Line (Stroke) Width Tool

[Guest]

22 minutes ago, Frozen Death Knight said:

the functionality isn't there for breaking the start and end widths from each other like in the Profile panel.

 

Shift+drag the red point to separate the start and end widths. Remember to read the hints at the bottom of the window.

 

 

 

[Frozen Death Knight]

3 minutes ago, lepr said:

 

Shift+drag the red point to separate the start and end widths. Remember to read the hints at the bottom of the window.

 

 

 

Hey, that's neat! Thanks for telling me!

[Guest]

2 minutes ago, Frozen Death Knight said:

Hey, that's neat! Thanks for telling me!

👍

 

[Frozen Death Knight]

Another idea! It would be neat if it was possible to to basically have something equivalent to "Split curve after node" for the width points to get points with the same length between each point. Just a faster way of creating ton of width points that can be adjusted for a more pattern like behaviour. Just a thought!

[Frozen Death Knight]

I was thinking about this Set Line Width At Point pop-up window. I like that we can set the exact values with this, but it is a bit annoying having it pop up this way. My suggestion is to move the value to the top toolbar settings where you type in the value beforehand, which you then activate by pressing ctrl+L click like how it currently works.

 

Same functionality, but with the added benefit where you can quickly set multiple points to the same width by just clicking without getting stuck with that pop-up window. It would also allow users to set line width to 0 with a modifier instead of just clicking on the curve lines like now. More flexible and easier to use!

[Affinityconfusesme]

+1 for this

[_Th]

On 4/22/2024 at 11:28 AM, lepr said:

Remember to read the hints at the bottom of the window.

This is an important reminder. I'm definitely guilty of overlooking this information on occasion.

[MxHeppa]

Not show pencil tool option but after reseting toolbar and i found it one item in elements what i can add tool bar. Nice idea. And i also get similar artefacts what someone else getted and i use Windows 10 Pro here. and this panel what someone sayed not needed anymore is somecases more clear way edit it as well i feel.

[EricP]

Once the artifacts will be sorted out, this feature will be great. Some nice things can be obtained quickly by iteratively applying line width and Expand Stroke several times. I find the results more organic, less mechanical than contour tool due to varying line width, which can be interesting in some applications.

[Bit Disappointed]

I strongly recommend that the elements adjusted with the line width tool be enlarged, and especially that they are also affected by the tool handle size setting in preferences.

I don’t know what it is with Serif and microscopic elements in the interface, but things really need to go together here.

[CM0]

When using the line width tool on brushes it seems to break. It will only adjust the overall brush width. You can't adjust the profile points.

[Sean P]

13 hours ago, CM0 said:

When using the line width tool on brushes it seems to break. It will only adjust the overall brush width. You can't adjust the profile points.

It is likely that the brush you've applied to the line has the Size Variance set to 0%, so any changes to the pressure graph get ignored. You can either modify the brush itself to have a size variance, or if you would rather, do it on a line by line basis using the Properties button on the Stroke Panel with the object you want to modify selected.
 

[CM0]

1 minute ago, Sean P said:

It is likely that the brush you've applied to the line has the Size Variance set to 0%, so any changes to the pressure graph get ignored. You can either modify the brush itself to have a size variance, or if you would rather, do it on a line by line basis using the Properties button on the Stroke Panel with the object you want to modify selected.
 

Ok, that seems to be the problem; however, it is inconsistent and confusing. This is what the default brush settings look like.

No size variance, but it works. However with Brushes you must increase the size variance. Furthermore, once you use a brush and then go back to basic line, then variance no longer works. Then you can no longer set variance for basic line. When you open the dialog, it opens for the last brush instead of the line settings.

[jaxfh]

23 minutes ago, anto said:

Line Width Tool does not work with Decorations in Publisher

With dashed (dotted) line neither 😢

[AffinityIsSlowlyDying]

2 hours ago, anto said:

Line Width Tool does not work with Decorations in Publisher

Why should it?

At least me thinks that this may not be high on the Serif priority list…

[AffinityIsSlowlyDying]

1 hour ago, anto said:

Why not?
Because the line in the Decoration settings has the same settings as a regular line, and even the Pressure scale.
Perhaps this is just an oversight.

With that as an goal for Serif, what’s next?

Line Width Tool in lines in tables?

I don’t think Serif would do the Adobe travel and get Affinity Suite too bloated…

[Bit Disappointed]

4 hours ago, anto said:

Line Width Tool does not work with Decorations in Publisher

It could be pretty cool to be able to modify decorations away from the boring standards, so professional design can significantly stand out from what we might call the gray Canva mass of generic template designs, which millions of people without graphic expertise use indiscriminately (assembly line design look). However, I imagine that this is a significant task implementation-wise, and it will probably require more features and an expansion of architecture and styling logic.

Now we'll see which target audience Affinity ends up getting and focuses on in its new 'family'.

[walt.farrell]

31 minutes ago, anto said:

That's right. What is the difference between lines in decorations and tables and a regular line?
And the name of the function says that it works with lines, doesn't it?

Decorations are not lines that you've drawn. They do not, for example, exist in the Layers panel as objects. The Node Tool won't work on the decorations, either. Nor the Move Tool, nor the Transform Panel, etc. All these tools and functions work on objects, and Decorations aren't objects.

[Bit Disappointed]

I'm seeing some pretty bad algorithms at play—if Serif is lucky, it's just bugs, but I don't think so. As I said, I don't want to test this for Serif, but curiosity did drive me to check it out on a rainy Saturday.

For example, I notice a terrible lack of beautiful curves and almost sharp node-like edges, which when expanded through the stroke algorithm turn into miserable curves that curve in various ways. Horrible. All the beauty from the bezier universe, gone. One does not work with bezier curves to destroy and spoil their aesthetics. The entire curve becomes overall artificial and inorganic, significantly worse than competing line width tools, not least because of the microscopic interface.

However, a note for Serif, when they need to—and they must—refactor the chaos we see today, if I choose 'Fit to curve delete node' on selected nodes on the terrible result after expand stroke, then the curves are somewhat repaired towards what I would expect directly from the tool.

So, upgrade the algorithms and make their output consistent, and compare both output and interface with the competitors', please. Or as a first move along with Canva, recruit or book a true bezier specialist. There is no shame in acknowledging one's limitations. Only in not acknowledging them.

[earl_grey]

I'm  waited for this tool. Currently it is unacceptable. Changing the width of the line causes patch glitches. This is not a rendering error, after converting the stroke  to a shape is diffrent. But before and after expand stroke, the result is bad.

Before expand stroke (doesn't look good?😞

After expand stroke (?):

[CM0]

I am very excited for this tool, while also strongly agree it is not usable at all in its current form. There are serious long standing bugs with the profile curve that create terrible looking distortions. This potentially great new feature just can't be the feature it needs to be without addressing the other issues.

I hope that Affinity will take the time to get it right even if it requires a 2nd beta cycle. Please take a look at something like Inkscape's version of this feature called "power stroke". It has perfectly smooth curves no matter how extreme you expand the points, you can also change the smoothing algorithm and the scale factor for the curves.

[Bit Disappointed]

7 minutes ago, CM0 said:

This potentially great new feature just can't be the feature it needs to be without addressing the other issues.

If you all are really unlucky, then I am right that this curve profile is algorithmic heritage from Serif DrawPlus, i.e., Serif's ancient programs from before Affinity. They looked exactly like this in the interface and worked in exactly the same way. If Serif now tries to build a pen width tool on poor algorithms that precede Affinity, and if Serif neither can nor will deliver better algorithms in 2024, but tries to milk the old ones for the last drop, then the problem we see is incredibly large and fundamental.

The moment of reckoning has come for old decisions and business choices.

[Sean P]

On 4/28/2024 at 5:54 AM, anto said:

If you reduce the width of a line using the Line width tool, the Stroke panel displays an incorrect value if the point thickness is smaller than the line width.

 

 

I think that displaying the line width by control-clicking on a point is unnecessary if the width is shown in the Stroke panel.

This is the correct behaviour - the stroke panel will always show the stroke's width, and not the width at the current point. As the Line Width Tool functions by adjusting the pressure curve then decreasing the width, will decrease the pressure at that point. However as the pressure is 0-100% of the current stroke's width then increasing it past this point HAS to increase the stroke's width to accommodate the value you are pushing it too. 
If you look under the options on the context toolbar you will see a 'Lock Line Weight' button - this will prevent you from pushing the stroke past its currently set width.

[Yaoif]

Does the new line width tool support asymmetrical line width, meaning change the line width on each side separately?

[Old Bruce]

23 minutes ago, Yaoif said:

Does the new line width tool support asymmetrical line width, meaning change the line width on each side separately?

No.