Snapping to grid... Don't work !

[sheu]

Hello,
I rememeber the day when writing reports in Microsoft Access and the handy dandy SNAP TO GRID feature, also support in Crystal 3.

But, the snapping to grid almost, but not quite works where drawing a box, the top and left side snap perfectly but the right and bottom are woefully off... Very annoying.

Can it be resolved? Perhaps by changing my SNAP TO GRID settings?

 

[synapsevampire]

If you mean that Crystal doesn't automatically resize the box then you are correct, thankfully.

Perhaps you should explain what you think woefully not is, or is not?

I would dislike it if crystal resized objects.

Some tips I suggest to coders is to adjust the File->Options->Grid size to .011, which allows for the smallest incremental changes.

Then keep snap to grid turned off unless you need it for some reason.

I tend to manually align things and then lassoo the group and right click and select Align->Tops or whatever I need.

The grid doesn't always equate to what I need.

Again, post what it is that you want rateher than stating that it doesn't do some unknown.

-k

 

[sheu]

I create a box that then snap to grid and both the top and left side of the box align perfectly.

But the right and bottom almost, but not quite snap perfectly.

I then copy the box and paste it next to itself and because the right side of box 1 doesn't snap perfectly, there is what appears a bold line between both boxes 1 and 2.

 

[synapsevampire]

If th box isn't the precise size of the grid, then it shouldn't align properly, right?

Move the box on the left side towards the right until it snaps to the grid, copy the box and place it to the right and move it to the left until it snaps to the grid.

As previously suggested, you are assuming that the box would resize so that it always fits within the grid sizes, it does not, however you can use the above method to accomplish the same.

To size a box to the grid size, select the box and hold the shift and hit the right arrow key, you should see it size to the grid size and then you can copy and paste the properly sized object.

Yeh, it's a tad kludgy...

-k

 

[sheu]

Your suggestion to 'play' with the box until it clicks correctly I've tried over and over and withot success.

I've also changes the grid size hoping a change would spark a true snap but it does not. I've considered computing the box based on the grid (as you suggest, i think) but that is counter-intuitive to the way grid-snapping is designed to work.

What I'm truly hoping for is a perhaps an INI setting (or similar) that I can change so that grid snapping actually works as origianlly designed, say back in the day when Microsoft Access 97 was king (as I recall, both Access reporting and Crystal have common roots).

Have you been able to reproduce the problem? I'm uisng Crystal Developer 10.

 

[synapsevampire]

I never said play with the box, rather defined it's behavior.

And snap to grid doesn't mean resize, if that's what happened in Access, that is not what happens in crystal, and I think it a bad idea.

It isn't designed to work as you suggest, and no, Access and Crystal do not have common roots.

Were you to change the grid size to .011 you can make it align just fine, but you seem to ignore or oversimplify what I'm suggesting and then just repeat the same question, which I've already addressed.

I don't see it as a problem, I see it as a misundretsnading in what snap to grid means.

-k

 

[sheu]

Hard to believe that I would have a misunderstanding regards how SNAP-TO-GRID works as I've been a MS user/programmer for some 16 years but perhaps so.

I don't see from your response that you simulated the example.

Please try this:
Create box 1 as: x=4.0, y=4.0 H=.5 Y=.5
Create box 2 as: x=4.5, y=4.0 H=.5 Y=.5

On my screen there is what appears a BOLD line between the box's, which also shows itself in both DESIGN and PREVIEW (and also when it prints).

Can you avoid the BOLD line and if so, how?

 

[synapsevampire]

Works OK here. not sure why you have the problem.

But then I don't use the set postion, I drag it after changing the minimal grid size and it overlays nicely.

Yeah, Crystal definitely doesn't abode by MS programming techniques, and as previosly mentioned, they did not stem from the same roots, Crystal was bundled with MS products, but they were not part of MS.

-k

 

[sheu]

Can you be more specific regards what works?

Because it seems that using my example DOES NOT work for you as you've said you don't use SET POSITION.

The .011 trick does work for me by the way although the numbers in SIZE AND POSITION still do not jive with WYSIWYG - therefore making it hard for me to consider the trick an actual fix.

For example, are reports created on the fly (in VB) succeptable to this issue?

Crystal is still bundled with MS products and the lineage I still believe is real and will pass along the linkage when I find it - if ever!

 

[synapsevampire]

I meant that once I changed the grid size then I could place the object to the right of the existing object and scoot it over using the left arrow (one increment per highlight though... I guess you're correct in that it doesn't snap to the grid in a large increment like most objects, but it does align to the grid.

And no, Crystal was never a MS product, they just didn't have a report writer worth mentioning to integrate so they partnered with Crystal.

Surprise though, MS should have snapped them up, Seagate had them for a while...

The current Crystal killer that is gaining momentum is the MS SQL Server Reporting Services, the first real challenger I've seen from a cost standpoint, and with some maturity perhaps across the board.

-k