Optical alignment constrained to maximum of 100%

[Orlon]

I didn't even know about optical alignment until today, when I saw a cool document template that had the leading icon characters in a header style extend outside the text frame. Super happy to know that trick!

(The template is a game SRD from here: https://jasontocci.itch.io/24xx, attached for reference.)

The template has one of the characters set to 320% left adjustment, in order to get double-/ into the left margin.

However, if I try to edit the left alignment at all, it gets forced down to 100%.

From some other comments I've seen, this seems to be unintended regression - one of them mentioned a tutorial that shows adjusting this to 150%, but right now, it is constrained.

I would really like to use this for hanging symbols out in the margin like this, hopefully not too hard to track down!

Thanks!

Tech Notes

• Windows 10 latest
• Affinity Publisher 1.9.2.1035

24XX SRD.afpub

[GarryP]

You probably shouldn’t be using Optical Alignment tricks to do this as you are using the functionality for something it was not meant to be used for and should not rely on it to keep allowing you to use it in that way.
Have you tried using “Bullets and Numbering” instead? You will need to move your text frame over a bit to accommodate the ‘hanging symbols’ but that might not be a problem.

[Orlon]

I've used bullets in other stuff I've made with decent success. I've also done similar things to what I describe here by throwing an extra text box in the left margin, which is tragic and wrong, but gets the job done. 

I called this a regression bug because it clearly used to be allowed and the use case for allowing it hasn't changed - since I downloaded this template, I'm clearly not the only person who finds the idea useful.  Lacking other ways to bust out of the frame, this will do in a pinch.

I am not close enough to the product team to know why a hard limit of 100% would be desirable. It might just be that the "% object" was re-built with 100% as a default to solve some other issue, and this instance is inheriting it now, when before it was not limited that way. I'm a software product owner myself, and I know that if nobody speaks up, the features don't change, so I thought I'd bring up my specific use case and ask for the limit to be raised again.

[Old Bruce]

I tried this on my Mac and had no problem getting above 100%. It isn't clear from your screenshots that you have chosen Manual as is in the first screen shot.

[Orlon]

Thanks for the suggestion, I just double-checked - it was in manual mode. I wasn't trying to start from scratch, but just adjust what was there a little further. Whether I click in the box or just hover over it and roll the mousewheel, as soon as I pay attention to that box, it constrains the value to 100%.

[Old Bruce]

I wonder if this is a difference of Mac vs Windows. The only other thing is (grasping at straws here) is it might be the font, I don't have the Roboto font you are using.

[Orlon]

Well, the Roboto was part of the template, a Google font, I installed it so the stuff would look right before I started messing with it. <shrug>

[Gabe]

Hi all,

Thanks for spotting this. Issue logged.