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Rounded corners on rectangle
Hi,
I am just working on a new logo and I need to make a rectangle with rounded corners.
No problem right create a new rectangle and then set to rounded corners and adjust amount of curve.
The problem I am having is that the angle is not right. I want the curve to be the same all the way around the corner. I am asuming because I am not using a square that the curve is streched.
Is there a way to correct this problem?
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Re: Rounded corners on rectangle
Hi,
No it doesn´t to be a square. When you first draw a rectangle and apply a roundness value Xara will draw the curved corners correctly, but if you strech the rectangule after that Xara will strech the corners too.
To avoid this draw your rectangle and apply the rounded corners. Then from the menu select ARRANGE -> CONVERT TO EDITABLE SHAPES, select the SHAPE EDITOR TOOL and drag a box around the nodes you want to move.
Note that after the coversion to a shape you will not be able to change the radius of the corners anymore.
Would be great if Xara will improve this a little in the next version so we can reshape a rectangle keeping the radius of the corners intact (without strecthing them)
Miguel
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Re: Rounded corners on rectangle
Thanks for the quick response. It sure would be nice if they could make changes to that in the future.
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Re: Rounded corners on rectangle
Quote:
Originally Posted by
scandog
Hi,
I am just working on a new logo and I need to make a rectangle with rounded corners.
No problem right create a new rectangle and then set to rounded corners and adjust amount of curve.
The problem I am having is that the angle is not right. I want the curve to be the same all the way around the corner. I am asuming because I am not using a square that the curve is streched.
Is there a way to correct this problem?
This has been discussed SO many times over the years...
The best solution from all discussions is presented here from diniel.
In summary, after stretching:
1. Turn on Snap to Object
2. Redraw the rectangle to the same dimensions
3. Delete the original, and then applying curvature to the new rectangle
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Re: Rounded corners on rectangle
Quote:
This has been discussed SO many times over the years...
Over the years?
That's pretty strong indication of a usability hazard.... I hope rounded corners become a live effect of sorts in the next release. The permanent alteration of the shape is nice in some contexts, but for me it's the exception.
You can also achieve 1:1 aspect rounded corners by using a zero-contrast bevel if you like.
Only problem with this technique is that your ability to use strokes is hampered.
Good luck!
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Re: Rounded corners on rectangle
Quote:
Originally Posted by
terov
Over the years?
That's pretty strong indication of a usability hazard.... I hope rounded corners become a live effect of sorts in the next release. The permanent alteration of the shape is nice in some contexts, but for me it's the exception.
You can also achieve 1:1 aspect rounded corners by using a zero-contrast bevel if you like.
Only problem with this technique is that your ability to use strokes is hampered.
Good luck!
My mistake, it was an un-thought-out figure of speech. I meant "recently" not "over the years".
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Re: Rounded corners on rectangle
You can also use the linked stretching facility of Xtreme to adjust rounded rectangles - the rounded corners remain true. Whether it is a time saver is debatable, however.
Attached is an illustration of this.
Of course, if you have text in the box then you can link the size of the box to the text to that it increases automatically as you revise the text.
Tony
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Re: Rounded corners on rectangle
I would love to have the option to turn off scaling of rounded circles when I resize rectangles, just as one can turn off scaling of line widths.
I frequently create rounded rectangles that represent panels in mockups of software screens. I often stretch or shrink them leading to distorted corner rounding. The suggestions for dealing with this are all somewhat clumsy and involve the sort of extra busy-work that feels antithetical to the generally direct and elegant Xara experience. The fact that the issue is one that keeps coming up suggests that a such a feature would be appreciated!
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Re: Rounded corners on rectangle
Take a look at the tutorial that explains very well.
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Re: Rounded corners on rectangle
Quote:
Originally Posted by
DanGruen
I would love to have the option to turn off scaling of rounded circles when I resize rectangles, just as one can turn off scaling of line widths.
I frequently create rounded rectangles that represent panels in mockups of software screens. I often stretch or shrink them leading to distorted corner rounding. The suggestions for dealing with this are all somewhat clumsy and involve the sort of extra busy-work that feels antithetical to the generally direct and elegant Xara experience. The fact that the issue is one that keeps coming up suggests that a such a feature would be appreciated!
Two clicks to convert the rectangle to an editable shape then a marquee select to select the points and a nudge to adjust the size isn't exactly a lot of work...
Tony
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Re: Rounded corners on rectangle
Quote:
Originally Posted by
Xhris
This has been discussed SO many times over the years...
The best solution from all discussions is presented
here from diniel.
In summary, after stretching:
1. Turn on Snap to Object
2. Redraw the rectangle to the same dimensions
3. Delete the original, and then applying curvature to the new rectangle
Quick video:
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Re: Rounded corners on rectangle
Quote:
Originally Posted by
tonylondon
Two clicks to convert the rectangle to an editable shape then a marquee select to select the points and a nudge to adjust the size isn't exactly a lot of work...
Tony
It IS a lot of completely unnecessary work if you have to do it every time you want to change the size of the rectangle, which in my case, could be four or five times while I decide on the 'look' of it. The ability to simply resize a round cornered rectangle without deforming the corners should have been the default behaviour of Xara from the beginning. Who on earth would want the corners to deform when they adjusted the height or width of the rectangle? What possible application could it satisfy, looking, as it does, like rubbish?
I simply can't use Xara because of this problem. It's the main thing I (was going to) use it for - generating nice round edged rectangles with bevelled edges and a shadow.
Do any of you know the best way to work with Xara to resize a round cornered rectangle with a bevelled edge and shadow? When I try to convert it to shapes to resize it, I then have to individually resize each part! The bevel and the rectangle - separately. What a great idea! It's only a few clicks...
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Re: Rounded corners on rectangle
What amazes me is that there are people here defending this idiocy. If you had to jump through hoops to, for example, resize a normal rectangle, would it still be no big deal? Talk about destroying the creative flow. This problem means that Xara disobeys one of the fundamental laws of user interface design: make the program do what the user expects it to. (That would be - what MOST users expect it to). And make it just as easy for everybody else to do what THEY want it to, if the 'expected' function isn't what they want.
I think I'll have to find another graphics program. What a shame.
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Re: Rounded corners on rectangle
Can anybody suggest a graphics program that will allow me to draw round cornered rectangles, add bevelled edges, and a shadow, and resize the rectangles easily without deforming the corners? I've looked at PhotoImpact but that doesn't have the bevels (unless I've missed it) and also has odd behaviour - when you resize the rectangle (you have to edit path and then drag the nodes, the same as in Xara), it then won't allow you to adjust the roundness of the corners: brilliant!
Adobe Illustrator also does exactly the same as Xara. And it's supposed to be the 'best' graphics package. Does anybody on earth actually WANT their corners to deform when they resize a rectangle? Talk about lazy programming, on the part of all of these companies.
Is there another program that can actually perform this simple task that loads of webpage designers must want?
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Re: Rounded corners on rectangle
Have you considered ensuring your rectangle is the size and shape you require before adding a radius to the corners?
If you are going to dump a programme 'cos of one li'l niggle you won't have any programmes at all.
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Re: Rounded corners on rectangle
Keep cool, Thomas or Duke or Duke of Thomas.
Quote:
Originally Posted by
DukeofThomas
Is there another program that can actually perform this simple task that loads of webpage designers must want?
There is a great software, who is able to do this and it's open source: Xara Xtreme for Linux. The developers have changed the way of this function within Xara Xtreme for Linux and if you have a little bit patience, you'll get this in the next version of Xara Xtreme (for Windows). (The update is coming soon...) ;)
Regards,
Remi
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Re: Rounded corners on rectangle
DofT,
What seems like crazy behaviour to you is in fact exactly the required behaviour required by most users 99 % of the time. If I resize a drawing (of my London bus) I dont expect (nor want) it to retain the same rounded corners, I want these deformed as is everything else in the drawing is deformed by the same percentage.
Because you specifically want to resize a rounded rectangle but keep the same roundness of the corners, then that's a SPECIAL case, not the norm for resizing objects.
I can understand in some circumstance it might be advantagous to retain the roundness of each corner, say in a flow diagram and you can purchase programs that will do as you require (Visio?) but then you'd find it difficult to draw a car using Visio! As Remi states, hopefully it won't be too long before you have a CHOICE of doing both but currently the program works as it should, NOT incorrectly as you would wish.
Meanwhile there's a perfectly good / fast workaround.
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Re: Rounded corners on rectangle
Must be one of those mini-buses ...
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Re: Rounded corners on rectangle
Quote:
Originally Posted by
remi
Keep cool, Thomas or Duke or Duke of Thomas.
There is a great software, who is able to do this and it's open source: Xara Xtreme for Linux. The developers have changed the way of this function within Xara Xtreme for Linux and if you have a little bit patience, you'll get this in the next version of Xara Xtreme (for Windows). (The update
is coming soon...) ;)
Regards,
Remi
No swf export for animation then?
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Re: Rounded corners on rectangle
Quote:
Originally Posted by
Intbel
Have you considered ensuring your rectangle is the size and shape you require before adding a radius to the corners?
If you are going to dump a programme 'cos of one li'l niggle you won't have any programmes at all.
It's not one little niggle, it's the only reason I bought X1. I use it specifically for creating rectangles with bevelled edges and shadows.
I don't know until I've drawn the rectangle whether it's the right dimensions, as I will be putting text into it. If I then change the text, I then have to start all over again.
Re it being the normal behaviour you would expect - not for rectangles it isn't! I don't expect other complex shapes to maintain their corners, obviously. Like I said - who would WANT a rectangle's corners to deform when they deformed the rectangle? How often do you see rectangles with deformed corners, on the web?
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Re: Rounded corners on rectangle
Take a look at this example.
I want to be able to easily resize it, as I re-use it to say different things.
How do you easily resize it, including the bevel and shadow?
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Re: Rounded corners on rectangle
I got this far and then gave up. Where am I going wrong?
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Re: Rounded corners on rectangle
DukeofThomas, I see you used some bitmap fills for your bevels.
Try the attached .xar file to see if that reduces some work to resize your rounded rectangles.
I made two styles similar to your original. The second I also resized to contain more text.
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Re: Rounded corners on rectangle
Use a simple rectangle, add a bevel and a shadow and a little bit text.
And if you want to change the size of the rectangle, select the rectangle and choose the Shape Editor (F4). Within the Shape Editor you're able to drag around the handles on the right side of your rectangle to select them and move them to left or right with your cursor keys (see also Menu "Help" -> "Xara Xtreme Help" -> Index -> "nudging objects and handles").
Regards,
Remi
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Re: Rounded corners on rectangle
Askings always better than knocking.
Create a rectangle. Apply rounded corners to suit.
Arrange / Convert to editable Shapes
Apply Bevel.
Apply Shadow
To legthen select the Shape editor tool
Marqee/Select all the right hand nodes
Holding down the Ctrl key drag right to suit.
Bevel & Shadow adjusts live on screen (No need for any cluttered additional windows) ;-)
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Re: Rounded corners on rectangle
Here's a far more complicated shape than a rectangle with rounded corners, a bevel and a shadow. Open it up and Drag Select the righthand side nodes to widen / narrow and the bottom nodes to highten / shorten.
The bevel stays put all the time as does the shadow. The Bevel and shadow also remain editable at all times.
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Re: Rounded corners on rectangle
Quote:
Originally Posted by
remi
Use a simple rectangle, add a bevel and a shadow and a little bit text.
And if you want to change the size of the rectangle, select the rectangle and choose the Shape Editor (F4). Within the Shape Editor you're able to drag around the handles on the right side of your rectangle to select them and move them to left or right with your cursor keys (see also Menu "Help" -> "Xara Xtreme Help" -> Index -> "nudging objects and handles").
Regards,
Remi
Thanks very much, that works fine. The part I was missing was:
Arrange / Convert to editable Shapes
What I can't understand is why Xara can't just give you an option that allows you to do what I wanted to do in the first place, so you could drag a tag and resize the rectangle, and just use the code that you use in the Shape Editor - i.e. if I grab the right hand tag because I want to make the rectangle wider, if the program can do it using the Shape Editor and selecting the right hand corners, why can't they take it a step further and add a 'maintain round corners' button for rectangles, which would do just that? Think of the number of people this would help!!!
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Re: Rounded corners on rectangle
Did you read my post #16 of this thread?
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Re: Rounded corners on rectangle
I'm not sure, if I'm right. I've tested a rectangle with rounded corners within Xara Xtreme for Linux and it seems, there is no further function, as I thought. It seems, my memory is wrong.
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Re: Rounded corners on rectangle
I've found this statement from Charles. But it seems, it's not implemented, yet.
Regards,
Remi
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Re: Rounded corners on rectangle
Quote:
Originally Posted by
Soquili
DukeofThomas, I see you used some bitmap fills for your bevels.
I wasn't aware that I had used bitmap fills for the bevels, I just coloured them in the same way as the original rectangle had been. I didn't have much luck with your example, sorry.
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Re: Rounded corners on rectangle
Quote:
Originally Posted by
remi
Well, I am in full agreement with Charles!
"However I think it would be preferable to make it so that rounded corners always remains rounded no matter how you squash or stretch the rectangle. If they really want to stretch the rounded corners as well, then Convert to Shapes first."
Hallelujah!!!
I can now use X1 for what I wanted, thanks to you guys (doing Convert to Editable Shapes at the right stage was the bit where I was going wrong. It's hardly obvious though.) Other than minor niggles with the interface (I feel the arrows are too small, quite poorly designed (they look like an afterthought from Windows 3.1!) I like X1. Problem over, back to work!
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Re: Rounded corners on rectangle
The problem is, you're working with an old version. The newest version is Xara Xtreme, not Xara X1.
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Re: Rounded corners on rectangle
Quote:
Originally Posted by
remi
The problem is, you're working with an old version. The newest version is Xara Xtreme, not Xara X1.
How is it different in Xtreme Remi? I downloaded the demo to have a look but it seemed to be the same (that was several hours ago, so I didn't know then what I know now). I didn't want to upgrade to Xtreme as X1 does everything I need (at least, it would do if the round corners problem was fixed).
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Re: Rounded corners on rectangle
DofT,
Attached is a sample of arrow sizes. Perhaps if you could explain the problem you're having we could point you in the right direction.
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Re: Rounded corners on rectangle
Quote:
Originally Posted by
DukeofThomas
How is it different in Xtreme Remi?
http://www.xara.com/products/xtreme/whatsnew.asp
Quote:
Originally Posted by
DukeofThomas
I didn't want to upgrade to Xtreme as X1 does everything I need
You're right: Xara X1 is also a excellent piece of software with great functionality. Every new user needs a little bit time to understand the great potential and the advantages of the excellent GUI design within Xara X1 or Xara Xtreme. The interface looks a little bit "poor" the first time, but it's the fastest and best intuitive interface of a vector graphics editor out there. Using Xara X1/Xtreme is more drawing the natural way, not like the bad interface of Adobe Illustrator. Give it a try and if you need a more Windows XP like GUI style, buy a update to Xara Xtreme.
Regards,
Remi
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Re: Rounded corners on rectangle
DukeofThomas, maybe the attached animation will help explain the way I move the rounded corners.
If using multiple shapes as shown in the attachment, marquee select all the shapes. Switch to the Shape Editor Tool and marquee select the nodes you want to move.
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Re: Rounded corners on rectangle
well, it occurs to me that while you are positioning and repositioning, resizing et al.... the roundness of the corners is not terribly necessary. create the shape, position and size it and then round the corners. this what i generally do if i want to avoid distortions that are, to be honest and as M. Bramhill has suggested, to be expected.
or....
convert the rectangle to an editable shape... and resize by grabbing the control points on the side/corner to be reshaped with the Shape Editor Tool and control/drag them in the direction you want the shape to increase... example below.
or...
toss out the best vector graphics program available and get yerself a pencil.
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Re: Rounded corners on rectangle
PFFT!
someone beat me to it....and did a fancier job of it too!
oh well. hope it helps.
geo.
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Re: Rounded corners on rectangle
Quote:
Originally Posted by
GeoBen
well, it occurs to me that while you are positioning and repositioning, resizing et al.... the roundness of the corners is not terribly necessary.
But what if I want to change the dimensions of the box because I'm changing the size of the text inside it?
Then it most certainly IS necessary to have the corners round, because they're ALREADY round. This is specifically what I use X1 for - creating round cornered, bevel edged, shadowed boxes. It's very good at it, except for this one minor point.
Quote:
create the shape, position and size it and then round the corners. this what i generally do if i want to avoid distortions that are, to be honest and as M. Bramhill has suggested, to be expected.
No, they aren't to be expected, because NOBODY would want them. On any other shape than a rectangle, you would probably want them to be distorted as you squash the shape, but on a rectangle, can you show me any examples of the use of distorted corners, on a webpage? And can you show me any that look good?
Quote:
or....
convert the rectangle to an editable shape... and resize by grabbing the control points on the side/corner to be reshaped with the Shape Editor Tool and control/drag them in the direction you want the shape to increase... example below.
or...
toss out the best vector graphics program available and get yerself a pencil.
This is starting to almost sound like a religion.
I see this all the time - the moment you dare to question a program, those who have got used to its 'inconsistencies' (shall I say - bad design points) come to its defence as if it's a holy shrine or something.
The behaviour of the round corners is not "to be expected", because when resizing a rectangle, 99% of people DON'T want the corners to be ruined. Why did they set up the corners perfectly in the first place? Ask yourself this: why does Xtreme not set up the round corners unevenly when you first create them, and why does it not even ALLOW you to adjust them unevenly when first created? Because it looks rubbish, that's why.