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View Full Version : Windows global display magnification interferes with Artrage 5



notaverygoodartist
02-08-2017, 08:40 PM
I mentioned this with respect to Artrage 4. It was suggested that a solution might come with Artrage 5.

Some modern screens for portable tablet PCs have close to "retina" resolution. A Cintiq Companion has a native resolution of 2560x1440 on a 13" screen. With a Windows text/object size of 100%, the text is almost indescribably tiny. Microsoft somehow knows this, offering 200% enlargement as the default. Other presets are 125% and 150%.

With either no enlargement or 125% enlargement, Artrage 5 has correct knowledge of the native screen resolution, and sets up a document 2560 pixels wide. But at 150% and 200% enlargement, Artrage 5 becomes unaware of the native screen resolution, substituting instead a smaller, down-scaled number.

Depending upon the equipment, this can be a great impediment. I'm nearsighted, but it is a great strain to operate the Cintiq Companion with just a 125% magnification factor. The personal choice for most people would probably be 150% to 200%.

This is no longer a niche problem. Screens with close to "retina" pixel pitch are becoming increasingly common.

MattRage
02-09-2017, 02:51 PM
ArtRage 4 and 5 are both set to have no DPI awareness. This setting means that Windows is responsible for deciding what magnification to display the app at. In theory, in a high DPI environment Windows is expected to magnify the application so that it doesn't become too small on the screen, but it sounds like the OS isn't applying that at some screen magnification levels for you. Naturally, this isn't what we want but it's also not what is supposed to happen at the OS level.

We've just tried 150% here on a Win10 device and the application is magnified properly, so I'd like to confirm a couple of things with you:

- When the screen is at 125% is the interface scaled up by 25% from normal?
- When the screen is at 150%, are you saying that the interface appears smaller than it does when the screen is at 125%?

I'm looking in to it here and I'll add on anything I find, but it would be handy to confirm those two points above just so that I am 100% clear on exactly what is happening.

notaverygoodartist
02-09-2017, 04:55 PM
Native resolution of the screen: 2560x1440.

Table of the initial canvas sizes established by Artrage at differing screen magnifications:
100% 2560x1370
125% 2560x1362
150% 1707x893
200% 1280x654

The Artrage "controls" are magnified appropriately. At 125%, Artrage establishes a canvas that maps optimally to the physical resolution.
At 150%, and 200%, Artrage switches to the Microsoft-mediated screen architecture, with actual loss of resolution.

It must be an interesting point of .net programming that Artrage receives the physical raster at 125%, but above that, goes through a deleterious translation.

The hardware is Intel Iris 6100 graphics, driver 20.19.15.4531

notaverygoodartist
02-09-2017, 04:58 PM
Also, 125% = +25%, etc.

This is Microsoft Control Panel-->Display-->"Change the size of all items"

The irony of this is that I get more actual, usable resolution running Artrage on a circa 2007 Lenovo X61 tablet (W7) with a 1400x1050 screen. Because 125% magnification is readable with this resolution screen, Artrage sees a 1400 pix-wide screen. The Wacom Cintiq (W8.1) requires 200% magnification for the same readability, resulting in an Artrage screen only 1280x654.

MattRage
02-10-2017, 09:56 AM
The ArtRage canvas and UI controls are rendered internally to a standard window so any kind of magnification that takes place will affect both (unless Windows is deciding to magnify only the main canvas window and not the floating palettes). Basically, there's no code in ArtRage modifying the magnification behaviour in any way. So, what you're seeing with canvas sizes is the result of Windows magnifying the window, effectively reducing the available screen space for the app.

This doesn't prevent you creating larger canvases, of course, the default canvas size may lock to the window but you can create larger canvases and work at different zoom levels if you require regardless of magnification. My main concern from what you described before was that the interface was somehow not scaling with screen magnification, which appears not to be the case, it is basically working as expected. However, while you can create larger canvases, visual quality may be lower due to internal scaling. This doesn't affect the actual paint in any way of course, if you paint on a 2560x1370 canvas when the app is zoomed 200% that painting will appear pixel perfect when you export it and display it in a non magnified window, so the issue relates only to the apparent quality of the rendered display during painting, there is absolutely no quality loss in the painting.

We've done a bunch of work in AR5 preparing for higher DPI support and we are continuing to work on this now that we have released the initial version. The replacement of the interface with a mostly procedural model and the removal of internal UI magnification systems were both part of a system we're working on to support native DPI which should result in a removal of the visual clarity problem that affects the rendered canvas window. There are still some fairly big hurdles to get over but we're actively working on it.

notaverygoodartist
02-10-2017, 10:13 AM
It's amazing what you guys manage to do with a small team. This will be an important step to keep current with display evolution.

HwyStar
02-10-2017, 11:20 AM
I agree with AVeryGoodArtist! You guys are doing some great work. Thanks again.