How to connect two open line shapes?

[Jennifer]

How can I connect two open line shapes to form one closed shape?

I made a fairly complicated closed line shape by tracing the outline of a penguin. But I was not happy with the feet. I found another image of a penguin with better feet. I made an open line shape of just one foot. I was able to open up the closed penguin shape using the Trim operation as discussed in thread 1321. So now I have my new foot and I have my penguin with an opening where the foot is to go, but I can't figure out how to connect the two shapes to form a new closed shape.

I tried the Union operation, but both shapes disappeared. (?)

I tried the Join operation. It sorta worked. I experimented with simpler shapes first. Using the line tool, I created 2 3-sided rectangles facing each other.

  +---   ---+
   |            |
  +---   ---+

I then moved one so that the end points matched up. The Join operation joined them into a single closed line shape.

I then repeated the operation but this time when I moved them together, I left a tiny gap so that the end points did not quite match up. The Join operation still combined the two shapes, but did not make a closed shape.

I then experimented with my penguin feet and was never able to get a closed shape. With rectangles, it's fairly easy to get perfect alignment. With irregular shapes, nearly impossible.

So, I have 2 questions:

1. Is there an easy way to get the end points to align perfectly regardless of the shape?

2. Is there a way to draw a line from one open line shape to another so that they become one combined open loine shape?

[Jumpy]

Just an idea. You bring your two shapes together so they nearly match.
In the tiny still existing gab you place a line.
In the Size and position window you place x/y coords of the begin and end of the line at the desired value to fill the gab.
Last you join the whole things.

[Jennifer]

That should actually work. It's a clever solution that I would never have come up with.

Surely there is an easier way.

[wapperdude]

Not clear if both shapes are open or closed.
Can you close the shapes?
    a.)  Go to the tools tab, snap and glue, and just select shape vertices for snapping. 
    b.)  Then use the pencil tool to connect the line ends to close the shape.
    c.)  Now Union will work on two closed shapes to form one.

Or,
    a.)  align the shapes as you desire
    b.)  make a continuous, closed trace over these shapes.  This will manually form a composite, closed shape.
    c.)  If you want to preserve the "artistic", disconnected lines of the original shapes, then move the new shape to the back, turn off it's lines, and group everything.  The composite shape wouldn't even have to be accurate, it's just providing some fill.

HTH
Wapperdude
       
 

[Jennifer]

Both shapes are open.

The key was setting the snap and glue to "vertices". Then it doesn't seem to matter what tool I use including the regular selection tool. Once the vertices are glued, Join will make them a single shape.

There was one little glitch that I could not decipher. When I made the final connection that closed the shape, the fill would appear indicating that I had a closed shape. But if I clicked on the last vertex to be connected so that it turned red, dragging it would break the shape open again. It seems that that last connection is not "finalized". However, if I select some other vertex and move it just a little, then that final connection is not longer un-final. Weird.

Anyway, thabks for the pointers. I can now make it work.