Affinity Designer Shape Builder Tool

[Acorn]

Yes, but lacks the rounding corner tools, something that I'm asking for years sadly.
The shape buider tools is something that can be useful in many situation, but as Acorn said you can find ways to accomplish something similar.
Another thing that I miss is the ability to change the thickness of the lines node by node.

As we all know and expect, Xara will never save the day and deliver all these worthy proposals.

While waiting for Line width by Node, I clone the shape and Break at points.
Each segment can then have a different width and stroke.
Never liked doing it like this but at least the shapes produced are now SVG (XPro+) and not a clutch of PNGs and so I can tweak the SVG if i choose.

Acorn

[handrawn]

can you clarify this for me - are you saying that in pro+, when you convert an artbrush line to shape and break points, you now get a vector [SVG] ? thanks

[handrawn]

.. no matter, I have been unsubscribed from pro+ long enough to requalify for a free trial, can check it out myself...

thanks again

[handrawn]

appears not; art brushes are still not true vectors... pity, that might well have brought me back into the fold...

[Acorn]

appears not; art brushes are still not true vectors... pity, that might well have brought me back into the fold...

If the Art Brush design is fairly simple then it renders as Shapes after your Convert Line to Shape, hence SVGable.

Acorn

[handrawn]

if I take one of the ink and paint [art] brushes - the shape is vector, but the texture does not appear to be a vector fill

if I export a quickshape with vector fill, it stays vector; an art brush does not [unless I am doing something wrong]

[handrawn]

While waiting for Line width by Node, I clone the shape and Break at points.
Each segment can then have a different width and stroke.

I took this to mean shape as in an object with nodes around it's perimeter

What interested me was what happened if you broke such a shape, not a line, but a shape

it is not clear to me in your example which route you took...

[Acorn]

I took this to mean shape as in an object with nodes around it's perimeter
What interested me was what happened if you broke such a shape, not a line, but a shape
it is not clear to me in your example which route you took...

handrawn, yes, i probably thought I had explained it all (to myself at least).

I took a Shape and with the Shape Tool, selected all the nodes then broke them.
As individual lines, i then applied a Line width, brush and Stroke to each (or all).
Finally, I converted Lines to Shapes.

Acorn

[handrawn]

its the convert lines to shapes that confuses me, because sometimes it gives bitmaps, not shapes; you mentioned bitmaps, hence the question given i am not using pro+, and it did not seem too different when I tried the trial

I really don't understand why sometimes it gives a shape and sometimes a bitmap

I'll have to go into it a bit more, as things stand, not enought info to work on

but thanks again

[Egg Bramhill]

I think the new Shape Builder tool is a terrific step forward from Xara's Boolean operations (which I use extensively). Affinity's new tool speeds up the operation extensively without the need to ensure what shape is on top of another and the constant need to clone cutting shapes. Further it works not only on shapes but lines as well which is almost impossible in Xara.

Mind you I still find it frustrating to use software that doesn't have Undo/Redo icons!!!