Degrees of Angle: More accurate than whole ineteger

[megmut]

Hey guys, so I'm very new to affinity, and I've run into my first snag. I'm designing a rotation wheel that is cut up into 7 pieces.

 

I am unable to do this as 360 / 7 = 51.428571. However in Affinity Designer, any non whole integer you enter just ends up getting rounded off. I'm using the Start Angle and End Angle input boxes when the pie chart is selected.

 

Is there a way to turn off angle rounding in Affinity, or.. does anybody know a way around this and create the 7 pieces from scratch without using the pie tool accurately enough?

 

Thanks

 

Nick 

[R C-R]

Try using the cog tool with these settings:

Teeth: 7

Inner radius: 0%

Hole radius: 0%

Tooth size: 100%

Notch size: 0%

Curvature 0%

 

(This will work for any number of segments by changing the number of teeth)

 

To separate the segments into individual shapes, first use the Convert to Curves item from the contextual menu, then if you want each segment on its own layer, use the Divide operation on the Curves layer.

 

I believe the app actually does not round off angle values, but for several reasons it is much easier to use the cog tool for this.

 

(Edited to include notch size)

Edited November 18, 2016 by R C-R

[ronnyb]

Check your preferences for units display accuracy. You can enter how many numbers to display. Internally it doesn't round off, only at the UI level for display purposes (adjustable via prefs).

[R C-R]

Check your preferences for units display accuracy. You can enter how many numbers to display. Internally it doesn't round off, only at the UI level for display purposes (adjustable via prefs).

At least in the current retail version, AD does not have a units display preference setting for angle values. From what I can tell, the angle display is rounded to the nearest 1/10 of a degree, although the angle is not rounded off internally.

[megmut]

Try using the cog tool with these settings:

Teeth: 7

Inner radius: 0%

Hole radius: 0%

Tooth size: 100%

Notch size: 0%

Curvature 0%

 

(This will work for any number of segments by changing the number of teeth)

 

To separate the segments into individual shapes, first use the Convert to Curves item from the contextual menu, then if you want each segment on its own layer, use the Divide operation on the Curves layer.

 

I believe the app actually does not round off angle values, but for several reasons it is much easier to use the cog tool for this.

 

(Edited to include notch size)

 

Okay, I constructed my shape using this method and it worked fine however I'm unable to segment each part off into it's own layer. When I use the Divide operation on the Curves layer, it just fills the centre hole. Though, I can see all 7 curve handles so it's constructed correctly I think.

 

Any advice on how to proceed? Thanks!

[R C-R]

I am not sure what you mean about filling the center hole. There should be no center hole with the hole radius set to zero %.

 

I have attached a small AD document saved with the history so you can step back in the History panel to see the steps I used to create the 7 segments.

 

7 segments.afdesign

[megmut]

I am not sure what you mean about filling the center hole. There should be no center hole with the hole radius set to zero %.

 

I have attached a small AD document saved with the history so you can step back in the History panel to see the steps I used to create the 7 segments.

Thanks, this got me where I needed to go in the end. I took your AD file and created a circle vector, then subtracted it from each segment. Thanks! 

 

I'm trying to upload some screenshots and the finished AD file incase anybody else has this issue, but I can't seem to upload any content in My Media.. this html post editor is weird o.O

[R C-R]

I did not realize you wanted a hole carved out of the center of the segments. You can do that without having to do the subtractions by starting with a cog set as in my first reply, but with the inner radius & hole radius set to the same > 0 % values. Then convert to curves & divide as before.

 

To add attachments like screenshots or Affinity files to your posts, use the "More Reply Options" button next to the "Post" one. This will reveal the Attach Files options. Note that you must both choose  a file & then attach it (with the "Attach This File" button) for this to work.

[Andy Somerfield]

Hi,

 

We are aware of the horrible way we have to upload files to this forum - it bothers us as much as it does you :D

 

We'll be looking to improve this sometime soon..

 

Thanks,

 

Andy.

[wlai]

Hi:  I'm wondering if there's been any changes to the precision level of degree in AD. For example, I'm trying to draw a circle consisting of 16 equally sized slices, and because it rounded up 67.5º to 68º, I'm getting gap in the circle I'm trying to draw.

Thanks,

Will

 

p.s. Attachment seems really easy now!

 

[GarryP]

Welcome to the forums.
If I’m not mistaken, a circle divided into 16 equal slices would require an angle of 22.5 degrees (360/16 = 22.5).
Do you want 16 equal slices, or 67.5 degrees?
Or am I missing the point?

[walt.farrell]

3 hours ago, wlai said:

I'm wondering if there's been any changes to the precision level of degree in AD. For example, I'm trying to draw a circle consisting of 16 equally sized slices, and because it rounded up 67.5º to 68º

Besides what @GarryP said: As mentioned above, internally precision for angles should be maintained at .1 degrees; it's only the display that is rounded. So, if you need 67.5 degrees, say 67.5 degrees and that's what you should get, even though the display may say 68.

(This would also apply if you use 22.5 as Garry suggested.)

[R C-R]

14 minutes ago, walt.farrell said:

As mentioned above, internally precision for angles should be maintained at .1 degrees...

I think the internal precision is actually much higher than that.

[PixelPest]

That´s pretty easy - no?

[R C-R]

2 hours ago, PixelPest said:

That´s pretty easy - no?

Also very easy is to use expressions like 360/7 (51.4285714285714286 or so) in the start or end fields in the context toolbar, or in the "R:" field in the Transform panel to enter precise non-integer angles. Combined with power duplicate like in your GIF, it is trivial to create a 7 segment wheel consisting of 7 pie wedges. With decimal places for degrees set in Preferences > User Interface to its maximum of 6 places, the increments will appear a multiples of 51.428571°, like in this 7 segment wheel.afdesign example.

This makes it clear that the internal precision is greater than 0.1° regardless of any rounding in the display.

[wlai]

Thanks all.  I am not 100% where I went wrong in my first attempt you are all correct, on a second try it worked like a charm!