Zoom to Fit isn't big enough

[John74]

I have a request regarding how the "Zoom to Fit" zoom mode works. I find that it doesn't zoom in enough. There is still a large border of empty space around the photo once you've zoomed to this level. Personally I feel that it would make more sense to make this empty border smaller, so that the size of the photo is as big as possible. I know that it is helpful to have some empty space around the photo for certain tasks, like cropping, but the amount of empty space that is currently there seems excessive to me.

I know that modifying how this zoom mode works may mess up some people's workflow, so maybe instead of changing it, could you add another zoom mode called, for example, "Zoom to Fit (tight)" that zooms to fit, but with a much smaller empty border?

I have attached two screenshots. One shows how "Zoom to Fit" currently works, with a large empty border around the photo. For the other, I have manually zoomed into the highest whole-number zoom percentage that fits the photo into the window (21% in this case). The photo is quite a bit bigger this way, which I find very handy.

[MikeTO]

I don't really use Zoom to Fit so I'm not too fussed by it but one other issue with it - Zoom to Fit doesn't centre the document in the window on macOS. There is more space above and to the left because it centres the document without regard for the horizontal and vertical scrollbars.

[GripsholmLion]

I have always disliked this waste of valuable space. Zoom to fit... and it doesn't actually fit. Not funny when my most used screen is 13".

Interestingly, the wasted space in your example is, proportionally, not quite as bad as what I typically experience. I don't why that should be.

@MikeTO It centres OK for me, so that's an interesting quirk. Maybe it is down to different scrollbar view settings (mine is set to "when scrolling").

[MikeTO]

5 hours ago, GripsholmLion said:

I have always disliked this waste of valuable space. Zoom to fit... and it doesn't actually fit. Not funny when my most used screen is 13".

Interestingly, the wasted space in your example is, proportionally, not quite as bad as what I typically experience. I don't why that should be.

@MikeTO It centres OK for me, so that's an interesting quirk. Maybe it is down to different scrollbar view settings (mine is set to "when scrolling").

Yes, the page is centred if you use "When Scrolling" but if you use "Always" then Affinity doesn't take the scrollbars into account when entering the page.

[tiger63]

+1

I have also found that Affinity's Zoom to Fit doesn't zoom in enough and wastes a lot of window space.

[arifg]

there should be a small amount of space for the tools(like vector crop or transform) and for the perception I think

[Pšenda]

4 hours ago, arifg said:

there should be a small amount of space for the tools

If I need space for tools, I will reduce the zoom and make as much space as I need. The free space is not the meaning of "Zoom to Fit", which is the maximum possible display of the working area of the document to preview the work. So unnecessary space around the document only worsens the overview and control of the work.

[John74]

14 hours ago, Pšenda said:

If I need space for tools, I will reduce the zoom and make as much space as I need. The free space is not the meaning of "Zoom to Fit", which is the maximum possible display of the working area of the document to preview the work. So unnecessary space around the document only worsens the overview and control of the work.

Exactly. Some tools need the space, and they should automatically zoom out as needed. For other tasks the zoom should be as big as possible.

[Pšenda]

4 hours ago, John74 said:

the zoom should be as big as possible.

That is also why Full screen mode was requested, which unfortunately is still missing.

[GrandadC]

I also agree that zoom to fit should zoom to fit the available space with no border (maintaining the aspect ratio of the image of course).

[KLE-France]

Have to sign in against this request.

Having a neutral zone around the entire image is necessary for judging it correctly.

Ctrl+0 should always maintain the negative space around the entire image.

Enlarging the image to true window width/height could be assigned to Ctrl+Shift+0, or something along those lines, why not, but AP does default "fit to window" correctly.

[GrandadC]

"Enlarging the image to true window width/height could be assigned to Ctrl+Shift+0, or something along those lines"

Thumbs up from me too, there are so many uses for this wonderful application that a Fit to true width/height could satisfy those that do not need space around the image.

With a small laptop screen the bigger the image the better for me at least.

Thanks

[Aurea Ratio]

On 3/31/2024 at 6:40 PM, KLE-France said:

Have to sign in against this request.

Having a neutral zone around the entire image is necessary for judging it correctly.

Ctrl+0 should always maintain the negative space around the entire image.

Enlarging the image to true window width/height could be assigned to Ctrl+Shift+0, or something along those lines, why not, but AP does default "fit to window" correctly.

It is actually the reason for the gap in many graphic programs, and there are even more arguments.

It could be a setting like you also see in other programs that should be opt-in for Affinity to use the entire area for fit.

But as mentioned, there are factual reasons behind the gap.

[GrandadC]

"Fit image to window" or similar would be something I would like to request as a product addition (leaving the existing zoom options unchanged and available).

Question: do the Serif Affinity Photo developers monitor this forum - or is there a more formal process to request additions/updates ?

Thanks

[MikeTO]

7 minutes ago, GrandadC said:

Question: do the Serif Affinity Photo developers monitor this forum - or is there a more formal process to request additions/updates ?

This is the right place to request features but the team won't necessarily reply to every post. The forum notes state that every post is read though.

Cheers

[GrandadC]

Thanks for the reply MikeTO