GUI wishlist: enter relative coordiantes

[Anonymous]

While in drawing mode, having selected either a item or more, the context menu shows beside various options also a field for the actual X and Y coordinates, also the width and height of the selection. I can change this values by entering new numbers into the input fields in the menu line. (Which by the way is a great option for more technical related drawings) So it can be for several (repeating) actions very helpful, if the X and Y coordinates have as a further optional RELATIV input possibility, similar to the context menu of the guidelines.

[su_v (suv-lp)]

Could you please clarify your proposed feature request? It seems unclear to me to what tool context you actually refer to, and to which functions (drawing, editing or transforming?):

You write: "While in drawing mode (…)", which indicates the context of one of the shapes tools (rect, circle/ellipse, star/polygon) or one of the path tools (pencil/freehand, pen/bezier). The shape tools each have different input parameters, represented on-canvas by a special node (which has coordinates, but no relevant dimensions). The path tools are yet again different and don't have a 'selection' as such.

Then you continue with "having selected either a item or more (…) a field for the actual X and Y coordinates, also the width and height of the selection (…)" and thus seem to - conceptually - switch to the context of the select tool, which acts on the position and the dimensions of the current selection to move or otherwise transform the selection, or to the context of the node tool which acts on individual nodes or a selection of nodes of one or more selected paths.

a) Do you propose to merge the selection tool context into each of the shape/path creating tools (and possibly dump the node tool to edit paths in that process)?

b) Or wouldn't your request already be satisfied by the recently added feature to do basic calculations in all numeric input boxes (available in the next major release 0.49)? It allows relative changes basic on basic math applied to the current value of the already existing entry fields of all tools, and does not require to add a new user interface which would duplicate parts of the tool controls bar in the context menu.
See
 Bug #171282 “Calculator in input fields”
 <https://bugs.launchpad.net/inkscape/+bug/171282>
and
 <http://wiki.inkscape.org/wiki/index.php/Release_notes/0.49#Simple_calculations_in_spinboxes>

c) The reference to 'technical drawing' on the other hand seems to refer to a feature as requested in
Bug #264174 in Inkscape: “Console to input commands and node coordinates”
<https://bugs.launchpad.net/inkscape/+bug/264174>
which is really focused on allowing numeric input while drawing paths, with either relative coordinates or based on distance+angle.

[Anonymous (susi-8888)]

Wow, I am impressed. So you are right, my wish would be completely covered (even exceeded) by Bug #171282 “Calculator in input fields” and also the reference to technical drawing is also covered by Bug #264174 in Inkscape: “Console to input commands and node coordinates”.

[su_v (suv-lp)]

Thank you for the feedback. Based on it I will link your report as duplicate to bug #171282 (please comment here and revert the duplicate status if you disagree). You could subscribe to bug #264174 if you are interested to get notifications about any related changes with regard to enhanced numeric input options for the path drawing and editing tools.