Nigel Pearce
11-04-2007, 08:53 PM
In Activstudio/Activprimary it is possible to set the width of certain object properies to 0 (zero). The easiest way to see this in Studio is to move the pen width slider (on the main toolbox) fully to the left and then annotate on a flipchart, or to set the width of existing annotations to 0 in their 'Appearance' properties. (the same in Primary).
But what does 'width 0' actually mean?
At first look, an annotation with a width of 0 appears exactly like an annotation with a width of 1.
The difference happens when the zoom factor of the flipchart is altered. If you zoom into a flipchart page with the magnifier tool, annotations with a width of 0 are not shown any thicker as the zoom factor increases, they remain at the same constant width (actually 1 pixel wide) . All other line widths will be shown 'thicker' as you zoom in (including an annotation with a width of 1).
The 'Width 0' property can also be applied to:
- shape object outlines
- line objects
- text object outlines
(all achieved via their 'Appearance' properties).
So does 'width 0' offer you any benefit?
Well yes. The main use is to increase the accuracy of any line drawings you create, including:
- map outlining
- multiple line connection points
- point-to-point tool
- shape outlines
Activstudio/Primary also makes use of width 0 internally when drawing all it's grids. This helps to ensure that grids don't increasingly obscure what is underneath them as the scale factor is enlarged.
But what does 'width 0' actually mean?
At first look, an annotation with a width of 0 appears exactly like an annotation with a width of 1.
The difference happens when the zoom factor of the flipchart is altered. If you zoom into a flipchart page with the magnifier tool, annotations with a width of 0 are not shown any thicker as the zoom factor increases, they remain at the same constant width (actually 1 pixel wide) . All other line widths will be shown 'thicker' as you zoom in (including an annotation with a width of 1).
The 'Width 0' property can also be applied to:
- shape object outlines
- line objects
- text object outlines
(all achieved via their 'Appearance' properties).
So does 'width 0' offer you any benefit?
Well yes. The main use is to increase the accuracy of any line drawings you create, including:
- map outlining
- multiple line connection points
- point-to-point tool
- shape outlines
Activstudio/Primary also makes use of width 0 internally when drawing all it's grids. This helps to ensure that grids don't increasingly obscure what is underneath them as the scale factor is enlarged.