GraphiteEditor/Graphite

Deleting (dissolving) a point should scale its adjacent handles to minimize curvature change

Open

#2651 opened on May 18, 2025

View on GitHub
 (4 comments) (0 reactions) (1 assignee)Rust (25,662 stars) (1,176 forks)batch import
Good First IssuePaper Cut

Description

Currently, using Delete to dissolve a selected point causes it to change shape:

Image

The default deletion mode for dissolving a point should aim to rescale the adjacent handles to best approximate the original curvature. See the algorithm described at https://math.stackexchange.com/a/879213/94039 which will hopefully work decently even in cases where an approximation of the original is required.

Contributor guide

Tech stack
rust
Domain
desktop
Issue type
feature
DifficultyEstimated implementation difficulty for a new contributor, from 1 for very small changes to 5 for expert-level work.
3
Estimated timeA rough time range for an experienced contributor to investigate, implement, test, and prepare a pull request.
half day
Activity statusHow available the issue appears right now: fresh, active, stale, blocked, or waiting on maintainer input.
blocked
ClarityHow clearly the issue explains the expected change, acceptance criteria, and next step.
mostly clear
Prerequisites
Vector mathBezier curves
Newbie friendlinessA 1-100 score estimating how approachable this issue is for first-time contributors.
40
Research direction
Examine the current dissolve point implementation in the vector editing module. Implement the curvature approximation algorithm from the linked math.stackexchange post, adjusting adjacent control point handles. Test with various path shapes to ensure minimal curvature change.