Affinity Photo: Is it possible to turn the canvas-preview with the mouse/pen?

[iconoclast]

Hi!

I'm still exploring to find my routine to handle Affinity Photo. So I wonder if there is an opportunity to turn the canvas-preview dragging it with the mouse or the stylus of my tablet, similar to the way I use to do it with programs like for example Artrage (ALT + right mouse-key), Krita or GIMP (SHIFT and middle mouse-key), what, I think, is better to handle than using menus or even shortkeys for 15°-steps, especially if you use a graphics tablet. I never made good experiences with Touch Pads. And I even don't like the way Photoshop does this, because you have to interrupt your workflow to change the tool there. But the mentioned programs do this verry well.

I created shortkeys for the 15°-step-solution, and that also works satisfying, but I'm nevertheless interested in if there is a better solution.

Edited January 4, 2021 by iconoclast

[stokerg]

On 1/4/2021 at 9:54 AM, iconoclast said:

I created shortkeys for the 15°-step-solution, and that also works satisfying, but I'm nevertheless interested in if there is a better solution.

I'm not aware of a better method to do this using a tablet and Pen.  I know we've had lot of requests for something like, so it might come in a future update. 

[iconoclast]

Thanx for the answer, stokerg!

Think it's individual what users may prefer. Especially in some programs for painting you have the option to rotate the canvas as I described it. That works pretty fluently for me, while I am painting or retouching. And it goes hand in hand with the options to scale the canvas-preview and to move it, all by the same mouse-gestures, but with different shortkeys (Shift, Strg/Ctrl or Alt with the left hand while dragging with the mouse with the right hand). But the 15°-step-thing also works pretty good. I configured the keys "<" and ">" for it. And Shift+Strg+"<" as "Reset".  I only have to get use to it. If you work with different programs, you're not always fully aware of in what program you're actually working and what routine you have to keep in your brain. But for me this is not really a big problem.

[MEB]

Hi @iconoclast,
Regarding using the mouse, In the next update (Affinity Photo 1.9) we added the ability to rotate the canvas pressing and holding Command (ALT if you are using Windows) while using the mouse's scroll-wheel to rotates the canvas around the cursor's position. Holding down Shift in addition to Command (or ALT on Windows) while scrolling will rotate around the centre of the view instead.

[iconoclast]

OK, that might be a good thing for many users. But I use to work with a graphics tablet and the keyboard for the shortkeys and text. My tablet also has a touch-function, but I hate this fiddling, that never worked as it should.

[MEB]

I guess you already tried the touch ring with the Canvas Rotation option too (assuming you are using a Wacom) then...

[iconoclast]

Yes, I have a Wacom-Tablet with touch-functionality. But I don't like that. Sometimes it works, sometimes it doesn't. As I tried it in Affinity Photo a moment ago, it doesn't work at all. It only shows up the rounded arrows, but the canvas doesn't rotate. Sometimes it moves, but I can't control what it is doing. That is what I meant as I spoke about fiddling. Maybe something is wrong with my fingers. I don't know. Even on my Laptop I prefer to use a mouse or a stylus.