to create a Bezier Curve. You can reuse the same point as both controlpoints to create a Quadratic curve.
  • ‘Tools for Creating Curves’ image takes a minimum of 7 points to create two connected Bezier Curves, and each additional 3 points adds another Bezier curve segment, press ENTER after last point. I created a curve with 31 points as a test.

Also about the curves while creating a Detail piece:

  • If you select a counterclockwise curve and don’t press SHIFT the curve will appear as a line in the Detail piece. You can go to Detail mode, right-click on the the Detail piece and rightclick on the curvename and select reverse the curve in the picklist. Click APPLY to see the curve appear. Click OK to save your change.
  • If you press SHIFT simultaneously while selecting a counterclockwise curve, it will appear as a curve in the Detail piece.

HTH!

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