non-linear grid?

[Guest]

I do a lot of drawing in Powerpoint. Back when I had 2000, I had no problems.
When I upgraded to 2003, I'm just about ready to pull my hair out!

Say I draw a circle (using snap to grid). Then I ctrl-D and set the new
circle right next to the first one (touching). Then I ctrl-D seven more
times, ending up with eight circles all supposedly aligned to the grid. If I
select the 8th circle and try to move it, it will move one pixel (at least
that's how it looks) and then move one grid space.

What gives? It's supposed to move one grid on the first tap right? Why move
one pixel?

As another test. Do the same as above and then manually draw another circle
over the 8th one. It won't align perfectly. There will be one or two pixels
of difference. Is there any way to prevent this?

 

[Steve Rindsberg]

I do a lot of drawing in Powerpoint. Back when I had 2000, I had no problems.
When I upgraded to 2003, I'm just about ready to pull my hair out!

Say I draw a circle (using snap to grid). Then I ctrl-D and set the new
circle right next to the first one (touching). Then I ctrl-D seven more
times, ending up with eight circles all supposedly aligned to the grid. If I
select the 8th circle and try to move it, it will move one pixel (at least
that's how it looks) and then move one grid space.

What gives? It's supposed to move one grid on the first tap right? Why move
one pixel?

As another test. Do the same as above and then manually draw another circle
over the 8th one. It won't align perfectly. There will be one or two pixels
of difference. Is there any way to prevent this?

It took a little while for the "AHA" light to go on.
I'm betting that your default circle has an outline.

At some point, and I think it was between 2000 and 2002, they changed the way
outlines are drawn. If I recall correctly, in earlier versions, outlines were
applied to the outside of shapes. Now they're more like most drawing programs;
the thickness of the outline is half in, half outside the shape.

This leads to some inconsistencies with the way snap is calculated, or so it
seems.

Try doing the same thing as you've described, but before duping the first
circle, remove the outline. Here it seems to eliminate the "pixel-hop".

 

[Guest]

I couldn't find what you mean by "outline". I assumed you mean the line
bordering the circle (actually it happens for all shapes, not just circles).
I tried specifying "no line" for the circle but it still happens. What
outline are you talking about? How do I remove it?

 

[Steve Rindsberg]

I couldn't find what you mean by "outline". I assumed you mean the line
bordering the circle (actually it happens for all shapes, not just circles).
I tried specifying "no line" for the circle but it still happens. What
outline are you talking about? How do I remove it?

The line around the shape, controlled by the Line area on the Colors and Lines
section of the formatting dialog you get when you doubleclick the shape.

 

[Guest]

Yes, that's what I thought you meant.

I tried it. No joy. I tried specifying 0 weight, no line, different line
styles, or dashed lines but there's no improvement.

For info, I use Powerpoint for making diagrams and mechanical drawings
instead of AutoCAD or other drawing software. The drawings can get pretty
complicated but PP is up to it. Plus the ability to link to different slides
or even other documents is a bonus. It used to be a breeze when I was using
2000. With 2003, I'm constantly adjusting things due to the pixel offset.

 

[Steve Rindsberg]

Yes, that's what I thought you meant.

I tried it. No joy. I tried specifying 0 weight, no line, different line
styles, or dashed lines but there's no improvement.

Odd. I was able to see what you described when the circles had a line applied
but not without.

Let's check something else ... rightclick anywhere on the slide where there are
no shapes and choose Grids and Guides.

I've got Snap Ojbect to Grid turned ON, but Snap objects to other objects
turned OFF. Grid's set to 0.083 inches.

Are your settings the same?

 

[Guest]

I'm using metric units. It's set at 0.2 cm (5 grids per cm). Hmm, might that
be it? Powerpoint is setting up the grid on the english system and rounding
off when I specify metric?

 

[Steve Rindsberg]

I'm using metric units. It's set at 0.2 cm (5 grids per cm). Hmm, might that
be it? Powerpoint is setting up the grid on the english system and rounding
off when I specify metric?

I'd be more likely to blame the Snap To Object setting ... was that off or on?

But it's easy enough to change from metric to inches if you want to test.
Might be a good idea to try it:

PowerPoint ruler shows inches instead of centimeters. Or vice versa.
http://www.pptfaq.com/FAQ00549.htm