Borders around images

[IRO]

Should one be able to place a border directly around an image without placing the image in a picture frame? I have actually tried and it appears to work, but I get variable results that seem to be confined to the Align options in the Stroke panel. For example, if I choose to have the border either side of the picture boundary (the first Align option) I sometimes see a stroke width about half the size of that selected. If I choose the second Align option (border within picture boundary) I see the full width of the stroke selected, but if I choose the third Align option (border outside the picture boundary) I see no border at all. However, this behaviour is not consistent; with some images it works correctly, with others I get the result as just described. I am unable to see any distinction between the images that work and those that do not. I have only used JPG files.

[Steps]

What do you mean by "border"?

The only thing I can see is applying the Layer Effect "Outline".

Beware: Layer Effects currently are broken when you try to copy them with "paste FX".

[dominik]

7 hours ago, IRO said:

Should one be able to place a border directly around an image without placing the image in a picture frame? I have actually tried and it appears to work, but I get variable results that seem to be confined to the Align options in the Stroke panel. For example, if I choose to have the border either side of the picture boundary (the first Align option) I sometimes see a stroke width about half the size of that selected. If I choose the second Align option (border within picture boundary) I see the full width of the stroke selected, but if I choose the third Align option (border outside the picture boundary) I see no border at all. However, this behaviour is not consistent; with some images it works correctly, with others I get the result as just described. I am unable to see any distinction between the images that work and those that do not. I have only used JPG files.

Hello @IRO,

welcome to the forum.

Yes, it is possible to add a border to an image that is not placed in a picture frame. Just make sure you have the Move Tool active (keyboard shortcut 'V'). The picture behaves like any other object. You simply add a border from the tool bar or from the Stroke Studio (= stroke panel).

Regarding variable results with the align options: make sure the option 'Draw behind fill' is ticked off. Otherwise the border will partly or completely be covered by the image.

I hope this helps 
d.

[IRO]

Thank you for your confirmation that images should behave like any other object. I have made sure that 'Draw behind fill' is not ticked for any of these images. However, the behaviour that I am observing is that if I choose that the border is drawn completely outside the image border, than I see nothing 'in some cases'! I have attached an example file which demonstrates the anomalous behaviour that I previously described.

I am very much a novice user (just trying to see how better this program is compared to MS Publisher), so I am not certain if this is a bug. I have no idea as to the basis of the different behaviour between the different pictures in my example file. I think this needs a much more technically adept individual than myself!

Is there a way of referring this to the developers? Thanks for your help.

Example.afpub

[dominik]

26 minutes ago, IRO said:

Thank you for your confirmation that images should behave like any other object. I have made sure that 'Draw behind fill' is not ticked for any of these images. However, the behaviour that I am observing is that if I choose that the border is drawn completely outside the image border, than I see nothing 'in some cases'! I have attached an example file which demonstrates the anomalous behaviour that I previously described.

I am very much a novice user (just trying to see how better this program is compared to MS Publisher), so I am not certain if this is a bug. I have no idea as to the basis of the different behaviour between the different pictures in my example file. I think this needs a much more technically adept individual than myself!

Is there a way of referring this to the developers? Thanks for your help.

Example.afpub

Hello @IRO,

thankyou for the Example.afpub.

I think I understand what the problem with some of the pictures is. All those where you have a problem with the border are images that you cropped with a rectangle. If this rectange is smaller than the actual image the rectangle will crop off parts of the image's border.

It is important to understand that the border is a property of the image, not of the cropping rectangle. To assign a border to the size of the image that is displayed you have to add the border to the rectangle itself - not to the image.

There is a second source for confusion. I assume you cropped the images by placing a rectangle above the image and then clicked on 'Mask to Below' in the Layers Studio.

I would do it differently: place the rectangle above the image and then, in the Layers Studio, pick the image and move it inside (or underneath) the rectangle. You can see a blue line indicating where the image will be placed. That way the rectangle turns into a clipping mask that can have its own property of border.

I am aware that this may sound a little confusing. I want to suggest to read this thread about the difference between Clipping and Masking.
And I want to point you to this video tutorial by Affinity that explains the difference, too:

I hope this helps to understand the issue.

d.

[IRO]

Hi dominik

Thank you for identifying that this is a problem with cropped images. I was just cropping the images using the crop tool and adjusting the 'handles' horizontally and vertically on the four sides, but clearly this creates a cropped image which still has its original borders (though hidden) and behaves as you describe. I agree that your suggested method overcomes the problem and I now understand the issue. Many thanks for the video tutorial link and for sorting out this problem. This clearly is a much more sophisticated program than I have used in the past. Thank you again.

I

[dominik]

1 hour ago, IRO said:

Hi dominik

Thank you for identifying that this is a problem with cropped images. I was just cropping the images using the crop tool and adjusting the 'handles' horizontally and vertically on the four sides, but clearly this creates a cropped image which still has its original borders (though hidden) and behaves as you describe. I agree that your suggested method overcomes the problem and I now understand the issue. Many thanks for the video tutorial link and for sorting out this problem. This clearly is a much more sophisticated program than I have used in the past. Thank you again.

I

Hi @IRO,

you are welcome. I am glad to help.

Exploring and getting accustumed to a new piece of software (and its workflow) takes some time. Together with Affinity Designer and Affintiy Photo it is almost an universe of possibilities that can be overwhelming 

d.