Gear maker

Oops, didn't know that.

I was just reading a forum entry asking "Does Affinity Offer an On-screen Ruler?" In it there is a mention of an app called PixelStick. I went out to the PixelStick website: https://plumamazing.com/product/pixelstick/, did some reading and I've got to admit the possibilities were exciting. FYI I have no connection to Plum Amazing or PixelStick other than I have just purchased it. This app is so cool and it only costs $7. It does so many things that AD/AP still do not have the tools to accomplish. The really great feature is that it will sit on top of all other apps so even when using AD/AP it is visible. Though it can be hidden when desired. -It can be custom scaled using the ruler in AD/AP then be used to measure the distance between any two points at any angle. Likewise any known object size can also be used to calibrate. Of course if the zoom or document dimensions in AD/AP are changed it needs to be recalibrated, which only takes a half minute. Calibrations can be stored so they can be reused say at 100%, 150%, 200% etc. If only it could sense the zoom itself... -Because it's always shown I can set it for a distance then use it to show where I need to place an object or node. About the only real negative I have found is a node can not be placed on any of the 3 ticks, so they have to be placed close and then moved to be under the tick. Easy to do. -When moving endpoints a loupe shows an enlargement for more accurate tick placement. -Each end tick is shown in the center of a circle so planting the tick in the center of a circle is easy. This allows measurements of distance from the center to anything else. -It displays the tangents for a circle at any angle. -It displays perpendiculars for any angle. -It displays the center point and points twice as wide. -It measures any angle. Plus because it is visible on top AD any angle shown is easy to copy. -It allows a baseline angle to be set and any angle can be measured or drawn with respect to this baseline. -It counts the number of screen pixels anywhere on the screen. Not much use in AD, but possibly handy for AP. -It works on any app currently displayed on the screen. -It has other functions like a screen grab and a color reader. -Pressing an opt H toggles it's visibility. -Angles can be locked so they don't get changed when changing distances or moving. -Distances can be locked so they don't change when changing angles. There's probably another couple dozen functions it can be used for that I just haven't found in the couple hours I have been playing. I recommend you take a look to see if it will help you. There is a free download to try it out. Mike

Ah, Alfred you may be right now that I reread the topic. Mea culpa, first time today!

ralphonz, the default AD requires a shift key to maintain constraints on certain types of objects and no shift key for others. I found this very confusing. I was always playing to figure out what type of rules there were for the object I was working on. But then they added in the Preferences > Tools the option to have everything constrained by default, everything NOT constrained by default or the automatic method which is the default. I now keep it so everything is not constrained if I don't have the shift key down.

Olumin4tor, another way is to in node tool: 1. Make sure there is a node where you want the line to start and stop 2. Insert a node between the nodes you want to be ends 3. With that new node selected press the "Break curve" Action icon 4. Drag a selection around the node you had added (because it's actually 2 nodes on top of each other after the break being done) 5. Press delete

morbandit, I so totally agree with you. I usually construct my drawing mostly from the top down, meaning I tend to draw a lot of the detail first then the background and that makes the layer's order be from the bottom up. So I keep having to drag the detail on top of what I just created to keep it visible. It's easier to drag and reorder 20 layers then it is to hit the toolbar icon before constructing each of 20 shapes. What I have gotten in the habit of doing is to work with my current layer invisible until the shape is what I want. Then drag it below the detail and turn the visibility back on to make adjustments and work with the color. It should be that if the Insert behind selection is clicked once it works for one entry, but if it's double clicked it stays selected until cancelled. Mike

It's the "Bake Corners" button in english. And yes it is nonreversible. Too bad the corner button doesn't have a scale with object option.

Raslolnikov, do you know of the cmd opt [ and the cmd opt ] key strokes. These move through the layers in the layer panel. But only within the group at the level of the original layer. Actually am I remembering reading in the forum that some counties keyboards do not have the [ or ] keys. Then these would have to be reassigned. I also wish the nudge distances were easier to change. In AP moving one or 10 pixels makes sense. But in AD it's so arbitrary, how much is a pixel in AD, that I would love to frequently change it. Going into preferences is a hassle.

That is truly amazing. I have tried off and on for a few years to draw a face that does not look like a cartoon. Each time I give up. Anything half as good as what you've done would have thrilled me. You have a very good eye to pick out the nuances between vector elements. Outstanding work. Congratulations on the arrival of Vesper. May your life experiences with him be even more amazing.

Oh that makes sense. I should have figured that out. Duh. Thanks.

It did kind of sound like that. But what I had been referring to was another corner tool issue that came up recently about it failing when the number of corners was over 4 or 5. Thanks for passing this on. Mike

There is still a problem with the corner tool. When a corner type is selected it stays highlighted only while the mouse button is down. Going back to None as soon as the button is released. Then as soon as the radius is changed the corner type for Rounded becomes highlighted, even if another type was selected. Then after the radius is changed the type can be changed to whatever is desired.

I have a rectangle with a stroke aligned to the inside of a rectangle. I wanted another rectangle that went from the edge of the stroke to the edge of the stroke. Seeing as snapping doesn't detect the inside of the stroke I zoomed in. But as I changed the zoom the width of the stroke kept changing as seen below. Of course there are ways to get around this problem. But it does show that there is a problem. Using beta 8 on a mac running Sierra.

Sean, I forgot to ask. I assume this statement is pertaining to my question about when Expand Stroke is used that in this case a copy is automatically made of the original, but other times no copy has been made. Is that correct? If I need a copy of the original of whatever shape being expanded I would assume one will not automatically be made and make a copy myself. Or is there some way to know if the current shape is complex enough to get an automatic copy so that I could skip making a manually generated copy? Otherwise I'd have to continue making a manual copy, then deleting one if an automatic copy is made.

Thanks Sean, FYI I'm still getting the time out doing it this way. So I'll use the expand stroke or even better I'll save a second circle with the same center or I can turn on the show rotation center and zoom in on it. At least now I know what's causing it.