REOPEN BUG #674609 Can't edit with the mouse in Inkscape (all versions)

[PAUL R FONTENOT]

PAUL R FONTENOT (paulrfontenot) •

Inkscape
Overview Code Bugs Blueprints Translations Answers
Can't edit with mouse in INKSCAPE 0.92.2 (5C3E80D.2017-08-06)
Asked by PAUL R FONTENOT on 2018-10-02
When I first installed Inkscape in my iMac, I could edit with my mouse; now I can only use the mouse as a selection tool, picking individual tools and navigating windows, but I cannot do any editing on the canvas whatsoever.

I can only have full functional behavior using the graphics tablet.

This is a constant problem; it always happens.

I have reinstalled Inkscape, with no solution.

I have reinstalled the mouse drivers, with no solution.

I have looked for other bug reports with this phenomena, but I can't find any relevant issues like this.

I can't provide a screenshot because there is nothing to take a screenshot of; the mouse simply will not edit the canvas!

Using Mac OS High Sierra 10.13.6

Bug #1795761: Can't edit with mouse in INKSCAPE 0.92.2 (5C3E80D.2017-08-06)
This question was originally filed as bug #1795761.

PAUL R FONTENOT (paulrfontenot) said on 2018-10-02: #1
Does anyone else out there have problems editing the canvas with your mouse in Inkscape 0.92.2 on Mac running OS High Sierra?

Any solutions within the community?

Hachmann (marenhachmann) said on 2018-10-03: #2
You could play a bit with the settings for the mouse in the Input devices settings.

However, I always thought this was normal - I couldn't use the mouse on canvas either while the graphics tablet was plugged in (this is on Linux Mint, haven't tested again for a long time).

As these settings are saved in the preferences, and you say it's new, you could try closing Inkscape, then renaming your personal preferences file (Location: see Edt > Preferences > System > user preferences).

PAUL R FONTENOT (paulrfontenot) said on 2018-10-04: #3
Thanks, Hachman for trying to help.

I have restarted Inkscape several times with no change.

I have turned on and off, the tablet settings in preferences; no changes to the tablet functions on either setting; the tablet performs the same no matter whether the tablet settings are turned off or on.

The mouse cannot edit the canvas no matter which way the tablet settings are; on or off.

I don't understand how changing the name of my system preferences is supposed to work; I am scared that if I change the name of my system settings, that the links between all of the programs to system preferences will be lost; please elaborate on how to do this without impacting other applications. Also, step by step instructions on how to rename system preferences and creating a new system preference file would be helpful.

Hachmann (marenhachmann) said on 2018-10-04: #4
Yes, restarting won't make a difference.

For the mouse, you would need to modify the core pointer settings, not the tablet settings, in the input devices dialog (but as I said, I think it won't help).

Renaming the preferences.xml file will just make Inkscape create a new one. Your preferences for Inkscape will be lost, but you can restore them if you name the file back to its original name.

Look for its location in the indicated place (in Inkscape): Edit > Preferences > System > User preferences.
Or read more details here:
https://inkscape.org/en/learn/faq/#how-reset-user-preferences

Hachmann (marenhachmann) said on 2018-10-04: #5
Or rather, restarting does make a difference, if the status of the tablet (plugged in or not) is different.

PAUL R FONTENOT (paulrfontenot) said on 2018-10-04: #6
This may not have any connection to my local installation of Inkscape, but I am able to edit the canvas on the online version of Inkscape in the Rollapp website.

PAUL R FONTENOT (paulrfontenot) said on 2018-10-04: #7
Hackmann, I restarted Inkscape twice, once with the tablet plugged in and once with it not plugged in and it made no difference to my mouse being able to edit the canvas.

I renamed the preferences.xml file and it made no difference; Inkscape did create a new preference file but it made no difference.

I even went so far as going through the preferences.xml file, line by line and could not find where it addressed input devices.

Do you know of another config file that might address input devices?

PAUL R FONTENOT (paulrfontenot) said on 2018-10-04: #8
I just uninstalled and reinstalled Inkscape; same results; still can't edit the canvas!

Hachmann (marenhachmann) said on 2018-10-04: #9
Mmmh. Maybe the tablet's status is cached somewhere, even when you plug it out?

One last thing I'd try is:

- unplug tablet
- restart computer
- start Inkscape

If that also doesn't help, please:

- create a thread on the inkscape-user mailing list:
https://sourceforge.net/p/inkscape/mailman/inkscape-user/

or

- reopen your bug report and summarize the info about what you tried into its description.

PAUL R FONTENOT (paulrfontenot) said 21 hours ago: #10
I uninstalled Inkscape, Quartz & McPorts just to see if the settings would go away when I reinstalled Inkscape.

Could not run Inkscape without having to reinstall Quartz.

When I reinstalled and launched Inkscape, all the settings that were in Inkscape from before were automatically loaded into the new installation; there has to be another place where these settings are located; I am dumbfounded as the where that location might be.

PAUL R FONTENOT (paulrfontenot) said 16 minutes ago: #11
I went back to the preferences.xml file and made the changes below:

Nothing changed: still can’t edit the canvas.

I tried to edit the canvas both with my wireless trackball and my wired mouse.

    <group
       id="P:pen" changed to read: id=“M:mouse”
       mode="screen"
       axes="x;y;pressure;xtilt;ytilt"
       keys="" />

[PAUL R FONTENOT (paulrfontenot)]

SOLVED!!!!

After days of infinite changes to everything imaginable, I finally hit paydirt with the encouragement of Hachmann (thank you, sir, for guiding me to this solution), I found the way to make the mouse edit the canvas using the following changes to the Inkscape preferences.xml file.

I got some insight from this website; https://www.panda3d.org/manual/index.php/Sample_Programs:_Mouse_Modes7:22 10/05/2018

Changed:

  <group
     id="devices">
    <group
       id="M:mouse" from: id=“P:pen”
       mode="0" from: mode=“screen"

    <group
       id="C:cursor"
       mode="0" from: mode=“screen”

    <group
       id="E:eraser"
       mode="0" from: mode=“screen”

[P-J.M.Noble (pjmnoble)]

Hi I fixed this by telling XQUartz preferences to emulate 3 button mouse and then in Inkscape:
Edit->Input Devices and in the settings pane revealed select Core pointer and Disable it then select xquartz virtual pointer and enable it. (crashed when I tried to enable the virtual pointer without disabling the Core pointer but didn't duplicate this to check whether the crash was random - also didn't check if 3-button emulation was essential)

[P-J.M.Noble (pjmnoble)]

Hm, Now it crashes every time I use the calligraphy pen.
3-button emulation in XQuartz is not essential to get mouse working on inkscape canvas
Inkscape forgets configuration between re-starts so edit-Input Device is required at every start up