* Uniform diagram box sizes

[dewilkinson]

For my books have the boxes in tree diagrams set at the same size by setting max, min and std to the same dimension. Boxes stayed the same size in TMG with or without photos. In FH boxes seem to go to random sizes when photos are included. I have fiddled with many settings I but cannot seem to get boxes the same size with photos included. I presume I have missed something or it is not possible, any guidance would be welcome. Two example pages are given below.

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[Jane]

Just set the Minimum box width the same as the maximum on the dimensions tab of diagram options.

[dewilkinson]

Jane,

Thank you, but I have already done that, see attached. When there are no photos the boxes are all the same size as required, but as soon as photos are included the sizes change. Is this a bug?

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[tatewise]

That looks like a bug to me.
Although there is a quick workaround by using Diagram > Layout & Scaling > Make All Boxes the Same Width, and interestingly thereafter ignores changes to the Dimensions for a while.

[dewilkinson]

Mike,

Many thanks, that tip does what I want.

[AdrianBruce]

For what it's worth, using top-to-bottom orientation, the same "issue" appears with box width. I have my minimum, maximum and standard box widths all set the same (1.5 inches). Where there is a photo, the box appears to expand by the width of the photo (5/8 inch?) I don't have a problem with this, however, since otherwise the text would receive a battering in legibility terms.

I don't see any option that I've set (or defaulted to) to cause this expansion but it seems sensible to me.

Judging by the screen shot above, that left to right diagram shows different behaviour in expansion as the boxes appear in multiple widths.

[tatewise]

Adrian, I have displayed FH Sample Project diagrams with default settings except for 1.5" Min/Max/Std Widths.
I can see no consistent width rules at all. Yes, the boxes with photos are wider, but not all the same width.
The inconsistencies are not quite so obvious in Top-down than in Left-right.
Try the default root Ian Stephen MUNRO in an All Relatives Diagram and box widths are all over the place.

[AdrianBruce]

... I can see no consistent width rules at all. ...

Yes, on reflection, putting a tape measure right onto the screen, there are subtle differences in my top-down - turn it on its side to do left-right and the width differences (compared to the top-down) become either more obvious or genuinely bigger.

And that particular sample diagram you mention shows wide variation.

I hesitate to say this but it does look like the diagrams have a standard height for a photo. That being so, I've probably instinctively set all my portraits to display at a very similar aspect ratio, resulting in similar widths for the photos and therefore similar widths for the boxes given that they tend to have similar text. Where the text is sparse (there are boxes with just a name in the sample project) the resulting width is quite different from those with lots of text in the box.

I'm sure there's an algorithm somewhere but it's deeper than my diagram lead me to believe.

[tatewise]

They do have a standard height for photos as per Diagram > Options > Pictures tab.
It shrinks or enlarges to 0.75" by default.

[AdrianBruce]

They do have a standard height for photos as per Diagram > Options > Pictures tab. ...

Thanks Mike - I should have found that but when I was looking, I was looking for a width.