Welcome to TalkGraphics.com
Page 1 of 2 12 LastLast
Results 1 to 10 of 19
  1. #1
    Join Date
    Sep 2006
    Posts
    6

    Question Drawing line with rounded corners?

    Another one of my "is it possible with Xara X" questions:

    how can I draw a continuous line that has rounded corners (see the picture attached). This is something really easily done in Visio and I am missing this capability in Xara. I just can't find how to do it short of creating a bunch of rectangles, round their corners and then chop them up.
    Anyone has a better idea about the rounded corners?

    Thanks for any idea or comment!

    Cheers,

    D~
    Attached Thumbnails Attached Thumbnails Click image for larger version. 

Name:	rounded_corners.png 
Views:	1216 
Size:	2.9 KB 
ID:	29964  

  2. #2
    Join Date
    Dec 2000
    Location
    Hautes Pyrénées, France
    Posts
    5,083

    Default Re: Drawing line with rounded corners?

    Unfortunately that's one of the things I have always wished Xara, in its various guises, has been able to do, but that, along with decent wrapping of text around an object, has never been seen as a priority.
    If someone tried to make me dig my own grave I would say No.
    They're going to kill me anyway and I'd love to die the way I lived:
    Avoiding Manual Labour.

  3. #3
    Join Date
    Dec 2005
    Location
    Greenfield, WI USA
    Posts
    3,444

    Default Re: Drawing line with rounded corners?

    Hmmmm, I was just playing with this. You have forced me to get to know better a tool that I hardly ever use, the Pen Tool. With this tool it is quite easy to do what you would like, it just takes a little practice. Make two points to make the starting line, then the third point on the side you will be going to. Before letting go of the mouse button, push or pull that new node and you will see your curve take form.
    Attached Thumbnails Attached Thumbnails Click image for larger version. 

Name:	_Image1.jpg 
Views:	938 
Size:	3.6 KB 
ID:	29965  
    -=Bob=-

  4. #4
    Join Date
    Sep 2000
    Location
    Bracknell, UK
    Posts
    8,659

    Default Re: Drawing line with rounded corners?

    It's a bit fiddly, but you can do it this way using the shape editor tool..
    Attached Thumbnails Attached Thumbnails Click image for larger version. 

Name:	diag.jpg 
Views:	1042 
Size:	38.2 KB 
ID:	29966  

  5. #5
    Join Date
    Sep 2006
    Posts
    6

    Default Re: Drawing line with rounded corners?

    Thank you for your replies, guys.

    I should try the proposed approaches. The only problem I still see is that the lines will look hand-drawn, and I want them to look perfect because the rounded corner lines are going to be used in technical drawings/diagrams. So I am looking for something that is rounded by the program itself with an eye on the consistency in the radii etc. I guess, if this feature is missing, this would be the first one I would propose to add in the future releases.

    Does Xara have an official feature wish list?

    Thanks again.

  6. #6
    Join Date
    Aug 2000
    Location
    Harwich, Essex, England
    Posts
    21,895

    Default Re: Drawing line with rounded corners?

    Another way.

    Set the grid to 30 pix.

    Show Grid

    Snap to grid.

    Using the shape editor tool set to line and smooth joins :-

    Draw your shape as the top version.

    Now drag select over every 2 nodes you want rounded.

    Hit the "Make Curve C" (highlighted) for each curve you require.
    Attached Thumbnails Attached Thumbnails Click image for larger version. 

Name:	!1.gif 
Views:	941 
Size:	12.8 KB 
ID:	29969  
    Egg

    Intel i7 - 4790K Quad Core + 16 GB Ram + NVIDIA Geforce GTX 1660 Graphics Card + MSI Optix Mag321 Curv monitor
    + Samsung 970 EVO Plus 500GB SSD + 232 GB SSD + 250 GB SSD portable drive + ISP = BT + Web Hosting = TSO Host

  7. #7
    Join Date
    Jul 2006
    Location
    U.K.
    Posts
    2,735

    Default Re: Drawing line with rounded corners?

    This you may find useful when using the shape editor tool.

    When pulling the red handle thingoe, if you hold down the ctrl key while doing so, you can constrain it to 100% horizontal/vertical.

    So if you do this with both handles on a curve and put one exactly (zoom right in for 100% accuracy) on top of the other you will have a perfect curve on your corner.

    Not a good explanation, so see attached image which should simplify things.

    P.S. You can also use this method to get your curves right after re-sizing a rectangle with curved corners.
    Attached Thumbnails Attached Thumbnails Click image for larger version. 

Name:	radii.png 
Views:	942 
Size:	37.0 KB 
ID:	29970  
    Last edited by Intbel; 25 September 2006 at 02:49 AM. Reason: Postscript added
    "Intbel" ... "Can't" is not an option.

    Compliance is futile. Resistance is futile. Just do your own thing an' ignore 'em.

  8. #8
    Join Date
    May 2006
    Location
    Dallas, TX
    Posts
    1,127

    Default Re: Drawing line with rounded corners?

    Quote Originally Posted by scriptster View Post
    ...The only problem I still see is that the lines will look hand-drawn, and I want them to look perfect because the rounded corner lines are going to be used in technical drawings/diagrams...
    Paul's method, with an addendum, will give you what you want. It isn't as good as Visio's approach, but it is still quite doable.

    Create a circle with the radius you desire, and use that as a template. Make that circle have a transparent center, and give it a thin outside thickness. Place the circle tangent to both lines. Then select the original line, and using the shape editor tool, create the new nodes, delete the center node, and drag the center of the new connecting line until it overlaps the arc of the circle.

    Then drag the circle to the next intersection, and repeat. It will look machine-done in the end.

    David

    ps - when moving the circle, you can use the 'Alt' key and the arrow keys, to move the circle in very small increments, which makes final placement of the circle pretty easy.
    Attached Thumbnails Attached Thumbnails Click image for larger version. 

Name:	ArcCreation.jpg 
Views:	911 
Size:	34.2 KB 
ID:	29971  
    Last edited by David O'Neil; 25 September 2006 at 03:21 AM.

  9. #9
    Join Date
    Dec 2000
    Location
    Hautes Pyrénées, France
    Posts
    5,083

    Default Re: Drawing line with rounded corners?

    Quote Originally Posted by David O'Neil View Post
    It isn't as good as Visio's approach, but it is still quite doable.
    And that's the problem with all these methods, they're workarounds, some of them more Heath Robinson that others, but none of them easy for somebody who needs this automated because of the number of lines and corners. I don't understand why, when we have been able to auto-round off box corners, we cannot have a tool that does this for a line. Other than it's not a priority.

    I sometimes do wiring diagrams and flow charts and this limitation in Xara frustrates the heck out of me. Visio is an expensive app with a fairly specialised and narrow feature set. Xara could really nab some of its customer base by including the ability to draw lines with all corners the same radius (customisable as with the rectangle tool) and then include a bunch of galleries of common symbols for line drawings.

    IMHO
    If someone tried to make me dig my own grave I would say No.
    They're going to kill me anyway and I'd love to die the way I lived:
    Avoiding Manual Labour.

  10. #10
    Join Date
    Sep 2000
    Location
    Bracknell, UK
    Posts
    8,659

    Default Re: Drawing line with rounded corners?

    Quote Originally Posted by Big Frank View Post
    I don't understand why, when we have been able to auto-round off box corners, we cannot have a tool that does this for a line. Other than it's not a priority.
    I agree with your comment completely. Xara is a great tool, but it's also one of the most frustrating tools because of it's glaring feature holes.

    I'm not going to even mention nested layers.. ..oops, I did!

    ;-)

    Come on Xara, pull that finger out.. (and don't dare suggest that if we want it so much we should write it in ourselves..)

    Paul

 

 

Tags for this Thread

Bookmarks

Posting Permissions

  • You may not post new threads
  • You may not post replies
  • You may not post attachments
  • You may not edit your posts
  •