Offset Contour

The offset tool (O+F) grows or shrinks a selected contour by a given distance, or expands an open path into a slot. Select the entities that form a contour (or use double-click to select connected geometry), then press O+F, or use the Offset entry in the pie menu.

The dialog asks for the offset distance and shows a live preview of the result on the canvas while you type:

• Closed contours grow with a positive distance and shrink with a negative one. Offsetting past the point where the contour would collapse is refused.
• Open paths become a closed slot outline of the given width, with rounded end caps.

Offsetting replaces the selected contour with the result:

• Lone circles, arcs, and ellipses keep their entity type and are updated in place, so they remain editable and constrainable as before.
• Chains of connected segments (including beziers) are replaced by a polygon entity. The polygon is edited as a whole: drag its center point to move it and the handle point to rotate or uniformly scale it.

If the selection contains several disconnected contours, each one is offset independently in a single step.