Masks in Symbols aren't exported

[LenaB]

Hi,

I'm trying to create some Icons that have identical badges on them (e.g. a Star). That's why I wanted to use symbols for the badges.

To separate the badges from the main icon, they need to have a  1 px transparent line all around. For this I added a mask to the symbol.

In Affinity Design everything works good, but in the export the mask (the transparent line) isn't shown.

Is there any solution or any other way to create the badges with transparent line with symbols?

 

Thanks!

Lena

Mask_in_Symbol.afdesign

Edited April 20, 2023 by LenaB

[Dan C]

Hi @LenaB,

Welcome to the Affinity Forums & thanks for your report!

There are a few interesting things happening with your file - firstly I'm able to replicate the export issue here and I will be logging this with our developers now.

However a colleague found that exporting this same layer setup in a regular file, rather than in an Artboard document works as expected, so one option is to avoid using Artboards with this setup.

If you are able to use a regular canvas, rather than Artboards, there is an easier way to create this layer setup. 

Using the 'Star_big' layer, set this to the Erase blend mode, then Group on its own. Now Group this Group with the Star_big_light layer and create a symbol from this -

This allows you to move the Star, or place any other objects behind it and the area around the star should remain transparent - 

If you require an Artboard document then unfortunately I've been unable to find a workaround at this time - as all of the methods I have tried fail in the same way as your original file when used with an Artboard. You could use the Blend mode method as above without grouping the star objects, however this means they cannot be made into a Symbol -

My apologies that I do not have a better suggestion at this time!

[LenaB]

Hi Dan, thank you very much for your quick support!
Unfortunately using a regular canvas isn't an option in my case, but I'll use the blend mode method for the masks. So at least the badges themselves can be used as symbols.

Thanks for the tip!

[Dan C]

No problem at all, you're welcome