Advanced angle measuring with Measure tool

[Alexandre Prokoudine]

This feature request is closely related to https://bugs.launchpad.net/inkscape/+bug/796457

Another useful feature that GIMP has is an ability to measure angles between two arbitrary lines. Right now Inkscape counts angle from 0°, but there are cases when you have two lines neither of which are at 0° (that is, neither is strictly horizontal). So the way GIMP solves this is:

1. You draw the first measure line to the point where these two lines meet
2. Press and hold Shift
3. Click on the end point of the measure line and drag to draw another measure line that follows the second line

Then GIMP will compute the angle between these two lines.

Something like that in Inkscape would be awesome.

[su_v (suv-lp)]

This is possible with the changes in r11459
<http://bazaar.launchpad.net/~inkscape.dev/inkscape/trunk/revision/11459>

Steps:
1) enable snapping as needed to snap to the two lines
2) switch to the measure tool
3) start measuring along one of the lines
   (snap to start point, drag mouse until snapping to end point occurs, keep LMB pressed)
4) press 'Shift' once (the commit log message is wrong)
5) while still keeping the LMB pressed, move the mouse pointer to the end point of the second line

-> pressing 'Shift' resets the baseline of the measure path, and the tool will then display the angle between the new baseline and the second line.

[Alexandre Prokoudine (alexandre-prokoudine)]

Nope, doesn't work for me, when I follow your instructions precisely. Screenshot attached.

[su_v (suv-lp)]

Start measuring at the middle node (where the two lines intersect), let the measure path snap to one outer end node, keep mouse pressed, tab 'Shift', now drag (with mouse button still pressed) to the other end node until snapping occurs.

[su_v (suv-lp)]

typo: s/tab 'Shift'/tap 'Shift'/

[Alexandre Prokoudine (alexandre-prokoudine)]

Yes, it's exactly how I understood it: press and release, then keep dragging.

[Alexandre Prokoudine (alexandre-prokoudine)]

s/keep dragging/resume dragging/

[su_v (suv-lp)]

> Yes, it's exactly how I understood it: press and release, then keep dragging.

Did you figure it out now? AFAICT the difference is in where you and I started measuring…

[Alexandre Prokoudine (alexandre-prokoudine)]

I'm not sure I understand. Figure out what? Here is what I do :)

[su_v (suv-lp)]

If you want to measure the relative angle, reread comment 3:
> Start measuring at the middle node (…)
(the attached screenshot there numbers the order of nodes used for snapping).

[Alexandre Prokoudine (alexandre-prokoudine)]

OK, middle point, right! Mea culpa :) I think I simply got confused, because it's inconsistent with GIMP. Plus certain lack of attention.