Crop: Absolute Size only offers ratio, not absolute size.

[realrobtaylor]

Hi there. 

Just upgraded to Affinity Photo 1.7.0.367 and found that the crop tool doesn't work as it did in previous versions.

I need to create an "actual size" image of a 600 x 600px section of a larger image at 300dpi. This is to help show online customers who are buying prints of the image the kind of detail and resolution they can expect in the real world.

Say the original image is 3000 x 9000px. In v1.7, when I set the Absolute Size to 600 x 600px, I'm just presented with a square crop, the full width of the image. This isn't an absolute size crop of 600 x 600px - it's just a 600:600 ratio.

It then crops the section and resizes it to 600 x 600px, regardless of the size of the area selected on the original image. So if I select an area less than 600 x 600px on the original image, it then scales it up and interpolates it.

All this means there's no apparent difference between using Absolute Size and using those dimensions as a crop ratio. As a result, I can no longer show the detail or quality of prints with any accuracy at all.

Please can we have Absolute Size back?

Thanks.

Rob

[Gabe]

Hi @realrobtaylor,

Thanks for reporting this. We are aware of this issue and it has already been logged with our developers. 

Gabe. 

[Gabe]

Update: I just spoke to one of our devs and we have slightly changed how the crop tool works. In 1.6 the "absolute" was actually not working as it should have.  

If you want the "old" way of absolute, you would have to use the "Unconstrained" mode. That will give you unit-for-unit ratio. So, if you type in 10px x 10px, you will have a 10px x 10px crop region. 

The new and correct Absolute mode gives you an absolute size, and this is how it works: When you type in the value (let's say 10px x 10px) that's what you will get after you apply. You can resize the area to make it bigger or smaller, but when you apply, it will resample and you will end up with a document that respects the value you typed it. 

[CedarHouse]

I would like to use unconstrained mode if there was other alternative dimensions available other than only having "pixels". Only in Absolute mode is there the facility to use other dimensions such as inches, centimeters etc.

Go to DSColour Labs in Manchester or for that matter any other photo lab that provides Fuji Crystal Archive paper and the print sizes available to order are in inches. I like to use 16 inch by 12 inch paper and have my prints with a least an inch white border around the perimeter of the supplied paper to allow room for mounting on a card mount. 500mm by 500mm mounting card. So would look for a image to be say 14 inches in the long (horizontal) direction and 10 inches in the vertical direction. Then copy and paste the image to a 16inch by 12 inch white canvas.

The absolute mode in 1.7 now increases the crop box beyond the original area of the image.  I am hopelessly lost. Type 14 inch into the left hand box and the crop boundary goes up and down beyond the original image size area. Type 10inch and the crop box shrinks in height but is still outside of the original image area. Original image 16.5 inch by 10.98 inch at 300 DPI.

[DM1]

On 6/8/2019 at 12:28 AM, GabrielM said:

The new and correct Absolute mode gives you an absolute size, and this is how it works: When you type in the value (let's say 10px x 10px) that's what you will get after you apply. You can resize the area to make it bigger or smaller, but when you apply, it will resample and you will end up with a document that respects the value you typed it. 

Forgive me for saying this Gabe but, while that is great for resizing, it is pretty useless for cropping. If I want to 'crop' a photo it is because I want to place the viewers focus on a particular area of my photo. With this current (by design) Absolute setting I have no control over the position of the crop. More accurately this is a document 'resize' tool not a 'crop' tool.

The way I feel it should work is that I set an absolute dimension for my crop box and that is what the crop box reverts to. Then I can move that crop box around my photo to see how the desired crop will look at the size I want it.  Custom ratio is no use for this because I cannot specify a specific 'size'. Sure I can transform the custom ratio to make it bopigger or smaller but it gives no size indication. Devs please fix Absolute or add dimensions to custom ratio as crop box is resized. 

[walt.farrell]

2 hours ago, DM1 said:

Forgive me for saying this Gabe but, while that is great for resizing, it is pretty useless for cropping. If I want to 'crop' a photo it is because I want to place the viewers focus on a particular area of my photo. With this current (by design) Absolute setting I have no control over the position of the crop. More accurately this is a document 'resize' tool not a 'crop' tool.

The Absolute Size crop box can be adjusted by its corner handles. It will maintain the ratio of the width:height you specified. You can move it around, make it larger or smaller, and compose the image you want. So you do have control over the position, and the content. And you have control over the resulting size, because as you mentioned it is also a resize. When you have composed your desired image, and press Apply, that image will be the size you asked for regardless of the number of pixels within the cropping box.

If you do not want the image to be resized automatically, then you can either:

1. Choose Unconstrained, and specify the size you want the image to be in the width and height boxes. Then move the crop box around by dragging it in the middle (do not use the corner handles, which change its size). Press Apply when done composing the image, and you have an image of that size.
    
2. Choose Custom Ratio and specify the width and height ratio values (i.e., your desired pixel sizes without the px). Resize and move the box as desired to compose your image, and press Apply when you're happy. You get an image exactly as large in px as your crop box. This is very much like using Absoute Size, except you don't get the resizing, so the image you're left with may be physically smaller or larger than your ultimate goal. Any resizing to get to the image size you want will have to be done manually.