Jumping line angles

[ChrisMW]

Hi,

I think I've seen this one dealt with before, but can't seem to find it. I share a repository with several co-workers, but on each machine, the line angles jump. Normally we tend to use custom lines, but they seem to easily decide to alter my carefully created route (straight angles, but not always the shortest) in one with weird angles. So when I save it, it looks good, when someone else loads it, it looks bad.

We all have 96dpi displays, we all have the same font config in EA. What else can be done to ensure the diagrams look consistently neat across our screens? Stop using custom lines? I like custom lines, and use virtualisation of ends quite frequently. But the diagram should display correctly across the machines.

I even have it on one computer, that runs Wine + EA and a virtualised windows 7 and EA. What causes the lines to jump around? Fonts seem to matter.

Rgds Chris

[qwerty]

Also seem to remember a talk about this, but also can't recall details. You could check which renderer is set (it's somewhere in the Options).

q.

[ChrisMW]

Whilst the renderer does make some impact on the visibility of the lines, the fonts seems to have a bigger influence. But those we've synced and the problem is still there. What seems to happen is that the boxes (it's a logical datamodel in this case) alter position a little and this causes some parts of the line to jump (mostly those that connect to an ellement) and some not (where I've bent the line). Personally I'd rather have the element stay where I've put it and have the font become less readable, or have the font resized to fit the space it gets on the system. Then nothing would have to change. Seems less of a problem than having to look at a messy diagram. Perhaps an option to consider?

All the systems are using Enh-1, with the GDIPlus checkmark set. Basic works but yields thin lines on some machines and Enh-2 doesn't play well with others.

[qwerty]

Maybe the local zoom is different?

q.

[ChrisMW]

Hi, perhaps I'm not getting you, but isn't the zoom level saved with the diagram? I.e. if I save in one, and open in the other, it should display the same. All other things being equal. Or are you referring to a setting somewhere, I can check that....

[qwerty]

There are multiple zooms. The slider bottom right is local - AFAIK.

q.

[KP]

Whilst the renderer does make some impact on the visibility of the lines, the fonts seems to have a bigger influence. But those we've synced and the problem is still there. What seems to happen is that the boxes (it's a logical datamodel in this case) alter position a little and this causes some parts of the line to jump (mostly those that connect to an ellement) and some not (where I've bent the line). Personally I'd rather have the element stay where I've put it and have the font become less readable, or have the font resized to fit the space it gets on the system. Then nothing would have to change. Seems less of a problem than having to look at a messy diagram. Perhaps an option to consider?

It sounds like diagram objects are changing size because their contents are changing size, for whatever reason. There is an option that might help - ribbon: Start | Preferences | Appearance | Compress text to fit within Element.

[Paolo F Cantoni]

[SNIP]
It sounds like diagram objects are changing size because their contents are changing size, for whatever reason. There is an option that might help - ribbon: Start | Preferences | Appearance | Compress text to fit within Element.

Hmm...  Learn something new every day!

Paolo

[ChrisMW]

That option is set on all machines, I think it is a default with EA13, still things are not calm visually.

So I took the same diagram, from the same project, simply loaded the file, opened the diagram and did a publish to file. I choose WMF as the format. Now it gets interesting, as the result is not equal, why?

From the Wine EA 13, the wmf info is:


From the Win 7 running under virtualbox the info is:


As this is the same diagram, from the same file, I'd expect this to be the same. The Wine image looks clean, but the Win7 VB client looks like the aspect ratio is stuffed. Something which the file is reflecting (1:12 vs. 1:57). Also the colour count is different, file size etc... The Diagram is set to always be on one page, A4 portrait in this case.

But there's something else, the sequence of the attributes differs also, look at the example from wine:


Notice how under windows the field Type on the right is now in a different spot:


Is there a global setting that affects this? I assumed that this setting would be per project and therefore stored in the project file.

However, the different interpretation of the diagram size affects the display also, here's a part frrom the Wine EA:


And the similar part from the Windows VB client EA:


Now given that A4 is a standard size, this is the same EAP file and the DPI setting is equal, something else is going on, the font resize into element option is on, I was expecting the wmf of the same diagram to come up with the same numbers. Default element font is Arial 8 on both environments, as are the other settings.

[qwerty]

I noticed that the attributes are sorted differently. Is this a user local setting?

q.

[ChrisMW]

My question also, it was not done deliberately. And I cannot find a global setting, so it should be a setting inside the project. That begs the question, why does one apply it and the other not? There seems to be more than one thing going on here.....

[qwerty]

This might be a side effect (not desired). Link to element feature and straight lines conflicts with Sort Features Alphabetically. I guess to get a consistent pictured, this option needs to be global rather than local. You could see that as bug. But you will not see a correction (my guess). Now that you know, just have your group set the sorting the same way.

q.

[ChrisMW]

I switched off alphabetic ordering and that improved things a lot. Strange though, before it was set on both. But switched-off it has improved.

Now just to have the Win7 virtual PC export images like I see EA export to the WMF under Wine. The Win7 export is distorted.

Just look at the rendering when zoomed in:



You can't even read the word version. Now look at the WMF that was writting under wine:



And yes, regardless of the default setting in the system, if a project has altered the sequence (you even get a dialog box to warn you it will switched off), that override should be honoured. Not entirely happy with having to switch it off, as I find it usefull in most cases, but not in all. I've gotten into the habit of then moving it for the few and confirm it on the dialogs it shows. 

[qwerty]

I could imagine that rendering behaves different under Win/Wine. I guess you need to contact Sparx support/report a bug in order to get this fixed.

q.