Creating new (and Modifying) Artboard options

[velarde]

Hello..

 

I'm noticing some strange behavior on Affinity Designer, regarding creating new (and modifying) existing artboards.

Maybe I'm doing it wrong but found the process strange.

 

When I create a new file from scratch I have the ability to choose from a lot of different page presets and options (so good so far)

 

1) The problem is when I want to create a new artboard or modify the existing one.... 

If the new artboard has the same dimensions is just as easy as dragging the first aboard.

But the problem is when you want to create a new artboard with a different sized page/preset .... (attaching screenshot)  For some reason I only see a limited set (iPhone and iPads..) I can't access all the other print presets...

 

 

2) Another problem I see is when I want to change the size of the actual artboard I currently have ... I know I can change the dimensions using the Transform panel.. The thing is that I have to type the measurements manually and I don't know by hard all the custom dimensions of all the papers and electronic devices... Not very useful this way

If i click on the Document Setup... options pretty much all the settings are grayed out and I can't change them from there...  I want to access the presets and change them there using the document presets as a helping guide.  I can only access the units and dpi... again not very useful ...

 

Am I missing something or is this something that can be improved in the workflow...?

 

[Pšenda]

Unfortunately, you can't orientate in your pictures - the first picture is to point two?
It is better to insert images directly into text.

[R C-R]

The only thing I can think of that might be a little bit useful for this is to create some appropriately named & sized artboards as an Assets category, maybe like in this partially filled Page Size Artboards.afassets file.

[velarde]

Thanks for the answers.. but I guess my question is how come I get all the available presets when I create a New document but if I access the Artboard tool I only see a Handful.

 is there a way to customize these so we can add different sized artboards more easily...?

 

 

[R C-R]

The Artboard Tool only offers the built-in "Device" presets, but I don't know why.

[jeffreydevey]

I had a question about this too. I'm curious why the Document Setup options are grayed out here:

[R C-R]

16 minutes ago, jeffreydevey said:

I'm curious why the Document Setup options are grayed out here:

If you mean dimensions, it is because each artboard can have different ones. You can set them in the Transform panel or by dragging the dimensions to different values.

[jeffreydevey]

I guess my question is how does one access the grayed-out functions? In what instances are those options available?

[lepr]

7 hours ago, jeffreydevey said:

I guess my question is how does one access the grayed-out functions? In what instances are those options available?

When there is no Artboard in the document.

[Pšenda]

9 hours ago, R C-R said:

it is because each artboard can have different ones.

The same goes for Margins - each Artboard can have them set differently, and they are set using Document Setup.
It would therefore be consistent, if the dimensions of the individual Artboards could also be set using Document Setup (as well as their Margins).

P.S. I think the name of the Document Setup menu item should change according to the context.
If the document has no Artboards - then it is "Document Setup", because it sets the parameters of the entire document.
If the document has Artboards, it should be changed to "Artboard Setup", and thus set the parameters of individual artboards.

Edited June 4, 2020 by Pšenda

[R C-R]

23 minutes ago, Pšenda said:

The same goes for Margins - each Artboard can have them set differently, and they are set using Document Setup.

At least on my iMac, this seems buggy. I can set different margins for different artboards by selecting each of them in turn, but the 'Include margins' checkbox reverts to unselected on the other artboards, & if I then tick it on any of them, it resets the margins to zero. If I leave 'Include margins' unticked on them, the margins are retained (& show if View > Show Margins is enabled).

IOW, the 'Include margins' checkbox seems to be indicating the opposite of the actual setting.

[lepr]

42 minutes ago, R C-R said:

IOW, the 'Include margins' checkbox seems to be indicating the opposite of the actual setting.

That often happens with non-Artboard documents, too.