Using Stamp as an overlay

[Dahzee]

I know there is no longer an overlay facility in the Editor, so I have been using the Stamp facility instead.

The problem I have is if I overlay a pdf that is bigger than the one I am working on, the control of the stamp/file is really klunky.

I can't move the stamp with the mouse to where I want it as the Editor keeps moving it back to either the top or the two sides of the page.

If I try and move it with the arrow keys on the keyboard, I can get it to where I want it, but it is very slow as there is no nudge facility so I can adjust how far each press of the arrow keys moves it.

If I am zoomed into the page after I have arrow keyed it into position, If I reselect the overlay it gets thrown back to one of the edges again! very frustrating.

Any help would be greatly appreciated as this is very hard work.

I am using the Editor to check artwork, so the files are quite large and having this extra misery when overlaying artworks to check them is painful to say the least.

Many thanks in advance.

[Tracker Supp-Stefan]

Hello Dahzee,

With the stamp selected - please try the "Selection -> Transform..." command. With that you can scale and position your object using exact coordinates.

Alternatively - why don't you try the Watermarks feature? It should do the scaling to fit the page on which you are placing the watermark for you.

Regards,
Stefan

[Dahzee]

Hi Stefan,
Thanks for the reply.
I don't think you are quite understanding what exactly I am asking.
If I have a page size for example of 500mm x 250mm with artwork on and I want to check that the cutting forme we are using to punch out the printed sheet fits the profiles of the artwork.
I need to overlay the pdf of the cutting forme on top of the artwork.
The cutting forme could have additional elements on it which aren't printed so the page size could be 750mm x 325mm.
I therefore need to position the larger pdf over the smaller artwork pdf.
Under no circumstances can the cutting forme pdf be scaled as it has to match the artwork, it is just a larger sized page.
As an example if I had a traditional English shoe box (a Lid and a Base) and only the Lid was printed, but the cutting forme had the Lid and the Base on it, I would need to position the pdf cutting forme of the Lid and Base off to one side so I could match the Lid onto the artwork.
At present this is incredibly difficult to do as you cannot move the pdf you are overlaying by dragging it with the mouse as it keeps springing back to one of the edges once you let go of it.
The watermark feature doesn't allow you to move it dynamically, it only works in absolutes, so is even harder to use.
I can send you a file if this helps, but they can be quite large, so can I send it without attaching it to a post?

[TrackerSupp-Daniel]

Hello Dahzee,
I have good news and bad news here, After managing to reproduce the issue.

The good news is I have a solution! After initial placement you can move the stamp using the arrow keys (or Shift+Arrow keys) to adjust it into the right spot, without worrying about page snapping.
The bad news, using the mouse for this will not work. This is a countermeasure to ensure that users cannot "lose" their stamps in a location where they are not selectable, and in turn just increase file size. To move a stamp off the document, you need to use the keyboard and gradually push it out of bounds.

I hope this helps!

[TrackerSupp-Daniel]

As followup to this, After speaking with the development team on the matter, it appears that we are also working on a feature for an upcoming build that will allow you to specify modifier keys to be used in conjunction with the arrow keys. So that you can identify how far, in what meansurement to move while a custom set of keys (ie: ctrl+Alt+Shift) are held down.

Enjoy!

[Dahzee]

Hi Daniel,

Thanks for the reply, I just tried the shift + arrow and this gives a much greater amount of movement, so will make it a lot easier to get the stamp/overlay into position.

I did try previously to use one of the shift/alt/ctrl combinations but if used incorrectly in conjunction with the arrow keys can flip your windows over or move your whole desktop to the other monitor in a twin monitor setup, so I didn't pursue any further.

An adjustable nudge function as you mention would be fantastic.

Thanks for the help.

[TrackerSupp-Daniel]

Glad I could be of assistance!

For the issue with windows moving, That should only happen if you have accidentally pressed the Windows key, and used the arrow keys, unless another combination has been intentionally enabled, no combination of ctrl shift and alt should cause that.

I will let the team know that you are looking forward to the feature! I do not have a guarantee yet, but it should be coming very soon.

Have a great day!