Weird blocks/kinks when drawing segmented lines
Ciel
Traveler
So I feel like I may have asked about this before, but I couldn't find anything in my own discussion history so I'm not sure, maybe I just read an existing thread. Basically, sometimes when I use a drawtool which creates a line, but using a line style consisting of a "chain" of small blocks or the like, I get a weird effect. This is the kind of line I mean:
and this is the "weird effect":
Obviously those parts that are way longer than the others aren't supposed to be like that. The way to fix this after the fact is to apply a Stretch to that line, and just nudge the parts with blocks ever so slightly over. Sometimes this works fine, and other times it creates more blocks elsewhere in the line and I have to use stretch multiple times to get it all ironed out. It can also be hard to figure out where to put the "Stretch Window" when the blocking occurs in a line that is very straight. From before when I read about this Stretch solution, I recall it being said by someone that the problem is more likely to occur when you have an entity that is two lines (i.e. a base and an outline), and also more likely when you have sharp curves and such.
Well, this has been happening a lot lately with the (custom) drawtools I use for the lines pictured above. They're nothing complicated, these tools, just smooth paths which utilize my own line style that I made, and either the "solid" or "halftone" fill style. They have no outline, it's just the base entity, and as you can see these blocks occur even when it's a pretty straight line I've made; no sharp turns.
Is there any way to prevent this behavior from occurring? Stretching the lines after the fact "works", but it can be very annoying (especially since as of late it seems like EVERY line I make has at least one block in it) and time-consuming. Plus anything more than a very, very minor movement with Stretch is a problem, because the line is already where it needs to be BEFORE I use stretch; I don't want to move any part of it over too much or it will be out of position for its purpose on the map.
Comments
Unfortunately, adjusting the nodes is the standard method of resolving the issue, though some line styles seem to have a greater tendency to do this than others.
Try not to use any more nodes than you have to. For instance, if you have clicked 20 times around a curve, try removing some of those nodes. I know people don't click that many times around curves, but that is just to explain what I mean. Use the minimum number of nodes.
Very tiny movements can mean moving a node up or down the line as well as sideways away from it.
You might check the line style. Some are dashes, some are short and long dashes, etc.
Hmm, sounds like there isn't much that can be done to just prevent it from happening, then. Bummer. I'll try to be mindful of clicking no more than necessary, at least. Thanks!
It may not help in this case, but if you haven't seen it already, you may find it worthwhile to check out part of one of Remy Monsen's video mapping streams, where he addressed the issue of dashed lines not retaining their appearance if you zoom in or out to them, and how the dashes can be made to have a fixed length appearance. The relevant section begins about 32 minutes in: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=npHHQ6vcMHU .