I agree new shapes should be added similar to Affinity for illustrators. Maybe they don't all need to be listed at one time by default? Maybe focus on most used per user and have it expandable towards the bottom? Something like a "touch area" that's at the bottom that calls the menu to expand to all its options (not a flyout). VS' defaults can focus on primary tools and have the others be available this way. 99.9% of the time I'm using 4-5 common shapes. Maybe that way the menu is user-expandable without getting in the way with the ability to make some options available (ie menu static)... Paintlerly programs have to handle large toolsets (ink pens, brushes, watercolor, etc) a special way to keep them easily accessible. CSP handles this by putting them behind basically giant palettes that can be tabbed: [image: 1778976079922-f8d6fb7e-6e6b-417e-9853-2c677476ddfc-image.png] I wouldn't advocate this is how it should be done, but certainly look at how other programs that require high workloads of customization for the user to work effectively to see how they handle that solution more gracefully... VS is so feature-rich, it's more or less self aware of its abilities the way that it is designed that it feels more like a raster art program the more I use it. Painterly programs are suites/all-in-ones in their own right that have to cater to all kinds workflows and still manage to help the user to keep decluttered... Coreldraw as an alternative handles it by hiding it in the Context Toolbar under the "Common Shapes" tool. Not the most ideal solution if wanting to encourage the function to be used, but it cuts down on the clutter: [image: 1778975867559-cb86c306-3f26-4adf-9436-c581538b3665-image.png] The detachable parameter bar reminds me of Clip Studio's "Selection Launcher": [image: 1778976413893-8fa940ad-2b18-4c5d-802a-e0bfa3653c8a-image.png] It can get in the way, but CSP is another example of a program that allows a lot of room for customization. As such, we are able to disable the selection marquee and the Selection Launcher as needed in the both the menus, the context toolbar, etc... and the launcher is even user-adjustable. Most of this is just food for thought. I know there have to be many other examples...

@encart said in Selecting multiple areas without excluding overlapping parts: then, if I want to exclude something, I click on a specific object/node. @encart do you ever issues trying to deselect an object in the middle of a bunch of selected objects? I find it easy to deselect an object that is near the edge of the selection and much harder to deselect on that is surrounded by selected objects behind and around it. The other issue I run into is knowing for sure if the selected object is actually selected/de-selected when its not obvious based on other factors

@vectorstyler Just following up on this. I recently checked a similar clone function in the Inkscape 1.4 app, and it works as expected. Not sure if the clone tool designed to work this way in VS. In Inkscape, cloning parent objects (using Option+D, similar to the VS clone command) only clones the selected parent object, not the child objects. If I want to identify the parent object among the clones, I can use the relevant command or option (Edit>Clone>Select Original in Inkscape, or Select>Object Options>Cloned Objects in VS). This action selects only the parent of those cloned objects, not all parent objects of other clones in the artboard, unlike in VS.

@macos The vertical text issue is identified, and the fix will be in the next build. The issue is with the new text engine. If you set the "Text Shaper" option in Paragraph Styles to "OpenType" and then in Character Options enable the "Automatic Vertical Roman" then it should work. BTW: you need to set the "Enable East-Asian Options" in Settings

@Subpath said in How to quickly copy halftone appearance to new shape?: i think the methode vectorstyler mentioned "save as preset works" best I agree that is currently the best option for getting what I was requesting. I think it's also a great solution long term if you know you're going to use it frequently or in other projects down the road. However, I also think @vectorstyler is right to add the basic copy/paste option for quick and easy one-time editing. Both options will have their due place in VS

Thanks it's work fine

expounding on my earlier answer - you replied, " @VectorStyler said in option for vector halftones to generate dots beyond the object boundary, then clip them to the object shape.: The halftone approximates the object color / intensity. But what intensity is is beyond the object boundary? This is hard to know, especially for images. I was thinking of it similarly to how gradients work. With a gradient, the control line and color stops can extend outside the visible object boundary. The user can define color/intensity behavior in an unseen area, and the object simply displays the clipped result inside its shape. Could halftones have a comparable “source area” or “generation area”? The object shape would remain the visible clipping boundary, but the halftone grid/intensity field could be generated from a larger editable area, similar to how a gradient line extends beyond the object. So instead of asking VectorStyler to guess intensity outside the object, the user would explicitly define it through the halftone source/generation area. Possible model: Object shape = visible clipping boundary Halftone source area = where the dot field/intensity is generated Dots are generated across that source area Final result is clipped to the object shape This would allow partial edge dots without requiring VectorStyler to infer unknown image data outside the object. For flat fills or uniform halftones, the outside intensity could simply continue the same value. For gradients, the existing gradient behavior could define the intensity beyond the visible object. For images, this could either be disabled or require a larger image/source area. Essentially, adding a halftone generation area separate from the visible clipping shape, similar to how gradient controls can extend outside an object while the final color remains clipped to the object. [image: 1778787437691-ef25cc6e-0311-4502-b3d9-dbf90fd5a9cf-cleanshot-2026-05-14-at-15.33.06.png]

@DreamS Yes I reported this bug during a prior version, so probably it was fixed by then. Very funky.

@VectorStyler Thanks!

@DreamS If the color is applied while nothing is selected then it is abug. Please send me a file to csraba at vectorstyler.com where this kind of issue occurs. Also: the screenshot is too small to see, but it would be good to know what other panels are open. You can save your workspace with the icon at the end of the context panel row, and send that to me also so I can replicate the full thing

said in Redrawing screen hide toolbars and then show them again: @VectorStyler In 017 it also does the same. For some reason 018 does it but not so often. I was believen it was fixed, but at last, it did it. I know you couldnt find the casus still, but anyway i believed was good to know.

@Harry Not sure yet, have to understand first what is the technique.

This issue is now resolved! Thank you @VectorStyler!

@VectorStyler No rush on this; please fix it whenever it's convenient. A crash only occurs in VectorStyler when all three conditions are met: Overprint is enabled, a Blend Mode is applied, and Overprint View is active.

I get the same issue with Affinity designer 2.0 and Affinity Studio When looking in clipboard at the svg of a rectangle copied from Affinity, then pasted in VS and copied to clipboard from VS, I can see a difference : Copied from Affinity : 992x525: <?xml version="1.0" encoding="UTF-8" standalone="no"?> <!DOCTYPE svg PUBLIC "-//W3C//DTD SVG 1.1//EN" "http://www.w3.org/Graphics/SVG/1.1/DTD/svg11.dtd"> <svg width="992px" height="595px" version="1.1" xmlns="http://www.w3.org/2000/svg" xmlns:xlink="http://www.w3.org/1999/xlink" xml:space="preserve" xmlns:serif="http://www.serif.com/" style="fill-rule:evenodd;clip-rule:evenodd;stroke-linejoin:round;stroke-miterlimit:2;"> <g transform="matrix(1,0,0,1,-384,-378)"> <g transform="matrix(1,0,0,1,-1176,-147)"> <rect x="1560" y="525" width="992" height="595" style="fill:rgb(235,235,235);"/> </g> </g> </svg> Copied from VS : 238x143 <?xml version="1.0" encoding="UTF-8" standalone="no" ?> <!DOCTYPE svg PUBLIC "-//W3C//DTD SVG 1.1//EN" "http://www.w3.org/Graphics/SVG/1.1/DTD/svg11.dtd"> <svg width="239" height="143" viewBox="0 0 239 143" version="1.1" xmlns="http://www.w3.org/2000/svg" xmlns:xlink="http://www.w3.org/1999/xlink" xml:space="preserve" xml:name="Untitled-1"> <defs/> <g transform="matrix(1.0 0.0 -0.0 -1.0 0.0 142.8) "> <path d="M396.1966 18.5092 L396.1966 161.3092 634.2766 161.3092 634.2766 18.5092 396.1966 18.5092 Z" transform="matrix(1.0 0.0 0.0 1.0 -396.19663361 -18.50924665) " fill="#EBEBEB" fill-rule="evenodd"/> </g> </svg>

@VectorStyler System: MacBook Pro M1 Pro, 16GB RAM, macOS Tahoe 26.3.1 (25D2128)

@Honor I also look forward to having such a feature.

@VectorStyler Thank you for looking into it, and helping me find a solution.

@VectorStyler 1.3.017 Thanks It finally cleared up the confusion I’ve been feeling for years.

Thank @VectorStyler! Right clicking for the new Pen Tools is now available in VS 1.3.017 and it's working perfectly!