Publisher Layers: control is needed here!!

[VectorCat]

I get that, from the computer's perspective, every single item, line, image, graphic, bit of text, occupies its own layer. However, from a Human Cognition standpoint, having dozens, hundreds, thousands of individual items to wrangle makes for gray hair and stress!

Might there be an option such that layers are set by the User, and that ALL of the items on that User-set layer is simply on that layer, without forcing a designer to wrangle, corral, group, and deal with each and every molecule? The document I'm working on is, so far, very simple. But it will get more complex and I'm dreading all of the layers management I'll need to do as I evolve the design.

For my money, this would greatly advance workflow, because it would remove such granular layer management from what should be a more organic workflow. If I need to drill deep into the sub-atomic layers level, maybe there could be a "Show All Layers" option, but elsewise, the current Layers paradigm is very stressful and labor-intensive.

The point I'm trying to make is that the software should help the designer manage layers, and not put that chore on the designer's back.

[Wosven]

Hi,

In fact, you've got Layers and objects.

Each time you draw a shape,r a line, etc., it's just an object, stacked depending of the order and place you created them. But Affinity apps call them layers (lowercase), and that's confusing, but there is its name in parenthesis to help you.
You also have Layers (with a cap), and those will contains all the objects you want. You can add them using the icon at the bottom of the layer panel or with the menu.

If you don't want to see all the object and the way they are stacked, you can collapse the Layer.
It's not different than in other apps, but in other apps it's sometimes more difficult to see the way the objects are stacked.

[VectorCat]

10 minutes ago, Wosven said:

Hi,

In fact, you've got Layers and objects.

Each time you draw a shape,r a line, etc., it's just an object, stacked depending of the order and place you created them. But Affinity apps call them layers (lowercase), and that's confusing, but there is its name in parenthesis to help you.
You also have Layers (with a cap), and those will contains all the objects you want. You can add them using the icon at the bottom of the layer panel or with the menu.

If you don't want to see all the object and the way they are stacked, you can collapse the Layer.
It's not different than in other apps, but in other apps it's sometimes more difficult to see the way the objects are stacked.

Well, it's true of *some* other apps. However, using InDesign as an example, you just see layers in their "Layers Studio." You can interact with each item ON the layer, but you aren't forced to navigate your way through the entire list of parent and child items on that layer, which can often extend far higher than your monitor is tall.

Maybe in Layout persona, you just see the layers, and you know there are items ON the layer, but then in either Photo or Designer persona, THAT'S where you get to see each and every bit, maybe only for the item selected prior to entering that persona?

Maybe what I'm suggesting is a behavioral difference between Publisher and the other Personae, such that, in layout, you deal with the macro; the personae deal with the micro. Use Publisher to move design elements around as complete units; use the Designer and Photo personae to dig into the granularities of those elements.

[Wosven]

But you spend less time usually in the Layers panel in APub than in the other apps. In ID for example, I barely use layers but for organizing and locking some specific items depending of the stage of the work, but I know the shortcuts for moving objects up, down, etc. and use them a lot (It can also be due to less friendly layers panel!).

You can disable "Show selection in the layers panel" and the Layers will stay collapsed, instead of showing the last item added, and use "ctrl+k" to view it in the layers panel.

 

 

[VectorCat]

1 minute ago, Wosven said:

But you spend less time usually in the Layers panel in APub than in the other apps. In ID for example, I barely use layers but for organizing and locking some specific items depending of the stage of the work, but I know the shortcuts for moving objects up, down, etc. and use them a lot (It can also be due to less friendly layers panel!).

You can disable "Show selection in the layers panel" and the Layers will stay collapsed, instead of showing the last item added, and use "ctrl+k" to view it in the layers panel.

 

 

Thank you for those screengrabs..very helpful. I did know about how they work but the "Show Selections" toggle was new to me.

Perhaps you and I have different workstyles regarding layers? My own preference is to interact directly with objects. Sometimes (Often?) Affinity requires the user to click on the object's LAYER in order to select that object. I'm not crazy about this, but trying to go with it for the time being.

I think that we can all agree - Developers included - that management of layers is mission-critical, else there wouldn't be a Layers Studio devoted to helping us manage our layers.

[Wosven]

9 minutes ago, VectorCat said:

Perhaps you and I have different workstyles regarding layers?

In AD & AP, I usually use groups, layers when there's a lot of objects and more organisation is needed.

In APub, for now, I'm only playing around, no real possibility to use it on (a) long run project(s) since at work we use ID, and APub need some important features I use everyday like scripts.
In ID, I can have 1, 3 or more layers depending of the work, that's few compared to some who use nearly one for each type of objects/purposes.

17 minutes ago, VectorCat said:

My own preference is to interact directly with objects. Sometimes (Often?) Affinity requires the user to click on the object's LAYER in order to select that object. I'm not crazy about this

The same (I'm not crazy about it), and the app will put automatically a new object inside the Layer if you try to work above the layer when you only want to isolate/separate some objects/parts for a specific drawing, group it and put it later in this layer.

So, I mostly add layers later, as a way to organize finished parts of a work, not while working on it.

The fact that layers aren't really locked and that you can grab one of its objects, move/modify/delete it by error is another reason not to use them.

27 minutes ago, VectorCat said:

I think that we can all agree - Developers included - that management of layers is mission-critical, else there wouldn't be a Layers Studio devoted to helping us manage our layers.

It need a little bit more functionalities and improvement. A + : it's visually effective and easy to use, grab, move objects, etc.
But why putting "Show selection in the layers panel" in the preferences instead of an option easily disable/enabled in the panel?