Not only is it useful, I use it all the time because it is so easy to use, easy to remember is there and often I have the pointer next to it anyway thinking I have blank pages available and want to jump to them, but no, this is the last page - and then it is a no brainer to press the same next button to add the page or pages. It is a workflow smoother.

@EricP Those curves was just an example to illustrate the Problem with " Center Line ". Alchemy is a writen in Java, maybe this cause Problems on your Mac. No Problem on PC here even the App is old. Yes, its a very unique little App. You could take a search on youtube btw. . . Vector graphics could be exported .SVG or as .PDF non of them export "Boids" as simple Paths. Export as .PDF is sometimes a better option to keep some colored results. . . I dont see tracing as an solution. Editing the code is also out of reach. To simple split the Alchemy Result and use the " center line " effect on both sides seems the easiest solution to me. But i will look for alternative ways. . . Why i want a Path ? I like to experiment and do not have a clear goal all of the time. I just take on step after another. My next Step is just how to get a path out of that Alchemy results. While the Boids are a bit random, i love the tangled curved results and thought it would be nice to have this as simple Paths. Of course there are cases where i could use just the Alchemy Result direct. But having that Result as paths offers further procession options in many ways. Of course also in other Apps too.

@ZATOPEK a couple things to consider when comparing noise effects : Affinity adds a white noise on a pixel basis (each pixel value seem independent of its neighbours), it is not a grain effect or 2D noise where neighboring pixels would have correlated values. document size in pixel will influence greatly the size of the noise "particles". A smaller document will have bigger noise particle size in relation to vector shape, than the same noise applied to the same shape on a higher resolution document Affinity rendering engine is very well optimized for fast rendering of multiple layers and uses dynamic image resampling based on display zoom. So, relative noise size will change as you zoom in and out. This can confuse you in thinking you have large noise grains at low zoom settings. But when you zoom in, you see the noise gets smaller and smaller same goes for exporting. If you export at low resolution, you will get large noise grains. If you export at higher resolution, you will get smaller noise grains. Noise grains are one pixel always a way to get a more accurate view in both AD and VS is to switch from vector to pixel view mode. You will avoid the display oversampling at high zoom settings. AD's noise in color chooser is smart and very easy to use, but it lacks configurability. On the other hand VS White Noise image effect is less immediate, but offers much more configurability (experiment with different noise types - random parameter, limit, amount, blend type ...) and you can get all sorts of variations. On SVG export, both AD and VS need to rasterize the noise into a clipping mask as noise is not a standard SVG attribute. [image: 1774688327207-scr-20260328-iyhh-resized.png]

@Ridgehammer There is some issue with the environment (settings or workspace). Try restoring to defaults.

@VectorStyler Thank you for taking a look at it, I'll get back to you.

To make the idea clearer, I’ve put together a visual overview that highlights the key behaviors and interactions of the tool. This idea comes from observation rather than direct experience, so there might be some flaws in the logic, but I believe a similar behavior could still be worth considering. The idea was also influenced by VectorStyler’s strong snapping system it made me wonder whether a form of tangent locking could exist within a similar logic. [image: 1774530197045-vectorstyler-feature-idea....png]

@marce said in Just a Pattern: @Subpath "Forum says "you can upvote a user only six times per day", Very curious, didn't know that. But dont worry, if my post inspire people or are helpful then this is fine enough

@VectorStyler Intelligent Line to Curve Conversion I will add this to the backlog. Can you send me a few before / after examples for this? Here is a short GIF showing the behavior. It allows moving straight segments without creating curves, preventing accidental distortion. Curves are only introduced intentionally using Alt. This behavior is currently possible by selecting multiple nodes, but the goal here is to allow direct segment selection and manipulation with a single click. Especially when shapes overlap, selecting the correct nodes can be difficult. With this behavior, you can directly select the segment and make adjustments more easily. https://imgur.com/a/hfikSNx

@VectorStyler Thank you. I appreciate it. It works, 'saving' and 'save-as'.

@Clippy-notes thank you for this great tutorial. Halftone feature is so deep, there is no end to what you can you do with it. I liked your stippling setup I will try to replicate

@Raaskot said in How do I drag a straight segment without bending it?: @VectorStyler Just to confirm: Is there no VS-tool (other that A or V + modifier), where you click a segment and the select the adjecent nodes and hence do the operation? No such feature. You have to select the nodes

@VectorStyler I will try

@EricP the tutorial is posted

@Clippy-notes ... quickly set the stroke color using a simple Alt-click directly from the color palette .... didnt know that But you could also just use the right Mouse Button to do that, there is no need to press an addional key. Left Mouse Button for fill color. Right Mouse Button for Stroke color