GNOME Bugzilla – Bug 157522
Polygonal selection tool
Last modified: 2004-12-22 21:47:04 UTC
Provide a polygonal lasso tool to replace the need to create a path and then stroke it. The tool would work by creating polygonal selections: the user clicks a series of points to create the polygon. When the user click in point that is 2-3 pixels distant from the first point, the polygon is closed. The polygon will use straight lines only, no curves. The tool can be a separate tool altogether and/or an option inside the "free select" tool. If implemented as an option, a modifier button should exist, so that the user can start drawing a free selection and by holding this button continue to draw the selection with straight lines. To see such a feature you can check the lasso tool in Photoshop and hold the ALT key while drawing. On a side note, I find it strange that despite its different name, the icon for the free-select tool shows a lasso.
If your goal is to create a stroke, then I don't see why you want to create a selection. Stroking a path gives much better results and the path tool has a polygon mode already. What would be the advantage of this tool? I vote for closing as WONTFIX since this enhancement is completely contrary to our goals of improving the vectors tool and to move to vector selections whereever possible.
*** This bug has been marked as a duplicate of 119646 ***
I'm sorry, I've made a mistake in writing the enhancement proposal- what I meant was that this tool would eliminate the need to create a path and convert to a selection. The common usage I had in mind was that of trying to select a non-square selection. Often when working on an image you need to create fast selections that do not have to be very accurate. This is what the free select tool is for, but the problem is that a free selection tool is hard to use for most people: even when you are very good with a mouse or tablet, controlling it is not that easy. I'm a graphic artist working full time and I know from personal experience that a polygonal lasso tool is more convenient than a free selection tool for that kind of operation, which is very common when working on graphics on a day-to day basis. In fact, I hardly use a free selection at all. I do use paths of course, but only when I need greater precision , or I want to have a modifiable selection, or when the selection is very complex. From a usability point of view, there is no need to force the user to use a path, then convert to a selection, then delete the path, for *every* selection operation. This creates more work for the artist in what is a *very* common operation. If it is important to keep this functionality within the path tool, I suggest as an alternative to add a mode to the path in which, once you close the path, it is automatically converted to a selection and the path itself is deleted.
Please don't add comments to a bug that is marked as duplicate.