On Fri, Dec 24, 2021 at 12:59 AM Steve Litt slitt@troubleshooters.com wrote:

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Hi all,

Be very careful, with any document containing gradients, when performing File=>Document Properties=>Resize.

I had a rectangle with a radial gradient above a big rectangle and below a schematic diagram. The drawing, which had taken me about 8 hours, was finished. All I needed to do was resize it and save. When I resized, the gradient disappeared and the rectangle was a solid color. I attempted to re-do the gradient, but this time it was too bright and ended too abruptly.

I haven't decided how to deal with this yet, but I just wanted to advise you: Don't apply a gradient to anything until your drawing is the proper size, look frequently to make sure your gradient(s) remain the same, and if you have gradients, back up after every single save.

Somebody privately emailed me advising me to check the following box to eliminate this symptom:

Edit>Preferences>Behavior>Transforms>Transform Gradients

This indeed cured the problem. I will be hammering this hard on my Wednesday night presentation. I don't know why transforming gradients isn't the default behavior --- after all, gradients are placed in objects, and all objects can be transformed (moved). In the rare instance when you don't want the gradient to follow the object, it's easy enough to grab the handle(s) and move the gradient after the fact.

A little more about the symptom. I reproduced it just now, and the problem isn't that the gradient handles disappear, but instead that things re-center and the handles go offscreen. By zooming out I was able to locate and move the gradient handles.

Thanks,

SteveT

Steve Litt Spring 2021 featured book: Troubleshooting Techniques of the Successful Technologist http://www.troubleshooters.com/techniques