Shape layer entries not visible in dark UI background

Talk about Pixelmator Pro, share tips & tricks, tutorials, and other resources.
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2019-05-16 14:20:37

I'm using the trial version of Pixelmator Pro 1.3.4 Prism and I can't find where to change the UI color scheme. My shapes are completely lost in the dark user interface, and I can't find where to change it. I'm on an iMac Pro with MacOS 10.13.6 High Sierra.

Erich

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2019-05-16 14:27:01

Hey Erich, to create our light and dark appearances, we're using lots of native OS-wide features introduced in macOS Mojave (when Dark mode was added). For that reason, you'd need to upgrade to Mojave to use the light appearance in Pixelmator Pro.
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2019-05-16 14:36:10

I really hope you are kidding. I can't work with what I can't see. This is basically unusable as it is, so how are people currently getting around this problem? I was ready to buy, but this serious UI problem will probably push me to buy Affinity.

Erich
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2019-05-16 15:21:29

I'm not too sure how exactly people are getting around this in your situation, to be honest. Though I would guess the majority of Pixelmator Pro users are running Mojave. Having said that, we should make paths like this easier to differentiate when using the dark UI so this is an issue we need to address.

In the meantime, other than upgrading to Mojave, I'm struggling to think of any workarounds. One potential fix is to use white or lightly colored paths (temporarily, of course) while you're tracing/drawing to make them easier to differentiate. I do realize that's not a great suggestion. Another option might be to use the Thumbnails view for the Layers sidebar (View > Layers > Thumbnails) — this seems to make paths like that easier to see.
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2019-05-16 16:03:00

I'm also giving the regular Pixelmator3.8.4 Phoenix a try, and it handles the issue without fuss. Even a black stroke is given a different color in the layer palette icon so its easier to see. Why this wasn't done in the PRO I don't understand. Obviously It doesn't need to be tied to the OS UI color choices since both are on High Sierra.

Erich

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2019-05-16 19:33:38

The reason for the difference is that, in Pixelmator Pro, the thumbnails of vector shapes are accurate in terms of their shape and color, wheres in the original Pixelmator, they're more stylized — every vector shape, no matter its color, is displayed in blue. This can make them easier to differentiate in cases like this but sometimes it's nicer to see a completely accurate preview in the thumbnail. For Pixelmator Pro, we made the decision to go for visual accuracy.

My comments re. the OS were simply about the light Pixelmator Pro appearance requiring macOS Mojave, not the style of the thumbnails. If we were to change the thumbnail style in Pixelmator Pro, that would most likely work across all supported versions of macOS
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2019-05-17 18:03:28

Erich just upgrade to Mojave, problem solved! Its out now 8 month, actually it feels like an eternity. Mojave works better for me then High Sierra from the start to be honest.
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2019-05-18 13:26:22

I would except that "just upgrade to Mojave" will cost me a couple hundred dollars in needed program upgrades. Something like this should not be tied to only the system color scheme options, or at least have the option for a "high visibility" scheme such as is available in the regular Pixelmator.

Other than this, I'm liking Pixelmator Pro and will most likely purchase it.

Erich
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2019-05-18 17:51:48

by Erich Linder 2019-05-18 13:26:22 I would except that "just upgrade to Mojave" will cost me a couple hundred dollars in needed program upgrades. Something like this should not be tied to only the system color scheme options, or at least have the option for a "high visibility" scheme such as is available in the regular Pixelmator.

Other than this, I'm liking Pixelmator Pro and will most likely purchase it.

Erich

I understand your issue but at a certain point you need to upgrade anyway. You can postpone it but technology is going forward. I like there approximately to integrate it natively, it makes development much faster and less buggy. You found a solution...
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2019-05-20 08:05:00

To be honest, if you have apps that won't work in Mojave, it's completely understandable to hold off on the upgrade. It does make sense for us to address this issue either way. Personally, I quite liked being able to immediately differentiate vector layers from pixel layers in the original Pixelmator with the blue thumbnails so I think something similar in Pixelmator Pro (either optionally or as a default setting) would make quite a lot of sense.