Trying to understand nodes

[jimhanus]

willdean,
Thanks, F4 does help as it puts the node right where I expect one to be. Always learning!

Jim

[willdean]

Glad it helped!

This video http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eQKIbTIEAwQ

has several different ways of drawing things in XX - around 5mins in Bob's drawing shapes with F4.

[gwpriester]

Jim

When you draw with the Freehand and Brush Tool, there is a smoothness slider on the Infobar which you can adjust to make your freehand line smoother (fewer control points), or more accurate (more control points).

Basically, when you are drawing freehand, Xara tries to determine a logical place on the path where a control point is appropriate. The simple the path, the fewer control points are needed.

Here's something to try. Select the Freehand and Brush Tool, set the Smoothness slider setting to a low number, let's say about 5-10%.

Draw a path or shape. With the path or shape selected and the Freehand and Brush Tool still selected, increase the smoothness slider until you are happy with the path or shape.

In the past if you deselected the Freehand and Brush Tool, you could not go back and reedit the smoothness setting. But I see that now the path remembers and you can go back and reedit the smoothness setting, even after selecting another tool. (I did not know this. I just learned something )

Also, and I believe this may be a fairly new behavior as well, as you adjust the smoothness slider setting, you can see the original path as well as the edited smoothness.

One more thing I just discovered. You can go back to the shape or path but if you do, only the last Smoothness setting will appear. So I you drew with a smoothness setting of 10% and adjusted the setting to 75%, then when you reedit the shape or path, the setting will be at 75% and not at 10%. And it would seem in this case that you cannot go backwards.

[jimhanus]

Thanks everyone. I have experimented a bit and have a better understanding, but still have a LONG way to go.

Jim