Make CTRL+drag and CTRL+rotate behave the same way (= duplicate)

[dominik]

As I posted earlier in the Beta Testing Forum I believe it would be good if CTRL+drag and CTRL+rotate would behave the same way.

 

CTRL+drag an object copies the original object. CTRL+rotate does not. I personally find this inconsistent.

 

It may not be so obvious if you rotate an object around it's centerpoint in it's original position.

 

But if you move the center point to somewhere outside an object, a CTRL+rotate becomes very similar to a drag operation. Just not along a straight path but on a curved path. To me this looks like a dragging operation.

 

This could be a valuable help if you want to copy and place a couple of objects along a circle.

 

What do others think?

 

d.

[Alfred]

As I posted to the other thread, I also expected Ctrl+rotate (and Alt+rotate) to create a copy. This seems logical to me, and consistent with the behaviour of Ctrl+drag.

 

I know that Affinity Designer is not Serif DrawPlus, but Ctrl+rotate in DP behaves as we expect, so its programmers obviously agreed with us!

[Aammppaa]

Argh! This drives me crazy too!

 

Ctrl + Rotate should make a duplicate... why do we need the extra step of make a duplicate and then rotate.

 

Please Affinity, make it so.

[Gear maker]

Noooo.   I do almost all my rotates with ctrl rotate because usually I want to rotate with a corner anchored.  It is usually easer to visualize that a corner is in the appropriate spot then to imaging where the center is and that it's where you want it.  In fact if I had my way I'd have opt drag not make duplicates.  I spend a significant amount of time deleting duplicates I don't want because I hit opt before starting to drag when I want to ignore snapping.  Ctrl rotate I think is one of the handiest actions available. 

 

My two cents.

[Alfred]

Noooo.   I do almost all my rotates with ctrl rotate because usually I want to rotate with a corner anchored.  It is usually easer to visualize that a corner is in the appropriate spot then to imaging where the center is and that it's where you want it.  In fact if I had my way I'd have opt drag not make duplicates.  I spend a significant amount of time deleting duplicates I don't want because I hit opt before starting to drag when I want to ignore snapping.  Ctrl rotate I think is one of the handiest actions available. 

 

My two cents.

 

We're talking at cross-purposes here: like me, the other contributors to this thread are using Affinity Designer on Windows, where Ctrl is the equivalent of Cmd on a Mac. No one is suggesting that we should lose the ability to rotate an object about the opposite corner.

 

As for unwanted duplicates, I think you just have to train yourself to start dragging before you press Option/Alt, instead of trying to do it the other way around!

[Bri-Toon]

As for unwanted duplicates, I think you just have to train yourself to start dragging before you press Option/Alt, instead of trying to do it the other way around!

 

This does, however, become an issue when zoomed in a lot and working with small objects. I'm not sure why there are two keyboard shortcuts to duplicate.

 

Anyway, I agree to the main topic. Sure, copied objects will paste in the same position they were copied from for a workaround, but this would speed up production for precise power duplicates.

[Aammppaa]

Personally I prefer the duplication method used by Xara Designer - using the right mouse button.

• Right click + drag - creates a single copy.
• Right click + drag + left click(s) - creates a copy every time the left button is clicked.
• Right click + rotate - creates a single rotated copy.
• Right click + rotate + left click(s) - creates a rotated copy every time the left button is clicked.

 

It is quick, versatile and elegant. Can be done with one hand and without the need to remember which modifier key(s) you need to press!

 

[Bri-Toon]

^^ Well that would certainly take me a while to get use to.

[MikeW]

^^ Well that would certainly take me a while to get use to.

 

Being that I am also an XDP user, I would also prefer the method suggested by Aammppaa. Of course I would...

 

When I downloaded the trial for XDP back at version 6, I would say it took a whole 2 minutes to be accustomed to the XDP method.

[dominik]

I'm not sure why there are two keyboard shortcuts to duplicate.

 

When you CTRL+drag the object get's duplicated and the copy snaps to the boundaries of the original.

When you ALT+drag the copied object does not snap to any object.

 

:)

 

d.

[dominik]

No one is suggesting that we should lose the ability to rotate an object about the opposite corner.

 

 

And I just learned that this is possible. Thank you, all  :)

 

In Windows you Left + Right click and drag with the mouse to accomplish this. Good to know.

 

d.

[Bri-Toon]

When you CTRL+drag the object get's duplicated and the copy snaps to the boundaries of the original.

When you ALT+drag the copied object does not snap to any object.

 

:)

 

d.

 

I didn't know that, though I think there should still just be one option since snapping can easily be toggled on or off. It is easy to make the mistake of pressing Alt first for precise positioning. And even if holding Shift so the object doesn't lose alignment, it will wiggle near its starting position when moving. So I think it's better to press Alt first when zoomed in so the object doesn't take large leaps.

 

And I apologize if I'm getting too far off topic again.

[dominik]

It is easy to make the mistake of pressing Alt first for precise positioning.

 

Hi bleduc,

 

to what function are you referring here? I am asking because I am not aware of an precise® positioning feature. And I could think that this would be handy  :)

 

d.

[Bri-Toon]

Hi bleduc,

 

to what function are you referring here? I am asking because I am not aware of an precise® positioning feature. And I could think that this would be handy  :)

 

d.

 

Create two squares, and then zoom in to about 30,000 percent. Try moving one of the squares closer to another, and you will see the positioning takes leaps because of how much you are zoomed in. But if you drag and hold Alt, then the square moves more precisely.

[dominik]

Create two squares, and then zoom in to about 30,000 percent. Try moving one of the squares closer to another, and you will see the positioning takes leaps because of how much you are zoomed in. But if you drag and hold Alt, then the square moves more precisely.

 

OK, I hardly ever zoom in that close. I have a hard time to see a difference in the moving speed. To me it seems to be about the same. Strange...

 

Are you on a Mac? Or are you using a pen to do this?

 

d.

[Bri-Toon]

I have a Mac, and I use both pen and mouse. I first learned this when I used print-size paper and had art in different comic panels.

[dominik]

I have a Mac, and I use both pen and mouse.

 

I see. Perhaps then there is a difference in functionality between Mac and Windows. Perhaps someone from Serif can confirm this?

 

d.

[Bri-Toon]

I see. Perhaps then there is a difference in functionality between Mac and Windows. Perhaps someone from Serif can confirm this?

 

d.

 

Well in that case, I should just make a new topic for if it really gets in the way of my work. I don't mean to take over the discussion here with something irrelevant. I just meant to bring up a small point factor.

[Alfred]

Create two squares, and then zoom in to about 30,000 percent. Try moving one of the squares closer to another, and you will see the positioning takes leaps because of how much you are zoomed in. But if you drag and hold Alt, then the square moves more precisely.

 

Aren't you just talking about holding Alt to disable snapping? :unsure:

[Bri-Toon]

Aren't you just talking about holding Alt to disable snapping? :unsure:

 

No, to stop the object from taking wild leaps, but this is normal in tight spaces. You may not realize it, but when you move objects, they move by pixel percentages. Holding Alt will allow them to move by even smaller percentages.

[Alfred]

No, to stop the object from taking wild leaps, but this is normal in tight spaces. You may not realize it, but when you move objects, they move by pixel percentages. Holding Alt will allow them to move by even smaller percentages.

 

Pixel percentages? If you mean whole pixels, that's just a snapping option, but no doubt you'll tell me if you meant something else!

[Bri-Toon]

First of all, I apologize to the main poster and staff for falling off topic.

 

Pixel percentages? If you mean whole pixels, that's just a snapping option, but no doubt you'll tell me if you meant something else!

 

As I was cooking up an example, I just figured out the problem. All this time, I didn't have snapping enabled, but I did have Force Pixel Alignment enabled. I realized that holding Alt while that option is toggled on will act as if it is off. If you are still confused, here is an example.

 

Angie Example.afdesign

 

With Force Pixel Alignment turned on, click on the line indicating the joint on Angie's arm, and try dragging it. It will drag by pixels, but if you hold Alt, it will drag more smoothly.

[dominik]

I just figured out the problem. All this time, I didn't have snapping enabled, but I did have Force Pixel Alignment enabled. I realized that holding Alt while that option is toggled on will act as if it is off.

 

Hi bleduc,

 

thank you, now I can follow you and see the advantage of overriding 'Force Pixel Alignement'.

 

As I stated before I hardly zoom in as close as you do and did not work with 'Force Pixel Alignement' turned on.

 

Something new learned here. And, no problem (for me) for going off topic  :)

 

d.