Latest Published AD2: Designer and Export Personas disagree on width of Slice from Layer

[LionelD]

This is latest published Designer 2 on MacBook with most current OS for my 2016 MBP.

The Issue

My problem is that slices created from layers in Export Persona do not have same width (in Export Persona) as the source layers, as reported by Transform tool in Designer Persona.  Slices are 2662px but layers are 2661px wide.

Background

I have a document that I use as a template even though it’s not saved as one.  It includes 16 slices that were created from layers (these are all groups that represent a small section of the host artboard).

I sometimes have to edit the constituent layers in these groups, specifically to change their width to a very specific value using Transform (Designer Persona). After getting ambushed a few times I now check individual layers one at a time to make sure they are the correct size, and at the correct location on the artBoard.  Each export group is renamed following my naming convention.  Groups are completely distinct, with no shared layers.

To make sure the derivative slices have the desired name, the first thing I do after switching to Export Persona is to delete the previous slices.  I then select all the source layers, and create new slices.

My problem is that the 16 slices created this way (from different source groups) are ALL the wrong size - by which I mean that the size of a newly created slice differs from what Transform reports in the Designer Persona - by 1 pixel.  Export Persona reports 2662px, Designer Persona claims 2661px - the value I specified when doing the Transform.  I’ve checked sizes in Designer Persona before and after creating the slices, and the outcome is always the same: Export wants to give me 2662px from a 2661px-wide group.

The 2661px target width is specific to this document, and is based on document-specific content created very early in the edit process.  I had another one yesterday with different width requirements, and that worked perfectly.

I believe I have the same behaviour on my iPad running latest published AD2 with iPadOS 16.6.1.

I’m open to suggestions, can make a document available to Affinity if they provide a link, please.  I will provide a document for the forum if it survives sanitizing.

[walt.farrell]

It is likely that your layers have either a non-integer pixel size or a non-integer pixel placement (x or y coordinate).

First, in Designer's Settings, User Interface section, increase the number of decimal places for Pixel display to at least 3.

After that, in the Designer Persona, use the Transform panel and verify the X, Y, H, and W values of the layer(s) are integers.

[LionelD]

@walt.farrell Well, thanks.  However, the whole reason for that final transform is to force objects that have fractional pixel dimensions to surrender them.  Those objects arise when the document-specific content has fractional pixels (equilateral triangles, regular hexagons and the like), two or three of the objects that are created early end up with dimensions with fractional pixels due to their intrinsic geometry.  But when I make the layers that are to be exported, I force those objects to integral pixel dimensions, minutely distorting those triangles and hexagons - not least because Export Persona does not let you export objects like that, and there’s no image format I know of that tolerates fractional pixel dimensions.

I also used to get ambushed by ArtBoards at inappropriate locations, so I reposition them early on.  Very annoying when that happens…….

 

[walt.farrell]

If you have items that are not an integer size or not an integer pixel location, you will get discrepancies like you have noted. 

I don't understand what you mean in your last post.

[LionelD]

Ok, here’s a trimmed down document that repeats the misbehaviour.  Just one artboard, eliminating some of the potential red herrings.

There are two slices; the second one is the troublesome one.

In Designer Persona:  Find the layer called “3 X 1 Motif Export” and  observe width of 2,661px according to Transform.  This is a group, and all constituent layers should have the same width, and should be centred at the same position on the ArtBoard.

In Export Persona:  Delete the slice called “3 X 1 Motif Export” - cause that’s the one I created.  Go to Layers, find the source layer, and create a slice from that layer.  Go to Slices, select the new slice, and use Transform tool to observe width of 2,662px.  Really…

Regards

Test Slice Size.afdesign

[LionelD]

@walt.farrell Sorry, that was rather cryptic.

Before I started paying attention to the coordinates of my artboards, I had a lot of trouble with slices that reported locations and sizes with fractional pixels.

Then someone explained how Designer establishes its overall coordinate origin, and some of the consequences when ArtBoards are positioned haphazardly.  That was a revelation for me, so I started placing ArtBoards deliberately, and hey presto, so many problems just gone.

Regards

[walt.farrell]

Your group from which you created the Slice is on a non-integer pixel boundary. It's X coordinate is 4269.5 px, and that means an extra .5 px will be added to get a whole pixel, giving you a width of 2662 for the Slice. You need to move it to a whole-pixel boundary.

[LionelD]

Thanks.  Embarrassing.  I’ll have to be more careful about that last Transform which was supposed to avoid that issue.

Regards

[walt.farrell]

It's probably best to avoid having to Transform, and usage of Snapping and the Snapping options should help with that.