Setting Opacity Numerically on a Table ... how?

[Folbo]

hi.

I am working with table styles today ... but I am having difficulty with the opacity setting ... I can drag but neither see nor set the value numerically.

When I look at the main Colour panel, I can see a number ... what am I doing wrong today?!

This is what I would like to see when setting table colours:

 

Thanks.

 

BTW. I have tried creating odd/even swatches ... that should allow consistency in the table rows ... except that the swatches only appear to have noise and no transparency. I will not begin to understand that one ... I presume that it is by design ...

[Folbo]

... and as an aside ... I have selected more than one cell format for editing ... but the changes only seem to a apply to one format ... is that as expected? I would like both of my odd row formats to have the same colour settings (whatever they may be!) ... and the same  with the even.

[GarryP]

I’ve attached a sample table that uses both Opacity and Noise via Global Colours. Maybe you can use it to figure out what’s happening (or not) with yours.

As for setting the Opacity level to a numerical value, why do you need to be so specific with a particular numerical value?

Table Formatting with Opacity and Noise.afpub

[carl123]

3 hours ago, Folbo said:

I am working with table styles today ... but I am having difficulty with the opacity setting ... I can drag but neither see nor set the value numerically.

When I look at the main Colour panel, I can see a number ... what am I doing wrong today?!

You are doing nothing wrong, that particular colour tab does not have the percentage scale on it. If you wish to determine what percentage was set on a previous table or to set a precise percentage amount you can also display the main Colour Panel, simultaneously, which will tell you the percentage information (on that panel) and it will change its value as you change it in the Table Format panel.

If you wish to see the percentage value directly in the Table Formats panel you may wish to consider adding a feature request for it in the Feature Requests forum

[Folbo]

On 4/21/2020 at 12:59 PM, GarryP said:

I’ve attached a sample table that uses both Opacity and Noise via Global Colours. Maybe you can use it to figure out what’s happening (or not) with yours.

As for setting the Opacity level to a numerical value, why do you need to be so specific with a particular numerical value?

Table Formatting with Opacity and Noise.afpub 410.18 kB · 0 downloads

I need to be specific because each row has (in this case) two cell formats ... effectively two different text set-ups ... but I want the background colours of the text to be consistent across a row. Since I can multi-select Cell-formats but cannot then change them (!) then I will have to edit them separately. No matter what I do there is always seemingly a slight difference in the transparency levels of two adjacent cells if set by dragging.

 

FWIW .. my workflows tend to work with pixels colours and numbers across elements. I would always be happier with numbers rather than sliders ...

[Folbo]

23 hours ago, carl123 said:

You are doing nothing wrong, that particular colour tab does not have the percentage scale on it. If you wish to determine what percentage was set on a previous table or to set a precise percentage amount you can also display the main Colour Panel, simultaneously, which will tell you the percentage information (on that panel) and it will change its value as you change it in the Table Format panel.

If you wish to see the percentage value directly in the Table Formats panel you may wish to consider adding a feature request for it in the Feature Requests forum

Hi Carl.

Thanks for the suggestion ... I am either looking in the wrong place, or the main colour panel (RHS below) does not show the same value as the cell format fill panel.

[carl123]

Yes, as long as you have at least one cell on the  table selected it seems to work for me.

 

[Folbo]

Hmmm ... Windows or Mac?

I am using Mac.

[carl123]

I'm on Windows, you may have to wait for another user on a MAC to come along and see if they can do it or not

[thomaso]

On mac it's like this:
– text panel and table panel show the fill color accordingly.
– table cell fill colors transparency shows accordingly in the colors panel, whereas the fill preview rectangle within table panel does not show the transparency at all, while colors panel does.

[Folbo]

Thanks thomaso ... that got me thinking ...  I thought I would try to re-create your example ...

My problem is that I could not link the 'Table' Stroke and Fill colours to the 'Main' colour panel the numeric opacities ... which is possibly why the opacity settings are not linked.

Clicking on or in the table's cell (in the main document) does not seem to change my colours panel ... How do I click on the documents table cell and see the Stroke and Fill colour in the Main colours panel?

As I click on the different table cells, Stroke and fill in the Table panel changes correctly ... it is changing the Main colour panel that has me stumped .. they do not seem to be linked ... and yet that is where the numeric transparency resides.

 

Thanks.

<edit: Have image ... but cannot upload error:  -200>

[thomaso]

Folbo, currently I am a bit lost because I can't recreate your description. Do I understand right, that
1.) the color previews are shown synchronous in both TablePanel > Fill & Stroke > preview rectangle AND main Colour Panel > preview ellipse?
2.) in the same situation these panels show different slider positions for Opacity?

If yes, which Opacity slider shows correct? (set both sliders quite different to get aware of the "truth")

58 minutes ago, Folbo said:

<edit: Have image ... but cannot upload error:  -200>

That's an issue in the forums software. I am most often successful to avoid this error by a.) not using drag&drop but click on "choose files..." instead and/or  b.) creating an image larger than 200 px.

Also it would be interesting to see a screencast, starting when you select first the table and then its cells. Could you take such a video, e.g. with Quicktime.app?

(uploading a video always needs "choose files..." to me, with drag&drop the upload process freezes and the post can't get finished, then I quit the post by reloading the browser window. it remembers my written text when re-activating the field)