Are inserted fields still not able to center on long lines even on Visio 2019?

Started by Jennifer, November 19, 2021, 11:21:33 PM

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Jennifer

I am trying to construct a layout of a bathroom. I am using lines with insderted fields to display the length. If the lines are more than 52 inches long, the length field stays fixed at what I assume is 26 inches from one end. This has been a problem forever. Is it still not fixed in Visio 2019?

Is there a reasonable workaround other than a separate text field that I can position anywhere, but does not auto-update? 
Using Visio 2019, part of Office 365 on Windows 10

Surrogate


Jennifer

Quote from: Surrogate on November 20, 2021, 11:35:04 AM
Quote from: Jennifer on November 19, 2021, 11:21:33 PM
If the lines are more than 52 inches long
wow, so long text field !

I said the lines are 52 inches long, not the text. The text is just a few characters.

I defined the size of the page in inches (168 x 106) because that's what the units my measurements are in. I set up lines with inserted fields showing the length. If the lines are more than 52 inches long, the text is 26 inches from one end, not centered.



I guess my mistake was defining the page size in inches, rather than feet. But this is still a bug.
Using Visio 2019, part of Office 365 on Windows 10

Paul Herber

Electronic and Electrical engineering, business and software stencils for Visio -

https://www.paulherber.co.uk/

wapperdude

Hi Jennifer,
Why not use the dimensioning tools?  They're quite configurable.  Listed under Visio Extras:   Dimensioning-Engineering.  Or just go to where Visio stores all the built-in stencils.

How are you inserting the text?  Are you merely selecting your line and typing?  I tried doing that and using Insert Field.  Short line and long line.  In every case, text is centered.  See attached.  Don't believe I missed anything.

Ah.  Paul posted just before I did.  So it's a physical limitation, not a scaling limitation.  I guess the question really is, why aren't you scaling?  Are you using a large format printer to handle such a large physical page size?
Visio 2019 Pro


Jennifer

Quote from: wapperdude on November 20, 2021, 04:54:58 PM
Hi Jennifer,
Why not use the dimensioning tools?

I have used them in the past. As I recall, they seem best suited for outside dimensions. I just happened to choose lines with fields. But if the dimensioning tools can center text on lines over 52", there is even less of an excuse for this bug.

QuoteHow are you inserting the text?  Are you merely selecting your line and typing?  I tried doing that and using Insert Field.  Short line and long line.  In every case, text is centered.  See attached.  Don't believe I missed anything.

I am selecting the line, clicking on Insert then Field, selecting Geometry and Width, clicking on Data Format and choosoing Number and 0 decimal places,  checking Show Units, and saving. If the line is longer than 52 units, the text is not centered.

I've attached an example. What am I doing that is different from what you did?

QuoteAh.  Paul posted just before I did.  So it's a physical limitation, not a scaling limitation.  I guess the question really is, why aren't you scaling?  Are you using a large format printer to handle such a large physical page size?

I'll try converting it to feet or scaling. I'm not printing. I'm saving as jpgs and emailing to contractors.

But these are all workarounds. It's still a stupid bug.
Using Visio 2019, part of Office 365 on Windows 10

wapperdude

QuoteI've attached an example. What am I doing that is different from what you did?
The only difference is I set the page scale factor...1" = 15".
QuoteAs I recall, they seem best suited for outside dimensions.
Not true.  There's both inny / outty, horizontal / vertical...plus numerous display options.

QuoteBut these are all workarounds. It's still a stupid bug.
Not true.  Do you use a 52" screen for viewing Visio?  How about 120" screen?  No??? 😱😉  You are using scaling.  That's what it's for.  If you need a larger physical size, then multiple pages or scaling.  Granted, strictly speaking, Visio gives you ability to print at any size within the restrictions of the printer, so the 52" limit is unnecessary, but it's not truly a bug, and it's not truly a limitation.  Architects use multiple pages all the time.  At some point, the size becomes unwieldy...unless you're a Large scale artist.   ::) 😁😁😁 😉
Visio 2019 Pro

Jennifer

Quote from: wapperdude on November 20, 2021, 06:24:05 PM
QuoteI've attached an example. What am I doing that is different from what you did?
The only difference is I set the page scale factor...1" = 15".

I tried that, but it causes all of my shapes to get squished into about one square cm. I have them all dimensioned for that large sheet, so I'll need to individually redo them all. (Ugh)

QuoteAs I recall, they seem best suited for outside dimensions.
QuoteNot true.  There's both inny / outty, horizontal / vertical...plus numerous display options.

By outside, I meant that the horizontal dimensions have built-in vertical bars that are designed to align with the outer edges of structures. They work best when they are positioned outside the objects. And they don't have arrowheads. They really don't work well when placed inside an object.

And if I need to put mine outside, I can easily add the little alignment lines.

Here's some examples of the architectural dimension shapes and my arrows. For what I do, I like mine better.



Quote
QuoteBut these are all workarounds. It's still a stupid bug.
Not true.  Do you use a 52" screen for viewing Visio?  How about 120" screen?  No??? 😱😉  You are using scaling.  That's what it's for.  If you need a larger physical size, then multiple pages or scaling.  Granted, strictly speaking, Visio gives you ability to print at any size within the restrictions of the printer, so the 52" limit is unnecessary, but it's not truly a bug, and it's not truly a limitation.  Architects use multiple pages all the time.  At some point, the size becomes unwieldy...unless you're a Large scale artist.   ::) 😁😁😁 😉

Well, we are just going to have to disagree about that. When I was managing software engineers, I would have regarded this as a bug, which it is, and made them fix it. And your dimensioning shapes prove my point. They are able to center the text no matter the length. If it's not a bug, why would they design one shape with the capability and another one with the same function without it? It's a bug! 

However, you are correct about the scaling. If I had scaled the page before starting, all of this wold have been much simpler. I'll try to remember to do that next time. My memory is not what it used to be. I'm in the same category as Earl here in this comic in the paper this morning:

Using Visio 2019, part of Office 365 on Windows 10

wapperdude

I've adopted "Earl" as my middle name.

Ah.  Yes.  ( See, I forgot.   ::) )  Scaling after the fact will do that.

They should have arrowheads.  As I recall, select shape and adding arrow heads will apply to just dimension lines and not the alignment lines.

As you show, I've used them exactly the same way...even the inside lines.  But you may have to adjust the gluing options for the drawing.   Just did a bathroom remodel drawing ~2 yrs ago.  But, memory-wise, what spatula???
Visio 2019 Pro

Jennifer

Quote from: wapperdude on November 20, 2021, 08:17:15 PM
As I recall, select shape and adding arrow heads will apply to just dimension lines and not the alignment lines.

Apparently, the dimension shapes are actually 2 lines. So if I add arrowheads, it looks like this:



I have no idea why that might be. My guess is some software nerd made some shortcutting decision. It reminds me of the time I was working on the microcode for an early ATM machine. Memory was scarce, so we tried to keep usage down. We would not use a full word (32 bits) if a half-word would do (16 bits). These early ATMs had bills in 2 denominations, say $20s and $5s. So if the customer wanted to withdraw $100, they could ask for 5 $20s, 4 $20s & 4 $5s, 3 $20s and 8 $5s, etc.

We needed a way for the code to know if one of the hoppers ran out, so it could only dispense the other denomination. The guy writing the allocation code was famous for the tightest, and most difficult to follow, code anywhere. The logical thing to do would be to have a 1 bit flag for each hopper indicating whether it had bills or not. This guy came up with an algorithm that saved several bytes of code, and the 1 bit flags, by using the sign bit to indicate whether the hopper had bills or not. If the value was positive, it meant the hopper had bills. When it ran out, the code would set that value to negative. So a value of +20 meant that it had $20 bills. A value of -20 meant that it held $20s, but it was out.

This worked pretty well until the first ATM was installed in Italy. The most common bill there was the 50,000 Lira. When we were using a full half word, 16 bits, it could register a number from 0 - 65,535. But when the first bit was used for a sign bit, the range was reduced to 0 - 32,767, which could not handle 50,000. So we had to ship special software to Italy until the next release. 🙄😯
Using Visio 2019, part of Office 365 on Windows 10

wapperdude

Attached was a preliminary floor plan I was goofing around with.  Has dimension lines, which seem to work just fine as I had described.  Hope this is useful. 

Hmmm... where did I put that file???
Visio 2019 Pro