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Thread: XDA Precision

  1. #1
    Join Date
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    Bug XDA Precision

    Dear Xara...

    There has been a hot discussion around the accuracy of Xara dimensioning: https://www.talkgraphics.com/showthr...-more-accurate.
    One resulting Bug, re-identified, is the number of significant figures available when working in mm Units. A new Unit with a 1:1 mapping has no such limitation.

    I have tried to summarise the issues/bugs in the following design: Xara - Precision.xar.

    • A Line should have a Perimeter when it has a Line width (LW). That perimeter would be twice its Length plus twice the Line Width, not just its Length.
      • If it has LW None or 0, then you could argue its Length is correct.

    • A line should have an Area when LW is not None or 0.It should be its Length time the LW, not 0.
    • The SmartShape for a Rectangle (Shift+R) should return a Perimeter and an Area not not 0 for both.
      • If you Ungroup, the Perimeter should be 2(W + H) not 2W + H, where H is the Height.

    • The SmartShape for a Text Panel (Shift+C) suffers from an incorrect Perimeter as above.
      • The Text Area of the default extends beyond the Panel so inputting W: 200pt returns a wildly larger value.
      • Further, after the SmartShape is Ungrouped, it is not possible to input 200pt. When the page Units are mp, the result is always off, e.g., H: 200pt --> 199,998mp; H: 200,000mp --> 200,002mp.

    • For a Rectangle (M), you cannot input 200pt and get 200,000mp in either the rectangle input or the Selector input.
    • If instead I create a Circle (L) and Make Line of its nodes, I can fully control its W & H but its P & A never match to the exact value.

    I can instead of the above complication readily create a shaped rectangle from four constrained nodes using F4.

    The best, however, seems to be to use the QuickShape Tool with 4 sides.
    The resultant is fully accurate and can be handles as a Rectangle or a QuickShape so one can still include rounded corners.
    Accuracy for P & A is maintained all the way down to rounding for a circle.
    The bonus, for me, is your HTML Filter still renders this as a SPAN with a Fill colour.

    In summary for fullest accuracy, use the QuickShape Tool (Shift+F2).
    It may seem counter-intuitive but it all but replaces all the other object creation tools with better accuracy.

    I look forward to your improvements to the conventional tools you present.

    Acorn
    Acorn - installed Xara software: Cloud+/Pro+ and most others back through time (to CC's Artworks). Contact for technical remediation/consultancy for your web designs.
    When we provide assistance, your responses are valuable as they benefit the community. TG Nuggets you might like. Report faults: Xara Cloud+/Pro+/Magix Legacy; Xara KB & Chat

  2. #2
    Join Date
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    Default Re: XDA Precision

    The best, however, seems to be to use the QuickShape Tool with 4 sides.
    is this correct, do you mean quickshape tool here?

    thanks for the xar file
    -------------------------------
    Nothing lasts forever...

  3. #3
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    Default Re: XDA Precision

    Quote Originally Posted by handrawn View Post
    is this correct, do you mean quickshape tool here?
    thanks for the xar file
    I did, the Star one.
    Set it to be 4-sided and away you go.

    Acorn
    Acorn - installed Xara software: Cloud+/Pro+ and most others back through time (to CC's Artworks). Contact for technical remediation/consultancy for your web designs.
    When we provide assistance, your responses are valuable as they benefit the community. TG Nuggets you might like. Report faults: Xara Cloud+/Pro+/Magix Legacy; Xara KB & Chat

  4. #4
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    Default Re: XDA Precision

    thanks for the clarification I'll give it a go
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  5. #5
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    Default Re: XDA Precision

    see that - it surprises me greatly, but it is good
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  6. #6
    Join Date
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    Default Re: XDA Precision

    Thank you Acorn, yes I concur with all that you say.

    Let me give a simple example. If I create a new blank A4 page and set the page units to Millipoints, if I set the Major Spacing of the grid to "1000mp", and set Snap to Grid on, then:

    A) when I use the Rectangle Tool (M), it won't create a "1000" x "2000mp" rectangle, the nearest that the snapping will only allow me to create is a rectangle of size "999.8mp" x "1999.7mp" (and not "1000mp" x "2000mp").

    B) Likewise, if I try to use the Quick Shape Tool (Shift+F2) the snapping create a square that is "1001mp x 1001mp", and not 1000 x 1000mp.

    Interestingly, if I draw my shape line by line (again with snapping on), I can create the precisely size of shape that I require e.g. "1000" x "2000mp".


    Worse, it seems that using either the Quick Shape Tool or the Rectangle Tool is injecting some kind of ongoing inaccuracy.
    For example if (having turned off Lock Aspect Ratio), I now edit the width of my Rectangle that I created in A) [see above] to be "10000" it now goes in as "9999.9mp" (instead of "10000").

    And sometimes theres errors are somewhate larger. For example I do the same thing to the shape produced by B) and edit the width by typing in "10000mp", the new width is "9989mp" not "10000".

    But if I edit a shape that I had DRAWN that is 1000x2000mp in size, if I type in a width of "10000" then I do GET a width of "10000" mp.

    Trying to help.

    J


    PS If you want accuracy, the workaround to avoid the above flaws seems to be to convert all shapes to Editable Shapes (i.e. using Shift+Control+S). Although obviously having changed a Rectangle to an Editable Shape you can no longer do things like ad Curved Corners or change the number of sides etc.

 

 

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