I’m new to Valentina (and to pattern-making too) and I have come, more than I would like, to the barrier of needing a line measurement in one part of a pattern to use in another part that I created previously and not being able to use it.
Browsing through this forum, I understand that the developers know of this limitation, but nowhere I find the explanation to why this is so. It makes me wonder if such ability is really undesirable or this happens only because of the way the software was implemented.
So, this post is really the way I found to ask the developers about the reasons why they implemented this strict constraint, and I do this here because I don’t know if the issues page is the right place. Moreover, I didn’t find this answer anywhere (maybe because I don’t know how to search for it).
To summarize, I would like to know the arguments you used to justify the refusal to refer to an object created “in the future”.
A similar situation exists where such references don’t work well in spreadsheets.
There is some difficulty in making information from one pattern piece available in a previously defined pattern piece.
I am only a ‘User’ of the the program and don’t claim any knowledge on programming as such, but I have been using the program for some time now and I will try to give you the explanation…
Seamly2D is database driven. When an item (point, line, curve)) is created, it is added to a document which is read by the database as an instruction in the database. The program will only look backwards in time to find an item that is referred to. The program won’t or can’t read what isn’t written yet.
Now… there is a work-around but, I’m afraid, you will need to make a backup of your work before attempting it, because it is a little unstable.
You can add point, lines and curves back in time that can be used in the future. You do this by accessing the History listing - either by Menu/History/History or by Ctrl/H - finding the place where you’d like to add it, click the box to the left of the line above to place a marker where you’d like to add it and then creating it on the drawing board.
When you are finished doing this, once again, scroll down to the end of the list, click the box on the last line and close the History box. You need to do this before continuing with your drafting so that the rest of the items get placed in their relative places in the list and so that you can use items created later in your drawing.
For some reason Huey Lewis pops in my head… Back to the future. LOL
It’s also a good idea to sort of plan out a draft ahead of time to reduce the chance of getting stuck so to speak. BTW… The more you use the program and get familiar with the situations where you’ll get stuck, the less likely you’ll get stuck. Also, depending on the pattern you’re drafting it’s sometimes better to draft it as one piece. For example drafting a front/back together vs a front AND back as two pieces. That way you can use the “Back to the Future” feature Grace referred to.
Yes, if you’re following instructions out of a book or something, with a bit of practice, the way things are worded bring the right tool to mind. And if one follows the instructions, step-by-step, it’s really seldom that one needs to use the History feature. It’s more when I’m altering the pattern to my own design that I tend to use it a bit.
but, I’m afraid, you will need to make a backup of your work before attempting it, because it is a little unstable.
