Search the Community

Hi, I'm new to AP and have a quick question that may have an obvious answer I've missed. I'm working on a bunch of photos with a basic workflow that includes adding Dust & Scratches Live Filter Layer then doing some inpainting to tidy things up. I'm constantly trying to inpaint onto the dust and scratches layer which obviously has no effect. Then I mouse over to the layers tab, choose the background layer and start inpainting properly. Is there a way to swap the focus between one layer and another from the keyboard, or to toggle the focus through all layers from the keyboard, rather than having to click on the layers tab? Thanks, David

Hi guys. Maybe this has been mentioned before elsewhere, but I find the Tab shortcut behaviour on the Transform panel to be complete nonsense. The field selection order shouldn't be an absurd from left to right, top to bottom (i.e. X position > Width > Y Position > Height), but instead a more logical from top to bottom, left to right (i.e. X position > Y position > Width > Height). The way it is, it feels a bit broken whenever you feel the need to manually input values. And it should't take you more than changing a line or two of code to fix it, so… maybe you could do that for the next release? Thanks! Edit #1: Even though the “constrain proportions” link-thingy button is, indeed, selectable via tab (and, very logically so if I may add, after all the others), I just noticed that the Rotate and Skew fields aren't. Also, having the “Tab to hide the Studio” shortcut activated instead of cycling from the last field back to the first one doesn't make much sense and isn't very friendly, IMHO. Edit #2: I've just noticed another thing: In fact, the Rotate and Skew fields are indeed selectable via Tab. And you can tab from the Skew field to… the X position field?? This means that even though those two fields are visually on the bottom part of the panel, if we consider the whole “Tab to hide the Studio” thing, they seem to be coded as if they were on top. Which actually makes it a bug/error/oversight on your part, oopsy-daisy. But the best solution would be to not only change the ordering and getting rid of that cycle-breaking behaviour; that way, it wouldn't really make any difference. Edit #3: It gets even weirder still. If you press Shift-Tab instead of Tab, you can infinitely cycle backwards (as it should be, anyway) through the panel fields… So, did you actually hard-code that break when tabbing regularly on purpose?

Hello, I am wondering if there is a keyboard shortcut or a way to assign one to take brush settings back to a specified default. When in the basic brush set it is fine resizing with the square bracket keys and changing flow and opacity, but the issue for me is when I am working with a custom brush set and want to go back to the basic brush set, it takes a while to go to the brush palette and then switch back and forth. I have a lot of brush set categories and custom brushes and it would speed up my workflow if there were a quick way to toggle between the last used brush sets. On another note, changing the opacity of the brush is nice and easy with the number keys and or the sliders in the top toolbar. I find though that I change flow more often than opacity and am wondering if there was a way to reassign the number keys to change flow rather than opacity. Thank you!

hello, it would be nice if you can change the behavior of the keyboard shortcuts for the toolbar. i often switch from paint brush tool to inpainting brush tool. i press b for paint brush and AP will select the paint brush tool. then i press j and AP will select the healing brush tool, but before i selected the inainting brush tool. it would be nice when AP remember the last selected tool if there are more then 1 tool to choose from. thanks michael

So this request is a follow-up to the one I made on this thread: Apparently, according to fellow forum user @toltec, this feature was already implemented, which is absolutely great. What is not so great, however, is its discoverability (or, in this case, its blatant [edit: partial] lack thereof). [edit: user @R C-R made me realise that the Status Bar already has a “cheat-sheet”/tooltip with said shortcuts, but I still feel that is not enough and that my suggestions are very sound, so please bear with me…] Please, for the sake of other users who may not frequent the forum or wish to spend hours perusing user manuals and tutorials (because this feature is, after all, something that pro users expect and may try for themselves [edit: even without, as was my case, paying any attention to the tips provided ], as it is a staple in brush tools not just in AP but also in other competing packages), make it [extra] visible and [even] more obvious. Basically, when pressing each modifier, please do make the appropriate tab (Matte | Foreground | Background | Feather) become temporarily highlighted/selected. This feature would, then, become easily discoverable to more seasoned users like myself, because as it stands, the UX feels “broken”. I mean, it will still feel that way to me even if I already know the feature is there, because visual feedback is just nice to have, as it shows that the app is working as it's supposed to. As it currently stands, you always display the same tab selection and, when pressing modifiers, you get a different, incongruous and non-explicit – even if completely desired – behaviour, which is indeed confusing, muscle-memory notwithstanding. It really is important for us to always have a “sense of place” when it comes to our tools. If I may offer another completely on-topic suggestion, I wonder if you could add some further visual feedback to the brush cursors themselves (and that would obviously be extensible to the Selection Brush tool), such as plus/minus signs floating outside of their outline (quite unlike their current behaviour in Ps – which centres them inside of said outline –, so as not to conflict with the cursor crosshair for those users who may have it configured to be visible)? I know that small as this suggestion may seem, it would add some visual clutter (I guess it could always be off by default and be selectable on the preferences dialog, just like the crosshair), but it I believe it would further enhance ease-of-use and differentiate AP from the competition. Thank you for your attention and keep up the good work!

Hi, I'm used from a lot of other apps to use keyboard shotcuts for Apply or Cancel in requests like this. I know you don't have to copy erverthing out there, but it makes really sense to use the ENTER key for Apply and ESC key for Cancel in requests/actions like this, especially there are a lot of similar request within the Affinity apps and this two shortcuts wouldn't interfer with other shortcuts in this situations. Think about, thank you!

Hi, how can I please easily adjust Opacity and Hardness with tablet (Wacom Intuos Pro)? I would like to have on the wheel not only Brush Size (by [ ]), but also Opacity and Hardness of the brush.... If it was possible to set Keyboard Shortcuts for Opacity and Hardness, it would be OK, but in the shortcuts there is only the size Thanks Jindra

The title of the thread says it all: in AP, it would be nice if pressing Option toggled between one of the two additive selection brush modes (Matte or Foreground) and the subtractive mode (Background) in the Refine Selection dialog box. It's just that having to move the cursor or the pen back and forth just to change the selection mode gets rather tedious quickly and breaks the flow. Also, while on this subject, it would be nice if one could do further refinements without screwing up with other parts of the selection, but maybe it's just my workflow that isn't properly set up. Please bear with me, as I started transitioning to Affinity Photo in a production environment only very recently, and for now only when the tools I need are superior enough (the Refine Selection brush being one of them). IMHO, the greatest thing ever would be being able to just use the refine selection brush and the refine selection parameters independently of one another (or being able to undo them in separate steps in History), in order to achieve the most perfect selection possible. If only there was a way to use the brush without applying any effects, or certain effect slider values in said dialog box that produced zero changes and allowed me to refine the selection in many independent passes and apply said effects only when I was completely satisfied with it, I'd be a happy[ier] camper. That being said, the tool as it stands made one heck of a difference in a self-initiated emergency change, on a crazy-ass deadline (I could never have finished that in time using Ps, that's for sure), I made for a big project I just finished last month; I basically treated a landscape shot, which was used as the main theme on all media for an arts festival, in order to change the orange-y colour of the background clouds to a more neutral blue-gray independently of some trees in the foreground, because our country's forests had just started burning earlier that day – and have been burning almost continuously for a while now –, as leaving it untreated could mess with some people's sensitivities because it looked waaay too much like the photos and videos of said deadly fires circulating on the media. The only reason I didn't send this photo to you for your recent call for professional work done with AP was the fact that I do not own the rights to the original, and even though the author retroactively authorised the modifications I did to it after I explained him my reasoning behind them (I mean, given how serious the situation was, how could he not?), he didn't seem all too happy about the whole thing at first (especially considering that I did that on a rush, the night before sending that job to the print house, without consulting him first – I obviously negotiated it with our mutual client, which can ultimately propose and decide that kind of stuff at its sole discretion, but still), so I didn't even consider asking him for permission to share it with you. But anyway, I digress; Affinity Photo and my loyal Bamboo tablet saved the day and made doing this on a single all-nighter possible. Just to think that I could have saved some 10+ hours of work in a similar trees-vs-background selection task I did back in 2013, for the very same client, if only this app was available back then makes me value it even more because I now know how much more time I'll be able to save in the future… But I also know for a fact and from experience that I could save even more time if you implement that toggle shortcut.

Affinity Photo doesn't seem to remember my selection of Current & Below for clone, healing brush tools across launches. Unless I am missing something. In that case is there a setting that I need to enable?

I've had this problem before and I thought I had found the answer in the past, but I'm having a hard time tracking it down... Sorry if this is a repeat. I accidentally hit some keyboard shortcut a few days ago that made all of the crap outside of my document boundaries show instead of "cropping" it to the art board. Does anyone know what keyboard shortcut I need to use to reverse this? I can't stand working on website mockups when all of this is showing. :blink:

Just looking at the Keyboard Shortcuts in the AD Help file. There are several that I don't see. I think they would be good additions to the help file. I guess a couple like Create guide might not technically be a keyboard shortcut. Shortcuts missing from the official list Draw Persona opt + cmd + R Pixel Persona opt + cmd + P Export Persona opt + cmd + E Create guide drag from ruler Create opposite guide opt + drag from ruler Open window to max docked panels remain on top double click on title bar of screen Gradients Move entire gradient cmd + drag control handle Move handle while keeping angle constrained ctrl + drag control handle To rotate gradient while maintaining spacing shift + ctrl + drag control handle Node manipulation Delete node handle (works even in Pen tool) opt + click on handle Delete both node handles opt + click on node Delete selected nodes while maintaining curve (as much as possible) opt + delete (backspace) To smooth node, force handles in opposite directions. The non-dragged handle is snapped ctrl + drag control handle To smooth node and constrain, force handles in opposite directions. The dragged handle is snapped shift + ctrl + drag control handle Node Selection Remove nodes from selection ctrl + drag marquee Add nodes to selection shift + drag marquee Toggle node selection shift + ctrl + drag marquee Object manipulation Selects the object being clicked upon cmd + click object Selects the object being clicked upon and makes Node tool active cmd + double click Select overlapped objects (selects the next layer below the selected layer, if in the same group) opt + click To resize and rotate around opposite handle ctrl + drag control handle Shape creation To create from center point, during object creation only cmd + drag To rotate around the middle of opposite side (also forces object square or round), during object creation only ctrl + drag To rotate around center of object (also forces object square or round), during object creation only ctrl + cmd + drag Shape manipulation To rotate around center drag corner rotation handle or object rotation handle

Hi All, was wondering if I can now ditch the separate shortcut files for the separate apps now? I have three files, AffinityShortcut.affshortcuts AffinityPhotoShortcut.affshortcuts AffinityDesignerShortcut.affshortcuts ...Assuming that I am happy with my current shortcuts in either of the apps, am I able to save over just the AffinityShortcut.affshortcuts and delete the other two, and in future only update the single file? I seem to half remember that the apps originally had separate shortcut files but have since been merged, making the two individual files redundant? Just wanted to double check before I hit the Delete button! Thanks Wayne

When editing layer names, make tab go down a layer and shift+tab up a layer. It's a general keyboard shortcut that should be implemented since the tab key does nothing now.

Using Windows Beta which I really like, I do not see the capability of blending between two vector objects. That is a very useful ability for a vector program. I will repeat what I mentioned once before: measurements by PostScript picas of 12 points would be very helpful for those of us who think in that measurement, and I hope you can eventually deliver the entire keyboard for shortcuts including combinations with F keys, numbers, Backspace, Insert, Delete, Home, End, Page Up and Down.

Hi, I love that you can change the shortcuts! While most of the shortcuts are similar or the same as I'm used to, it's always nice to be able to customise things. However I don't seem to be able to use function keys. I can assign them OK, and there are no clashes with other keys, but if I then try to use the shortcut nothing happens except my Mac making a beep. It works OK if I add a modifier e.g. cmd+f7 just not f7 on it's own. It would also be really great if you could assign shortcuts to separate studio elements, so you could show and hide just layers or stroke. This is particularly handy when working on smaller laptop screens. I know I can select from the drop down menu, but shortcuts are SO much faster. Many thanks!

Hey guys, First of all, wonderful job on this app. It's so promising and I'm so happy to be a part of the community. I haven't been able to integrate it into my daily workflow because it's missing some key points, and every time I use it I stumble upon a lot of those. One small detail which actually makes a big difference on regular usage is the fact that while creating a shape or resizing it, I can't hold space bar to move it. That's a feature most vector graphics apps out there include, and it makes life a lot easier in terms of positioning elements on the screen. Does anyone else miss this?

Default shortcuts of Ctrl + Alt + Left/Right do not work due to an issue already reported elsewhere. I modified the Slacken More and Tighten More shortcuts to Ctrl + Alt + Plus/Minus on the Numeric Keypad, which works as expected. However, the default shortcuts are the opposite of what they should be compared to the same shortcuts in PagePlus, and the steps are too big. In Affinity Designer, the Tighten More shortcut kerns text five times more quickly with Ctrl key modifier than without it. In PagePlus, the Condense/Expand Shortcut kerns text ten times more slowly with the Ctrl key modifier. (Nudge is the same, being smaller increments with the Ctrl modifier). Suggested Fixes: Alt + Left should condense text in steps of 1% Alt + Right should expand text in steps of 1% Ctrl + Alt + Left should condense text in steps of 0.1% Ctrl + Alt + Right should expand text in steps of 0.1%

Hi, I have tried unsuccessfully to use the "command + hide" to hide a selection within my affinity photo window and all I get is that the affinity application itself hides. I have tried reprogramming the command for hiding within affinity with other options but it does not work. I have even tried to reprogram the OS X command hide shortcut so it does not mean hide and I still can't make it work within affinity. I happen to use a hispanic keyboard and I have tried switching to an English keyboard layout and it doesn't work. Am I missing something? All I want to do is find a way to create a keyboard shortcut for hiding the current selection (for example, the selection brush tool within affinity when I need to). Any suggestions??

Hi, I've searched on Google and Affinity Forums but couldn't find any information about switching between personas with a keyboard shortcut. Does anyone have any info on this? Thanks!

Not sure if I'm doing something wrong, or what.... trying to set up custom shortcuts in AD and this is what I get (one of two windows) I'm not seeing where options are to input my own shortcut. On an iMac with Mavericks

If I open a dialog the only things that are accessible by keyboard are the input fields. Example I would like tab through the first dropdown (arrow down + enter to select) then tab through the size, adjusting it, then tab to resize and hit enter = done. Now i'm forced to use my mouse to adjust Resample and hit the resize button.

Hello, I bought AD just a few hours ago and I'm really really pleased to say the least :) I'm re-discovering the pleasure of working with vectors, something I've been missing since Adobe killed my beloved Freehand ! I have just a simple question, is it available a list of Keyboard Shortcuts ? Thanks

Hi Just downloaded the beta. Don't know if these comments have already been made. I've only played with the tool that I find a bane in Illustrator - the pen tool and it looks to be an improvement on Illustrators! Well done. Nice big anchors and direction handles to pick up easily - hurrah!!! Some initial feedback: Keyboard shortcuts 1 Being able to customise the app with my own is a real boon - I don't do it a lot, but have a few which are a so useful. Keyboard shortcuts 2 I use the tool shortcuts all the time to change from general pointer to node selector and back again in Illustrator; or to the general pointer from any other tool. Dark mode I can't see which tool is selected. The dark block behind on a dark screen is too subtle. Admittedly this might be because I'm on a laptop and the tilt of the screen may be a reason. I don't work with my apps in 'dark mode' for this reason. Graphs Illustrator has a crude (I'm being unkind), but sufficient graphing tool. Much of my use of illustrator is to produce information visuals so it is a feature I could not be without. Great for translating numbers into something visual quickly - I bang in a graph, place a copy on the paste board, 'expand/ungroup' the orignal and go from there. I've only given it a few minutes, looks interesting, I'll have a play with it again. Hope this is helpful. ------------ Edit: I know I always get, to me, a strange reaction when I try to explain how important keyboard shortcuts are. The mac keyboard is designed differently to the PC. I have worked briefly for a newspaper which switched to PC's while I was there. I found myself getting into contortions when trying to use shortcuts on the PC keyboard and wondered what was the matter with me. If you study the two keyboards, lay your thumb on the cmd key (mac) and then let your hand rest on the keyboard, you'll find your fingers naturally fall on the most used shortcuts. Try this on the PC keyboard, put your thumb on the Ctrl key and your hands end up off the keyboard entirely. This is why experienced mac users have keyboard shortcuts built into and essential to their workflow. I was always stumped why PC users seemed so mouse bound until this experience. If you're used to designing software for PC's it might be a real culture change for you. Here endeth my thesis :-)