Tickmarks Arc Layer

The Tickmarks Arc layer is used to add the essential tickmarks found on most gauge scales.

On standard vector design apps this is usually done by adding each individual tickmark, with the help of some radial copy tool. That also means that any changes to these tickmarks’ format or pattern must be done to all of them each time, which can be quite time consuming.

GaugeMaster Pro takes advantage of the fact that gauge scale tickmarks usually follow well defined design patterns, providing parametric tools that make adding or editing tickmarks on your gauge scales a breeze.

New Tickmarks Arc layers take their initial angles and divisions from the Canvas Defaults industry selection: the classic 135° start, 270° sweep and 15 divisions for Instruments, or a clock face layout for Horology.

There are two types of Tickmarks Arc layers:

• Linear
• Nonlinear

Linear

Linear tickmarks are used to create pattern defined tickmark scales. This are made up of tickmarks segments repeated along the arc for a number of major divisions. Tickmarks arcs of this type are redrawn automatically after any settings changes, making it very quick and easy to try new adjustments.

You can learn more about Linear and Nonlinear scales on the dedicated Linear and NonLinear Scales section.

Sample Formats

The Sample Formats button offers a set of ready-made tickmarks segment designs to start from, which you can then adjust with the Scale Format editor. The formats offered depend on the canvas Industry selection:

• Instruments offers the twelve classic line formats found on most instrument scales.
• Horology offers twenty watch and clock formats instead, from a single hour index to dot, baton, diamond and triangle hour markers combined with line, dot or railway minute tracks, plus the classic line formats that watches share with instruments, like chronograph tenths and dense seconds tracks.

Divisions

The divisions setting will determine how many times the tickmarks segment design is repeated across the tickmarks arc. Make sure this value matches the one on the Text Arc that is the counterpart numeric scale to a Tickmarks arc.

Draw Final Tick

If enabled, the tickmarks arc will have a final tickmark at the very end of the arc that matches the very first tickmark, which is common on most gauge scales. If your gauge tickmarks scale is open ended you may need to disable this option.

Draw Final Tick will change the tickmarks spacing

When Draw Final Tick is disabled, the remaining tickmarks will be spread to cover the entire length of the tickmarks arc, so make sure this is the desired result.

Draw Final Tick is a legacy setting

Draw Final Tick is a legacy setting from the original iPad/Mac native apps brought over to GaugeMaster Pro for compatibility, but it is best to use the new End Offset/Major End Tick settings as this may be removed in the future.

Being a legacy feature, when Draw Final Tick is unset, the Start Offset/Major Start Tick/End Offset/Major End Tick will be disabled for editing, and in the same manner if Start Offset/End Offset have any value other than zero, Draw Final Tick will be disabled for editing, to avoid undesirable rendering effects.

Start Offset

For gauges where the first segment is not a full major segment, you can adjust the Start Offset to make the gauge start at partial value of the full length of a tickmarks segment. The value on this setting will go from 0 to 0.99, being 0 the default value for a full segment length.

Major Start Tick

When using offset tickmarks arc start you have the option of making the first tickmark match the first tick mark of the segment, or show the true tickmark of the selected offset position.

End Offset

Like for the Start Offset there is a similar option for the end of a tickmarks arc, but in this case the value will be negative as it is subtracting from a full segment length. In this case the value will be from 0 to -0.99, being 0 again the default value for a full segment length.

Major End Tick

As with Major Start Tick you can enable or disable to have a major tickmark at the end of the gauge, or show the true tickmark of the selected offset position.

Nonlinear

Nonlinear tickmarks are used when you need a more flexible design of your scales, allowing tickmarks to be at arbitrary positions.

For more details check the dedicated Linear and NonLinear Scales page for thorough details on how to use both types of scales.

Scale Format

The Scale Format editor button, the tickmarks preview button that always displays the current tickmarks design, opens the list that defines the tickmarks of the layer. On a linear scale these are the subsegments of the repeated segment, and the individual tickmarks on a nonlinear scale. Each row on the list sets the Count of tickmarks (linear only), their Length, their Shape and, depending on the shape, their Width or Width Ratio, plus a visibility toggle. See the Linear and NonLinear Scales page for how the subsegments build up a scale and all the details of the editor.

Width Scale

The Width Scale setting multiplies the width of every tickmark on the layer at once, which is a quick way to make a whole scale bolder or finer without editing each subsegment.

Width Scale applies to every shape

Width Scale multiplies the final tangential size of every subsegment, line strokes and triangle or diamond widths alike, so any value other than 1 changes the drawn width beyond the value entered on the subsegment. Dots are the exception, as they always stay circles.

Alignment

The Alignment setting positions the tickmarks inside the arc width, towards the Inner radius, at the Center or towards the Outer radius. It positions every tick shape inside the tickmarks arc the same way it positions lines.