Curve shows as though it's pale or grayed out

[DarrenStarr]

I think I hit the wrong key on the keyboard, but the two bluish curves are identical (except shape) in every way I can see. Same stroke color, transparent brush, they're both closed etc...

But for some reason, the one on the right is pale.

I've tried

- exiting and starting the app again. 

- Changing the stroke color to something else

- Raising it to the front

- Sending it to the back

- copy and pasting it

Nothing seems to make the shape appear the proper color. 

 

Does someone know what I've done which made it happen?

 

P.S. - This is Designer 2 (it used to happen sometimes on Designer 1) on Windows 11

[thomaso]

A more verbose screenshot would be useful, you simply show lines with different appearance but without any visual hint about their settings. Thus a screenshot of the Layers panel + Colours panel would be more verbose, with an object in question selected with the Move Tool.

Reasons could be for instance …
… reduced layer opacity
… reduced colour opacity
… modified blend mode
… modified blend range
… applied adjustment
… applied filter
… an object above in the layers hierarchy

[DarrenStarr]

First... THANKS!!! I didn't send you more information in the previous posting because I wasn't sure what would be helpful and I made the assumption you would ask me for what you would need to solve the problem.

Second... you solved the problem. I've attached the files anyway in case someone else will find this useful!!!

I didn't know that there were multiple opacities. It's not a feature I consider useful for my use of the application. But, there is an opacity for the layer and I had no idea it was there.

Thank you very much for your help!

Above are two pieces.

For layers

  

[thomaso]

34 minutes ago, DarrenStarr said:

I didn't know that there were multiple opacities. It's not a feature I consider useful for my use of the application. But, there is an opacity for the layer and I had no idea it was there.

Glad you solved it. The different opacity options are very useful IF you want to use them. The Affinity interface contains quite a few spots where a "same" property can be set. Using it differently can have different effects on other objects / your workflow. Sometimes with the same, sometimes with a different visual result.

For colour intensity the options Layer Opacity | Colour Opacity | Colour Tint may visually appear the same but can technically be quite different which matters more obvious when other objects are influenced or when a specific property should get achieved for the related object(s) on export.

Note for the Layer Opacity: If you have an object selected (with ~any Tool) but no value field activated then typing a number key on the keyboard will always trigger the Layer Opacity.

[thomaso]

1 hour ago, DarrenStarr said:

I didn't send you more information in the previous posting because I wasn't sure what would be helpful and I made the assumption you would ask me for what you would need to solve the problem.

It is more efficient and thus friendlier for the community to receive information about object settings together with the question. This reduces the need to describe various aspects which may but don't have to be related with the question – which is mostly more laborius than a 1-click screenshot of the entire interface in the first step, especially if possible aspects appear unclear for the initial question. Most often the Layers Panel with the object in question selected is relevant to answer the issue while the Context Toolbar (like additional panels) give informations which don't have to be typed separately (e.g. colour, stroke, …).

[Pšenda]

1 hour ago, thomaso said:

then typing a number key on the keyboard will always trigger the Layer Opacity

I would kill the Affinity designer for that 🙂
To assume that everyone adjusts the Opacity of layers so often that they have to have a non-disabled keyboard shortcut for it is really stupid and completely inept. And this is mainly because the change of Layers Opacity (and other parameters) is not indicated in any way in the Layers panel, so it is crazy to find these wrong touches.

[DarrenStarr]

24 minutes ago, thomaso said:

It is more efficient and thus friendlier for the community to receive information about object settings together with the question. This reduces the need to describe various aspects which may but don't have to be related with the question – which is mostly more laborius than a 1-click screenshot of the entire interface in the first step, especially if possible aspects appear unclear for the initial question. Most often the Layers Panel with the object in question selected is relevant to answer the issue while the Context Toolbar (like additional panels) give informations which don't have to be typed separately (e.g. colour, stroke, …).

Thomas,

Let's chalk this up to a learning experience.

I know that when I press Ctrl+Y, it switches my view to strictly vectors. This does not alter the layers panel or the colors. As such I would obviously in that circumstance had to send you other information. It is clear to me that you were able to identify the issue from the screenshot I sent. If I sent screenshots of every screen I could find in the original text, I believe I'd have asked you to search for a needle in a haystack and I'd have spammed the thread relentlessly. I suppose my biggest mistake was not specifically asking "What further information could I send that would help identify the issue?"

I didn't do this to be rude. I didn't do this to frustrate anyone. I actually believed I was being polite when I transmitted the only information I was sure was actually relevant to further follow up questions. I apologize for inconveniencing you.

[thomaso]

48 minutes ago, Pšenda said:

To assume that everyone adjusts the Opacity of layers so often that they have to have a non-disabled keyboard shortcut for it is really stupid and completely inept.

Vice versa: Why should one press a keyboard key without a specific goal? Indeed it happened to me several times until I learned at least to try to avoid this. Actually I still activate the Opacity value field whenever I want to change it – although it is not required. From this point it is stupid not using this direct workflow, regardless of the frequency of settings.

45 minutes ago, DarrenStarr said:

Let's chalk this up to a learning experience.

(...) If I sent screenshots of every screen I could find in the original text, I believe I'd have asked you to search for a needle in a haystack

Of course! (to both aspects)

That is why a screenshot of the entire screen can be so useful. No need to screenshot single panels or panels separate from objects! Again, the Layers panel + the object selected indeed always explain a lot! From my list of 7 possible culprits 5 are directly visible in the Layers Panel, and 1 (colour opacity) in the colours or swatches panel. Only the modified blend range would require a separate check.

This is not only a hint for community convenience but also for yourself and your workflow when running into an unexpected situation.

55 minutes ago, DarrenStarr said:

It is clear to me that you were able to identify the issue from the screenshot I sent.

Actually not. The screenshot did not tell any relevant information that was not given already in your text. As mentioned, this picture shows lines of different colours only (+ parts of a bounding box of an obviously selected object without telling which object would be selected). In fact relevant was your text info "one on the right is pale" + "same stroke colour" (which honestly would have been required additionally to a screenshot since that would point to the property of one of several objects only).

[Pšenda]

19 minutes ago, thomaso said:

Vice versa: Why should one press a keyboard key without a specific goal?

Why? - because after several decades of using applications (at least on Windows) I'm used to the fact that when I select some edit field (for example, the X/Y positions in the Transform panel), then after pressing Enter (which causes the entered value to be accepted and applied), this remains field still selected/focused. So if I find that the newly entered value needs to be corrected, I start typing on the numeric keypad again. Which unfortunately doesn't work in Affinity apps, and I have to like an idiot keep selecting the X/Y box over and over again until I finally get the exact location, and then of course I change the Opacity every now and then.

[thomaso]

17 minutes ago, Pšenda said:

Which unfortunately doesn't work in Affinity apps, and I have to like an idiot keep selecting the X/Y box over and over again

Ah, this is annoying indeed. Whereas there appears to be a general lack in the UX concept in Affinity, not especially in the opacity 'feature' only.

Oddly the different panels have different UX applied too their fields: Some get activated by a click on the field label while others don't, and some fields remain selected after the pressed enter key while others don't.

Additionally confusing is that the different behaviours seems to be not related to the obvious UI of the panels/fields. For instance the various fields can have …
… two up/down arrows or
… a pull-down menu or
… a pop-up slider or
… a permanent slider
aside the field to increase/decrease its value with the cursor, via drag or click-select.

[Pšenda]

5 minutes ago, thomaso said:

Whereas there appears to be a general lack in the UX concept in Affinity

... and sometimes concepts from two different OSes are mixed, so that Windows users are forced to use some kind of control from Mac (for example, moving Studio control from the View menu to the Window menu, which is said to be a Mac custom, even though in Win this menu is intended for managing open documents), or vice versa.