Feature Request: Add support for straight lines

[pauliux00]

Currently in paint.net there is no way to adjust a line to keep it straight. Let me explain with a short use-case.

 

Let's say I want to draw a ladder, I've got some parts done, what's left is just one straight line:

Then, I add it:

But—I've overshot it—oh no!

So I zoom in to see exactly where I need to put it:

Aha! Fixed! But wait—

The line is not straight anymore!

 

What I expect to make is:

But currently, (let's say on wide (or any other) image files, where you cannot accurately place both start and end points) there is no possibility to adjust straight line start and end points.

 

If I'm not mistaken, this was supported a while (8-15 years) ago, but recently it's gone. It's so strange that there is currently no possibility to do this.

I don't know how it could work, but the simplest (personally intuitive) solution would have straight lines as an option in the line tool.

Another solution would be to hold a button (alt? shift? ctrl?) while dragging one of the two endpoints, but this would be hard to discover and hidden.

 

Maybe I'm missing something? Maybe there's currently a way to adjust straight lines, but I'm unaware of it?

Edited February 18, 2022 by pauliux00

[pauliux00]

Also discussions here:

 

Edited February 18, 2022 by pauliux00
Add other discussions

[Peter1]

2 hours ago, pauliux00 said:

Maybe I'm missing something? Maybe there's currently a way to adjust straight lines, but I'm unaware of it?

 

 

recently I needed a straight line. I drafted a rectangle, adjusting TL and TR to where I had to go (rotation, drag, move), and made its width small. Another way is to erase three sides of it, but the smally variant is possible, and better.

[ardneh]

If the line is on its own layer it can be easily trimmed with the Eraser tool or Selection / Delete.

[Rick Brewster]

 

This is pretty much what I'd do. I originally planned to have this in the 4.0 release but just ran out of time/energy (it was already a 5 year project). The complexity, iirc, came when you switched between the line vs. curve formats. Where do the nubs go when switching to a curve, modifying the handles, then back to line, modifying it, then back to curve? I just didn't have the runway to deal with that at the time.

 

I do have an issue to track this for the 4.4.x series of releases.

[pauliux00]

1 hour ago, Rick Brewster said:

I do have an issue to track this for the 4.4.x series of releases.

 

Aha, I see, then, I wish the best of luck on the implementation! Can't wait for this feature 😀

Thanks!

[Peter1]

18 hours ago, ardneh said:

If the line is on its own layer it can be easily trimmed with the Eraser tool or Selection / Delete.

if one has enough time to do it pixelwise, and there is the fight against anti-aliasing....

 My rectangles are on that layer (own) already

[Peter1]

On 2/18/2022 at 4:46 PM, Rick Brewster said:

 

This is pretty much what I'd do. I originally planned to have this in the 4.0 release but just ran out of time/energy (it was already a 5 year project). The complexity, iirc, came when you switched between the line vs. curve formats. Where do the nubs go when switching to a curve, modifying the handles, then back to line, modifying it, then back to curve?

 

The middle nubs go to the straight line and stay there at the thirds, and remain internally moved at the thirds, when switching to the straight line, and go grey, or disappear. When switching from a straight line to a curve, the middle nubs stay, go black, become freely movable, or appear at the thirds. When Undoing in the history, it is Undo. Internal Disappear and Appear is less preferable (not really an option), from a programmers point of view, than internally fixed, versus free move. Visible Disappear and Appear is an option, of course, instead of going grey.

 

When just one single middle Nub is clicked (perhaps dragged) with some Modifier key (shift), it goes back to the straight line between the two end points (to fix a misplaced middle nub to a well known place). The end points do stay anyway, don't they? When an end point is dragged with a modifier key (shift), the aligment concerns the end points, this endpoint related to the other. It is interface handling (except fixing middle nubs at the thirds, this is new), and not drawing algorithm. Would that sound sane?

 

When we are in the rotate zone (or right drag to rotate), it is rotate. The rotate anchor is initially in the middle. (the rotate anchor is new, as the rotate zone). There could even be a selection rectangle around the Line/Curve while it is in the drawing layer. (Or a modifier for proportional stretching.) That would be new too, but not completely.

Edited February 21, 2022 by Peter1
right mouse button drag is already rotate

[pauliux00]

Issue still persists on paint.net 5.0 (β 5.0.8395.39754). There's a possibility to draw 3 straight lines with the new tool, but what if you want a straight line from A to B? what if you do a small correction on point B? The line becomes not a line A->B, but two lines A->C->B! Or even three if you do a small correction on A!