[If an image layer is duplicated as a copy to preserve it, Why does cropping, rotating, etc. the original layer cause changes to be made to the copy?]

Exactly so…  

[If an image layer is duplicated as a copy to preserve it, Why does cropping, rotating, etc. the original layer cause changes to be made to the copy?]

10 minutes ago, R C-R said:

The equivalent to 'duplicate document' is Save As. It saves the document with whatever name you give it to whatever location you specify. If you try to save it with the same name to the same location as the original, it will ask if you want to replace the original or cancel the save.

The workaround above does not necessarily duplicate the document, just the copied layer(s). So for example, even if the document has only a single layer, say a pixel layer or a vector shape, if that layer does not have exactly the same dimensions as the document dimensions, File > New from Clipboard will result in a document with different document dimensions than the original document.

This can be useful, for example to reduce the copy's dimensions to just the minimum needed to contain the contents of the copied layer(s).

Noted, thank you!

[If an image layer is duplicated as a copy to preserve it, Why does cropping, rotating, etc. the original layer cause changes to be made to the copy?]

Many thanks to carl123 & markw -  

I see the light.  

These things are not well documented as fundamental concepts, although I don't read manuals and I ascribe my fault in understanding to me being from Connecticut and this program developed in "Europe".  Or is it just me.  I dunno.

[If an image layer is duplicated as a copy to preserve it, Why does cropping, rotating, etc. the original layer cause changes to be made to the copy?]

3 minutes ago, John Rostron said:

Affinity does not explicitly offer a Duplicate Document command. A workaround is to copy the Layer, then use File > New from clipboard. This will create a new document, as yet unsaved.

Ohn

A great tip - thanks!

[If an image layer is duplicated as a copy to preserve it, Why does cropping, rotating, etc. the original layer cause changes to be made to the copy?]

2 minutes ago, Old Bruce said:

The file is the document. The document is the file.

Thanks - I get that now.  Funny how I did not understand a fundimental concept like that and yet I have had no trouble understanding layers, masking, curves, adjustments, etc.   The mind is a strange place...

[If an image layer is duplicated as a copy to preserve it, Why does cropping, rotating, etc. the original layer cause changes to be made to the copy?]

Thank you Walt, Alfred, smadell, R C-R!  

As I understand it now, the "Document" is a singular global entity that resides within a given .aphoto file and that there can be only one "Document" in the file.  I was assuming that by duplicating the original layer, I was making a separate and new document within the file as a backup.  I see now that layers are child compartments that can be individually manipulated ad-infinitum, but the "Document" is the single, parent container.  Change the parent and you change the family...  

[If an image layer is duplicated as a copy to preserve it, Why does cropping, rotating, etc. the original layer cause changes to be made to the copy?]

Walt:

So you're saying that any "duplicate" image will ultimately be a duplicate of whatever edits you apply to the original within the AFF file.  If so, that is a big missing piece of my understanding of the stability of an original duplicate. 

[If an image layer is duplicated as a copy to preserve it, Why does cropping, rotating, etc. the original layer cause changes to be made to the copy?]

Duplicated layer is directly below - not a child.

 

[If an image layer is duplicated as a copy to preserve it, Why does cropping, rotating, etc. the original layer cause changes to be made to the copy?]

When I load an original map image (JPG) into AFFPhoto, I create a duplicate of the untouched image as a new layer below the original.  My intent is to preserve the duplicated layer as a backup in case I go down a rabbit hole and I can't find Alice.  On MAC, it seems that edits to the original image file such as cropping, rotating, etc. are "synced" to the duplicate layer below and now both layers are identical.  

How do I crop & rotate and edit the original image without carrying over the edits to the duplicated image in the layer below the original image layer?

[Panorama "Orthographic" mode request...]

Yes, what I asked for and a "planar" option would be great...

[Panorama "Orthographic" mode request...]

On 6/23/2021 at 7:53 PM, WilWeiss said:

As it was in the excellent but now defunct "Kolor" 'AutoPano Pro' software, it would be great if there was an option to adjust vertical distortion in the final panorama output by allowing the user to select the parts in a stitched scene that should be vertical (like a "verticals straighten" tool) so that an architectural photo or city scene can be rendered as "Homographic" or "Orthographic" with true verticals and minimal distortion.

I want to add that perhaps a Planar stitch option would be very useful for correction distortions when working with a scene having many straight edges as in architectural work.

[Panorama "Orthographic" mode request...]

As it was in the excellent but now defunct "Kolor" 'AutoPano Pro' software, it would be great if there was an option to adjust vertical distortion in the final panorama output by allowing the user to select the parts in a stitched scene that should be vertical (like a "verticals straighten" tool) so that an architectural photo or city scene can be rendered as "Homographic" or "Orthographic" with true verticals and minimal distortion.