Using Mouse to Delete Nodes

debraspicher

Is there a way to easily delete nodes that doesn't involve right click and selecting from the menu? In Corel, we can just double-click and it'll retain the line as much as it can. That's very helpful for node clean up.

Subpath

@debraspicher

Double click on a Node inserts a Node in the middle between
two Nodes in Vectorstyler.

Maybe the middle mouse button could be used for this ?
Then with one click

But i dont know how happy Mac user would be with a solution like this.

Define another Shortcut Key then the Back Key would be another Idea.
A gaming mouse with a few more buttons may be also a possible solution?

debraspicher

@Subpath I think Affinity uses Ctrl + click. Don't quote me as I barely use it now. Holding a modifier to achieve this would be fine.

It might even be better for users with drawing tablets that there's a modifier key because that way it's not calling for a double click as some people turn that off to avoid issues with line defects when speed drawing/painting.

Edit: I put my designs through a cutting machine sometimes so I have to clean up paths before I do this. Especially if they're Pencil-drawn lines. Almost always have to go back and tidy up things.

Boldline

@debraspicher Maybe I'm misunderstanding, but why not just use the delete key to erase the nodes? VS does a very good job of maintaining the path even after deletion of certain nodes

VectorStyler

@debraspicher said in Using Mouse to Delete Nodes:

Is there a way to easily delete nodes that doesn't involve right click and selecting from the menu?

Select the node and press Delete, this is the easiest way.

Subpath

@debraspicher

I cleaned up a lot of paths, in my previous job. CorelDRAW was one of
the best apps for me to preserve the shape of a path.

However, my workflow involved keeping one hand on the Delete key
and the other double-clicking the mouse to add a node wherever I
thought it best to maintain the shape.

I think VectorStyler also does a pretty good job.

Ingolf

@debraspicher said in Using Mouse to Delete Nodes:

Is there a way to easily delete nodes that doesn't involve right click and selecting from the menu? In Corel, we can just double-click and it'll retain the line as much as it can. That's very helpful for node clean up.

This could be a brilliant opt-in feature, perhaps tucked away -but not far away - in an toolbar or somewhere more central (no thanks). For those of us who deal with heavy "clean-up" workflows involving hundreds of nodes, the current click-then-delete routine literally doubles the effort. It forces you to switch between two tools (mouse and keyboard) or, even worse, navigate a context menu.

In terms of usability, you must distinguish between different types of user needs:

The Disciplined Designer: These users work with precision, creating objects in just a few steps. Their needs are often the "default" focus in UI design because the extra overhead of a few clicks is negligible when the total operation count is low.
The Complex Vector Artist: Then there are those working on highly intricate designs where the node and object count is massive. In this context, doubling the steps for a repetitive task effectively doubles the production time for that specific operation.

I’m not sure what the exact split is between these user types, but I believe this is worth considering as an opt-in toggle. CorelDRAW has a great implementation of this, and VectorStyler already possesses superior curve-preserving algorithms. Combining that kind of algorithmic power with a frictionless way to remove nodes would be the perfect feature partnership.

VectorStyler

@Ingolf said in Using Mouse to Delete Nodes:

This could be a brilliant opt-in feature, perhaps tucked away

Could be a settings?

Ingolf

@VectorStyler said in Using Mouse to Delete Nodes:

@Ingolf said in Using Mouse to Delete Nodes:

This could be a brilliant opt-in feature, perhaps tucked away
Could be a settings?

I would prefer it instantly available - not in main settings. I would personally enable/disable it on the go in the same documents depending on where in a workflow I am.

Sleep on it perhaps.