Overlap Scores inkscape extension

[evansd2]

I like a good challenge^[1], so here you go:

When you have overlapping shapes, it can be a tedious job to union the shapes and preserve the overlapping lines. I built an extension to do it for you. Here’s what it does.

It converts this:

to this:

I know most people are impatient, so here you go.

overlap_scores_v0.01b.zip (7.9 KB)

This is new beta stuff, and it may break. I’m only one person with one computer, you guys would be doing me a huge favor if you not only test it but also break it. If you do break it, please reply with the svg that broke it so that I can reproduce the issue and try to resolve it. Use undo to get the svg to the point where it is ready to break the extension, and save and send it along.

An excerpt from the README:

Overlap Scores Inkscape Extension

Too Long, Didn’t Read? (TL;DR):

This extension calculates overlap scores for paths in Inkscape, identifying intersections and adjusting path properties accordingly. It helps analyze and refine vector designs for laser cutting, CNC, and other precision applications.

To quickly use this Inkscape extension:

1. Copy both overlap_scores.py and overlap_scores.inx into your Inkscape “extensions” folder. This folder is typically located:

   • Linux: ~/.config/inkscape/extensions/ or /usr/share/inkscape/extensions/
   • Windows: %APPDATA%\Inkscape\extensions\ or C:\Program Files\Inkscape\share\extensions\
   • macOS: ~/Library/Application Support/org.inkscape.Inkscape/config/inkscape/extensions/ or /Applications/Inkscape.app/Contents/Resources/share/inkscape/extensions/

2. In Inkscape:

   • Select the paths to analyze.
   • Go to the “Extensions” menu.
   • Find “Generate from Path” and select “Overlap Scores”.

Done! The extension will calculate overlap scores and modify paths accordingly.

More examples:

And a stress test:

BTW, good guess:

Weld and Score in Cuttle

That is brilliant and something that should be added to Inkscape (and every other design program ). In fact it seems like something @evansd2 could do before the day is out

Took a bit more than a day to get to it, but here we are.

---

1. …and I hate subscription services. ↩︎

[eflyguy]

It’s under “Generate from Path” extension option, but works fine.

[evansd2]

Thanks, updated the post and README properly.

[chris1]

I knew where you were going with that […] the second I saw the title.

[bwente]

Are the overlap scores still editable?

[evansd2]

Yes. They’re paths, you can do what you like with them.

[bwente]

Cool. So, once you generate the paths, you can nudge them around and it updates.

Same with the text? You can live edit or change the font?

[evansd2]

@bwente

around

Oh no. It’s destructive and removes the original paths.

This is in keeping with the way inkscape works in general.

I usually save originals somewhere on the canvas or in an intermediate file if I think I’ll need to modify something like this later down the road.

The normal inkscape workflow.

[wenning08]

Very cool. Nice job

[timjedwards]

Fantastic, thanks for the great work! I’ll give it a whirl when I get a chance.

[rbtdanforth]

@evansd2

I usually save originals somewhere on the canvas or in an intermediate file if I think I’ll need to modify something like this later down the road.

I just make a copy and hide it. It will not show up unless un hidden.

[cynd11]

Just, wow!

[eflyguy]

As I progress thru a design, I typically just throw a duplicate of the whole thing outside the printable area before I make a major change or trying something I’ve not used before. Most of my designs are saved locally with a whole bunch of previous iterations around the outside, and I typically just copy the printable area contents to a new file and print from that.

[MakerMatthew]

Great add for the community! Thanks!!

[ellencadwell]

Thank you for all your hard work on making things easier for the rest of us. You’re very much appreciated.

[eflyguy]

Here’s a more complex one I just made, inspired by the original lettering example someone else had posted using cuttle.

[evansd2]

Looks like it worked properly?

[eflyguy]

Yup, no problems. Just sharing for reference.

[deirdrebeth]

So it’s been a bit, but I did manage to break this. Well, sort of. It didn’t fail, it just locked up. I let it stew for a good hour and it remained locked so I shut down the program.

It’s possible the plugin wasn’t expecting things that were completely inside, so this may be a bad usecase - but I wanted to give it a shot!

[evansd2]

Can you explain in a little more detail about what you’re doing?

This plug-in is supposed to preserve parts of shapes that are overlapping each other… This design looks like it’s not the original use case but I don’t really want it to lock up.