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1.8.3.2 'add' causes negative space fill-in and other feedback


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First, I hope I'm not reporting an exact issue someone else has already reported. I didn't see this specifically so here we go. When using 'add' to weld letters together in the latest beta, the negative spaces visually disappear. I say visually because the shapes are still there, they just show as filled in (example attached). The only way I could resolve it was: convert lettering to curves, ungroup, 'divide' any letters with negative spaces, weld the outer shapes together, then use the neg space shapes to 'subtract' from the welded shape.

Second, if I bring in a drawing that has several vector objects and I need to selectively delete many of them - as soon as I delete an object, another object is selected automatically. A minor thing but a bit annoying.

Third, I have to say this beta is working way WAY better than the purchased version for me. Granted, I haven't left it open for a day then come back to it, but things that have been causing me headaches with the purchased version are working flawlessly in this beta. Example, welding together hundreds or thousands of small vector shapes (like a distress pattern) and using that same pattern to 'subtract' from another object, flawless so far; no machine lock-ups! Or 'dividing' a very complex vector object but then having to re-combine for some reason? Yes!! It's working. I also tried the same drawing that last night locked up my machine in the purchased version; zero issues going thru the very same steps. I will report back if I find other oddities. Thanks guys!

letter add test.png

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Rats!! False hope alarm. I worked probably an hour on the aforementioned drawing in beta. I could tell something was up because  it suddenly started to lag, then it locked up the system. Can't say there's a good way to replicate the issue. Was just working with copy which had been converted to curves: ungrouping, regrouping, condensing, stretching, positioning, zooming in/out with mouse wheel, moving around the drawing with hand tool, editing nodes, etc. It's like it just got tired. Now when I open the same drawing it is instantly sluggish.

Additionally, there are still issues with 'add'. New screen of examples attached using a different set of lettering. This copy had been converted to curves. 'Add' also did not work correctly with copy left as editable. On the second example I had only ungrouped the lettering before trying to weld it together. On the third example I had ungrouped all and divided each letter so that the neg spaces were no longer part of the outer shapes.

Screen Shot 2020-05-21 at 2.00.41 PM.png

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What I downloaded from Affinity Forum is 1.8.3.2 and labeled Beta. I just checked App Store and there is an update available called 1.8.3. Is that the same? Sorry, I was unaware there was an official publicly released update. Will download and see if things work any better.

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No, the beta could be 1.8.3.900 but the retail version still will be 1.8.3 (probably it's actually a .900+ build which they simply don't disclose in the 'About…' section). If there's a beta version which solves some issues in the retail version while it's also safe to use it, Serif will indicate it. In that case the beta will likely be 1.8.4.xxx (coming from 1.8.3 retail, of course).

Affinity Photo - Affinity Designer - Affinity Publisher | macOS Sonoma (14.2) on 16GB MBP14 2021 with 2.4 versions

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15 hours ago, j.king said:

What I downloaded from Affinity Forum is 1.8.3.2 and labeled Beta. I just checked App Store and there is an update available called 1.8.3. Is that the same? Sorry, I was unaware there was an official publicly released update. Will download and see if things work any better.

The newest version for macOS at this moment is the retail 1.8.3 available from Mac App Store or the Serif Store.

If you see "1.8.3.2" in the About details of the running app, then you are running a beta that is older than the current retail version.

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Gotcha. Thanks anon2! Well, regardless of all that, there are still frickin issues....even with the latest available official version from app store. I will continue posting about that outside of beta forum.

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  • 3 weeks later...
  • Staff

Hi j.king,

Sorry for the delay in responding. Would you be able to attach a copy of your document please with the text already as curves? The problem with the text looking 'filled in' looks like you have the wrong fill mode selected after doing the Add operation. The direction of curves and the fill mode plays an important roll in deciding which areas of a polycurve object gets filled in. Try switching this in Layer > Fill Mode to see if it gives you the results you're looking for. Please note that this isn't a bug with the software, just a side effect of the way the curves have been initially created.

However the second screenshot with the incorrect 'Add results', does look to be more of an issue with the app which we may have to investigate. 

The font used in the second screenshot does look like each letter contains many hundreds of points to give it the texture, so this may cause slowdown as well.

 

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Was unaware of the 'fill mode' trick. For the first letter style I posted, switching from Winding to Alternate resolved the issue with negative spaces filling in after Add operation. Interesting. Thanks for that!

For the second letter style, there are still issues. I've tried Add operation with & without letters staying combined with the numerous texture shapes. In the file I'm attaching, all of that has been removed in order to reduce nodes. The Windows version of AD has the same issue (for me at least). It does vary depending on letter style, though. So, could just be the font and how the characters were originally created.

letter test.afdesign

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  • Staff

Thanks for the file. I've reproduced the issue and will get it passed on to development. I've also found a workaround that seems to work as well. If you select all the objects and go to Layer > Geometry > Merge Curves it will add all the curves into a single object (showing the gaps as mentioned earlier). If you then click the 'Add' boolean operation directly after that it will successfully combine the curves. 

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