spinhead

I often write myself task scripts in VSCode based on the layers I've created in a Photo image. Problem is that when Photo is not the selected app, the task panels disappear, leaving only the document window. Is there a way to make the workspace persist even when another app is in use? Mac Monterey, Photo v1 in separated mode

Is there any possibility separated mode will ever return?

VSCode has been around for 8 years and still doesn't have an AppleScript library. Affinity has discussed this possibility for even longer than that. If scripting these tools matters to you, find another way (like mentioned above.) It's not happening soon if it happens at all.

refining a search for something I don't need? I've found the perfect tool. Swift is in the past. it serves no purpose for me now; it's big, complicated, hard to learn, and has no value to me. automator and AppleScript are PERFECT—except Affinity tools aren't exposed to AppleScript, so that's not terribly helpful. I'm no longer sure if you're trying to help me with scripting or sharing information for others in this thread.

1. all the usual rabbit holes I went down long ago (third link clearly says "this is NOT for moving windows in other apps" which essentially makes it the opposite of my needs) without success 2. yes, Hammerspoon is AppleScript but without needing the target app (Photo, VSCode, etc) to supply the dictionary. In other words, exactly what I was looking for.

I spent months trying to get my head around Swift and never figured out how to move a window. Spent 20 minutes with Hammerspoon and had a working prototype for my needs. Perhaps I missed something important, but Swift feels like buying Russia because I want a bottle of vodka.

heh. no worries. (you know who you don't want saying "oops"? surgeons. also airline pilots.)

What does that have to do with the ability to script Affinity Photo actions?

I recently discovered Hammerspoon, which allows me to script (albeit inelegantly) actions with Affinity tools. Hammerspoon uses the Lua language and lets me simulate mouse clicks and text input, besides OS operations, which lets me, for instance, rotate an image one degree, export it with a unique name include the rotation angle, and repeat for the desired number of times. The advantage of Hammerspoon is that as I use more and more apps (VSCode, Affinity) that will never add an AppleScript library, I still have scripting options. I'll never be able to upgrade my Affinity tools since they stopped supporting Separated Mode for a 2-monitor Mac setup, so an external scripting tool like Hammerspoon is my best option. Infinitely simpler than learning Swift from the ground up.

I recently discovered Hammerspoon, which allows me to script (albeit inelegantly) actions with Affinity tools. Hammerspoon uses the Lua language and lets me simulate mouse clicks and text input, besides OS operations, which lets me, for instance, rotate an image one degree, export it with a unique name include the rotation angle, and repeat for the desired number of times. The advantage of Hammerspoon is that as I use more and more apps (VSCode, Affinity) that will never add an AppleScript library, I still have scripting options. It's not perfect, but then, waiting 5 years with no progress isn't perfect either.

Less tedious than the manual option within Photo, this works: create an image using squares of each color in the swatch panel export as swatchname.jpg using the command line tool Imagemagick: magick identify -verbose swatchname.jpg will list each color in the image. with more work, a command could be munged together to extract just the color codes from the command line. not elegant, but far less tedious than clicking "edit" for each swatch or item, copy hex code, paste to my list, lather, rinse, repeat.

I have finally created a solution to the problem in v1 where new documents open behind the tools. If you're interested in what I describe below, holler and I'll go into detail. Installed a Mac automation tool called Hammerspoon. Solid, dependable, free, tiny. Then created a function [open/focus Photo, create a new document, and then move it to the correct monitor and adjust screen settings] and gave it a hotkey. A few little kinks to work out for edge cases, but overall, works as I hoped and solves this problem for me. Now if I could just fix the broken tab order in the Transform dialog . . .

Edge case: I don't actually *need* any symbols, I use them in my digital art and having a big pile to choose from makes it easy. Grabbing them ad hoc would be like downloading only the letters I needed for this message.

Unless there's a better current method, if you explain how you did this I might get around to making asset files for the other versions.

4 steps with 2 mouse clicks instead of 1 step, a single click. Select layer with existing 3D <click>, copy, select target layer <click> —then paste. With the panel already open, as I have it, one click, done.

Thanks, @Hangman @Pšenda , but mouse is mouse. The process NOW is 'click the 3D effect' so 'click something else' isn't an improvement.

1. Only part of my process because they are the default settings. My creative process is about repetition. Unless the defaults on the tool were set to something radical, beyond reasonable, they'll work because they're the simplest to apply. Click. Done. No fiddling to interrupt my brain. 2. The real solution is to make Affinity tools scriptable. If I can use AppleScript, I can mod the app to do anything I want. That, however, won't benefit me unless they also reinstitute Separated Mode, because I won't upgrade from v1 until they do.

Art. 20-30 times in a 3-4 hour creative session. Daily. Sometimes morning and evening, so double those numbers. When the garage workshop gets too hot for woodworking here in SE Phoenix, I come inside and create repeating pattern multilayered blend mode experiments. The default 3D effect is usually enough to give the effect I'm looking for in the interactions among the blend modes of each layer. I do sometimes modify the settings, but over 80% of the time the defaults work. Maddening not to be able to script Affinity tools. I am old school command line and have keyboard shortcuts for my desktop layouts, most apps, system settings, etc. My Affinity work stance is right hand mouse for positioning, left hand keyboard for settings. Every time I have to switch my right hand to settings instead of positioning, there's a cognitive load which, with my specific health issues, is a very real interruption. I was able to script moving new documents from behind the tools to the other monitor, which was a big time saver, instead of having to create a new document then drag with the mouse to the other monitor. Now, it's click thumb/pinky and I don't even think about it. (The windowing tool I use is able to manipulate Affinity at a gross level, moving windows, etc., but can't dig any deeper than that.)

Erm, still working on my first cup of tea and my brain is slowly coming to life. No, clicking on the Styles panel is no closer to a keyboard shortcut than clicking on the Effects panel, which is what I'm currently doing.

Layer Effects | 3D (default settings) which I use daily

Ah, I suspect that's the winner. Thanks.

Not sure about your issue because I'm still on v1 because of Affinity's widespread and ongoing challenges with 2-monitor Mac setups (Mac Mini Monterey here.) They actually removed "Separated Mode" rather than fix the handful of bugs regarding how documents and dialog boxes opened, which is why I'm still on v1. To be clear, you're not trying to have all documents separate from the tools, aka "Separated Mode", but opening one in normal mode, attached to the tools, and another in a floating window. Is that correct?

any way to create a keyboard shortcut for the 3D effect? searched the entire forum for '3d' and found ZERO entries.

[For APv1 and ADv1, not v2; I'm firmly committed to NOT upgrading] In the attached document, I want to choose all the [whatever] in ONE of the groups to bulk change the fill color. Selecting by either fill color (in ADv1) or tag color (in APv1, after manually adding color tags to each layer) selects that fill/tag color in both groups. I want to end up with a file containing 10 groups, all colored differently. I've already saved the single-group copy 10 times, which will give me the desired end result (10 jpg files) but I'd like to know if there's a single file method (which would be consistent with my normal workflow.) 20221219-bau-grid1.afphoto

A distinction without a difference. Again, original question hasn't been answered during this foray into the surrounding scenery.