Forcing pixel boundaries

[james_frost]

Hi all,

99% of my use of Xara is for designing websites and producing website graphics. On web pages, there is no such thing as half a pixel - everything is placed on pixel boundaries.

What I want to do is somehow prevent Xara from ever letting me position a shape or line anywhere except on a pixel boundary.

Now, I know I can have grid snapping turned on with a minor spacing of 1px to achieve basically what I want, but I find many of the tools in Xara will reposition objects (not snapped to the grid). For example, creating a rectangle won't snap to a grid when you create it. Neither will moving a rectangle around. Or if you change the line width on a rectangle it will change its x,y coordinate.... etc etc.

One of the other side affects of not positioning things on pixel boundaries is the anti-aliasing of straight lines - if you line something up on a pixel boundary, as far as I can tell you get "cleaner" lines with less visible anti-aliasing.

What I find myself doing is creating guides everywhere (at proper pixel boundaries), and enabling snap-to-guides (which do thankfully snap to your grid spacing by default). But I still end up having to re-snap objects to the grid throughout a typical session.

Does this frustrate anyone else? Anyone have any suggestions to make it less painful? Anyone else think it might be a useful feature?

(if I've missed the obvious option that will sort this out for me, I'll owe someone a large beer and many thanks!)

Regards,

James

[haakoo]

Hi,

I have a template for this and use it as default
(it will always set to full pixel coördinates)

Hans

[Egg Bramhill]

James,

For example, creating a rectangle won't snap to a grid when you create it.

This isn't true. Perhaps your getting confused by what actually snaps to the grid. The snapping is done to the internal part of the rectangle, not the line part. To test, right click on the "No Fill" part of the colour bar to set the default to no line width. Now draw your rectangles with lock to grid on and all your rectangles will be whole pixels.

If you want to use lines, then ensure your lines are in whole pixel sizes. If I want this accuracy I don't use lines but clone the shape an use the Contour tool to enlarge in whole pixel sizes and use the Inset Path to create a second shape. This way there's no confusion of the line being half in and half out of the shape.

Another point worth bearing in mind is if your resizing more than one shape do not to use the selection handles to resize shapes but use the shape editor tool and drag the nodes.

[Egg Bramhill]

Or if you change the line width on a rectangle it will change its x,y coordinate....

This is because it's measuring the whole rectangle, including the line widths, so obviously as you alter the line width the co-ordinates will change. Rember the line is half in and half out of the shape. If you toggle the "Scale Line Widths" off you will see that only the inner part of the rectangles co-ordinates are shown (as whole pixels) and the co-ordinates wont alter as you change the line widths.

[james_frost]

Egg,

That's exactly the information I was looking for. Now I feel stupid that after using Xara on and off since 2000 I still didn't understand the basics If I didn't live so far from Essex I'd buy you that beer (Cardiff to Essex is a bit of a trek )

The contour trick sounds like an excellent suggestion - and having checked the help it'll actually solve the other problem I was having yesterday with resizing oval shapes.

Thanks again for your help,

James

[Egg Bramhill]

Glad to have been of help James.

[steve.ledger]

Speaking of the Contour tool, which I very rarely have need for. The Inner button never seems to function for me? I can depress and then release the Outer button, but the Inner doesn't depress at all. I can still drag the contour arrows inwards, but this is not as accurate as setting the size and then pressing the Inner or Outer buttons..
Anyone else ?

[Egg Bramhill]

I agree that the contour tool is not as intuitive as it could be Sledger. Unlike you I make great use of it.
By default it sets to an External contour, therefore if you type 5 pix into the contour width box it gives a 5 pix External contour and you then have to click the internal contour to reverse this. In fact this is the only time the internal contour icon seems to work. If you drag OUT a contour the contour icon displays an external contour but if you drag IN the contour both icons remained greyed out, unlike the Bevel tool that always indicates either an external or internal bevel.

[steve.ledger]

Unfortunately it doesn't work in the way you have described, for me.

Typing 5px into the width field and hitting the Inner button just zeros the contour width field.
But it will reverse the path if I drag the 'slider'..

Hmm - more work needed on this tool Xara. Maybe that's why I don't use it, it made no sense to me.

[Egg Bramhill]

That's very strange Sledger. I've started a new thread to see how wide spread this is.