Auto-fill doesn't work

[Hugging_Bear]

Hi guys,
I work with Moho for over a year now and I noticed that the auto-fill option often doesn't work although all points are connected and should create a shape. When I switch to 'both' I get only the stroke.
When I click on the shape-tool, I get a perfect red criss-croos surface above the shape, but clicking on 'Create Shape' does nothing.
I can use the paint bucket tool, but this creates a second shape above the one I've just created and it adds many additional points which I don't like.

Well - keep up the good work!

[Greenlaw]

I work with Moho for over a year now and I noticed that the auto-fill option often doesn't work although all points are connected and should create a shape. When I switch to 'both' I get only the stroke.
When I click on the shape-tool, I get a perfect red criss-croos surface above the shape, but clicking on 'Create Shape' does nothing.
I can use the paint bucket tool, but this creates a second shape above the one I've just created and it adds many additional points which I don't like.

You should post a project with the element so we can examine it.

In the meantime, I can make a few guesses:

1. It could be your default settings in the Style window...auto fill will always use that, so I would check there. Also check that you don't have a custom Style active that might be overriding your intended settings.

2. If it only does this with a specific path, there's probably something invalid about it's construction. You mentioned the path is closed but it's possible that you have overlapping vectors or extra points that only make it appear to be a valid. (This is where posting the project helps.)

3. Paint Bucket isn't reliable in a situation like this. If the path is valid, it will usually create proper shape based on the path. If the path is invalid, it will still create a shape but it does this by auto-tracing the region like a bitmap image. This is why Paint Bucket shapes can sometimes have a different point structure than the path it's filling. Paint Bucket is a quick and easy way to fill paths but I would only use it for a non-deforming shape (like for FBF artwork.)

[Hugging_Bear]

Thanks for your quick reply.
I still have to sign up with a cloud hosting side, so I can't send the project file right now. I also deleted the layer that gave me such headache.
I don't think, it's the style settings because it sometimes works and sometimes doesn't work.
I also exclude the possibility of a gab because the shape tool should show me single lines (divided by a gab) and not a complete surface!
I think it's a bug and should be fixed! Maybe the bug is inside the shape tool ... so there is a gab, but the shape tool is unabale to show it!
This also should be fixed, don't you agree?
BTW - it's not the first time this happened ... it's quite frustrating!

PS: I'll see if I can find an old project save file and then isolate the problem layer. Then I have to find a cloud hosting side and register there ... that's all for tomorrow.

[Greenlaw]

FWIW, I've been using Moho personally and professionally for many years and have never seen this bug. Personally, I really think it's an error in the path construction but without seeing the file, I really can't say.

Anyway, if you run into this error again, post an example here. I'm curious and would like to take a look.

BTW, which release are you using? Which OS?

[Hugging_Bear]

I use Moho 13.5 Pro and Windows 10 64bit.

[Greenlaw]

I don't know if it will make a difference in this case but be sure to use 13.5.2...it has many bug fixes (plus many new features!) since 13.5 came out.

[Greenlaw]

When I click on the shape-tool, I get a perfect red criss-croos surface above the shape, but clicking on 'Create Shape' does nothing.

Here's a thought: does it work any more reliably if you press Enter instead of clicking on Create Shape? The reason I ask is because I never use the Create Shape button, only the Enter key, and I'm wondering if there's an issue with the button.

Of course the Create Shape button should work correctly. I'm just trying to pin-point why this is a recurring error in your projects. Without more info or a project file with a repeatable error, I don't think the Moho devs have anything to go on yet.

I'll try working with the Create Shape button on this end for a while and see if it causes any issues for me.

[Hugging_Bear]

I'm working with version 13.5.2
I went through several old save files this morning. Unfortunately, the closed I could find was after I applied the paint bucket tool, so we deal with two overlapping shapes here. I tried to reconstruct the previous sitution by deleting the strokes of the paint bucket shape ... but guess what happened next? - As soon I had finished my clean up work, I was able to create shape without the slightest problem.
I'll try the press-enter-method and I'll save the project file immediately if I accounter a similar situation in future.

PS: It isn't really a bug but a bit of strange that when one adjusts the display size to 125% or 150% in the OS, the display size within Moho actually decreases. It's completely counterintuitive. I found a work-around by reducing the resolution to 1600x900.

[Greenlaw]

Yeah, the display and UI size issues have been around for a while. Here's some info from my experience that might help...

When I had a 13-inch Cintiq Companion 2 mobile many years ago, that was my first high resolution display and it made the UI in programs like Moho look too tiny to work with. At the full 2560×1440 resoultion, setting the UI to 200% full made everything too big; setting it to 150% made the UI size ideal but then there where odd window layout offset errors. I finally settled on dropping the display resolution to 1920 x 1080 and everything looked fine. I've pretty much done this for most displays I work on ever since, including the Cintiq I use at my workplace.

But running Moho on a high-resolution screen got better for me starting with 13.5.2. I currently run Moho on two displays at home.

Display #1: 27-inch desktop @ 2560 x 1440 and 100% (the recommended scale setting.) Moho looks pretty good on this screen, the UI is not too big or small, it's pretty much just right for a large display like this.

But I find that it really depends on the physical size of the display. For example...

Display #2: 17-inch laptop @ 1920 x 1080 and 100% (recommended scale). This display can be set up to 3840 x 2160 (the recommended size) but I dropped the res down to 1920 x 1080 for two reasons: 1.) the UI in some programs (not just Moho) look too small to me at the max res on this physically smaller screen, and 2.) For screen recording purposes, I prefer 1920 x 1080. On this computer, unlike years ago when I had my 13-inch Wacom mobile computer, I actually got Moho looking good at the full 4k display resolution. But in the end, I decided I really needed the 1920 x 1080 resolution for recording purposes and I can work perfectly fine at this resolution on this computer.

So, even with the improvements in Moho, I still need to fiddle with display settings for reasons not related to Moho.

BTW, if you haven't tried this yet, Moho has an internal option to make the type larger. Also, you can make application specific scaling changes from the program's properties window. Between all these options, you might find a setting that works for you.

All that said, I hope Moho gets a UI overhaul some day so it works more predictably on any computer display.