Incompatible Size & Position Properties in Ren’Py

There are a few places here and there where I’ve mentioned that some size and position properties are incompatible with other properties in Ren’Py, often because one property is shorthand for setting multiple properties.

Here is a table of all those conflicts. You don’t have to read it through from start to finish, but I hope it will be good reference material if you’re ever wondering why Ren’Py complains about using certain properties together, or if you’re having trouble positioning and sizing screen elements.

This article is intended largely as a reference after you’ve read Ren’Py Position Properties – Pos and Anchor, Ren’Py Position Properties – align, xycenter, and offset, Ren’Py Size Properties – xysize, maximum, and minimum, and Ren’Py Size Properties – fill, fit, size_group, and area.

Property Name	Conflicts	Explanation
pos	xpos, ypos align, xalign, yalign xcenter, ycenter, xycenter area	pos sets both xpos and ypos, so it can’t be used alongside them. The next set of conflicting properties all set one or both of the pos properties along with the anchor property. They can’t both set the same thing, so only one of these properties will be what the actual pos value is. area sets pos and xysize, so again, it can’t be used in combination with a pos property.
xpos	pos xalign, xcenter, xycenter area	pos sets xpos and ypos in one property, so it can’t be used alongside them The next set of conflicting properties all set the xpos properties along with the anchor property. They can’t both set the same thing, so only one of these properties will be what the actual xpos value is. area sets pos and xysize, so again, it can’t be used in combination with a pos property.
ypos	pos yalign ycenter, xycenter area	pos sets xpos and ypos in one property, so it can’t be used alongside them The next set of conflicting properties all set the ypos properties along with the anchor property. They can’t both set the same thing, so only one of these properties will be what the actual ypos value is. area sets pos and xysize, so again, it can’t be used in combination with a pos property.
anchor	xanchor, yanchor align, xalign, yalign, xcenter, ycenter, xycenter	anchor sets both xanchor and yanchor, so you can’t also use the individual xanchor and yanchor properties For the other properties, it’s the same as pos; the conflicting xycenter and align properties set the anchor point of the image along with setting its pos, so only one of them can be actively applied at a time.
xanchor	anchor align, xalign xcenter, xycenter	anchor sets both xanchor and yanchor, so you can’t also use the individual xanchor and property For the other properties, it’s the same as xpos; the conflicting properties set the anchor point of the image along with setting its pos, so only one of them can be actively applied at a time.
yanchor	anchor align, yalign ycenter, xycenter	anchor sets both xanchor and yanchor, so you can’t also use the individual yanchor and property For the other properties, it’s the same as ypos; the conflicting properties set the anchor point of the image along with setting its pos, so only one of them can be actively applied at a time.
align	xalign, yalign pos, xpos, ypos anchor, xanchor, yanchor xycenter, xcenter, ycenter area	align lets you set a value for xalign and yalign, so it is incompatible with those individual properties.align sets both pos and anchor to the same value, so it’s incompatible with both those properties. xycenter sets the anchor and pos of the element, and since align also sets the anchor and pos, they are incompatible. area sets the pos of the element, and since align also sets the pos, they are incompatible.
xalign	align pos, xpos anchor, xanchor xycenter, xcenter area	align lets you set a value for xalign and yalign, so it is incompatible with those individual properties.xalign sets both xpos and xanchor to the same value, so it’s incompatible with both those properties, and pos and anchor which also set the xpos and xanchor values respectively. xycenter sets the anchor and pos of the element, and since xalign also sets the xanchor and xpos, they are incompatible. area sets the pos of the element, and since xalign also sets the xpos, they are incompatible.
yalign	align pos, ypos, anchor, yanchor xycenter, ycenter area	align lets you set a value for xalign and yalign, so it is incompatible with those individual properties.yalign sets both ypos and yanchor to the same value, so it’s incompatible with both those properties, and pos and anchor which also set the ypos and yanchor values respectively. xycenter sets the anchor and pos of the element, and since yalign also sets the yanchor and ypos, they are incompatible. area sets the pos of the element, and since xalign also sets the xpos, they are incompatible.
xycenter	xcenter, ycenter pos, xpos, ypos anchor, xanchor, yanchor align, xalign, yalign area	xycenter allows you to set both xcenter and ycenter in one property, so it can’t be used in combination with the individual properties. xycenter sets both pos to the given value and the anchor to the center, so it’s incompatible with both those properties. align sets the anchor and pos of the element, and since xycenter also sets the anchor and pos, they are incompatible. area sets the pos of the element, and since xycenter also sets the pos, they are incompatible.
xcenter	xycenter pos, xpos anchor, xanchor align, xalign area	xycenter allows you to set both xcenter and ycenter in one property, so it can’t be used in combination with the individual properties. xcenter sets both xpos to the given value and xanchor to 0.5, so it’s incompatible with both those properties. align sets the anchor and pos of the element, and since xcenter also sets the xanchor and xpos, they are incompatible. area sets the pos of the element, and since xcenter also sets the xpos, they are incompatible.
ycenter	xycenter pos, ypos anchor, yanchor align, yalign area	xycenter allows you to set both xcenter and ycenter in one property, so it can’t be used in combination with the individual properties. ycenter sets both ypos to the given value and yanchor to 0.5, so it’s incompatible with both those properties. align sets the anchor and pos of the element, and since ycenter also sets the yanchor and ypos, they are incompatible. area sets the pos of the element, and since ycenter also sets the xpos, they are incompatible.
offset, xoffset, yoffset	N/A	offset properties are compatible with all other mentioned properties.
xysize	xsize, ysize maximum, xmaximum, ymaximum minimum, xminimum, yminimum area xfit, yfit, xfill, yfill, fit_first	xysize sets both the xsize and the ysize properties, so it is incompatible with them. Setting xysize sets the maximum and minimum properties to the same value. Ergo, you can’t use both of them at the same time. As with pos, area sets both pos and xysize, so you can’t use xysize with area. fit and fill properties are incompatible with anything that sets size, as they also set the size.
xsize	xysize maximum, xmaximum minimum, xminimum area xfit, xfill, fit_first	xysize sets both the xsize and the ysize properties, so it is incompatible with them. Setting xsize sets the xmaximum and xminimum properties to the same value. Ergo, you can’t use both of them at the same time. As with pos, area sets both pos and xysize, so you can’t use xsize with area. fit and fill properties are incompatible with anything that sets size, as they also set the size.
ysize	xysize maximum, ymaximum minimum, yminimum area yfit, yfill, fit_first	xysize sets both the xsize and the ysize properties, so it is incompatible with them. Setting ysize sets the ymaximum and yminimum properties to the same value. Ergo, you can’t use both of them at the same time. As with pos, area sets both pos and xysize, so you can’t use ysize with area. fit and fill properties are incompatible with anything that sets size, as they also set the size.
minimum	xminimum, yminimum xysize, xsize, ysize area xfit, yfit, xfill, yfill, fit_first	minimum sets both xminimum and yminimum, so it’s incompatible with those properties. xysize sets minimum and maximum to the same value, so they are incompatible. area sets xysize, which as mentioned, sets both the minimum and maximum to that value. fit and fill properties are incompatible with anything that sets size, as they also set the size.
xminimum	minimum xysize, xsize area xfit, xfill, fit_first	minimum sets both xminimum and yminimum, so it’s incompatible with those properties. xysize and xsize set xminimum and xmaximum to the same value, so they are incompatible. area sets xysize, which as mentioned, sets both the minimum and maximum to that value. fit and fill properties are incompatible with anything that sets size, as they also set the size.
yminimum	minimum xysize, ysize area yfit, yfill, fit_first	minimum sets both xminimum and yminimum, so it’s incompatible with those properties. xysize and ysize set yminimum and ymaximum to the same value, so they are incompatible. area sets xysize, which as mentioned, sets both the minimum and maximum to that value. fit and fill properties are incompatible with anything that sets size, as they also set the size.
maximum	xmaximum, ymaximum xysize, xsize, ysize area xfit, yfit, xfill, yfill, fit_first	maximum sets both xmaximum and ymaximum, so it’s incompatible with those properties. xysize sets minimum and maximum to the same value, so they are incompatible. area sets xysize, which as mentioned, sets both the minimum and maximum to that value. fit and fill properties are incompatible with anything that sets size, as they also set the size.
xmaximum	maximum xysize, xsize area xfit, xfill, fit_first	maximum sets both xmaximum and ymaximum, so it’s incompatible with those properties. xysize sets xminimum and xmaximum to the same value, so they are incompatible. area sets xysize, which as mentioned, sets both the minimum and maximum to that value. fit and fill properties are incompatible with anything that sets size, as they also set the size.
ymaximum	maximum xysize, ysize area yfit, yfill, fit_first	maximum sets both xmaximum and ymaximum, so it’s incompatible with those properties. xysize sets yminimum and ymaximum to the same value, so they are incompatible. area sets xysize, which as mentioned, sets both the minimum and maximum to that value. fit and fill properties are incompatible with anything that sets size, as they also set the size.
xfill	xmaximum, xminimum, xsize xfit, fit_first area	xfill sets the width of the displayable, so it’s incompatible with any other properties attempting to set the width.
yfill	ymaximum, yminimum, ysize yfit, fit_first area	yfill sets the height of the displayable, so it’s incompatible with any other properties attempting to set the height.
xfit	xmaximum, xminimum, xsize xfill, fit_first area	xfit sets the width of the displayable, so it’s incompatible with any other properties attempting to set the width.
yfit	ymaximum, yminimum, ysize yfill, fit_first area	yfit sets the height of the displayable, so it’s incompatible with any other properties attempting to set the height.
area	pos, xpos, ypos align, xalign, yalign xycenter, xcenter, ycenter xysize, xsize, ysize minimum, xminimum, yminimum maximum, xmaximum, ymaximum xfill, yfill, xfit, yfit, fit_first	area sets both xysize and pos, so it’s incompatible with any other properties that set those values or control size.
size_group	xfit, yfit, xfill, yfill, fit_first	size_group is incompatible with the fit and fill properties because those properties can only apply to fixed containers, and size_group can only apply to frames, windows, labels, buttons, and textbuttons. Note that while you can apply size properties like xminimum and ysize to a container with a size_group, it may not always affect the other containers with the same size_group in intuitive ways. Make sure you’re saving and testing your changes often!

Conclusion

And that’s all for this article! I hope this is a useful source to return to if you’re having trouble with error messages like “properties xalign and xpos conflict with each other” and aren’t sure why. In the next tutorial, we’ll start looking at frame, which lets you add backgrounds and padding to your containers. Find it here: Ren’Py Screen Language Basics – Frames

You might also be interested in my tool release from last week, which makes it simple to add blinking to character sprites! Find it on itch.io: