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Multiple selections of Text and combined Font settings


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It seems that when we select multiple separate text objects in Affinity Designer that the align tools, etc appear, and replace the ability to change the font settings for multiple selections. This is a huge deal, and incredibly annoying as I tend to bounce around between different fonts, and sizes during UI design projects. Normally I use Text Styles, but in the early phases I do select multiple text objects.

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  • 6 months later...

How about showing the align & distribute functions in the main toolbar by default, so that one can easily change font properties for multiple text selections without having to first switch to the text tool? (see attached screenshot)

 

post-3711-0-20372000-1432979789_thumb.png

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@rui_mac: these two options should work in any case …  :)

  • To align or distribute text frames on the page, select these frames with the Move Tool and use the Align / Distribute Options in the main toolbar (or the menu options).
  • To align text (left, center, justified, …) within multiple text frames, select these frames with the Move Tool, then select the Text Tool and use the text align options provided by the Text Tool context toolbar.

@sergio: I fear the main toolbar would get cluttered that way …  :unsure:

Text.mov

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@A_B_C you seem to be quite used to this workflow judging from your comment. Yes it works, but it's not efficient nor is it discoverable for new users - i.e. 2 usability sins.

 

The point is to remove the number of steps it takes to complete the task. If you perform this task several times with the improved UX, you'll appreciate the savings in discoverability, cognitive effort, time spent performing the task, and RSI prevention.

 

One other task that could benefit from having the align & distribute functions present in the toolbar by default is changing/adding rounded corners to multiple rectangles. You have to select all the rectangles with the selection tool, then switch to the rectangle tool to get access to the rounded corners options.

 

I think the contextual toolbar should not be used for functionality/options (e.g. align & distribute) common to different object types. It should be reserved for functionality/options that is specific to those objects, e.g. text objects, nodes in curves, etc. And it should be available by default if I have multiple objects of the same type selected.

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@A_B_C would have been better if your reaction was a new post, as opposed to editing the previous one (where you didn't see the point of the suggestion in my screenshot... ;-). This would have shown better how the discussion has been evolving for other interested people.

 

Anyway, to respond to UI clutter in toolbar: you could argue there's other places where it's unnecessarily cluttered. Personally, I prefer having all options available in a single click. But you can always condense the the align & distribute options in a drop-down button in the mail toolbar by default, and offer to show it expanded as a toolbar customization option (like in my previous screenshot).

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Hi sergio,

 

since there was no reply to my post when I started to edit it, I thought it reasonable to make my intention more clear … maybe our postings have crossed in the mean time … so let me apologize for any confusion. I am not a native speaker, so it happens quite often that I have to correct my posts afterwards …  :)

 

Indeed I wanted to make my workflow more clear in reply to rui_mac’s question, and I misunderstood your post in that context … and I must confess I have still trouble to see what your suggestion is all about … You wrote:

 

How about showing the align & distribute functions in the main toolbar by default …

 

But what do you mean by "align and distribute functions"? At first I thought you mean the controls designed by (C.) in my screen shot below (these are the (object) align and distribute functions). But since we can place these controls on the main tool bar by choosing View > Customize Toolbar, my second thought was, that you want to suggest to move (A.) to (B.), thereby using the phrase "align & distribute" in an unusual manner. But then I wondered about the criterion of moving just these controls to the main toolbar (other than this special use case). Thus my comment, that the tool bar might get cluttered …

 

Cheers, Alex  :)

post-1198-0-19969500-1432987396_thumb.png

post-1198-0-93248800-1432987400_thumb.png

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Okay, now I see what you wanted to suggest: even if multiple text frames (objects) are selected, the context toolbar should (regardless of the Tool chosen) still display the font properties (font family, point size, …). Your stress lies on "by default" …

 

I am sorry for having misunderstood this … too stupid …  :(

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@A_B_C sorry for the confusion about the post edits.

 

Regarding align and distribute options in toolbar, I'm referring to © set of controls from your screenshot (i.e. object align and distribute, not text align options). In your screenshot they're all visible.

 

My suggestion to reduce UI clutter is to have the option to place each group (align group, distribute group) behind a single dropdown menu button. When you click that button, all options show in a menu. So users have the option to see always see all (already possible) or, if they edit the toolbar layout, they can replace with the dropdown button.

 

 

Okay, now I see what you wanted to suggest: even if multiple text frames (objects) are selected, the context toolbar should (regardless of the Tool chosen) still display the font properties (font family, point size, …). Your stress lies on "by default" …

 

I am sorry for having misunderstood this … too stupid …  :(

 

 

Not stupid at all, I may have not been clear enough for you.

 

Regarding "Okay, now I see what you wanted to suggest: even if multiple text frames (objects) are selected, the context toolbar should (regardless of the Tool chosen) still display the font properties (font family, point size, …)" Yes, you got it right.

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  • 9 months later...

 

One other task that could benefit from having the align & distribute functions present in the toolbar by default is changing/adding rounded corners to multiple rectangles. You have to select all the rectangles with the selection tool, then switch to the rectangle tool to get access to the rounded corners options.

 

 

I found out about this topic looking for an already made request about multiple selection of rectangles but with the round percentage option available.

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