Layers Guide (V1) - Understanding Masks, Moves, Crops, Clips, and Adjustments

[Dave Vector]

Have you ever tried to arrange objects in the layers panel only to loose them, and then find it nestled in a collapsed group of objects?  

Ever try and move an object so it clips anther object and it ends up with an unexpected result?  

Ever wonder what those enigmatic icons in the layer thumbnails are trying to tell you?

 

This guide is for anyone with those questions. From folks that are new to Affinity Products, to people who has been using it for years and struggled with the behaviour of layers.  This 3-page visual how-to guide will hopefully help reveal any or all of the cryptic layer mysteries!

The guide is in English for desktop versions of the products, designed the Windows version, tested mostly in Affinity Designer, but should translate well to Affinity Photo and Publisher.

I would love to hear your feedback, if you notice any errors, have any additions, and/or let me know if it helps you, please chime in!

 

NOTE: PDF DOWNLOAD AT THE BOTTOM.  Please download it!

 

Cheers,
Dave Vector

Affinity Layers Guide - Understanding Masks, Moves, Crops, Clips, Adjustments.pdf

Edited March 11 by Dave Vector
Updated the Subject/Title to as "V1" to distinguish from the Affinity Version 2 cheat sheet thread.

[OliverSpain]

Thanks for sharing

[AnnH]

Thanks! This will be a handy reference.

[oO5Dynasty]

Thank You

[Eyedear]

great stuff thank you

 

[Dave Vector]

I appreciate everyone's feedback. 

I updated the PDF to more accurately reflect the row indentations in the Layers Panel. PDF below.

I also added a summary page that looks like this:

Cheers!

 

Affinity Layers Guide - Understanding Masks, Moves, Crops, Clips, Adjustments v2.0.pdf

[Ponciano Manzano]

Very useful thanks

[BeauRX]

Wish I had this a year ago. 

One refinement would be to reflect/emphasize the different levels of indenting for cropping and clipping in your examples, as shown in your layer stack image above.

[Dave Vector]

10 hours ago, BeauRX said:

Wish I had this a year ago. 

One refinement would be to reflect/emphasize the different levels of indenting for cropping and clipping in your examples, as shown in your layer stack image above.

Thanks @BeauRX your advice is noted!  I updated the PDF version  to illustrate the different indentations in the Layers Panel and made notes to call attention to the different indentation levels.  Unfortunately indentation is not consistent with Masks.  In other words, a Mask thumbnail can exist at either indentation level 1 or level 2 but the results seem to be the same, unless someone more knowledgeable than I can refute my claim with an example.  Hopefully adding this to the summary and the PDF does not make masks more confusing than they already are, but currently this seems to be the reality.

So here is the updated summary illustration as well as the updated PDF downlaodable below!

 

 

Affinity Layers Guide - Understanding Masks, Moves, Crops, Clips, Adjustments v2.1.pdf

[Manfred/Neuss/Germany]

Hi Dave, thanks for sharing this wonderful guideance - the right thing for novices like me. 👍

[lepr]

On 5/17/2020 at 5:16 PM, Dave Vector said:

[...] a Mask thumbnail can exist at either indentation level 1 or level 2 but the results seem to be the same, unless someone more knowledgeable than I can refute my claim with an example.

A masked Pixel object will be blended correctly when the Mask is mask-nested or clip-nested.

A masked vector object or Image object or Passthrough mode Group/Layer object will be blended correctly when the Mask is mask-nested, but incorrectly when the Mask is clip-nested. This is one or more old bugs that have been neglected.

clip-nested Mask in vector object.afdesign

[Dave Vector]

 

11 minutes ago, anon2 said:

A masked vector object or Image object or Passthrough mode Group/Layer object will be blended correctly when the Mask is mask-nested, but incorrectly when the Mask is clip-nested. This is one or more old bugs that have been neglected.

@anon2, thanks for helping clarify this odd behaviour with a great example.  I hope Serif's team will address this bug soon as it makes things confusing.

[OliverSpain]

Thank you for sharing. Dave

[Dave Vector]

Hello!

I made an updated version of the "Layers Panel - Visual Summary", now called the Layers Panel Cheat Sheet.  The procedural flow is now horizontal, so hopefully it's easier to understand.  The link to the PDF version is below.  Enjoy!

Layers Panel Cheat Sheet 3.0.pdf

 

 

[BrianMM]

Thank you for adding this new example, Dave.

 

[Dave Vector]

Hi,

I noticed the Drop Zone (green dotted area) for 5. Rectangle Below was not correct.  Below is the corrected version and downloadable PDF.   I also took the opportunity to make it clearer.  Don't mean to spam ya'll but hey, it's free!

Layers Panel Cheat Sheet 3.1.pdf

[ashf]

The first example "Crop the Lower Layer with the Top Layer" sounds strange to me.
Isn't  the one being cropped the top layer, is it?

 

[Dave Vector]

11 hours ago, ashf said:

The first example "Crop the Lower Layer with the Top Layer" sounds strange to me.
Isn't  the one being cropped is the top layer, is it?

 

@ashf I appreciate your feedback.  I see you are referring to my original (first) post in your comment. 

I admit my first attempts to articulate the layer behaviour in Affinity Design was not perfect and I have since updated the descriptions and the entire explanation into a single handy sheet.  Please see my February 19, 2021 post.  The attached PDF contains the same information as the inline PNG. 

"The first example" you are referring to is now in the "Task" column labelled "2. Rectangle Crops".  I hope that makes more sense than the original description.  I made the "Task" labels short descriptors and hopefully easy to understand.  So to be clear:

1. The Rectangle is on the layer above of the "Q"
2. The Rectangle Crops the "Q"
3. The Rectangle is Clipped by the "Q"
4. The Rectangle Masks the "Q"
5. The Rectangle is on the layer below the "Q"

Does the updated February 19, 2021 post help? 

[StudioJason]

Was a nice display of information visually, even in original version... was easily comprehensible... bit of difference on iPad, but still easy for someone to get the idea. Nice updates though.

[Dave Vector]

Thanks Jason, I appreciate the feedback!

[Yolanda]

Very Helpfull, thanks. BUT, I have to do 2 things on layer 4. First RightCLick 'Rasterise to Mask'  and then 'Mask to below'  to get the number 4 effect. If I don't Rasterise to Mask, I get number 2.

And I still don't know the difference for adjustment and live filters. Do I drag them ON the tumbnail (number 2) or do I clip them (number 3). Can anyone clearify that for me?

 

Happy greetings, Yolanda

[Dave Vector]

2 hours ago, Yolanda said:

Very Helpfull, thanks. BUT, I have to do 2 things on layer 4. First RightCLick 'Rasterise to Mask'  and then 'Mask to below'  to get the number 4 effect. If I don't Rasterise to Mask, I get number 2.

Hmmm, to address this question:

• Task 2 I called "Crops" because it a.) added the crop icon beside the layer when the task was executed, and b.) behaved the same as using the Vector Crop Tool.
• For Task 4, I now see that the right-click "Mask to Below" pre-step is also performing the crop action and adding the crop icon beside the layer.
• In order to do Task 4 (use above layer rectangle object as a mask) the pre-step is now: "In the Layers Panel right-click on the rectangle and choose 'Rasterize to Mask' in the drop-down menu".  Then proceed to drag onto the layer below, otherwise it will mask everything below that layer.

I do not remember it working this way in previous versions of Affinity Designer.  Before I go updating the Cheat Sheet, can anyone confirm if this is new deliberate behaviour from an update to Affinity Designer?  Currently using Affinity Designer 1.9.2.1035

Can anyone confirm if "Mask to Below", acting like a crop and also showing the crop icon, is a bug?  

Thanks,

Dave

 

[lepr]

12 minutes ago, Dave Vector said:

Hmmm, to address your first question:

• Task 2 I called "Crops" because it a.) added the crop icon beside the layer when the task was executed, and b.) behaved the same as using the Vector Crop Tool.
• For Task 4, I now see that the right-click "Mask to Below" pre-step is also performing the crop action and adding the crop icon beside the layer.
• In order to do Task 4 (use above layer rectangle object as a mask) the pre-step is now: "In the Layers Panel right-click on the rectangle and choose 'Rasterize to Mask' in the drop-down menu".  Then proceed to drag onto the layer below, otherwise it will mask everything below that layer.

I don't remember it working this way in previous versions of Affinity Designer.  Before I go updating the Cheat Sheet, can anyone confirm if this is new deliberate behaviour from an update to Affinity Designer?

Can anyone confirm if "Mask to Below", acting like a crop and also showing the crop icon, is a bug?  

The crop symbol on a thumbnail indicates a vector mask. The Crop Tool in AD uses a vector mask.

I recall no change to vector masking in the almost four years that I've used Affinity apps.

 

[Dave Vector]

Thanks @anon2. The crop icon AD uses to indicate a vector mask confuses me.  I think there are a few things about layers that are not intuitive or easy.  I will update the cheat sheet.

[Dave Vector]

Thanks to @Yolanda and @anon2 for the recent clarifications to the Cheat Sheet, Task 4.  You feedback is appreciated

Here is the latest version:

Layers Panel Cheat Sheet 3.2.pdf