benjabi Posted September 6, 2020 Share Posted September 6, 2020 (edited) Hi, I have a pretty serious problem in multiple files. The problem seems to be caused by an embedded image (.pdf) which contains around 1000 small dots - the problem is not always there, but all the .ai files which have the problem contain these embedded images. On-screen, the appearance (both in the main .ai file and the embedded file in its own tab) look fine when zoomed out far enough, but as I zoom in big 'blank' patches appear, as if a white rectangle had been drawn over a section of the dots. The position of this isn't fixed: at different zoom levels it will be in different positions. And it also is't consistent in what is cut out. So it has the appearance of a rendering issue. This problem starts seemingly at random: one file was fine for months of editing and then today it gave me the bug. Once it appears I cannot get rid of it. Reloading the embedded file, copying the contents of the embedded file into the main .ai file as a group - whatever I try it persists. The problem also persists in exported formats, but here it is more consistent: the same block will always be missing. Oddly, if I move the embedded file to a different part of the workspace it will render/export fine, so it's as if a portion of the workspace has a 'black hole' that is unusable. (copying everything to a new document seems to copy the bug with it, so no luck there either). I could ignore it for a while, but I need the final exported versions of these files now and it's driving me mad. Any help/ideas would be much appreciated. Thanks, ben (Capture3 below is in an exported .png file. The vertical black line on the left which is cut off actually lies over the green/yellow/red dots on the left, which are not cut off, so the problem is not affecting all layers equally) Edited September 6, 2020 by benjabi added screenshots Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Staff MEB Posted September 7, 2020 Staff Share Posted September 7, 2020 Hi @benjabi, Welcome to Affinity Forums Do you mind attaching the afdesign file with the ai file already embedded that displays those issues as well as the original Ai file for us to check please? I can provide an upload link if you wish to keep these files private. Thank you. Quote A Guide to Learning Affinity Software Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
benjabi Posted September 7, 2020 Author Share Posted September 7, 2020 Hi @MEB Sure, could you please provide a private link and I'll upload one of them. Thanks Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Staff MEB Posted September 7, 2020 Staff Share Posted September 7, 2020 Hi @benjabi, Here's the upload link as requested. Quote A Guide to Learning Affinity Software Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
benjabi Posted September 8, 2020 Author Share Posted September 8, 2020 Hi @MEB Ok, I uploaded the AI file and the problematic embedded file. However I just remembered: in the AI file you'll see I have grouped the embedded image with a duplicate vertical line as a temporary fix (which actually works for exporting). You may have to remove that to see the problem, at least for exporting. Thanks. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
benjabi Posted November 7, 2020 Author Share Posted November 7, 2020 Any news on this issue? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Staff MEB Posted November 10, 2020 Staff Share Posted November 10, 2020 Hi @benjabi, Sorry the delay getting back to you. This is a PDF import issue (it fails to render properly as well if you open/import the PDF directly in Affinity). I've passed the file to the dev team for further inspection and will get back to you as soon as i have some news. Quote A Guide to Learning Affinity Software Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Staff MEB Posted November 17, 2020 Staff Share Posted November 17, 2020 Hi @benjabi, The issue is caused by the large straight grey line in the middle of the graph. If you select it and switch to the Node Tool you will see it's composed by a huge number of nodes. Select and delete them all leaving just the start and end point of that line and the redraw issues will go way. We are seeing if we can handle this a bit better to prevent redraw issues like these. If you need to check/confirm it's indeed a straight grey line (since this is a graph), duplicate it, change it's stroke color to something contrasty like red, and place the duplicate below the grey line. Then delete the nodes of the grey line only and you will see both the red and grey line positions still match perfectly. benjabi 1 Quote A Guide to Learning Affinity Software Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
benjabi Posted November 17, 2020 Author Share Posted November 17, 2020 Hi @MEB That's it! Wow, I never realised just how many nodes there were in those lines. I have no idea why that is - they were indeed drawn as straight lines originally. The software they were drawn in (Matlab) is obviously the culprit here (not for the first time). If it isn't possible to prevent the drawing issue, perhaps objects with excessively dense node placements like this could be detected and the user given a little warning notification? Regardless, I can fix those problematic lines to solve it so I'm happy. Thanks ever so much! ben Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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