Re: [artworks] Extra AW tools
- From: Martin Wuerthner <lists@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxx>
- To: artworks@xxxxxxxxxxxxx
- Date: Sat, 29 Nov 2008 15:12:36 +0100
In message <49305B76.9020206@xxxxxxxx>
Clive Bonsall <cbonsall@xxxxxxx> wrote:
> Martin Wuerthner wrote:
>> In message <cf0df40450.jr@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx>
>> rickman@xxxxxxxxxxxxx wrote:
>>
>>> Nor is there an alternative way to specify a move to a precise
>>> location for any object unless it is a rectangle or ellipse.
>>
>> What is wrong with the Move tool? It allows you to position any of the
>> 9 reference points (top left, top middle, top right, middle left,
>> etc.) of any object precisely.
> But how precisely? What are the accuracy limits of the AW coordinates
> system?
It is the same as the Draw coordinate system, so the resolution is
46080dpi (256*180) or about 0.00055mm per coordinate unit.
> The Mover tool shows coordinate settings to 1/100 mm, e.g.
> X=123.59mm. However, it would seem (to my eye) that the system allows
> you to change the position of an object in smaller increments - at least
> 1/1000 mm.
Yes, that is about right.
> However, if I enter X = 123.594mm, after pressing return this
> is displayed as 123.59, whereas X=123.596 is displayed as 123.60.
Yes. The value is stored as 123.594 or 123.596, but what you see is
the default display option of showing 2 decimal places, which is
currently hardwired but could be made configurable. All digits of the
values you enter are taken into account, at least when you initially
enter them. Unfortunately, when the value is read again the next time
the rounded value that is displayed is taken as input so your extra
accuracy is lost.
> If indeed you can move objects by distances smaller than 1/100mm, could a
> change be made in the next release of AW so that the *actual* values are
> displayed in the X and Y boxes (up to the accuracy limits of the system)?
You cannot see the *actual* values in mm because they are not decimal,
so you always see a rounded value. What could be done is to offer more
digital places but you cannot get more than 3 decimal places in mm.
Things are a bit better in pixels because the pixel unit divides
exactly into ArtWorks coordinates but still any fractions cannot be
accurate because they are effectively stored as 512th of pixels while
the display is decimal.
> Another thing on my wish list (admittedly because I'm used to Adobe
> Illustrator) would be an option to have the Mover Tool dialogue
> available at all times, in a separate small window which displayed not
> only the X and Y coordinates but also the Width and Height of the object
> ... without having to press the Mover Tool button each time. The Mover
> Tool (Transform in Illustrator) is by far the tool I use most frequently.
Good to hear that it is used, I do not use it that much myself. Since
ArtWorks 2 has a wider Info Bar, there would at least be enough space
to have both Mover and Resizer in one Info Bar, however, that would be
a lot of work without adding any functionality, which is always
difficult to justify. Providing an extra window would be even more
work. In Xara, the Mover and Resizer functionality is part of the
Selector info bar and therefore usually there when you need it
(because you have to select the objects anyway). User interface coding
is excessively expensive in ArtWorks, so any proposals that require
substantial UI changes for minor usability improvements are very hard
to justify from an economical point of view. The majority of users is
simply not prepared to pay for it.
Martin
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