Symmetrically adjust both handles of a node

[Thomas Fazanaro]

I want to symmetrically adjust both handles of a node, either increasing or decreasing their length, but I'm unsure how to automatically mirror their lengths. Is this feature available in Affinity Designer? Thanks!

[walt.farrell]

Yes, it can be done, but the exact method may depend on your OS. It should be revealed in the Status Bar when you have the Node Tool selected and you hover over a node that you want to adjust. For example, on Windows, I see this:

[thomaso]

.. macOS:

[Ron P.]

1 hour ago, walt.farrell said:

Yes, it can be done, but the exact method may depend on your OS. It should be revealed in the Status Bar when you have the Node Tool selected and you hover over a node that you want to adjust. For example, on Windows, I see this:

Problem with Drag + Rightmouse on Windows, RightMouse click produces a menu, it's an OS thing. I use this a lot.

What does work here, is Pressing both, Right Mouse & Left Mouse, holding while dragging. So it would be Drag + RightMouse + LeftMouse.

[walt.farrell]

14 minutes ago, Ron P. said:

Problem with Drag + Rightmouse on Windows, RightMouse click produces a menu, it's an OS thing. I use this a lot.

It worked for me when I tried it before posting. 

Drag is Left-mouse plus movement, so it's left-mouse and right-mouse and move. Then at the end stop, release right-mouse, and release left-mouse.

[Ron P.]

Ok, I've never interpreted Drag as meaning Left Mouse. Drag is the movement/motion.

So Drag to move handle is Left Mouse to move handle? Drag + Space,  is Left Mouse + Space ? IF that's the case, why didn't Serif write Left Mouse instead of Drag? I know it, along with most other, uses the left mouse. But to say that Drag = Left Mouse is not very accurate.

Drag English Meaning

Quote

 

 

drag verb (PULL)

 

to move something by pulling it along a surface, usually the ground:

Pick the chair up instead of dragging it behind you!

She dragged the canoe down to the water.

 

[walt.farrell]

43 minutes ago, Ron P. said:

So Drag to move handle is Left Mouse to move handle? Drag + Space,  is Left Mouse + Space

Yes.

[Alfred]

42 minutes ago, Ron P. said:

Ok, I've never interpreted Drag as meaning Left Mouse. Drag is the movement/motion.

If you move the mouse without ‘mousing down’ (i.e. depressing a mouse button) you just make the cursor move around the screen. In order to drag — to take an object along for the ride — you need to depress the LMB.

[thomaso]

44 minutes ago, Ron P. said:

I've never interpreted Drag as meaning Left Mouse. Drag is the movement/motion.

So Drag to move handle is Left Mouse to move handle?

Dragging requires 'grabbing' first, like in real life: To drag sth. you need to pick + hold sth. On a computer the most usual grabbing/picking + holding is done with the left mouse button pressed.

[Thomas Fazanaro]

6 hours ago, walt.farrell said:

Yes, it can be done, but the exact method may depend on your OS. It should be revealed in the Status Bar when you have the Node Tool selected and you hover over a node that you want to adjust. For example, on Windows, I see this:

@walt.farrell Thank you for the help! It worked for me! =] I think Serif might consider making this feature more practical in later versions, cause using two mouse buttons and releasing them alternately is, in fact, not practical at all.

[bbrother]

10 hours ago, Ron P. said:

Problem with Drag + Rightmouse on Windows, RightMouse click produces a menu, it's an OS thing. I use this a lot.

You're right, it's not particularly convenient on Windows.
It would be better if symmetrically adjust of both control handles was the default behavior and an alternative would be to use an "Modifier Key" to switch to "one only" handle edit mode.

[Pšenda]

9 hours ago, Ron P. said:

Drag English Meaning

https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Drag_and_drop

[Alfred]

1 hour ago, bbrother said:

it's not particularly convenient on Windows

I would go further and say it’s particularly inconvenient on Windows.

We clearly need something different on Windows. I think the developers may have even acknowledged this publicly, but they don’t seem to have come up with a viable alternative.

1 hour ago, bbrother said:

It would be better if symmetrically adjust of both control handles was the default behavior and an alternative would be to use an "Modifier Key" to switch to "one only" handle edit mode.

That would probably result in at least as many users being annoyed as being pleased! It would have to be a Preferences setting.

In Serif DrawPlus the problem was addressed by having separate ‘Smooth Corner’ and ‘Symmetric Corner’ buttons on the Context toolbar.

[Return]

Like so many perculiarities,oddities and non sense making defaults in the affinities, this has been reported many times and even have been provided with solutions to use other modifier keys.

But remains just another  "by design" faillure.

[walt.farrell]

2 hours ago, Alfred said:

We clearly need something different on Windows. I think the developers may have even acknowledged this publicly, but they don’t seem to have come up with a viable alternative

They fixed it for one function (though I forget which one), though they don't seem to have extended that fix to all the similar functions.

[Alfred]

20 minutes ago, walt.farrell said:

They fixed it for one function (though I forget which one), though they don't seem to have extended that fix to all the similar functions.

I’m not surprised, Walt, given that there are so many of them!

[Pšenda]

On 3/23/2024 at 9:19 AM, Alfred said:

That would probably result in at least as many users being annoyed as being pleased!

Considering that the standard is manipulation with only one Node handle, only in specific cases the simultaneous modification of both is used, so the annoyed/satisfied ratio would be significantly higher (perhaps all vs one  : -)