Jump to content
You must now use your email address to sign in [click for more info] ×

Allow objects to span across multiple artboards


Recommended Posts

When working with large size print files in Affinity Designer, I am forced to split them into separate artboards because of that stupid PDF page size limit of 200"x200". So I set up the file as multiple artboards placed side by side (see screenshot attached) and lay out the graphics across all artboards as necessary.

The problem is that AD insists on cropping any graphic to the artboard in which it was initially placed. I can force the object to span over multiple artboards by dragging it below all artboards in the Layers panel, but as soon as I move it, it gets cropped again.

Could we have an option to disable this behaviour please?

Screen Shot 2019-09-10 at 11.57.26 AM.png

Link to comment
Share on other sites

58 minutes ago, tudor said:

When working with large size print files in Affinity Designer, I am forced to split them into separate artboards because of that stupid PDF page size limit of 200"x200". So I set up the file as multiple artboards placed side by side (see screenshot attached) and lay out the graphics across all artboards as necessary.

The problem is that AD insists on cropping any graphic to the artboard in which it was initially placed. I can force the object to span over multiple artboards by dragging it below all artboards in the Layers panel, but as soon as I move it, it gets cropped again.

Could we have an option to disable this behaviour please?

Screen Shot 2019-09-10 at 11.57.26 AM.png

Hello @tudor,

would it work to use multiple artboards?

You could have one artboard with the full size of your design on which you place all your objects. On top of that you could place and distribute artboards of the sizes you need to export the single segments. In the export persona you can select just to export the segment artboards. I think these will include the elements from the (big) artboard below.

d.

Affinity Designer 1 & 2   |   Affinity Photo 1 & 2   |   Affinity Publisher 1 & 2
Affinity Designer 2 for iPad   |   Affinity Photo 2 for iPad   |   Affinity Publisher 2 for iPad

Windows 11 64-bit - Core i7 - 16GB - Intel HD Graphics 4600 & NVIDIA GeForce GTX 960M
iPad pro 9.7" + Apple Pencil

Link to comment
Share on other sites

10 hours ago, dominik said:

You could have one artboard with the full size of your design on which you place all your objects. On top of that you could place and distribute artboards of the sizes you need to export the single segments.

No, that doesn't work. I tried it and I had the same issues with objects being confined automatically inside the smaller artboards as soon as I moved them.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

12 hours ago, tudor said:

No, that doesn't work. I tried it and I had the same issues with objects being confined automatically inside the smaller artboards as soon as I moved them.

You are right. I was under the impression that stacked artboards include elements from artboards below on export. But this is not the case.
I think @selcukyilmaz's suggestion with multiple slices across one big artboard should do the job.

d.

Affinity Designer 1 & 2   |   Affinity Photo 1 & 2   |   Affinity Publisher 1 & 2
Affinity Designer 2 for iPad   |   Affinity Photo 2 for iPad   |   Affinity Publisher 2 for iPad

Windows 11 64-bit - Core i7 - 16GB - Intel HD Graphics 4600 & NVIDIA GeForce GTX 960M
iPad pro 9.7" + Apple Pencil

Link to comment
Share on other sites

On 9/10/2019 at 10:58 AM, tudor said:

When working with large size print files in Affinity Designer, I am forced to split them into separate artboards because of that stupid PDF page size limit of 200"x200".

Hello @tudor,

another option that works (I tried this time :) ) is to use one artboard the size of your design. Then place transparent rectangles on top of the design with the indiviual sizes to export. You can lock these to not interfere during designing.

Then you select one rectangle after the other (in the layers studio) an use 'File > Export'. Make sure to choose 'Area > Selection with background'. This creates segments of your design just not using artboards.

I do not say your request to span objects across multiple artboards is not a valid feature request. It's just not working right now and slices in Export Persona and my method above do :)

d.

Affinity Designer 1 & 2   |   Affinity Photo 1 & 2   |   Affinity Publisher 1 & 2
Affinity Designer 2 for iPad   |   Affinity Photo 2 for iPad   |   Affinity Publisher 2 for iPad

Windows 11 64-bit - Core i7 - 16GB - Intel HD Graphics 4600 & NVIDIA GeForce GTX 960M
iPad pro 9.7" + Apple Pencil

Link to comment
Share on other sites

9 hours ago, tudor said:

The best workaround for me right now is to make the full size artwork in Designer, then place it into Publisher on separate pages and export the print-ready PDF from there.

Good to hear that you found another way to solve the shortcoming of the page size limit :)

d.

Affinity Designer 1 & 2   |   Affinity Photo 1 & 2   |   Affinity Publisher 1 & 2
Affinity Designer 2 for iPad   |   Affinity Photo 2 for iPad   |   Affinity Publisher 2 for iPad

Windows 11 64-bit - Core i7 - 16GB - Intel HD Graphics 4600 & NVIDIA GeForce GTX 960M
iPad pro 9.7" + Apple Pencil

Link to comment
Share on other sites

  • 1 year later...

Hello,

I may have come up with a solution.

1. Make one large artboard that can encompass your objects

2. Make smaller artboard on it. I did this by drawing A4 size rectangles then converting them into artboards

3. Paste your object in the First large artboard. Problem solved

It should be printable individually. Do let me know if this works for you.

Screenshot 2021-03-13 122916.jpg

Screenshot 2021-03-13 123320.jpg

Screenshot 2021-03-13 123356.jpg

Link to comment
Share on other sites

  • 2 weeks later...

Hi all,

A quick update on the suggested method above. It turns out you do not need the large Artboard per se. The real secret is that the object cannot be on any of the artboards, it should stand alone and it should be in front of everything else. That ensures that it spans across all artboards and you can export the whole document as you prefer. I exported my project that had 16 artboards into one pdf file and it worked perfectly.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

On 3/13/2021 at 12:34 PM, krrank said:

Hello,

I may have come up with a solution.

1. Make one large artboard that can encompass your objects

2. Make smaller artboard on it. I did this by drawing A4 size rectangles then converting them into artboards

3. Paste your object in the First large artboard. Problem solved

It should be printable individually. Do let me know if this works for you.

Screenshot 2021-03-13 122916.jpg

Screenshot 2021-03-13 123320.jpg

Screenshot 2021-03-13 123356.jpg

 

On 9/10/2019 at 9:58 AM, tudor said:

When working with large size print files in Affinity Designer, I am forced to split them into separate artboards because of that stupid PDF page size limit of 200"x200". So I set up the file as multiple artboards placed side by side (see screenshot attached) and lay out the graphics across all artboards as necessary.

The problem is that AD insists on cropping any graphic to the artboard in which it was initially placed. I can force the object to span over multiple artboards by dragging it below all artboards in the Layers panel, but as soon as I move it, it gets cropped again.

Could we have an option to disable this behaviour please?

Screen Shot 2019-09-10 at 11.57.26 AM.png

Hi all,

A quick update on the suggested method above. It turns out you do not need the large Artboard per se. The real secret is that the object cannot be on any of the artboards, it should stand alone and it should be in front of everything else. That ensures that it spans across all artboards and you can export the whole document as you prefer. I exported my project that had 16 artboards into one pdf file and it worked perfectly.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

  • 2 years later...
On 9/11/2019 at 2:08 PM, dominik said:

Hello @tudor,

another option that works (I tried this time :) ) is to use one artboard the size of your design. Then place transparent rectangles on top of the design with the indiviual sizes to export. You can lock these to not interfere during designing.

Then you select one rectangle after the other (in the layers studio) an use 'File > Export'. Make sure to choose 'Area > Selection with background'. This creates segments of your design just not using artboards.

I do not say your request to span objects across multiple artboards is not a valid feature request. It's just not working right now and slices in Export Persona and my method above do :)

d.

This solution worked for me and saved me a lot of time working on a project.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Join the conversation

You can post now and register later. If you have an account, sign in now to post with your account.
Note: Your post will require moderator approval before it will be visible.

Guest
Reply to this topic...

×   Pasted as rich text.   Paste as plain text instead

  Only 75 emoji are allowed.

×   Your link has been automatically embedded.   Display as a link instead

×   Your previous content has been restored.   Clear editor

×   You cannot paste images directly. Upload or insert images from URL.

Loading...
×
×
  • Create New...

Important Information

Terms of Use | Privacy Policy | Guidelines | We have placed cookies on your device to help make this website better. You can adjust your cookie settings, otherwise we'll assume you're okay to continue.