Arrowheads please. . .

[MattP]

The Pen Tool does act like a Line Tool and lets you preview it while dragging - just choose 'Line Mode' from the Pen Tool's context toolbar and it's a fully functioning Line Tool (unless there's some other specific you need?)

[ronnyb]

Thanks for the prompt response... a few thoughts, Matt:

 

The Line mode is pretty useless, mostly because I can accomplish the exact same thing with the regular Bezier option if I click without dragging. Unless I'm missing something...?

 

The advantage of the line tool is that I can PREVIEW where my line is going as I either:

 

1. click to set the starting point and then drag; OR

 

2. if I click and then move the cursor, it shows a connecting preview BEFORE I place the end node of the line... I hope that makes more sense.

 

 

The Pen Tool does act like a Line Tool and lets you preview it while dragging - just choose 'Line Mode' from the Pen Tool's context toolbar and it's a fully functioning Line Tool (unless there's some other specific you need?)

[ronnyb]

Matt, BTW, the "click to place starting point and click to set ending point" mode of creating shapes is something missing in AD. Sometimes this is much better, for example I can set the starting point zoomed in, and then zoom out and set the ending point. I know you can do it currently with the Magic Mouse while clicking and dragging up or down on the mouse's scroll pad... It's a neat way to do it but it requires more finger gymnastics and control than just placing the start point, zooming in or out and then setting the end point. Of course we would want to see a LIVE preview of the Shape before setting down the last point...

[MattP]

The whole purpose of Line Mode is simply so that you can drag and see the preview instead of having to click in the regular mode - a Line Tool would be exactly the same as permanently turning on Line Mode and bundling it as a new Line Tool, I think?

 

The Pen Tool should be remembering what mode you last had it in between sessions - which it currently isn't doing - and it would be better if there were shortcuts to take you to the Pen Tool in Line Mode for example - then that would get you essentially a new Line Tool top level tool without the extra tool clutter. Maybe that's an idea?

 

EDIT: I noticed that you're talking more about the tool preview of connection to the current mouse point. That's something that can more generally be added to the Pen Tool with a context toolbar option, but I'm still not sure it demands a separate Line Tool

[ronnyb]

Matt! Thanks for clearing that up! Ok I see now how DRAGGING the pen in Line mode acts as a line tool. Very cool, and that solves the missing Line Tool problem (except for those transitioning, but they can learn, dammit!)

 

Yes, I am referring to the PREVIEW connecting the last placed node to the cursor's floating position, i.e., before clicking on the end point of the shape, any shape, not just Pen tool.

 

The "Preview" mode can be extend to all shapes: meaning, one click to set the starting point, then AD shows a LIVE PREVIEW of the shape which follows the cursor, and one click to place the ending point for the shape. This allows zooming in to precise position the starting point (or center), then zooming out to another part of the canvas, and then zooming in to place the last point precisely. It's less effort than trying to hold down the mouse button while zooming in and out with the scroll wheel — which is still very cool btw, and I'm consciously programming that into my muscle memory :)

[ronniemcbride]

Who would of though that arrowheads would be the number one most requested feature? Survey says... lol. I "did my best, but I guess my best was not good enough." lol

[jderisi]

An "Add arrowheads" feature is the only thing that is stopping me from purchasing Affinity and moving completely away from Illustrator. For scientific figure making, this feature is essential.

 

[hevonen]

I also needed these few days ago, so a plus one from me.

[MEB]

I'm sure all the team got the message by now...  :P  

[pilou]

Yes ! Please ! Arrowheads ! I need them for architect drawings

[sergio]

Awesome, can't wait to see support for adding arrows to open paths!

[Krycek]

+1

[idlevine]

This is my first day playing with Designer. Imagine my frustration when I opened a technical drawing created in Illustrator and started to update all the many arrowheads only to find I couldn't. Pleas, please, please add arrowheads.

[ronniemcbride]

Please check out post #16 and post #20 of this thread if you have not already. This might be a useable work around temporarily until it added.

 

Cheers!

[drJock]

Delighted to hear that arrowheads are coming soon.  To trial Designer I tried replicating a schematic diagram that I originally produced in AI.  I found the icons to be significantly quicker & easier to draw in Designer, but then came completely unstuck with the arrows.

 

I downloaded the post #16 brushes and tried my own post #20 pressure profile. However, with each, I ended up with variable size arrow heads & spent so long tweaking to try to get them uniform that pasting in triangles individually would have been quicker.

 

If there’s a beta with arrowheads available, I’d love to join it.  For me also, rapidly deployable arrowheads on curves are essential.

[spyderrr]

+1...

 

Can we get an estimate for when the arrowheads will make it into Affinity?

[spyderrr]

A new major release and still no arrowheads... Come on!

[MEB]

Hi spyderrr,

They are coming. We had to kept the code stable for Photo's release due to its interaction and feature parity with Designer so we avoided to make big changes to the code or add new features.

[alexal]

Hi,

 

I guess I belong to that crowd of scientific-drawing people who desperately need arrowheads to escape Illustrator. But there's one more thing. In science drawing, we often need to visualize *flows*. Technically, these are curved lines, carrying multiple and equally spaced arrowheads. No problem in AI: I just create a short line segment carrying an arrowhead, promote it to a PATTERN BRUSH, and put that brush on a Bezier or similar. 

 

Question: is it planned to include pattern brushes? (I discovered affinity designer only two days ago, in case they are already included, and I was just to dumb to find them, I apologize for asking a stupid question)

[steves]

This feature request goes back to November.  It has been nearly 9 months since this request and they were requested long before here.  This tool is almost useless without them if you intend to make illustrations.  Please put this at the top of the list.

[Stephen_H]

+1 for arrow heads. I have iDraw for the sole feature of its arrowheads & line styles. It has dimension lines with labels – draw a line with with the label style and it automatically adds arrow heads and the length of the line is dynamically as text in the middle. It is incredibly time saving if you need to add measurements to a detailed floorplan or a display stand for an expo.

 

Please have look at iDraw for inspiration when you get around to developing this feature.

 

(I think our biggest frustration regarding the lack of arrowheads is that we have had it in other apps for more than 10 years, so we assume it's now practically an opensource feature with the code being widely available – not a complex new feature requiring massive R&D)

 

Thanks guys.

[bpedit]

Ditto on resorting to iDraw for half my work. Too bad, it's kind of clunky on execution compared to Affinity but has the essential tools for technical work.

[steves]

A new major release and still no arrowheads... Come on!

 

Another release and still no arrowheads ...

[peter]

Have you tried the arrow tool? It's in the left vertical tool bar, in vector persona.

[bpedit]

I assume you mean "Draw Persona" in English language version, maybe a translation issue.

The tool you refer to, although ungainly to use, is indeed useful. . . in maybe 5% of instances where arrowheads are needed. Those of us who regularly use arrowheads need them as attributes of lines, bezier as well as linear.