Designer v2: Portions of my graphics just disappear or seem cut off... what can I do to fix?

[Otto Manuel]

Affinity Designer v2.6.2 

OS Name    Microsoft Windows 10 Pro
Version    10.0.19045 Build 19045
Processor    11th Gen Intel(R) Core(TM) i9-11900H @ 2.50GHz, 2496 Mhz, 8 Core(s), 16 Logical Processor(s)
Installed Physical Memory (RAM)    32.0 GB

System Manufacturer    Micro-Star International Co., Ltd.
System Model    Creator 17 B11UH
Graphics    NVIDIA GeForce RTX 3080 Laptop GPU

Hi,

I have a problem that occurs not infrequently, but it almost always works out okay. Today I am stuck.

Occasionally, or perhaps often, when I am editing, moving, or zooming a group of elements, I see cut-offs or distortions on the display of the artboard. I usually reconcile this by purposefully zooming the view in and out to "jog" the display's memory. I imagine that zooming the view somehow refreshes the display, and the entire grouped object will suddenly become displayed as a whole.

Yesterday, I created some grouped elements and encountered the issue, but the procedure above resolved it.

Later, I started copying and pasting the grouped elements into a composite illustration and found that one of the elements was persistently cut off at the bottom.

I can not get it to display properly.

Here is a cropped image of the file where I created a collection of several grouped elements, which I consider graphic assets. I captured a screenshot with the blue boundary lines, as I believe it may be a clue to why the issue is occurring.  FWIW, the assets include group warped layers.

 

Here is a cropped image where I have copied/pasted some of the graphic assets into another file as I begin to assemble an illustration. Notice how the lower portion of the leaves has disappeared.

 

As I mentioned, I frequently encounter distorted fragments or disappearances like this and can restore the display, but in this case, I am stuck.

It occurs to me that it's time to identify the underlying problem and utilize Affinity Designer's features more effectively.

Can you please suggest a solution?

Thank you!

 

 

[Ldina]

@Otto Manuel I can't be positive without seeing the original file you are copying from....but....look at the bounding box in your top screenshot. It lops off the lower part of the image you are trying to duplicate. Perhaps you are targeting another layer and copying the area limited to that bounding box?

[Otto Manuel]

Hi,

Thank you for taking an interest.

All of the graphic assets I have created exhibit portions that extend beyond the bounding box. As I say, I often do have issues with this.

The other assets that I have pasted into my composite illustration are working ok, but in this case, I can not get this particular group to settle the matter.

Here is an example of the same asset element pasted into a brand-new file.

I copied and pasted the group into a new project file. Everything looks fine.

 

I dragged the group around the artboard, and the distortion I mentioned appears.

 

I dragged the group some more, and the distortions disappeared, but the clean cutoff appears and persists.

 

With just this single group in the project, I can likely get the element to settle down and display properly. However, in the complex composite illustration I intend to use this group in, the problem seems persistent.

I am hoping there is a way I can learn to prevent this.

Thank you.

 

[Ldina]

So for clarity, these are "Assets" that you have saved into your Assets Panel in Designer as a group? Or are you copying and pasting from one document to another? 

Someone else may have a definitive answer with the info you provided, but I'd probably need to see your Designer document, and if you are adding an Asset from your Assets Panel, a copy of that saved asset. 

BTW, I'm on a Mac, but hopefully it is just a workflow issue and not a Windows bug.

[Otto Manuel]

When I refer to assets, I mean simply the elements that I have illustrated in other project files, which I use as reference files. I copy and paste my assets into new files.

I am not using any of the asset features or the asset panel.

And, as I mentioned, the display issue occurs frequently across many projects.

[Ldina]

I can't provide additional help without seeing your files.

[Otto Manuel]

I've just figured out that in the composite illustration, I was using a Vibrance Adjustment on the group, which created a mask that I suppose caused the persistent cropping.

But this does not explain why the problem even occurs in the first place.

Additionally, I am applying adjustments to many of the other groups in the composite illustration, and they exhibit the same problem. I had not noticed it because of the density of the overlaid elements.

In the second example, which shows just the single group, there are no adjustment layers involved, which is probably why I can restore the display by adjusting the zoom, position, etc. 

So, I have two problems: one where distortions and on/off cropping occur, and another where the adjustment masks will not extend beyond the bounding box.

[R C-R]

2 hours ago, Otto Manuel said:

Here is an example of the same asset element pasted into a brand-new file.

For that file, if you are unwilling to post it so we can examine it, can you at least post a screenshot of the Layers panel with the selection that creates that bounding box (the blue outline) shown in that panel, including showing any of its child layers?

[lepr]

Here's a video showing the bug when an object inside a Warp Group is reduced in size. At the end, I rasterise the Warp Group to show that there is more to the bug than just a screen refresh problem.

 

 

 

[lepr]

5 hours ago, Otto Manuel said:

It occurs to me that it's time to identify the underlying problem and utilize Affinity Designer's features more effectively.

Can you please suggest a solution?

 

 

It's a bug. Serif never give time frames for bug fixes and some have lingered for a decade. You could try selecting the Warp Group and doing Convert To Curves, but that can produce other distortions.

[Otto Manuel]

Yes,

 The display issue, with the distortions and the temporary cut-off, happens to me too frequently for me to think that it is specific to a particular file.

 I have imagined it was a graphics processing issue that occurs on a subset of computers, and I continue to hope that someone may have learned of and can suggest a setting that prevents it from happening. I can appreciate that some have never encountered the issue, but I also know some do. Hopefully, someone will recognize the issue and figure out a solution.

 However, the initiation of this thread was inspired by the seeming permanence of the cut-off. As I mentioned, I was unable to "jog" the display back to normal. I have since learned that the impression of permanent cutting off is caused by masking, which was applied when I used an adjustment layer. When I removed the adjustment layer, my experience became familiar again, which is to say "the distortions and the temporary cut-off happen to me too frequently for me to think that it is specific to a particular file."

 I can live with that.

 It does not seem necessary that the distortions have to occur, but I have been working with it for many years.

Thank you.

[NathanC]

Apologies for the late response, transforming objects and groups that exist within warp group containers does currently trigger redraw issues which leave marks on the Canvas. This is a known issue currently logged internally with the developers which I've now updated and bumped.

[lepr]

4 hours ago, NathanC said:

Apologies for the late response, transforming objects and groups that exist within warp group containers does currently trigger redraw issues which leave marks on the Canvas. This is a known issue currently logged internally with the developers which I've now updated and bumped.

My video demonstrates there is more wrong than just redraw - the result of Rasterise is also wrong. Is that logged, too?

[NathanC]

18 hours ago, lepr said:

My video demonstrates there is more wrong than just redraw - the result of Rasterise is also wrong. Is that logged, too?

Sorry- didn't originally spot that, this has now also been logged.