Request: Setting "scale with object" centrally in preferences once and for all for FX and stroke

[Bit Disappointed]

To Serif Staff and @Ash

I've been meaning to write this feature request for years, and it's been partly written before by others, but now I'm doing it with passion, two dashes underneath and weariness in my soul. Because I spend too much time correcting the flaws in Affinity in my work.

There are a number of usability flaws in Affinity, and they are well-reported. I can live with some, but not with others. There are some flaws that simply must be fixed now, and not as small fixes, but in a fundamental and structured way.

I can only recommend that a future release should be dedicated to only settings, usability and workflows. That you take all these reports from customers seriously and resolve them in a serious and structured way. And give yourself the time, space and dedication to stop and rebuild some of Affinity instead of patching holes as you go.

I would just like to request two things to be fixed at this time, and at the same time I would like to ask you to have preferences expanded and structured so that your customers can avoid workarounds and endless detours to the greatest extent possible by setting good default settings in one place. Not small additions - but get it set up professionally and user-friendly.

My specific request:
In ALL my work, I want to use FX: Scale with object ON and Stroke: Scale with object. The few times the opposite is the case, I want to be able to disable it. The opposite of today. But they are not enabled by default, and in the case of stroke scaling you have to change a default for the object, which you can't do with FX. But somehow again and again I find these settings disabled. On my computers, on others... constantly.

I create lots of small and large objects with FX, and I can't believe I have to set scale with object on each one. Why on earth can't I just set defaults centrally in preferences once - and change them again if I need to use other defaults?

All the nonsense that has built up over time in Affinity deserves its own release, so you can also build architecture and methodology around the corrections, so that it is corrected logically and technologically appropriate. Preferences as of today is still pretty messy.

I am not looking for workarounds or object inheritance. Just want to enable scaling and never look back.

[Return]

Just a single button will do, thank you.
 

 

 

[Bit Disappointed]

No thank you, because it will continue the problem in exactly the same track that Serif has been on for as long as I can remember. Memorize the software or study manuals like in the 90’s.

It's all well and good to have a supplementary, easily accessible icon as you illustrate for ad hoc changes to individual elements, but it's not good usability for settings you need to be able to set and forget in one place.

Furthermore, Serif has implemented several settings messily and all over the place in toolbars like in your example - but not consistently sticky - and hasn't fixed it for years. It's a mess. On top of that, it requires everyone to memorise all those little icons. And you have to memorise that in an extra edition if you also use iPad - either how to do it or live with the fact that there is no space in the user interface and no equivalent to the desktop feature.

I request central settings for key functionality and behaviour that can be set collectively and professionally in preferences after any installation, be it Windows, Mac or iPad, so I can work risk-free and as expected without having to make sure icons that are placed all around the user interface are enabled or disabled. For months or years.

It's high time Serif streamlines preferences, usability and workflows.

[retrograde]

Hey Bit Arts, this isn't a solution to your request and I definitely feel your pain but do you know about the little tiny almost hidden icon in the bottom right corner of the transform panel? See the screenshots. This may give you a bit more control over scaling effects and strokes. I came upon it accidentally and used it recently on a job and it really came in handy.

[Bit Disappointed]

9 hours ago, retrograde said:

Hey Bit Arts, this isn't a solution to your request and I definitely feel your pain but do you know about the little tiny almost hidden icon in the bottom right corner of the transform panel? See the screenshots. This may give you a bit more control over scaling effects and strokes. I came upon it accidentally and used it recently on a job and it really came in handy.

Thanks @retrograde

I know about it. I think it's functionality that was added not long ago so that impact can be handled with bicycle patching gear when an accident has happened, and as useful in other contexts of course.

So Serif, it would be so helpful if you could set the default in a predictable and central location so that the accident never happens. 🙂