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Presets in the Crop Tool with fixed pixel sizes do not work any longer


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I have just upgraded Affinity Photo from version 1.6.x to 1.7.2. In my old version 1.6.x, I created a couple of presets in the Crop tool for fixed pixel sizes, e.g.

3870 x 2580
3702 x 2468
3534 x 2356

...

Those presets got lost after the upgrade. OK, so I'm going to re-create them in version 1.7.2. But I was not able to do this, no matter what I tried:

1. When I set fixed pixel sizes in the "Unconstrained" mode, then the "Create Preset..." function in the presets drop-down box is grayed out, i.e. the function is not available.

2. When I set fixed pixel sizes in the "Resample" mode, then the "Create Preset..." function in the presets drop-down box is available and I can create a preset. However, when I select the preset, then it is not executed, i.e. the crop box in the image remains unchanged.

 

So, there is somewhere a bug in version 1.7.2. Either, the "Create Preset..." function for "Unconstrained" mode must be enabled, or the presets in "Resample" mode shall actually work.

I'm using crop presets for specific, fixed pixel sizes for every photo that I process in Affinity Photo. This is quite a disappointment, that such an important function is not working any more.

Please inform me, if there is a work-around for this function. Otherwise, please inform me and the community, when you make this function available again.

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Cropping changed in 1.7 (and in 1.7.2, I think). I am not sure if there are currently bugs waiting to be fixed, or if cropping is now working as Serif intends. But with the current behavior, I think the following is true (and not a bug):

  1. Unconstrained would not have a "fixed" pixel size, because (as the name "unconstrained" implies) you can change the size and ratio of the crop. That would be a possible reason for making "Create Preset" unavailable. You might want a "Custom Ratio" preset instead.
     
  2. For a Resample or a Custom Ratio kind of crop preset, the box will have the proper ratio but will cover as much of the image as possible. (It may even be larger in the vertical dimension than the image, which I think is an acknowledged bug.)

    As it covers as much of the image as possible, if you happen to create a preset which has the same aspect ratio as the original image then the crop box won't change when you switch to that preset. That is, for either Resample or Custom Ratio, if your original image was 2000 by 1000 px (2:1) and your new specified size is 1000 by 500 px (also 2:1) then for both the crop box will (correctly) cover the entire image.

-- Walt
Designer, Photo, and Publisher V1 and V2 at latest retail and beta releases
PC:
    Desktop:  Windows 11 Pro, version 23H2, 64GB memory, AMD Ryzen 9 5900 12-Core @ 3.00 GHz, NVIDIA GeForce RTX 3090 

    Laptop:  Windows 11 Pro, version 23H2, 32GB memory, Intel Core i7-10750H @ 2.60GHz, Intel UHD Graphics Comet Lake GT2 and NVIDIA GeForce RTX 3070 Laptop GPU.
iPad:  iPad Pro M1, 12.9": iPadOS 17.4.1, Apple Pencil 2, Magic Keyboard 
Mac:  2023 M2 MacBook Air 15", 16GB memory, macOS Sonoma 14.4.1

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Dear Walt,

thanks for the answer. I still think, that we have a bug here, or at least the disappearance of a function that existed before.

In version 1.6.x, I created a set of crop presets with absolute pixel dimensions, as listed above (e.g. 3870 x 2580, 3702 x 2468, 3534 x 2356, ...). I do not care about ratios, etc. I want to crop my images at exactly those pixels sizes, which I select for a given photo. Now in version 1.7.2, I struggle to re-create those presets with absolute pixel sizes. I have found no way how to do that. I described the failed trials above in my original post. Can you explain, how I can created presets with absolute pixel sizes in version 1.7.2?

If that is not possible any longer, then it is a function that has been taken away from Affinity Photo, or it is a bug. It was a great time safer for me. Now, I would have to enter the exact pixel size numbers for each photo that I want to crop every time again.

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3 hours ago, TThomsen said:

If that is not possible any longer, then it is a function that has been taken away from Affinity Photo, or it is a bug. It was a great time safer for me. Now, I would have to enter the exact pixel size numbers for each photo that I want to crop every time again.

I believe the ability to create presets for an absolute pixel size has been removed. Though it is possible that there is a bug in Unconstrained that disallows the creation of presets, and which might approximate your need.

It is certainly true that the bottom-most crop method from the Crop Tool's pulldown, that you probably used to create your 1.6 presets, no longer exists and was replaced with the Resample option in 1.7.

-- Walt
Designer, Photo, and Publisher V1 and V2 at latest retail and beta releases
PC:
    Desktop:  Windows 11 Pro, version 23H2, 64GB memory, AMD Ryzen 9 5900 12-Core @ 3.00 GHz, NVIDIA GeForce RTX 3090 

    Laptop:  Windows 11 Pro, version 23H2, 32GB memory, Intel Core i7-10750H @ 2.60GHz, Intel UHD Graphics Comet Lake GT2 and NVIDIA GeForce RTX 3070 Laptop GPU.
iPad:  iPad Pro M1, 12.9": iPadOS 17.4.1, Apple Pencil 2, Magic Keyboard 
Mac:  2023 M2 MacBook Air 15", 16GB memory, macOS Sonoma 14.4.1

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I remember that too, that there was in version 1.6.x at the bottom of the pulldown a function, that I used for creating the absolute pixel size presets. In deed, it looks whether that was removed and is now replaced by a "Resample" function, which is apparently dysfunctional. I do not see any effect of the "Resample" function, once I hit the apply button. The online help is not updated as well to describe this function. So, this is really something that shall be resolved by Affinity:

1. Enable the "Create Preset..." function for the "Unconstrained" mode of the Crop tool.

2. Fix the "Resample" function.

3. Properly describe the "Resample" function in the online help.

Maybe someone from Affinity could commend this request. Can we expect improvements in version 1.7.3?

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14 minutes ago, TThomsen said:

I do not see any effect of the "Resample" function, once I hit the apply button.

The effect will depend on (a) whether you changed the size and/or DPI values on the Context Toolbar and (b) whether you changed the size of the crop box before pressing apply and (c) the unit values you specified on the Context Toolbar.

For example, I start with the following image which is 4948x3280px at 300 DPI

image.thumb.png.22e21ad3681351a83fd0b213d808d5c6.png

I change to Resample, and change the units to inches, and the Context Toolbar shows this:

image.png.08c3ad4e15ff878b10c46716021d6b81.png

I know that I want a 15x10 inch image, so I change the size to 15x10, giving this in the Context Toolbar:

image.png.b1a1a557ab55a69e3fe2d3f2c66b5e71.png 

Note that the Crop size on the right changed.

Since my chosen size does not match the original size, some cropping will be needed. I adjust the crop box to compose the crop, and the box is forced to maintain that 4500:3000 ratio. I compose the image, and I decide on:

image.png.98a873a86dcba8f593ab757c14a6953d.png

I then press Apply, and I get:

image.thumb.png.e29a535ba8d7eb22c38b56d42dc35f1d.png

It is a 15x10 inch image, at 300 DPI, that will print perfectly on the paper I choose to use.

It is possible that the way you are trying to use it it doesn't seem to be working, or you don't understand exactly what it is doing, but without seeing your images and the sequence of actions you're taking I can't comment further. Sorry.

image.png

-- Walt
Designer, Photo, and Publisher V1 and V2 at latest retail and beta releases
PC:
    Desktop:  Windows 11 Pro, version 23H2, 64GB memory, AMD Ryzen 9 5900 12-Core @ 3.00 GHz, NVIDIA GeForce RTX 3090 

    Laptop:  Windows 11 Pro, version 23H2, 32GB memory, Intel Core i7-10750H @ 2.60GHz, Intel UHD Graphics Comet Lake GT2 and NVIDIA GeForce RTX 3070 Laptop GPU.
iPad:  iPad Pro M1, 12.9": iPadOS 17.4.1, Apple Pencil 2, Magic Keyboard 
Mac:  2023 M2 MacBook Air 15", 16GB memory, macOS Sonoma 14.4.1

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3 hours ago, TThomsen said:

As mentioned in my original post, I just want to create a couple of presets with absolute pixel sizes for images to be cropped. No rescaling , no DPI changes or anything else. Just that.

I understand. We'll have to wait for Serif to tell us if that is currently supposed to be possible.

-- Walt
Designer, Photo, and Publisher V1 and V2 at latest retail and beta releases
PC:
    Desktop:  Windows 11 Pro, version 23H2, 64GB memory, AMD Ryzen 9 5900 12-Core @ 3.00 GHz, NVIDIA GeForce RTX 3090 

    Laptop:  Windows 11 Pro, version 23H2, 32GB memory, Intel Core i7-10750H @ 2.60GHz, Intel UHD Graphics Comet Lake GT2 and NVIDIA GeForce RTX 3070 Laptop GPU.
iPad:  iPad Pro M1, 12.9": iPadOS 17.4.1, Apple Pencil 2, Magic Keyboard 
Mac:  2023 M2 MacBook Air 15", 16GB memory, macOS Sonoma 14.4.1

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4 hours ago, TThomsen said:

As mentioned in my original post, I just want to create a couple of presets with absolute pixel sizes for images to be cropped. No rescaling , no DPI changes or anything else. Just that.

Seconded, I'm missing this as well in 1.7.2. Hopefully in the next update, I really don't want to have to roll back to 1.6.5 for a second time;  I really do enjoy the performance of the new version, but for a large image set, the crop tool without my presets would just really slow me down.

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Hey TThomsen,

On 8/25/2019 at 12:45 AM, TThomsen said:

2. When I set fixed pixel sizes in the "Resample" mode, then the "Create Preset..." function in the presets drop-down box is available and I can create a preset. However, when I select the preset, then it is not executed, i.e. the crop box in the image remains unchanged.

 

Could you record a quick video of this, please? I've done a quick test and it seems to be executing it for me.

I will ask the developers about allowing us to add presets in Unconstrained mode. 

I think generally we should just be able to add duplicate presets. For example we cannot add your 3870 x 2580 because it already exists as 3 : 2.

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This is my original image, which I want to crop. The original pixel size is 3872 x 2592 px, as shown in the tool bar.

Crop_Tool_Step01.thumb.png.688bf4178b9cf9d779e27d873abc61c8.png

I want to crop this to 3192 x 2128 px. So, I call the crop tool.

Crop_Tool_Step02.thumb.png.7f47aedf664439697bf9ead23cdc2253.png

Please note there, that the tool is in "Unconstrained" mode and populates the pixel size boxes with 3872 x 2581,3. That is strange. Why this weird number "2581,3"? This looks like a bug to me. It should be the original size 2592px.

I have previously created a few crop presets. One preset is "3192 x 2128" with 3192 px x 2128 px and 72 DPI. As the tool does not allow me to create presets in "Unconstrained" mode, I have chosen the "Resample" mode. I can store absolute pixel sizes here as a preset. So, I choose my preset "3192 x 2128".

Crop_Tool_Step03.thumb.png.dc2795806b3954648ea31e613e16da54.png

This is what I get, after I selected the preset.

Crop_Tool_Step04.thumb.png.4075a7706af82c97083452bdbfc4d445.png

The tool reports 3192 px x 2128 px at 72 DPI. But the crop box on top of the image is unchanged. When I click on "Apply", then just a few pixels get cropped at the top and bottom, and the image has now the size 3192 x 2128. This is the end result.

Crop_Tool_Step05.thumb.png.d62e5b47164e8f7886a9561c5442c413.png

Technically, this is also cropping, as a few lines of pixels at the top and bottom of the image have been removed. What this "resample" function is actually doing, is to change the pixel sizes of the image without actually cropping the image (except those few pixel lines). This is very confusing and should not be called "Crop". This is "resizing" or "resampling" the image, but this is not "cropping". 

What do I actually want? I want to create a preset in "Unconstrained" mode with the pixel size 3192 x 2128. The DPI is of no interest here. After I selected this preset, the crop box shall be placed on top of the image, as shown in the next screenshot.

Crop_Tool_Step06.thumb.png.80f07b9259a2dc82fdcd3bdd5120b403.png

I then click on "Apply" and get the crop that I want.

Crop_Tool_Step07.thumb.png.85518a6c883a232640a3b99088043695.png

It is that simple. This was working in Affinity Photo version 1.6.x. I used the crop presets with absolute pixel sizes for thousands of photos. Now, this function is gone, and I'm left with a lot of extra work, manually entering the same pixel sizes for every photo again and again.

Please bring this feature back in the next version: crop presets in "Unconstrained" mode.

Please do not make it over-complicated: So, no restrictions on ratios. If a pixel size has a specific ratio, for which a preset already exists, then the tool shall not refuse to save the preset. A user shall just enter the two dimensions of pixel size, save it as a preset, select it on an image, the crop box is shown and can be moved, apply, and the image is cropped to exactly that size. It is that simple.

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29 minutes ago, TThomsen said:

Technically, this is also cropping, as a few lines of pixels at the top and bottom of the image have been removed. What this "resample" function is actually doing, is to change the pixel sizes of the image without actually cropping the image (except those few pixel lines). This is very confusing and should not be called "Crop". This is "resizing" or "resampling" the image, but this is not "cropping". 

The Resample mode of cropping does the following, in my experience:

  1. Calculates the aspect ratio of the width and height that you specified.
  2. Finds the largest crop box of that ratio that will fit on the image.
  3. Lets you adjust that crop box, by moving it, or scaling it proportionally, to compose the image that you want.
  4. When you press Apply, takes the set of pixels that are contained within your final crop box, and resamples and resizes them to become the pixel size you specified, with the DPI you specified.

The possibly confusing aspect of this for your example is that in step 2 the crop box did not appear to change.

I believe it may have changed, but in such a small way that you woudn't notice. That is because your original image has an aspect ratio of ‭1.4938271604938271604938271604938‬ and your chosen crop size has an aspect ratio of 1.5. Therefore, since the original and chosen aspect ratios are so close together, and Photo wants to maximize the size of the crop box in step 2, it appeared not to change.

To understand what is happening and how the new cropping mode works you would need to experiment using width and height values that give a different ratio than the original image.

 

-- Walt
Designer, Photo, and Publisher V1 and V2 at latest retail and beta releases
PC:
    Desktop:  Windows 11 Pro, version 23H2, 64GB memory, AMD Ryzen 9 5900 12-Core @ 3.00 GHz, NVIDIA GeForce RTX 3090 

    Laptop:  Windows 11 Pro, version 23H2, 32GB memory, Intel Core i7-10750H @ 2.60GHz, Intel UHD Graphics Comet Lake GT2 and NVIDIA GeForce RTX 3070 Laptop GPU.
iPad:  iPad Pro M1, 12.9": iPadOS 17.4.1, Apple Pencil 2, Magic Keyboard 
Mac:  2023 M2 MacBook Air 15", 16GB memory, macOS Sonoma 14.4.1

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OK. I understand that in the meantime. I still consider the "Resample" mode inside the crop tool as quite confusing. In Photoshop, that is a function by its own, independent from cropping.

But that is actually not my issue.

My issue is, that it is not possible any longer to save presets of absolute pixel sizes. Please, from now on, lets focus on that one. I actually have only one question, where I expect an answer in this forum from Serif: Do they bring this function back, and when will that be?

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26 minutes ago, TThomsen said:

My issue is, that it is not possible any longer to save presets of absolute pixel sizes. Please, from now on, lets focus on that one. I actually have only one question, where I expect an answer in this forum from Serif: Do they bring this function back, and when will that be?

Yes, that is something that only Serif can tell us. Chris B did mention above that he would ask the developers about adding the ability to add presets in Unconstrained mode.

-- Walt
Designer, Photo, and Publisher V1 and V2 at latest retail and beta releases
PC:
    Desktop:  Windows 11 Pro, version 23H2, 64GB memory, AMD Ryzen 9 5900 12-Core @ 3.00 GHz, NVIDIA GeForce RTX 3090 

    Laptop:  Windows 11 Pro, version 23H2, 32GB memory, Intel Core i7-10750H @ 2.60GHz, Intel UHD Graphics Comet Lake GT2 and NVIDIA GeForce RTX 3070 Laptop GPU.
iPad:  iPad Pro M1, 12.9": iPadOS 17.4.1, Apple Pencil 2, Magic Keyboard 
Mac:  2023 M2 MacBook Air 15", 16GB memory, macOS Sonoma 14.4.1

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9 hours ago, walt.farrell said:

Yes, that is something that only Serif can tell us. Chris B did mention above that he would ask the developers about adding the ability to add presets in Unconstrained mode.

I have asked but we will need to wait for feedback. The Crop Tool has undergone such a big change in the 1.7 update and I know it has pleased some people but also upset others :( 

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Hi There,

Firstly I apologize if I ask something that has already been answered in this topic - or another. I did read a lot of posts in this thread, but I'm still confused.

As a Web Designer working in Affinity Photo 1.7.1 on MacOS Mojave, I have dozens of templates, but this on summarize my question:

- My document size is 1500px by 1500px in 72dpi
- I want to crop it to 1000px by 1000 px still in 72dpi (no resample needed then ). That works perfectly, but it's time consuming to input the parameters each and every time.
- I want to save this as a crop preset. Impossible if I don't choose "resample" in the dropdown menu.
- When I apply the preset, it shows my parameters ( 1000 x 1000 in 72 ) but the crop is 1500 x 1500 and if I apply it does not crop, it resample- the typography but not the visual )

Maybe I'm stupid, but I don't comprehend what's happening. I had a bunch of presets like that in the previous version of Affinity - all lost by now., how nice is that...

Thanks to anyone who would take the time to shed a light on this.

Dominique

AffinityCropTool.jpg

AffinityCropPreset.jpg

Dominique Prud'homme - Designer Living in Cyprus

iMac (Retina 5K, 27-inch, Late 2015)
Memory 8 GB
Quad-Core Intel Core i5 -3.2 GHz
macOS Monterey 12.2.1

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2 hours ago, Dominique Prudhomm said:

Hi There,

Firstly I apologize if I ask something that has already been answered in this topic - or another. I did read a lot of posts in this thread, but I'm still confused.

As a Web Designer working in Affinity Photo 1.7.1 on MacOS Mojave, I have dozens of templates, but this on summarize my question:

- My document size is 1500px by 1500px in 72dpi
- I want to crop it to 1000px by 1000 px still in 72dpi (no resample needed then ). That works perfectly, but it's time consuming to input the parameters each and every time.
- I want to save this as a crop preset. Impossible if I don't choose "resample" in the dropdown menu.
- When I apply the preset, it shows my parameters ( 1000 x 1000 in 72 ) but the crop is 1500 x 1500 and if I apply it does not crop, it resample- the typography but not the visual )

Maybe I'm stupid, but I don't comprehend what's happening. I had a bunch of presets like that in the previous version of Affinity - all lost by now., how nice is that...

Thanks to anyone who would take the time to shed a light on this.

Dominique

 

 

There have been a lot of changes to the crop tool in 1.7 (I lost my presets too, and the presets in 1.7 don't work like I need them to either). The way you (and I) used the presets, the new tool wants to be set to "unconstrained", which in 1.7 wont let you save as a preset.  Hopefully they are working on it, but If you need things to work like before, you may have to roll back to 1.6.5, which I plan on doing for now since I have some jobs coming up and I need it to just work!

I wish we could install them side by side, because other than this, the performance of 1.7 is quite good.  Note: Any afphoto file you save in 1.7 cant be edited by older versions, keep that in mind if you roll back.

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Thank You drphoto. That answers my question. As much as I love Affinity Photo, and as an Apostle, trying to convert my corporate clients to switch, things like this one are a real pain to explain ("Are You Serious? Cropping to a pixel size not possible anymore?) Ok I will live with it for the time being, but frankly...when you have dozen of files to export correctly every day, cropping should be quite basic, right ? Anyway, I don't live in the Bahamas, so my life does not depend on that: It's just very annoying.

Again Thanks for your time replying to me. It confirms that I'm not that idiot after all.

Dominique

Dominique Prud'homme - Designer Living in Cyprus

iMac (Retina 5K, 27-inch, Late 2015)
Memory 8 GB
Quad-Core Intel Core i5 -3.2 GHz
macOS Monterey 12.2.1

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