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I think we need to talk about SHIFT + <resize object>


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I'm sure somewhere on this whole forum is a big discussion about Affinity Designer's decision and recounted inconsistencies about how it handles SHIFT + <resize object>. I'm sorry if I've tread into an already well-debated topic with a new thread.

 

While I believe the original Affinity idea and implementation is that proportional resizing is almost always used so it should be the default (therefore SHIFT + <resize object> performs the action non-proportionally). However, I find the implementation across different types of use cases in AD is extraordinarily inconsistent.

 

In fact, when I try to recount the different use cases, I can't remember if they scale proportionally or not because of the inconsistencies and variety of use cases.

 

At the most basic level, it seems really inconsistent that a group is sized proportionally, but a shape (rectangle, circle, etc.) isn't. Turning a shape into a symbol then makes the default resizing action behave proportionally.

 

Layers and groups are symbolically the same, so their resize behaviour seems the same too. However an artboard (effectively similar as it holds objects) is not resized the same as a layer/group (holding down shift and resizing the artboard does it proportionally).

 

Images and text are sized proportionally. Drawings (i.e. with the pen/pencil tool) are not sized proportionally.

 

If the default proportional resizing action is to <resize object> WITHOUT holding down shift, then it should be carried across all use cases, making holding down SHIFT + <resize object> resize  non-proportionally.

 

User experience-wise, I don't like having to keep track & adjust for the inconsistent behaviour — it is not intuitive nor consistent and causes friction. I just want non-proportional resizing when not holding down SHIFT, and when holding down SHIFT for the resizing to be proportional. Is it possible to have this as an option in the app?

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In both Affinity Designer and Affinity Photo there is a setting for this under 'Preferences > Tools'. The 'Move Tool Aspect Constrain' dropdown list allows you to opt out of the automatic behaviour, choosing instead between 'Constrain by default' and 'Do not constrain by default'.

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Affinity Designer/Photo/Publisher 2 for Windows • Windows 10 Home/Pro
Affinity Designer/Photo/Publisher 2 for iPad • iPadOS 17.4.1 (iPad 7th gen)

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  • 2 weeks later...

Thanks Alfred!

 

Good find.. i also found the default resize behavior of objects inconsistent but this little preference will help.

 

 

In both Affinity Designer and Affinity Photo there is a setting for this under 'Preferences > Tools'. The 'Move Tool Aspect Constrain' dropdown list allows you to opt out of the automatic behaviour, choosing instead between 'Constrain by default' and 'Do not constrain by default'.

------------------------

Fernando Velarde

www.velarde.com

Instagram.com/soyfervelarde

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  • 2 months later...

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