Shadow and Feathering Weirdness. Stretching horizontal and vertical is different.

[Know1]

See images.

[Know1]

I might as well throw in my pet peeve with the minus key on the numerical keypad. It also involves shadows/feathering.

[gwpriester]

Good observations.

[Acorn]

@Know1, the horizontal behaviour is simple to explain.
This is a Shadow Group so a stretch is taking up the full width of two Shapes: it therefore is identical to two grouped Shapes that are displaced the same as a Shadow.

Equally, a stretched vertical blur of a Shadow is just growing the Shadow to scale in the same way a Feathered displaced Shape would.

Neither is aberrant.

Acorn

[Acorn]

I might as well throw in my pet peeve with the minus key on the numerical keypad. It also involves shadows/feathering.

The Photo Tool > Clip retains Feathering and Shadow sizings.

Acorn

[Know1]

The Photo Tool > Clip retains Feathering and Shadow sizings.

That's good info, I'll try and get in the habit of using that instead.

[Know1]

@Acorn, technical reasons aside, if you have an object with a shadow and you group it, then I can see why the shadow would get stretched out and move position.
But if it's just a shadow that you put on an object, I'd expect the shadow settings to remain constant unless you use corner handles to scale an object.

Here's another thing about Shadows that bugs me.

[handrawn]

there is a possible alternative - instead of using the shadow tool create a shadow yourself and manipulate it in step with your main object

I find the shadow tool limited in what it can do anyway.. but it depends what you want / are doing

[Know1]

I really like the Profile option on both the Shadow and Feathering tool. I almost never keep that at it's default settings. It's also there in the transparency tool, if I really need to make a shadow myself.

My workflow:
I keep objects to the side when I'm working with the settings for shadows or feathering applied to them.
After making a change to an object on a page, I copy the object on the side, select the object I just manipulated and press "CTRL + SHIFT + A" (paste format/attributes). To re-adjust whatever shadow/feather setting messed up.

It's not elegant, but it works. I can get rid of most problems that way.
But sometimes I stop and think about it, I shouldn't have to do those things, and it just baffles me how certain things are implemented.

[Acorn]

@Acorn, technical reasons aside, if you have an object with a shadow and you group it, then I can see why the shadow would get stretched out and move position.
But if it's just a shadow that you put on an object, I'd expect the shadow settings to remain constant unless you use corner handles to scale an object.

Here's another thing about Shadows that bugs me.

Know1, I agree with you that technically the Xara function is not a true Shadow; I use CSS for mine.

A true shadow would have a light source at infinity and the shadow would remain as you wish.
For some reason, a Box of 120 x 60 px with a 20px blur Shadow grows by 40px (2 x 20px) and ends up as 161.6 x 101.6px. A zero blur Shadow similarly has this magical extra 1.6px added.
If you were to create a clone and feather it, the dimensions remain the same!

For this poser:

• If I only have Layer 1, I get "1 rectangle"; more than one layer gives, "1 rectangle on Layer 1".
• Regardless, it should state "1 shadow group...".
• Shadow Group: (Shape & Shadow) > [Convert to Editable Shapes] > Group: (2 Shapes).
• Solo Shape: (Rectangle) > [Delete Node] > Shape (RA Triangle) --> Detached Shadow (shape).

Xara then treated the detached Shadow still as a Shape as I can right-click and pick Shape Tool. It does, however appear to be a Shape with a Bitmap Fill (obvious if View Quality is minimised) with around 50% Transparency in my test.
I can alter Nodes and all operations act as if on a Shape with a Bitmap Fill.

The failing, I think, it that Xara has not set it as Fill > Bitmap & Transparency > Flat/Normal (mix): 50% despite using and creating a Bitmap.

The Shadow produced is certainly anomalous.

Acorn