Long Time Pixelmator user trying Pro, am I doing it wrong?

Talk about Pixelmator Pro, share tips & tricks, tutorials, and other resources.
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2019-10-22 17:15:36

So I've been using Pixelmator for years on the recommendation from someone on YouTube and it has fit my needs perfectly but when I saw the discount on Pro and the ability to edit colors directly within the app instead of having to use the Photos app, I jumped to test the trial. I just finished my first project with Pro, and I feel like there are either features I use on a daily basis that are missing or I'm doing something wrong.

First, in the original Pixelmator the app defaults to resizing layers/assets evenly, causing the item to stay centered where it was. Pixelmator Pro seems to like to resize into the upper left corner. Is there a way to change this?

On that same topic, when I used to use Transform to change the size of an object, I would use the arrow keys to go up/down in 1% increments. It was prefect, because then I could use the slider to dial it in perfectly. Now it goes it some odd, small percentage down and it's driving me nuts. Can this be changed back in settings?

Finally, and this is a huge deal breaker: the original Pixelmator showed the size of the asset when dragging to resize and would lock in when you got two assets to the same pixel size in either dimension. It no longer does this. Why? Can I change it? It's very annoying and will cause me to skip the upgrade if I cannot get this turned on or unless it's going to be added back in later versions. I use this EVERY TIME.
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2019-10-23 14:34:02

by Robert D First, in the original Pixelmator the app defaults to resizing layers/assets evenly, causing the item to stay centered where it was. Pixelmator Pro seems to like to resize into the upper left corner. Is there a way to change this?
Nothing should've changed here, but a user mentioned something similar on Twitter yesterday so I'm starting to get suspicious. Could you maybe share a screen recording showing the differences in both apps? Generally speaking, to resize from the center you need to press and hold the Option key as you drag (or press and hold the Shift and Option keys to center and constrain proportions).
by Robert D On that same topic, when I used to use Transform to change the size of an object, I would use the arrow keys to go up/down in 1% increments. It was prefect, because then I could use the slider to dial it in perfectly. Now it goes it some odd, small percentage down and it's driving me nuts. Can this be changed back in settings?
This has changed a little bit. Previously, the arrow keys always moved objects by 1 pixel. Now, they move objects by 1 pixel at 100% zoom and above and larger increments at zoom levels below 100%. To be precise, layers are moved by one screen point so they move by the same amount visually when you're zoomed out. If you're sure you'd like to move an object by 1 pixel, you can, before moving it press the Command-1 keyboard shortcut to zoom to 100%. Or you can use the arrows in the Tool Options pane:

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by Robert D Finally, and this is a huge deal breaker: the original Pixelmator showed the size of the asset when dragging to resize and would lock in when you got two assets to the same pixel size in either dimension. It no longer does this. Why? Can I change it? It's very annoying and will cause me to skip the upgrade if I cannot get this turned on or unless it's going to be added back in later versions. I use this EVERY TIME.
Things shouldn't have changed here either, I think this is just turned off by default in both Pixelmator and Pixelmator Pro and you probably turned it on in Pixelmator (though I could be mistaken). You'll find the setting for this in Pixelmator Pro > Preferences > Rulers — you can simply turn on all the Smart Guides.
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2019-10-23 23:46:56

by Andrius 2019-10-23 14:34:02
Nothing should've changed here, but a user mentioned something similar on Twitter yesterday so I'm starting to get suspicious. Could you maybe share a screen recording showing the differences in both apps? Generally speaking, to resize from the center you need to press and hold the Option key as you drag (or press and hold the Shift and Option keys to center and constrain proportions).
Hey I was able to get the the Smart Guides working. I think it was on by default when I got Pixelmator and was expecting it to be there. I'll just have to get used to the new resizing percentages, but as far as the issue with the resizing into the upper left corner, here's what I was talking about: https://youtu.be/UAaBSjJA2HI.
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2019-10-24 12:08:32

Ohhh, you're using the Width and Height fields, gotcha. Yeah, I can see how that's different in both apps. For now, you can press and hold the Option key and drag the layer handles to resize from the center. You can also press and hold the Option and Shift keys together to constrain proportions and resize from the center. We have some plans to make it possible to change the anchor point when resizing, though it'd be quite a significant feature to add and it's planned for a little further down the line.