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Layer symbols are not displayed correctly, if you hover over the symbol icon (the crossed dot), Designer displays a pop-up that reads: "layer", whereas the layer is in fact a symbol. Also, the name of the symbol in the symbol studio and layers studio still reads "layer", instead of "symbol" as symbols would. Also note that if I delete all the layers, the symbol in the symbol studio will read group, as opposed to "symbol". See video, should be self-explanatory. 2023-01-12 13-01-13.mp4

It's hard to split this one up into several topics, because it all has to do with one and the same thing: layers. I have been going back and forth between Photo and Designer today for a complex file only because I am missing a couple of features in various parts of the software. These features can be are either available in Photo or Designer and not in the other. The same is true for their various personas or between personas in Publisher. I would argue that these basic layer manipulation and organisation features should be available in all of the personas and apps. That way, information is always displayed consistently in the layers panel, regardless of switching personas or programs. To be more specific, I cannot promote groups to layers in Affinity Photo, neither can I add symbols in Photo. In Designer, I cannot create linked layers. In Designer, if I go to the Photo persona, linked layers remain unavailable. In Publisher, I don't have symbols unless I go to the Designer persona. Linked layers are unavailable. For instance, the workflow with symbols in Photo becomes quite strange (same is true for Publisher when switching from the Designer to the Photo persona), because the Linked layer properties appear/ disappear between the two. Leading to different ways of interpenetrating the layer information. 2022-10-24 13-58-05.mp4 For instance, I could unlink the vector shape and it would still remain linked in Designer. Back in Photo, it shows as unlinked, but it is linked again. Though I presume this is a bug, reported here: 2022-10-24 14-03-41.mp4 I do however presume that there is much more prone to breaking the same way as this. Just because the implementation differs between one program and the other for no apparent reason. Anyways, I really think that if I switch programs for the sake of accessing features in one program that's not available in the other, I should at least be able to see my information displayed in the layers panel and the studios (linked layers and symbols) so I can opt to proceed working with them as I would in the other program I switched from. Symbols, linked layers and promoting groups to layers are all such general concepts that they can easily be used throughout the entire suite. Why shouldn't Publisher have symbols in the Publisher persona? Please evaluate these inconsistencies. It should, hopefully also help in having a cleaner and more robust code for the entire suite.