Comment 8 for bug 412928

after http://www.inkscapeforum.com/viewtopic.php?f=5&t=12065

I didn't find this bug report so I duped it as https://bugs.launchpad.net/inkscape/+bug/998022
(please someone close this)

When I want to draw hole in a complex shape I do this

1) Create base shape (or group)
2) Draw a rectangle that encompasses the base shape. [Set it to no fill and give it a stroke you can see.]
3) Draw the "hole".
4) Select the rectangle and the hole, then Path > Difference to create the clipping path.
5) Select the base path and the group, then Right Click > Set Clip.

So applying an inverted mask would require inkscape to automatically do step 2 & 4.