Seems this should be easy, but I can’t figure it out.
How do I pick an existing object, and then set the current style to the properties of that object, so new objects have that style?
The “style well” doesn’t work well, because often I have multiple items in the list that appear identical. If there are two lines that are the same except for arrow heads (for example), they look exactly the same in the style well.
What version of OG are you using? Arrowheads show up in the style well pulldown in 6.0.5. I remember that they didn’t in the past, though the change doesn’t show up in release notes. Not every style attribute is distinguishable in the menu, but most seem to be. For others, you’re probably reduced to clicking on the similar ones in succession until the right style shows up in the Inspector panels.
Hi John:
Actually, I am using 6.0.5, and the arrows do not show up (see attached screenshot). I’m on a retina Macbook Pro.
I’d really like to be able to distinguish styles by Line Hops and other esoteric properties.
I love named styles, but I know that is a lot of work. But a context menu item “Set style as current”, similar to the existing “Add to favorite line styles” would be enough for me.
Ah, I see the problem. It’s a drawing bug in OG. Look at my screenshot. Arrowheads disappear on orthogonal lines because OG cuts off the style’s picture on the right side. The bottom one in my menu actually has a double-open arrowhead and you can see half of it. (I don’t know why that didn’t happen to your double arrow.) Other line types are generally not affected unless the arrowhead style happens to extend across the boundary of the drawing. The straight line with the rectangular head in mine shows this. I think the little dots in your menu drawings are the visible portions of the arrowheads.
I’ve sent in a bug report.
But wait, there’s more.
Look at this screenshot. The picture for the first canvas style seems to be OK. The only differences between that and the last style are the color and the position in the menu. Something more complicated is going on.
Yes, that is pretty weird. I’ve tried for a few minutes and can’t get the arrow to show like the first Orthogonal example. Or the last one for that matter. Your last style looks like a 2-segment example, with the arrow pointing down. Mine look like a 3-segment example, where the example goes right, down, then right again.
Anyway, if you look closely, all of the arrows are cut-off, but in most cases just the tip. The entire thumbnail should be revised.
Generally I love OmniGraffle. The inability to pick an object and set the current properties to match is a maddening limitation, but probably just because I am so used to Illustrator. I’ve also sent in a bug request (the thumbnail) and feature request (adding a context menu item).
Thanks for looking into it.
